Thanks for the review, rj703, and good luck on your midterms! ...Rock like a Goron to wave your domain... I have no idea what that means but I like it! LOL!
Chapter XXV
In which yet another rescue is attempted...
The three remaining Knights were gathered about a small table that was tucked away in one of the rooms at Zora's Domain. Several maps were scattered about the table, most of which were either of Hyrule or what little they knew about Ganondorf's castle from Sheik.
"The dungeons are in the basement level," Hana said. "There's no way to get there without first getting to this section on the first floor here." She pointed to a part of the castle.
"Well that's near the back. How are we supposed to get there and still be alive?" Tak asked humorlessly.
"Maybe we could sneak through a window?" Hot Rodder suggested, his armor clanking noisily every time he shifted his weight.
"No, that won't work. Ganondorf's got some sort of shield all around the place. The only opening is through the main door."
"Which is heavily guarded, of course," Tak added.
"Tak, please; if you aren't going to help..."
"Alright alright. Let me see." Tak leaned over the table and stared at the maps, fully focused now on forming a plan.
Ruto and Sheik were watching from the doorway, barely daring to breath lest they interrupt the others.
"They'll work it out," Ruto said when they finally turned away from the room. "They always do. You should've seen their plan to get into the desert, it's amazing it even worked!"
"Ruto, do you think I ask too much of them?" Sheik asked.
"Well of course you do! But that's just the way the world is right now. We have to ask too much of everyone."
Sheik looked away from her. "I've taken away so many childhoods from too many people," he mumbled.
"I can't hear you if you're going to mumble," Ruto snapped.
"Of course," Sheik said apologetically. "Excuse me."
"Hey, Sheik, listen... that was Ganondorf. He stole all our lives the minute he touched the Triforce."
Sheik looked at her thoughtfully for a while before a smile twitched on his lips. "Perhaps."
Suddenly a shout from inside the room distracted them from their own conversation. "None of us even knows how to pick a lock, Hana! That won't work!"
"I didn't say pick, I said break!"
Sheik quickly stepped inside to break up the argument, but it turned out he didn't have to. Tak was scratching at the stubble growing on his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Oh, break. That could work actually," he commented.
Ruto laid a hand on Sheik's shoulder. "It's how they work," she said, amusement in her voice.
"How is it going?" Sheik asked.
Hana glanced towards him and then back at the maps. "Yep, we've got it." Tak and Hot Rodder nodded in agreement.
"Really? That was... fast."
Tak looked towards Sheik. "You did say it was an emergency."
"I trust you, of course. Goddesses be with you."
The others glanced at each other and gave a few quiet chuckles.
"Yeah, thanks," Hana said amusedly as the three filed out of the room. "Just what we need."
Sheik watched them leave and then looked at Ruto with confusion in his eyes. "What was that about?"
"Oh nothing," Ruto responded, waving her hand dismissively. "They have this superstition that if the goddesses are named then something bad will happen."
Sheik frowned with surprise and then stared after the Knights as they disappeared through the waterfall and back into the world. "They can't really believe that... can they?"
Hana, Tak, and Hot Rodder looked at each other and exchanged concerned expressions. They had not managed to get very far before they were overrun by Ganondorf's minions. The castle was just in view, towering darkly over the demolished buildings of the market square that the three had just attempted to storm through. Now they were each held by some very large Moblins - Hot Rodder was grabbed by two of the largest the Knights had ever seen.
"Do we kill them?" One Stalfos asked eagerly.
"No," another replied. "These are the ones Ganondorf has been after for years now. We take them to the dungeon."
"Fine."
Hana grinned at him. "Gee, don't sound so disappointed."
The Stalfos swung his skeletal hand across her face. Her head snapped back from the force and hit against the Moblin's thick armor. Pain exploded in her head, but then she felt herself losing consciousness. She struggled against it as the Moblins started to drag her and her friends towards the castle, but the swelling in her head eventually won out and she was soon swamped in darkness.
Zelda awoke to the sound of her false name being called out by a worried sounding Ruto. Scrambling out of her temporary bed, she raced towards the throne room and met the other princess halfway there. "What is it?" Zelda demanded.
"Well, I've got good news, and I've got bad news," Ruto began. "Which do you want to hear first?"
"How about whatever had you calling me in the middle of the night," Sheik answered, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Right, the bad news then. Ok. Well... we've just heard from Ganondorf's castle..." Ruto drifted off, but a glare from Sheik made her continue. "The latest news from the castle is that some of the Knights of Hyrule were caught trying to storm in."
Sheik felt his heart skip a beat. "No," he whispered.
"I'm sorry, Sheik, but they're planning the execution in a week's time. They're inviting everyone to come and witness it."
"A week? That still gives us time!"
"Time for what? Rescue? Don't be ridiculous! If they couldn't break into his castle no one can!"
"All they did was try to rush in! What sort of plan was that anyway?"
Ruto tilted her head as she considered this. "A Hana plan?" She took a step back when Sheik glared at her. "What? It's true! The girl just rushes into any sort of danger without really thinking about it."
Sheik rubbed at his shoulder distractedly. "What was your good news then?"
"Pardon?"
"You said you had good and bad news. What was the good?"
"Oh, right! Well, as you know, Lord Jabu-Jabu and my father have been deliberating on what to do about Ganondorf's attempts to get us Zoras to join him. The good news is that Lord Jabu-Jabu has finally come to a decision!"
"Oh?"
"Come, quickly! He wants you to hear it, too!"
Ruto pulled Sheik through the throne room and outside where Lord Jabu-Jabu rested. King Zora was already there, his large, bulging eyes staring out over the water.
"Go ahead, then, Lord Jabu-Jabu," King Zora said as soon as Sheik and Ruto were standing next to him. "Let us hear what you have decided."
The giant fish creature gave a low hum and one of its eyes lazily trailed over the small group standing in front of him. "I have decided... that I am leaving."
The area suddenly became so quiet that they would have been able to hear a pin drop from the other side of the lake.
"You're leaving?" Ruto repeated dubiously. "Well what sort of decision is that!? That's not even a decision! That's just you being a big ol' scaredy cat!"
"Is not," Lord Jabu-Jabu argued. "I have, in my possession, something of the utmost importance that must be protected no matter what."
"What is it?" Sheik asked, hoping it would be something they could use to help win the war.
Jabu-Jabu looked at him. "It is not something that will help the world today," he answered, as if reading his mind and seeing his hopes. "Someday, it will be important, but for now I must simply watch over it. I cannot do that here. Soon, Ganondorf will see through our delays and he may obtain my precious item."
"How could he see through our ruse?" Ruto snapped at him. "It's perfect! Zoras have always been slow to make decisions." There was a brief moment in which Ruto paused to throw a barely perceivable glare in her father's direction, but Sheik was the only one to notice and then Jabu-Jabu broke the silence.
"It won't be a ruse for much longer, for I have come to yet another decision. The Zora will go to war. They will be needed before the end of tomorrow."
Sheik, along with Ruto and King Zora, were taken aback by this.
"We will openly fight against Ganondorf?" King Zora asked.
"Indeed," Jabu-Jabu responded.
Ruto gave a sound of impatience under her breath. "Well it's about time! I've been saying we should do that from the start!"
"Then go, Ruto, and prepare your army. Perhaps, in another life, we shall meet again, but for now I bid you all a fond farewell."
The deck that Lord Jabu-Jabu rested on began to groan loudly as the fish started to flap his fins and slide into the water. In another moment he was gone, disappearing deep into the water with a final splash.
Have a good weekend everyone, and thanks for reading! Also, if anyone is in or was in the path of Hurricane Sandy, I hope you get/got through it safe and unharmed.