fleets: I'm still young and full of energy! Check out this update schedule! Check out my abs!

hmmhmmhmmmmm these next few segments were a little tricky in terms of how/where I wanted to split up the chapters. Hopefully this wasn't too short, but I wasn't sure where to make the transition breaks. Ah well.

Also some really awesome individuals have recently made some great fanart for this story! If you would like to check them out, they're posted on tumblr under the tag 'art for fleets' :D

Chapter 21: A Chance Reunion

Two figures made their way across the blistering sands. They were two women, skin dark from the desert sun with hair red and billowing like fire. One of them gently prodded their horse, a fierce looking beast that had faced monsters and war, with the pole of their spear to spur it forwards. They were Gerudo patrols.

"Twinrova are crazy if they think we can continue moving our camps out towards the Valley of the Dead like this," one of them said exasperatedly as she looked out over the horizon. The mountainous boulders and hills that surrounded Gerudo Valley were becoming less prominent as they ventured out further towards the deeper parts of the desert. Without the mountains shielding the land, the winds became more unforgiving near the Valley of the Dead. This part of the desert hadn't earned its ominous name for nothing.

Her companion nodded sympathetically. "I know. At this rate the desert will kill us before the monsters do." Then, she added, "I prefer the desert though. I don't want to end up like the ones who lived closer to Hyrule." Hyrule was currently in turmoil, suffering from more attacks than it had in years. The brutality of the attacks was unprecedented, and people could only describe them as 'nightmarish.'

"I don't know if the monsters are all responsible for that though. Since when did monsters start tearing up their own kind to prop up in those disgusting displays?"

"Don't know. Maybe one of them snapped or something. Who knows what they're thinking?"

They led their horses on the edge of a sandbank, keeping an eye out for the vicious sandworms as well as any raiding parties that might threaten their camp nearby. Suddenly, something caught one of the Gerudo's eye. She urged her horse to canter towards the object lying on the ground several feet away from them. It stood out in the smooth contours of the sand; it wasn't something that belonged in the desert. The gold grains of the sand swept by the wind threatened to bury the blue uniform. "A person!" she cried, leaping off of her horse.

"A Sheikah," her companion added incredulously when she saw the infamous red insignia of the shadow warriors on the fallen figure's outfit. He was a young man, and she noted that his face was red and dry from the sun, and his breath was ragged and weak. Her eyes trailed along the footprints behind him, leading out in the direction of the Valley of the Dead. "Don't tell me he was wandering around out there."

"Sheikah are crazy," the other one shook her head, "he's a fool to wander there without any supplies or a horse." She gently picked him up and handed him over to the other patrol, helping her prop the unconscious Sheikah on the horse. "Come on, we have to take him back to camp."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had taken Vaati some time to find the Gerudos again, as they had moved their camps since the last time he'd seen them. In the place of their old camp he found nothing but dying campfires and holes in the ground where the tents had been staked in. He'd also found their supposedly permanent location, a fortress a few miles away from the campsite, but it appeared recently abandoned and completely empty.

It wasn't difficult to guess what had caused them to leave, as he'd encountered many horrible, nightmarish displays of bodies, both dead and half-alive, all around the roads and ruined villages. Interestingly, some of the villages appeared to have been spared, although their residents had long since fled: no doubt Dethl had wanted some survivors to spread the news of their horror.

He'd finally found the Gerudos in a temporary camp further out in the desert. Although he knew that the dark skinned warriors were resourceful and could survive out in the harsh environment, he'd been surprised that they had been pushed so far out near the more unforgiving lands. He was currently surveying the Gerudo camp, hovering above it just below the clouds. He watched the Gerudo go about their daily routines for a while, wondering how he should pay a visit.

Eventually, Vaati floated down and landed in the middle of the camp, causing everyone there to stop what they were doing in surprise. He cast an unimpressed gaze at the quickly gathering crowd, and at the increasing number of spears and scimitars that were now pointed in his direction. The infamous witches were still nowhere in sight.

"Halt, state your business, outsider," one of the Gerudos barked. Her face, like the others', was covered with a heavy cloth, but he could tell that she was looking at him something fierce. She was glaring at him like he was a poisonous snake that had wandered in uninvited.

Ah, well that wasn't too far from the truth, was it?

"I'm here to see the witches. They… might have something of mine," Vaati replied. Perhaps his red eyes gleamed with a terrible glow with his last few words, because the women nearest to him faltered, their grip on their weapons loosening in uncertainty.

The supposed leader of the group of Gerudo gathered around him hesitated under the flash of wrath that she'd seen from the mysterious Sheikah who'd descended from the sky. It had only been a glimpse of his fury that she'd caught, but it was enough to make her second guess herself. "Twinrova aren't seeing anyone right now."

"They'll be seeing me," Vaati smiled. It was an uncomfortable smile, one that was too friendly to be considered genuine. "You know, I have absolutely no business with you and I don't want to have any business with you, so why don't you stop wasting my time and get out of my way?"

"This is your last warning, stranger," the leader raised her scimitar, and the others surrounding Vaati followed her. As soon as she did so, she saw Vaati's expression instantly darken, like thunderclouds gathering before a storm. A brief thought, I made a mistake, passed through her head, before she bravely overcame her fear and prepared for the worst. This individual was dangerous, and he couldn't be allowed further into the camp. She had to stop him here.

"Now, now, Meena, the Sheikah are always welcome to meet with us. Isn't that right, Koume?"

They all turned to the elderly woman who had waddled through the crowd from one of the tents behind Vaati. She carried a broom in one hand, and supported her hunched back with the other. She looked down over her prominent, crooked nose over at the sorcerer, emphasizing the word 'Sheikah' just barely enough for Vaati to catch the ridicule behind it.

Next to her, another identical woman joined her. Her hair was pulled back in an equally ridiculous manner in a way that made the two witches resemble brooms themselves. The only way to tell them apart was that the first one wore a gaudy blue jewel on their forehead while the second wore a red one. The one named Koume with the red gem grinned as she cackled, "That's right, Kotake. The Sheikah are welcome in our camp." Again, that same emphasis on the word Sheikah, as though there was an unspoken accusation that they knew what Vaati was not.

The other Gerudos made way for the witches, and Twinrova approached Vaati. Their appearance as fragile, elderly women was deceiving: Vaati could sense the tickle of formidable magic power as they walked towards him. They, too, smiled in a way that could only be described as dangerously polite.

They know. These wrinkled old hags KNOW, Vaati thought, anticipation bubbling in his chest.

Kotake waved her broom at the woman who'd first confronted Vaati. "We'll deal with him, Meena. Do not worry about Twinrova."

Meena frowned, glancing uncertainly at the strange young man who'd suddenly appeared in their camp. While she knew that the witches were a force to be reckoned with, she didn't like the way the Sheikah's fingers twitched from time to time, as though restraining an attack. "But…"

"No buts," Koume held up a finger. The message was clear, and Meena backed down: 'This intruder is too much for you to handle,' it had said. When Meena stepped back into the circle of the rest of the Gerudos, Twinrova turned their attention back on Vaati. "Now follow us, boy, and we'll have a nice long chat." Koume beckoned Vaati to follow with a wrinkled, chemical-stained finger.

Vaati followed, his fingertips tense and ready at any sign of treachery. The warriors gathered around him gave him space, but he could feel their suspicious gazes on his back as he followed Twinrova into a large tent in the center of the camp. Once inside, the two witches hopped onto their brooms and floated in the air, while they pointed at a chair in front of a table for Vaati to settle down in.

Vaati ignored the chair, and instead remained standing. He narrowed his eyes, not liking the way the witches looked down their noses at him from the air. "You know what I'm here for," he said, trying not to let the accusatory anger drip into his voice too much.

"Ah? I have no clue what you're talking about. Do you, dear sister?" Kotake asked loudly, and when her sister shook her head no, they both cackled in the most infuriating way.

Now the anger was evident in Vaati's voice. "Don't play dumb with me. You know what happened to my memories."

"Do I? Do you? Do we? Eeheehee!" the two witches laughed while Vaati's fist shook. They circled around him while they talked amongst themselves. They weren't talking loudly enough for Vaati to hear, but from the way they giggled and poked each other on the shoulder suggested that they'd gotten sidetracked into some other irrelevant conversation.

"Return my memories," Vaati hissed, his patience running thin.

The witches stopped cackling, and they circled back towards Vaati slowly, deliberately. They were no longer smiling, and their sharp, inquisitive eyes narrowed indignantly. Koume suddenly lashed out, irritation apparent in her voice as she said severely, "Do you even know what you're asking us to do?"

A normal individual may have been intimidated by the way the two witches closed in on them, but Vaati was too angry to care. "I'm not going to ask twice," he said slowly, voice raising. The inside of the tent flared blue when Vaati raised his hands, sparks dancing across his fingers.

"And you do not know who you're trying to threaten! You're at least two hundred years too early, boy!"

Before a fight could break out between the three of them, the tent flap fluttered open and one of the Gerudo guards burst through. She took a look at the scene before her and she froze, momentarily forgetting the message she'd come to deliver. Koume and Kotake's palms were lit with fire and ice magic respectively, while Vaati's fingertips crackled and sparked with powerful energy. After a while, she gulped, and backed out of the tent a little to give the three of them some space. "The patrols are back," she announced as she pointed outside, "they found a Sheikah man collapsed in the desert, just near the Valley of the Dead."

For the first time in a while, an expression other than anger appeared on Vaati's face. He dropped his hands, and the sparks vanished as he stared at the messenger in surprise. It couldn't be… he blinked, and his mouth parted, stricken from the news.

The guard continued, "Twinrova, he needs your help. He's heavily dehydrated and it looks like he's suffering from shock."

The two witches glanced at Vaati with disdain, and then turned back to the messenger. With a synchronized snap of their fingers, the magic in their palms dispersed. "Well, send him here." They hopped off their brooms and cleared some space for the patient who was going to arrive, but not before shooing Vaati aside irritably. "We don't have time for you right now. Scat!"

The tent opened again, this time with two Gerudos carrying an unconscious figure. Vaati's eyes widened, and rather than the anger that had previously consumed him, his voice could no longer hide his concern. "Sheik!" He ran up to the other Sheikah, pushing aside the witches and taking him in his arms. The witches began to object, but quieted when they saw genuine distress on Vaati's face.

All of his previous bitterness, his fury about being betrayed, was but a small voice in his head. In that moment, he could no longer hear the voice that insisted that Sheik deserved to suffer for what he had done. Vaati hadn't prepared himself for what he would do if he ever ran into Sheik again, and he especially hadn't been ready to see Sheik the way he was now.

Sheik looked awful. His breathing was erratic, and his skin had turned red, almost raw and blistered, from walking under the harsh sun of the desert. There were blood smears on his face and clothes.

And then, for a brief moment, the guilt that he'd bottled up after he'd left Sheik for dead at the Desert Temple resurfaced.

What have I done?

Behind him, Koume and Kotake exchanged glances, frowning with a small tilt of their heads. They exchanged a few muttered words for a few moments, discussing the new development. Then, with a sigh, the fire witch Koume walked up to the distressed Vaati, leaning over his shoulder. She watched how he held the other Sheikah carefully in a way only close companions could. "You care about him," she observed in genuine curiosity.

Almost instantly, Vaati's red eyes steeled, and his shoulders tensed defensively. Koume couldn't help but feel sorry for him, as she saw how he seemed to struggle and fight against both his bitterness and his guilt. He neither agreed nor denied the statement, and instead snarled, "He betrayed me."

And although his outrage flashed across his face, it was almost halfhearted, and he didn't seem to notice that he still had Sheik in his arms like he was afraid to let him go again.

In that moment, something changed about the way the witches regarded the sorcerer. Rather than looking at him with derision and contempt, their expressions softened with pity.

Koume hobbled over, her harmless aura a stark contrast to the fierce fire witch she'd been only moments before. "We all make mistakes. Sometimes you have to learn how to forgive and let go."

Vaati pulled away. "Don't patronize me," he snapped, resentful. "There are some things you just can't forgive."

At this, Koume's expression darkened. "That is true. There are some things that cannot be forgiven," she agreed, and she let her words sink in until Vaati understood what she meant with her accusatory pause. She smiled a little when she saw Vaati bite his cheek, frowning at her allusion to all of the things he'd done as the infamous wind mage. "Some things cannot be forgiven, and yet your friend here tried to see past that and trust you." A twinkle appeared in her eye as she added, "You know what I'm talking about."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Vaati growled stubbornly.

Koume jabbed Vaati in the ribs with a bony finger. "Hmph! We heard from Darunia how the Sheikah stood up for you. Do you still say we know nothing?" She grinned when Vaati stared at her, struck speechless. His brows furrowed in a mix of irritation and confusion.

Koume smiled, gently this time rather than her earlier mocking on. She tapped Vaati on the shoulder, waving her broom towards the unconscious figure to remind him to let go of Sheik so they could take care of him. Vaati scowled at being poked, and then reluctantly withdrew to a corner.

"He'll be all right," the witch reassured him, and then nodded to her sister who'd been watching the entire exchange with a curious look on her face.

For all his claims saying that he didn't care, Vaati watched them from a dark corner like a hawk, making sure that Sheik was going to be fine. He had a difficult frown on his face as he remained crouched in the corner of the tent, like he was unsure of where to direct his anger. His expression remained tense as Twinrova circled around Sheik, chanting spells and enchantments while tossing some kind of crushed dried leaves and powder over the body.

"There," Koume announced when they were done treating the unconscious Sheikah. She crossed her arms and huffed when she noticed Vaati in the corner, his nose crinkled under the bangs that fell across his face. "Don't look at me like that. He's resting now," she waggled a finger when Vaati continued to frown skeptically at Sheik who was still very much unconscious.

Eventually his shoulders visibly relaxed when he realized that Sheik's breathing had returned to normal.

"Meena!" Kotake screeched, and the Gerudo warrior from earlier peered inside the tent. The witch waved her broom at the resting Sheik. "Take him to one of the empty tents," she ordered.

Suddenly, Vaati stood up from where he'd been waiting. His presence was so imposing that Meena froze, allowing the pale youth to move in front of her. "No," he said sternly, and then scooped Sheik up to carry him. His eyes narrowed in a challenge at the others around him, as though daring them to stop him. "I'll do it. Just tell me where to go."

Meena glanced uncertainly at the senior witches for approval. Behind Vaati, Koume and Kotake shrugged and grinned, and waved their broomsticks towards the entrance, shooing them outside. Meena nodded, and then wordlessly led Vaati towards one of the empty tents of the Gerudo camp.

Vaati ignored the other Gerudos who stopped what they were doing to stare at him carrying Sheik across the camp. Instead, he looked at the now peacefully sleeping Sheik in a way that suggested that his face couldn't make up its mind whether to glare or not. After all, he was still upset, no, furious, at what Sheik had done to him.

But beneath that anger, if he would dare to admit it, was overwhelming anguish. He'd trusted him. He'd thought Sheik was a friend, and yet…

Why did you come back, now of all times? he thought, lowering his gaze. Just when I was about to retrieve everything I'd lost, you come back as though to stop me.

Meena stopped in front of the tent that had been set aside for them, and then left to go back to her work. Although the Gerudo regarded Vaati with caution, they did not bother him; it appeared as though Twinrova had given the order to leave them alone for now. Vaati carefully set Sheik down on the bedroll that was spread on the floor, while he took a seat on the pile of cushions on top of the soft rug.

How dare you do this to me.

Vaati sighed tiredly, and conflicted once again he leaned against the cushions, his head rolling lazily backwards. He stared up at the ceiling, blinking slowly, wondering about what he was supposed be feeling. Defaulting back to anger just made him tired now that Sheik had come back from… well, whatever nightmare he'd come back from.

Goddesses damn it Sheik, why did you come back to drag me into your problems again?

Even after all this time, after everything that had happened, Vaati couldn't deny the gut feeling that almost obligated him to help Sheik. He scowled. To help Princess Zelda. That feeling was just something they'd tricked him into feeling, wasn't it? That compulsion to want to help… none of that was real. It made him sick just thinking about it, and yet…

Vaati laid down on his side, cradling his head in his hands in frustration. You have no idea how much I hate you. Across from him, Sheik was still sleeping peacefully. Eventually, mental exhaustion overtook the sorcerer, and he too closed his eyes to rest.

But I'm glad you're still alive.

fleets: This chapter took me by surprise, because when I first planned it, Vaati was much, much more angry (as in, visibly angry and not just water-boiling-under-the-lid angry). Things sometimes change quite a bit from my initial planning, and this was an example of that. I'm not sure if I've said this before, but when I write (especially dialogue), I usually ummm, how to say this... "become?" the character? If that makes any sense? Oy that sounds like a bad werewolf line. I guess it's kind of like extreme empathy, or something idk. At any rate, it just didn't seem right for Vaati to be angry angry here, since he's still technically Fuu even though he now prefers Vaati. Man, I kind of wanted him to rampage a little, but I'm at the mercy of the story, yeah?

Ai Star: Things are looking up? Maybe? Not really? Haha that's what I expected at first too, but it's funny how things change from what's initially planned!

RayHollows: SHIP ALL THE THI...(cough). To be honest Shadow/Zelda took me by surprise because of the way it kind of snuck up on me the last two chapters. I actually do have a favored ship here, though it remains questionable whether or not it'll be showcased in this story. (and aaah thank you your enthusiasm is so sweet :O )

Oh! No problem! :D I'm just glad it reached you because tumblr has been doing strange things to me in the past few weeks! :3

AquilaMage: I usually have a clear favorite character in a story (like bam, in Rend it was Vaati, in Avi it was Vaati, in OA it was Thistle, and in WIR/FaV it was Vaati. TOTALLY not biased here...). But this time I just really like the brot3 with Sheik/Shadow/Vaati and none of them are really pulling ahead of the other.
Oh yeah, Dethl is pretty overpowered in this story. ;)
aaaah now I'm curious about what you mean! (you're killing me here i'm dying to know hahaha)