The Resistance

Link made his way back towards the surface slowly. When he'd woken up that morning he had felt all grimy and icky. He had left a still sleeping Grimmjow up there and just jumped straight into the clear water of Lake Hylia. His head broke through the water surface. He bent his body back into the water so his hair would stick to his scalp instead of hanging down into his eyes. He closed his eyes and focused on the flow of his magic. Grimmjow's rather insane idea of dealing with his problem had removed the biggest obstacle, but it would still be some time until he had proper control again. The water around him rose and brought him with it.

Link stepped out of the water and looked over at the bluenet. He glanced back at the water behind him. A small smile spread over his lips…

"Don't you dare continue that thought," Grimmjow growled. He sat up and narrowed cyan-blue eyes at the blond.

"What…?" Link said not so innocently. He smirked at the bluenet. "You could use a shower. You stink," he said. "Omph."

Splash!

Link glared up at Grimmjow. "What did you do that for, huh?" he said.

"Uppity bitch," Grimmjow growled.

"Why you," Link raised a hand and the water behind him moved up and crashed down on the bluenet.

Grimmjow roared and dived down next to the blond. He swam back up and pulled the teen down under the water surface.

It became a wrestling match that only ended because they needed oxygen.

…

Link was giggling uncontrollably as he spread his green tunic out on the ground. It was clean and whole. 'What have they made this thing out off really?' he wondered. 'Well whatever it is it doesn't help with the smell,' he thought as he sniffed the fabric. He tossed it into the lake; the fabric would float. He grabbed his under tunic and did the same with that shortly followed by his pants. He jumped down and looked at his clothes floating around. Bending down to pick his tunic up, he could feel Grimmjow's presence. He looked up at the naked bluenet. "Yes," he said.

Grimmjow smirked. He dumped his own clothes right in front of the blond. "Why don't you deal with mine while you're at it, bitch," he said with a smirk.

Link took a deep breath. This guy would manage to piss him off royally rather soon if he didn't watch it. He narrowed his eyes at the bluenet. "If I'm gonna do that you better go fish for lunch pussy or you can do your own laundry," he said.

Grimmjow grimaced. "Don't call me that," he said.

Link rolled his eyes. "But it is fine for you to call me bitch to your hearts content?" he asked.

Grimmjow blinked. "But you are a bitch… you're my bitch…"

"Not until you've fucked me Grimmjow and even then I'm only you're bitch if I want to be," Link said as he lifted the bluenet's jacket out of the water. He could feel a hand brush through his hair gently. He knew Grimmjow wouldn't apologise. It wasn't the way the bluenet did things. He rubbed against the hand showing that he was O.K. He'd overreacted a bit, he knew that.

Grimmjow looked back at the blond. Sure he'd called the teen bitch since they met in human forms but it meant more to him now. It was that damn dream. He'd died and lost someone then. He didn't want to lose anyone else. Of course Link was the closest he had to a person he actually cared about. Beneath his feet a shoal of fish were unaware of the fact that several of them would not be alive in just a short while.

Link and Grimmjow were walking east. They were headed to the Shadow Beasts that Link had abandoned by the broken Eldin Bridge.

"So, these monsters are supposedly a bit tougher then?" Grimmjow asked. He'd just cut a chuchu in two and was now studying the strange liquid on his blade.

"Oui et non," Link answered. "Yes they are harder to kill since they have this– don't eat that – nasty habit of getting back up again if you leave only one of them alive, and no because they are defeated just about as easily as any other monster around here," he explained.

"So, easy but fucking annoying then," Grimmjow concluded. "What is this stuff anyway?" he asked.

"Blobs, certain kinds can be eaten to restore your energy, but not the violet ones. That stuff can kill you if you aren't careful," Link informed him.

Grimmjow shook his head, scoffed and rid his blade of the purple goo. "If you have to kill them all at once, how have you been dealing with them then?" he asked curiously.

"Fire works really well, and when I'm a wolf, Midna has been helping me with her magic," Link said. He reached down into a pouch and pulled his bow out. He placed an arrow on the string, and as a burning projectile came sailing towards them, he let the arrow go.

A cloud of black smoke appeared in the distance.

Another arrow was placed on the bow string, and another cloud of black smoke appeared.

"That's convenient," Grimmjow said. "Not as powerful as a Cero but a Cero would take out half the landscape too, not just these measly monsters."

Link chuckled. "Well, it beats having to avoid their arrows until we get close enough to behead them at least," he said.

…

Grimmjow unsheathed Pantera. He watched the three black beasts as they moved around. They reminded him of low level Hollows. The only thing that struck him was how they all seemed to look the same. Now, Gillians looked the same too but this was just annoying.

Just to test what Link had told him earlier, the bluenet cut down two of the beasts but left the third standing.

A shrill roar sounded through the air. Around Grimmjow the fallen beasts rose once more. "Tsk, annoying idiots," he muttered. He held his sword hand out. A blue orb formed by his knuckles. He Sonído-ed up in the air and sent the Cero off.

A grand blue dome enveloped the monsters. Once it dissipated there was nothing left.

Above their heads a black portals red lines turned jade.

Grimmjow sheathed Pantera as he walked back to Link. "Annoying would be the least I have to say about those things," he told the blond. "So what did that bloody clown want earlier anyway?" he asked.

"The Postier you mean," Link said. The bluenet shrugged. "He delivered a letter from Telma…"

"The busty bar woman?"

"Yes that's the one," Link said as he stuck his arm down in one of the pouches he was carrying. "She writes that:

Link, there are some folks

I want you to meet,

so come to my bar right away.

These guys will be powerful

allies for you.

You heard me! Come by!

I'll be waiting at my

CastleTownbar.

Telma"

"She's demanding as hell, that woman," Grimmjow pointed out.

"Yeah, and I somehow doubt that she can find me powerful allies. Useful maybe… but not powerful," Link said. He met the bluenet's eyes. "There will be even more boring talk in gibberish if you come with me to meet these people," he said.

"Do we have to bother with…?"

"I want to help Midona find le Miroir des Ombres. It's the only way to get to Xanto as well… But I've got no clue where to look for it and they might," Link said.

Grimmjow looked out over the chasm that was now next to impossible to cross. "Well, that does create problems," he said. He lifted his arm and pointed. "The castle is that way so crossing this stupid bridge is the closest way there," he said.

"Yeah, but unless it's completely escaped your notice, the bridge is missing a large chunk in the middle, and I can't walk on air… at least not yet, anyway," Link said irritably.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. He moved forward, grabbed the blond by the waist and Sonído-ed to the other side of the chasm. "There you go," he said as he put the teen down. Link stared up at him wide-eyed. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something," he asked as he tried to calm his breathing down.

"Tsk, yeah, sure I am," Grimmjow said sarcastically.

Link opened the bar door. He stepped into the softly glowing light of the room leaving the door open for Grimmjow.

"Oh my… If it isn't Link!" Telma said when she saw him.

"Good evening, Telma," Link greeted her as he walked up to the counter. Behind him the door closed as Grimmjow entered.

"You made it! How've you been, honey?!" the brunette asked.

"I've been O.K. I helped the Zoras with some problems they had with a temple at the bottom of Lake Hylia… and I met Grimmjow here…" Link told her.

"Ah, isn't that a handsome one," Telma said and winked at the bluenet.

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at her before looking down at the blond for an explanation.

"Yeah, really handsome but he doesn't understand a word Hylian," Link told her. He tilted his head so he could look up at Grimmjow. "She's just calling you handsome. You don't have to look so alarmed," he told the bluenet.

"She's flirting with me…" Grimmjow said with a pained expression.

"She flirts with any creature on two legs with a cock Grimmjow. It's just the way she is. You can ignore it. I do and it works just fine," Link said before turning back to Telma. "A bit of misunderstanding that needed to be sorted out. It's nothing to worry about," he said in Hylian.

Telma smiled at him. "You seem to have had quite the little adventure then," she said. "Oh, but you have good timing. I was just talking about you!" She turned towards the people sitting at a table at the back of the bar. "Hey, everyone! Introduce yourselves!" she called to them. "This handsome young man here is the infamous Link!" She turned back to Link. "You remember what I told you before, honey!" she asked.

"Yes, Telma, I remember," Link confirmed.

"These are those friends I mentioned, the ones who are trying to help deal with all the troubles in Hyrule," Telma said, and Link nodded in understanding. "Actually, there's one more of us… but there's been a disturbing turn of events in the Western Desert, so he's gone to cheek it out. He's an old man named Auru. If you happen to meet him, definitely take the time to talk with him, OK, honey?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll remember that Telma," Link said.

"Well, you've come all the way here, honey, so why don't you relax a bit. Why don't you be sociable and talk to these folks? They're a jolly bunch," the brunette said.

Link pulled up his money pouch. "Oh, well, why not we could do with a hot meal," he said and placed some rupees on the counter.

"Oh, you don't have to, honey…"

"I insist Telma," Link said with a smile.

The brunette laughed merrily. "I'll get you handsome fellows something pronto," she told the blond.

Link smiled at her and tanked her before turning to Grimmjow. "We're going to get something to eat, and I'm gonna have a chat with those guys over there. Are you O.K. with that?" he asked the bluenet.

Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair. "Food sounds good… you'll let me know if they say anything interesting?" he asked.

Link nodded. "Course I am," he said as he led the way up to the table.

They each pulled up a chair and sat down. While Link struck up conversation with the people around the table, Grimmjow watched them. He might not be able to tell what they were saying, but he could study their Reiatsu. To his right sat a man with a makeshift helmet that covered the upper half of his face. His entire being screamed of worry. The bluenet shifted closer to the teen sitting next to him. The worry increased. 'So, you care about Link then,' he thought. He looked over to the woman. She actually seemed to be the strongest one of the bunch. She was talking to Link and soon enough they were laughing.

The bluenet gave the busty woman a nod as she placed plate down in front of him. The warm food was heavenly. Human food tasted way better than Hollows.

They ate and Link spoke with the two men and the woman around the table.

Grimmjow's eyes fell on the last male. The small brunet fell straight into the bluenet's pathetic category. The man to his left pulled his helmet off and Link went all exited… on the outside at least.

Grimmjow couldn't fit the blonde's tone to his emotions at all. He sounded excited but felt reserved – like he was just putting on an act for the man. The bluenet leaned in closer to Link and felt the blond man's worry rise once more. "You're done soon, yeah?" he asked.

Link nodded as he answered a question that the woman asked.

"I'll wait outside then," Grimmjow said and stood up. A hand landed on his arm.

"We're going back to Lake Hylia after this," Link said.

Grimmjow nodded. There was an awful lot of running back and forth in this place, he noted. He opened the door and disappeared out in the cool night.

"Link, who is that?" Rusl asked after the blue-haired man had left the bar.

Link turned to him. He noticed the concern in the older man's eyes. "He's a friend. He isn't very friendly but…" he shrugged, "not everyone can be that now, can they?" he said.

"He doesn't feel right Link, are you sure you can trust him?" the older blond asked. He really didn't like the feel of the man at all, dangerous – bloodthirsty even.

"Yes, Rusl, I can trust him. If he wanted me dead, he would have killed me already," Link said as he stood up. "It's been nice talking to you all, but we need to get going now."

"Where will you go?" Rusl asked.

"Well, Telma mentioned disturbance in the desert, so I guess we'll be going there. I'll talk to this Auru first though," the blond answered. "Good evening everyone," he said before quickly walking over to the door.

"Wait, honey!" Telma called. She walked up to him with a bag. "It's filled with food. You're going to need all of it if you're going into the desert," she said. "Now, you come back to us in one piece, honey! Is that understood?!"

Link smiled at her. "I promise Telma," he said. He opened the door and turned back to her at the threshold. "Thank you for this and good evening," he said and held the bag up. He walked out into the cool night air.

Grimmjow was nowhere to be seen. It didn't surprise the blond at all. He'd told the man where they were headed after all. He made his way out off the town and down south to the amphitheatre. "We should get some sleep before continuing this," he said as he stopped next to the seated bluenet.

Grimmjow looked up at him, and as he looked back down, he nodded. "Anything worth mentioning?" he asked as he stood up.

Link shrugged. "They seem to be a group of people who keep track of things. I don't know if they actually do anything about problems though," he said.

They walked up to the same tree they'd slept under a few nights before.

"They did tell me that something was going on in the mountains and in the desert. We're going to head to the desert because Ash the warrior woman needed to gather more information," the blond said.

Grimmjow yawned and nodded. "So, we're going to a desert how fun," he said sarcastically. It wasn't like he hadn't had enough of sand in Hueco Mundo. His body shimmered as he shifted.

"Yeah sure…" Link said tiredly. His own skin rippled as fur spread over his body. He curled up against the panther and fell asleep.

...

Blue eyes opened. They scanned the area. In the distance a green-skinned cretin caught his attention. The white armoured feline stood up slowly. He felt how a weight fell from his back and looked down. Next to him a sand-coloured wolf lay. Its big paws had a golden hue mixed with the darker fur.

The panther blinked slowly. The scent was familiar even though he'd only known the wolf for a few days. It was a bit strange how the male wolf could smell so much like a female to him. Sometimes – and most often when he did call the other a bitch – he couldn't actually tell the difference by scent. But then again this wolf didn't really smell like a canine at all. His attention was brought back to the green-skinned intruder. 'What did Link call them again?' he asked himself. 'Bulblin, right?' He tilted his head. It didn't really matter to him what the thing was called. It would be dead soon either way.

Black smoke rose around the panther's feet. He turned back towards the tree where he'd left his bitch. The wolf was still fast asleep. He snorted softly and Sonído stepped back to the canine. 'Wake up sleepy head,' he said as he bumped his nose against the wolf's head. A coarse tongue came out and liked the top of the wolf's head.

'Are you washing me…?' Link mumbled sleepily.

'No,' Grimmjow said sarcastically, 'I'm not.'

Green eyes opened slowly. He blinked up at the panther. White sharp teeth showed as the wolf yawned. He stood up slowly, stroking his side against the feline as he did so. He bumped into the panther and then he took off. 'Come on Grimmjow let's go,' he called back.

The feline roared.

In a nearby tree an owl woke up and took off, hooting high-pitched. It had been startled out of its sleep by the sound.

It didn't take Grimmjow long to catch up to the canine. He snapped at the air next to the wolf's flank. 'Why you meanie,' Link yelped. 'Keep your teeth to yourself will you.'

Link looked up at the tower located on a hill by Lake Hylia. It was a sturdy hexagon granite tower with a single ladder going up one of the sides. "I'll just go up there and see what Lafrel has to say, right?" he asked Grimmjow.

The bluenet nodded. "He's gonna be speaking that bloody gibberish anyway, ain't he?" he said. "I'm not overly interested in listening to that."

Link shook his head and chuckled softly. "I'll be right back," he said before grabbing a hold of one of the rungs. "Un, deux, trois…

Vingt, vingt et un, vingt-deux …

Quarante-quatre, quarante-cinq, quarante-six," he mumbled as he climbed higher. He pulled himself up the last bit and was amazed.

The view was beautiful. Soft rolling grass clad hills coloured a fairytale green gave way to almost golden sand. The sky above had barely a cloud in it and was so blue that the blond had to wonder if there was anything to match its splendour.

In the distance, six pillars rose from behind the hills. A top of the pillars sat posts with winged roundels. Link tilted his head, wondering what those roundels were…

"I thought it was about time for you to arrive…"

Link turned around. The voice had brought him out of his daze. There was a figure clad in light olive-green overalls and sturdy back leather shoes and gloves. The man was facing away from him and his hood was up hiding his appearance. He turned around and lowered a telescope he'd been looking through. "Master Link, is it?" he asked.

"Wha… yeah," Link said still a bit out off it. 'Great response moron, he'll think you're stupid or something…' he berated himself.

"You do know Telma, don't you? I am Auru. I am apart of the group that Telma kindly allows to meet at her bar. I have heard all about your deeds from her. Now…"

Link was starting to get annoyed with the old man. Auru wouldn't even allow him to say anything before just blabbing on.

"You being a courageous youth… You have likely heard of the strange events in the desert and come to investigate, no? Or am I mistaken?" Auru said.

Link took a deep breath through his nose. He was trying to make certain that he didn't just blow up at the guy. "Yes, I've heard about the desert from Telma… I just came from Castle Town," he said and looked towards the golden sand. "I was planning on heading out there. Someone has to deal with whatever is going on."

"You do know, don't you, Master Link? The Gerudo Desert once held a prison built to hold the worst criminals this land has ever known… The criminals who were sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept in the prison… Now that prison is condemned, and even the road leading to the desert is impassable. This desert at world's end… It still holds the cursed mirror and the malice of the doomed inmates…" Auru said as he looked out over the sands. "These old bones know that the evil currently plaguing Hyrule is related to this wicked place. So I have come to learn the truth… Master Link, I must ask… What will you do now?"

Link looked up at the clear blue sky. The sun stood high. "I'm planning on going there. This mirror you speak of… It sounds ominous. If it truly is what I believe it to be then it has to be destroyed," he said. "What is currently happening to Hyrule would be nothing compared to what will happen if that mirror is left intact and working."

"Ah, is that so…" the iron haired man said. "Then let good old Auru help you out… You see Lake Hylia below us? A man named Fyer runs an amusement ride of sorts there. Give him this," he said and handed the blond a note. "See long ago, I saved this man's life, and now he cannot refuse me if I ask a favour. If you leave the rest up to Fyer, all should go well."

Link smiled at the man and pocketed the note. "Thank you," he said.

"You are welcome Master Link," Auru said with a small bow.

Link walked back over to the ladder. He bid the man goodbye and climbed back down.

Grimmjow had walked off and was currently half-lying half-sitting in the grass with his back against the slanting rock wall. His half-mast eyes followed the blond as the teen came walking up to him.

"Comfortable, huh?" Link asked with a small smirk. He turned slightly and pointed towards the pillars that could be seen peeking up behind a grass clad hill. "We need to go there," he said. "According to Lafrel up there, there is no longer a working road to the desert. That moron wants me to go talk to this maniac that owns a big-ass-cannon and get shot to the desert." His eyes were pleading as he looked back down at Grimmjow. "Please tell me you both can and will take us over there," he begged.

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at the blond. "Any indication that the stupid mirror is over there?" he asked. He wasn't about to go out in a bloody desert unless they had too.

Link nodded and then he repeated what Auru had told him about the prison. "It gets me wondering though," he said when he'd finished. "We were closing rifts back home on Earth so that the World Eater wouldn't come. But this mirror sounds an awful lot like a rift that has been sealed to an object. There was one of those back on Earth too… but Granddad destroyed that years ago. It was used just like this mirror. They sent prisoners thorough it as a death sentence." He looked towards the pillars. "I wonder what happened to all those people…?" he whispered.

"The World Eater?" Grimmjow asked disbelievingly. It sounded so stupid.

Link nodded. "It's… well no one really knows… But what we do know is that rifts between worlds attract it. Since no one survives its coming, I can't tell you what it actually does," he explained. "Great grandfather Salazar was the one who first made us aware of it but even he knew very little…" he fell silent. It was still painful to think about his family for too long even though he knew they were still alive… or they were in their time at least.

Grimmjow watched the blond as he closed off. He sat up properly and grabbed the teen's leg. He pulled at the leg, reached out and caught the blond as he fell.

"Omph."

Wrapping his arms around the boy's warm body, the bluenet said, "You look just good enough to eat." Link twisted slightly in his hold and looked up at him. The blonde's belief earlier – that there was nothing that could possibly match the beauty of the cloudless sky – was thrown out the imaginary window.

As his green eyes meet Grimmjow's blue ones, Link's breath hitched ever so slightly. He could feel the larger man's body beneath him. How the muscles rippled as the bluenet moved. Fingers tangled with his blond locks before his head was pulled back and hungry lips descended on his own. A low moan, almost a whine, left his throat. He could hear the bluenet chuckle softly at the sound as their lips moved against each other.

Hands moved on their own accord. They tangled with soft blue hair. Link pulled himself up closer to Grimmjow. The mask that the man wore over his right cheek cut into his face, but he didn't care. He wanted more but was… not afraid… No, not afraid but rather apprehensive to where more would lead. He knew he was far from ready to actually have sex with the bluenet, even if it did sound like a splendid idea.

Grimmjow didn't try to deepen the kiss, however. He pulled back from the lip-lock eventually and cupped the blonde's face with his hands. He ran the thumb of his right hand over the angry red mark under the blonde's mouth before running it up the blonde's cheek to the jade flame mark under his eye. "As I said… you're good enough to eat," he whispered huskily. Green eyes met his. "You're not too bad yourself, you know," Link said still slightly out of breath from the kiss. Grimmjow let go of the blonde's face, and he leaned into the larger man's body, resting his head on a broad shoulder.

They lay there, for Din knows how long, simply sharing body heat. Not talking or even thinking really. Of course moments like that can't last forever.

Midna appeared from Link's shadow. She looked at the blond and then at the uncouth bluenet. "You promised that you'd help me find the mirror, Link," she said irritably. "You look more like you're taking a catnap with blue here than doing anything to find it." She had deliberately spoken Hylian so that the brute wouldn't understand her.

One pair of emerald and one pair of cyan-blue eyes opened to look at the imp.

Link let out a wide yawn before focusing back on the Twilight Princess. "I know where the mirror is Midona," he said in Japanese since he knew both the imp and the bluenet would understand him then.

Midna folded her arms over her chest. "If you know where it is then why are you still sitting around here for?" she asked. She'd switched language. It felt ridiculous to speak Hylian when the blond didn't.

"Sore wa sabaku ni aru tame, Midona. It is going to be boiling hot there now with the sun out, and while I can moderate my body temperature to handle that, it is easier to deal with the chill of the night. So, we will leave as soon as the sun starts to set, I promise. We're taking a nap in the mean time since we're going to be up all night crossing that desert, Okay?" Link said.

The imp sighed. She couldn't fault the teen, and she knew that no matter what she said he'd still do as he wanted too. "Okay fine!" she said with sigh. "As long as we get there soon." She disappeared down into the blonde's shadow once more. She could move around in the sun now thanks to Zelda, but she still didn't like it much.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. He and Link had discussed the imp earlier, and he could sort of understand her. He knew what it was like to not have his full powers available to him. But did she have to be so shrill? It hurt his ears to listen to her. He tightened his hold on the blond for a moment and looked up at the sky.

They would need to leave soon.