"Hey… Ruto!" Link said sheepishly. "Erm…"
"Guards?!" Ruto shouted. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Well…" one of the guards spoke, the fear evident in his voice. "He was running towards the throne room…"
"Away! NOW!" Ruto shouted, turning a few other Zora heads from the pool below. At once the guards obliged, scurrying to the edge and diving in, wishing to get as far away from the zora princess as possible.
"Thanks Ruto…" Link began, before being tackled against Ruto, hugging him as painfully as Dariuna had done.
"I had heard rumours you were back, but I wasn't sure!" Ruto giggled. "Word travels fast by water…"
"I must be honest, there is a reason I'm here…" Link began. He noticed Ruto's smile dim slightly. "Apart from visiting." He corrected, seeing her smile return.
"Well, get to that in a second. But first, how did you get in without disturbing the waterfall?" She asked. "You don't seem to have dived through, you are bone dry. And hot…"
Link raised his eyebrows.
"Not in that sense!" she yelped. "Well, maybe…" she murmured, turning her head so Link couldn't see. "But I mean, your clothes are hot, like you were just in a volcano!"
"Well, maybe I was, fighting an enormous cursed Dodongo, which was under the influence of an ancient crazed Demon called Ghirahim. The same Demon may or may not be teleporting here in order to cause more mayhem, but also in an attempt to kill me, as he has a vengeance against those with the spirit of the hero!" Link exclaimed in one breath. He bent over, taking deep breaths, and then looked back up at Ruto, who now had worry etched into her face.
"Wow." She said. "And so soon after returning as well."
"There's more. A lot more…" Link said, "Possibly explaining how I got here so fast, and why my clothes are still warm."
"Well…" Ruto began, before stopping. Link had heard what she had heard as well, a cackling sound, coming from the throne room. "I know that laugh well enough by now…" Link thought.
"Ruto, get all the Zoras away from the domain. Get them into Lake Hylia or something. Anywhere but here!" Link spoke hurriedly.
"Why?" Ruto replied, confusion and fear etching her face.
"Because it will run less risk of unnecessary injuries!" Link spat, anger rising in his voice. Whilst saying this, he withdrew the Master Sword, causing Ruto to gasp.
"When?" she began.
"Since meeting this Demon. Pray you don't meet him. Oh, and you are going to now see how I got past the waterfall without getting wet"
He closed his eyes, oblivious to Ruto's confusion, and pictured the stairs leading up to the Zora King's throne. He opened his eyes finding himself right there. He looked over to where he had just been, with Ruto staring with wide eyes, searching all around for him. She finally found where he had gone, and almost fainted with surprise. Kicking himself, realising he couldn't let her knock herself out, not when safety was the priority. He urged himself back, catching her before she smashed her head.
"Wh.. what?" she uttered.
"Later" he replied flatly, teleporting back again. He turned towards the stairs, sword and shield raised.
Deciding to surprise Ghirahim if he was there, Link slowly crept up the stairs, always looking above, so nobody could see him approaching. He approached the top of the stairs, and had to stifle a gasp. Ghirahim was standing on the small platform in front of the Zora King. He luckily was facing the King, so he hadn't heard or seen Link coming.
"So, highness…" Ghirahim cackled. "What will it be?"
"Never!" the King blubbered. He caught a glimpse of Link, but didn't reveal him to Ghirahim.
Ghirahim sighed. "Well, I guess you leave me no choice…" He snapped his fingers, summoning a large black diamond, and lined up for the King. Link roared and did a jumping attack at Ghirahim, catching him between his shoulder blades. The diamond vanished as Ghirahim spun round, hissing. His expression went from confusion to pure fury.
"YOU!" he bellowed. "HOW DID YOU GET HERE?". He clicked his fingers again, covering his arms in the same armour as on the Dodongo, and two demonic blades.
"Surprise"! Link spat, returning the animosity.
Ghirahim roared, and vanished.
"Link!" the king blubbered.
"Not now!" Link shouted, attempting to run back down the stairs to look for Ghirahim.
"He, he mentioned Lord Jabu-Jabu…" the king whispered.
Link's head snapped around. "WHAT?"
"I'll move!" the King responded, starting to move in his signature slow manner.
"Don't bother!" Link shouted, causing the king to look at him in confusion. He focused on the Zora's fountain, in front of Lord Jabu-Jabu. His boots were suddenly submerged in cold water, meaning he had arrived. Link opened his eyes and found himself again behind Ghirahim.
He focused again, right behind him, with the Master Sword already prepared for a stab. He teleported and stabbed Ghirahim through the back, causing Ghirahim to hiss with pain. "Me again!" Link shouted, pulling the Master Sword out and swinging at Ghirahim's neck, in a decapitation attempt. However, Ghirahim teleported away in the nick of time, just further back.
"HOW?" Ghirahim shouted, summoning a blade. "How did you get here so fast?"
"Simple. Your gift was given to you by your now deceased master, who was a god. Well, the gods are blessing me too!" Link shouted, swinging the Master Sword down by his side in an aggressive stance.
"Oh really?" Ghirahim shouted. "How about we test this theory out right now?" He snapped his fingers, creating a black and red wall around Link and himself. Link gazed around quickly, before re-focusing on Ghirahim, whose eyes had completely whited over. "I will enjoy this!" he hissed, "But I'm not so sure about you, or your little crowd over there…"
"What?" Link roared, before snapping his head round to the cave leading back to the domain. There, Ruto and a group of Zoras stood, staring in fear.
"Link…" Ruto whispered, before her eyes widened. "Look out!"
Link only managed to hear this before jumping to the side as Ghirahim lunged at him.
"Lucky you!" Ghirahim hissed. "Got a friend over there? Well, you won't get to see her again after I'm done with you! Oh, and don't think your weapon can injure my beautiful arms, it's the same stuff that was on the Dodongo, and you just bounced off it!"
Link said nothing, instead focusing on any incoming attacks. While doing this, he noticed Ghirahim summon an identical second blade, and crossed them. He slowly advanced towards Link, but then held them perpendicular to each other, creating a way for him to attack. Link swung, but was knocked back against the wall by Ghirahim moving one sword down to block his swing, then slicing his own blade against Link. His shield had caught the full effect, and was thrust off Link's arm, and out of the arena.
"The next one ends you!" Ghirahim shouted, holding his swords in the same manner. "Your previous incarnation used the same thing against me. Now I've adapted!"
Link just glared, feeling bare without his shield. "Great, what am I going to do now?"
A/N: The fight continues next chapter! It seems Link isn't the only one who adapts now! And yes, in this story, Ruto still has a little crush on Link. But don't worry. There's no Hylian/Zora action going to happen. That's just a little too much. Even for me.