Disclaimer:

Metroid and Legend of Zelda belong solely to Nintendo. Other Characters belong to their respective owners.

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"This forest... such aura..."

Kazuko had also entered the forest walking, but she was taking more time examinating the place than Keiko and Yoshiko.
Most likely, the sudden force she felt within the place, something ancient and quite powerful.

"I just hope the rest of the team is ok, and I'm worried about myself, I've never done a mission completely alone..." she said to herself quietly.

Water around the area acted like mirrors, reflecting the whitish sun rays.
Such light rebounded to nearby plants making them glow oddly, giving the place a much more mysterious garment.

"Then again..." She arranged her long green hair "They must be enjoying this as well"

She laughed softly and started to walk to the nearby water source.

However, something snapped her out from her thoughts

"Hmm? What's this?"

Kazuko lowered to check the small source of water nearby her. Actually in front of her.
Though not enough to be a lake, it was really deep making it look like a wet mirror.
But a closer look revealed a hidden underwater door to somewhere.
She turned around to check her surroundings again, making sure nobody suspicious where around yet it turned out negative.
Sighing she returned to check such weird door.

"Should I..." she said without even finishing her phrase, she was too dazzled about such thing.

Turning again back to check once more she dived into the small chamber and started to dive into the door.

The Legend of Zelda – The Metroid's Shadow

Mission 22 - Onwards we go 4: The Hacker's policy

Darithee drops down from the trees, stealth system still engaged, and looks about for the one he is following. Odd, she was here but a moment ago...AHA!

"Tricksy androidses..." the commando thinks, chuckling at his own bad reference since no one is around to groan at it. It's kind of sad working alone like this...But no matter. The armored Zebesian slides down into the watery hole, extending bendezium 'stilts' into the muddy ground around him to anchor himself away from the bottom of the pool. Since bendezium is very dense, it sinks rather similarly to rocks in water. And what on Zebes is that door?

----

Automatically, as she Kazuko deeper and deeper, her basic green armor changed with a blink of light to a really kinky (plus, somewhat revealing as Yoshiko said) swim suit with matching color.
Now her visor (which automatically turned on as well) was not only on her eyes, but created a sort of bubble around her head, probably for air but it still remained as useful as the original usage.
Many creatures lived the place which revealed to be much bigger than it looked.
Some way, she actually managed to enter another real thru the underwater door.

"Fascinating really" she twirled her head as she could to see the biosphere in which she was now.

As she continued swimming, the color of the surface began to change.
Most likely because of the sunlight it now started to receive and probably a sudden change of place.
Then, all of a sudden, other 2 doors exactly like the first one she had encountered where in front of her.
One was on her right side, while the other on the left.
Standing in the submarine floor, she took her hands to her hips.
Her long green hair danced by the fluent currents of what now looked to be a lake or big river.

"I could toss a coin, but the liquid won't help much because of the density..." She said to herself, taking one of her hands to where her mouth should be in the bubble.

"Then again, I would have time to check both places later..."

Seeing the current was favorable to the west, she started to let herself go thru the white chamber.

Darithee follows along as the girl moves through the water, pausing briefly before passing through the same doorway she entered.

Odd...by all the accounts that are Darithee's memories, the world isn't supposed to spin, go out of focus, or buzz. Most peculiar indeed. Oh, there we go, it seems to be going un-kaleidoscope...ey. Oh, and hey, there's that girl there. At least he hasn't lost track of her.
The commando rises from his unexpected seat on the watery floor ("We're not submerged anymore...") and walks over to the girl's position which was similar to his own. By which he means that she's laying on the ground.

Crouching next to her and gazing down at her unappreciatively (he never really thinks about humans that way), he quickly goes over what he knows and determines that she is unwounded. Just unresponsive. Probably a result of that explosive flash he saw on the way in. Or that rocky overhang...
In any case, she's fine, he's fine, and they're both in an unknown area.

Dropping his stealth system, his sensors go full active and map the entire area.

A room, apparently extending far into the horizon but actually ending in a rectangular prism with a space of about sixty feet by one hundred feet. There are doors at either end, and the water is about ankle deep. Just shallow enough not to drown someone laying on their back flat on it. There are also a number of rocks and trees dotting the seascape, mostly palm.

"What an odd place," Darithee says quietly, looking again down at his charge

"Ah..."

Kazuko gasped for some air as the bubble surrounding her dissolved and turned back to the visor it was.
Coughing to expel out some water or probably by the surprise she got out that fast, her armor shifted quickly to it's original state.

"Thank heavens it's like this..." she said.

Pressing her hair with her hands to squirm the water on it, she stood up quickly in case there where anything to be prepared for.

"And yet... this place is quite odd..."

Shaking her head, she focused. Maybe not too much for she didn't knew about the pirate almost next to her.

"Self check initiating..."

Her eyes went blank for a moment, as a soft warring sound started.

Damage check - 15 and lowering
Main weapons engaged
Main defensive shields engaged
Other systems engaged and operational"



She blinked; it seemed she returned to herself.

"Well, then, I should start checking the area"

Clicking on the button on her earphone she opened her green translucid visor.

But then…

"Ah, you're awake!" Darithee says, turning fully toward his green...companion. "I trust that you are unharmed? I noticed no injuries while you were unconscious, but there's nothing quite like being the person in question for finding wounds."

Hearing such voice, the hacker turned quickly, her green eyes behind her visor caught up with the Pirate's.

"You!" she wasn't really angered, most likely surprised. Her mouth was a bit open by such surprise.
"What are you doing here?" it was the only question she could think about at that moment.

Darithee performs the equivalent of rolling his eyes in the suit, though the gesture is quite unintelligible to anyone who has not spent enough time around those who wear the faceless armorsuits themselves.

"I'll give you one guess as to that. Now, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not, but thanks anyways" the hacker said abruptly

Kazuko was mostly surprised, not only the fact another person (can that be cataloged as a person?) had asked that, but the fact it seemed to care or so she was beginning to suspect.

She removed the little dirt that could be found on her suit and removed the visor. It wasn't necessary to find anyone at that moment.

"How did you find me here? As my monitors showed me I was alone..."

"He heh, 'Sore wa himitsu desu' fits rather appropriately," Darithee says impishly, wiggling a finger beneath the green garbed female's nose.

He does not, however, believe for a moment that she will not try to find out what it is he did, so even as he speaks he imperceptibly shields the stealth generator with two solid inches of bendezium fibers by moving the power core partially into the emergency containment area around the phazon pack and then pulling the stealth generator closer to his body. This means that he is forced to hollow out the armor on his limbs and hold it in place with a spiderweb of 'stilts' inside, but he has successfully performed the task without any outward signs. There is a chance that she could see that he has shifted something thanks to her sensors, but why he shifted it should be impossible thanks to the density of bendezium fibers.

"Let go..." Kazuko said, slapping the pirate's hand of her face.

How dare he… he…

Well, she couldn't finish that last sentence, but she was utterly annoyed, angry about something.

Her eyes reflected a very odd mix of confusion and hate.

Actually, she was much like that at the moment.

That ended up quickly as her visor came online automatically. Something was nearby and it reacted with her scanners… something.

"What have you done... answer..." her voice sounded angry.

"What have I done? Well, I've done a lot of things, so you'll have to be more specific. I've camouflaged the core of my method of keeping you from seeing me, and I've followed you. Where we are, I couldn't say because you were leading the way. Really, this is your entire fault. But because I'm just such a great guy, I'm gonna help you get out of here. And, of course, the fact that I'm stuck here too adds even more incentive to working with you," Darithee says as he takes a step back from his companion and looks about. "We've got two doors, but I would rather not split up. We don't know what we're up against, but we ought to assume that there's something here that can kill either one of us. Any suggestions?"

"In any case, why did you follow me? As I know, you have the free will to choose whether to get lost with me or not" More than analytic she sounded really mad. "And about the door, I do not care if you keep on lost in here..."
"No, I don't have any choice in whether or not I follow you. It's my job. My team leader, who wields the authority of Lord Ridley himself in the Leader's absence, charged me with your safekeeping. I take pride in my work, regardless of how you look on it, and I wouldn't have it any other way," the pirate replies vehemently as he turns toward the other door, now visibly calmer through sheer force of will.

After his response, she turned her back on the pirate.
Arms crossed, eyes with a mark of fury, she didn't like the situation she was.
But then again, he was being kind and polite if one could say...

"Then again..." she turned back to see the pirate. She sore that for a moment she blushed again. Why in the world…?. No matter, it wasn't important right now. "I wouldn't like to have any losses on my back. I mean… any 'innocent' losses"

After a period of silence on his part, Darithee looks over his shoulder at his companion, then turns fully toward her.

"I did nothing to earn your ire. I have accompanied you, whether you knew it or not, since you left the ship. I have worked to ensure your safety without regard to my own. I apologize for my outburst, but what have I done to anger you?" The commando's voice is soft and calm.

The pirate had made a point, why was she mad about.
She tried to find an excuse, anything that could make up for the situation.
After all, she was or is the one who's calmer from the group.
Sighing, and looking at the ground randomly she answered.

"I... hate being followed. And I should have detected you "she turned her head to the left now, looking once in a while to the pirate "I, (or actually we) are supposed to work stealthily so we cannot be intercepted."

Another sigh

"And then again, here you are, and I couldn't do anything about it. I feel like I failed in one of my tasks"

She stopped, for the first time she was quite sincere, and more: with a stranger.
Shaking her head slowly in disapproval, probably by the information she gave, she turned her back on the pirate, looking at the other door.

Getting a bit more calmed she smiled shyly.

"Do you have a coin?"

"You have failed nothing," Darithee says softly, crouching slightly to put himself on eye level with the girl (since pirates are naturally taller than humans and the fiber armor compounds this). "I wield a new generation of stealth technology that cannot be seen on any sensor I have yet encountered but one. Now, as for the coin..." With a smug smile beneath his helmet, Darithee raises his hand, palm toward himself.

"No one else on the team can do this. Just count yourself lucky."

And with that, bendezium fibers rise from the commando's wrist and collect on his fingers. This excess rises upward on the tips and forms into a perfect circle with a diameter of two centimeters and a thickness of just under a millimeter. Then, as if some unseen force were wielding a stylus on clay, etchings slowly appear on each side of the circle. Fifteen seconds after he began, Darithee is holding a coin identical to a Federation 25-cent piece.

Kazuko was quite surprised at such thing.
That would be called in her homeland 'magic', but in the land of Hyrule that was something way to different.

"I propose something" she said, now smiling "If we get tails we go to the left, heads will take us right, ok?"

"Love to" Darithee says.

Kazuko gazes the area by the few seconds she has after Darithee throws the coin.
Actually, it was quite pretty as it was surrounded by some weird vines that at the tips had blossomed yellow flowers, like orchids.
It was no real question why they where there, the water helped them grow.
The stones looked to sparkle by the lake's reflection, green mid-tall grass; it was a perfect scenario to take a photo.
The coin was caught, and as it happened, her attention was again back to the pirate.

"Well, what did we get?"

Darithee raises the coin, the 'heads' side upward.

"Alright, we're going that way," the commando says with a gesture toward the door. This is such a strange place, he reflects as the door opens, leading into a chamber in which they are standing on a platform. Around them, there are two platforms which are on lower planes, all three of which jut from a waterfall. Across from them is still another ledge, one with a strange looking target just below the lip.

"What kind of psychotic architect designed this place?"

Suddenly the plant that the hacker had admired just some brief moments ago had turned black with a strike of electricity, and a figure stood on the other side of the room, hidden by a cloak.

"I come to ask you... are you interested in joining our cause to overcome the people here and build our kingdom? If you refuse I cannot assure your safety. My father can be ruthless when it suits him." His voice was monotone and bore no emotion.

Kazuko turned towards the voice.
Since the place was quite closed, it echoed.
So maybe that's why the visor came on… and she just had made the pirate suck all her rage… Now inwardly she was guilty, but outside she seemed ready to combat

"Who are you?!" she demanded "And as well you may tell us why you have such rudeness of not showing your face..."

While taunting she was searching with her green translucid gear, it changed color in a while.
Heat, X - ray and radioactive (called usually W.Y.C.S.V), Sonic…
She passed by each different type of visor she had 'installed' but none of them revealed their guests location yet.

It wasn't much until she focused well and located him.

At the same time, the Commando automatically places himself between his charge and the recently appeared humanoid.

"Your negotiating skills are rather severely lacking, friend. On occasion people have been known to respond better to demands when they are presented politely."

En laughed.

"I am En, son of the Great Darkness, Ankoukutenshi. I come seeking, not battle, but cooperation. I wish to fins someone to join us in our conquering of this land."

"I do not have any interest in conquering" Kazuko responded, in an angry voice tone. Apparently, she wasn't happy with the new visitor. "Please tell your father that I, neither my sisters are interested in your twisted plans"

Her determination was getting quite high.
She crossed her arms and glared at the position she had found the intruder

"Your ignorance makes your life forfeit. You will be taken care of in due time. What of you, pirate? What is your answer?"

Darithee slowly, unnoticeably to the humanoid he is facing, extends bendezium fibers to wrap around the girl's legs completely up to her knee. This will likely surprise her, due to the fact that he does this completely wordlessly, but that's not his concern at the moment. What is his concern is to get the parts of her body currently in contact with standing water encased in completely inert bendezium fibers so she cannot be shocked by a simply bolt of electricity to the water.

"I'm afraid that I lack the authority to answer that question," the commando says, secure that his charge is safe from indirect electrical attacks.

"What are you doing to me?" Kazuko asked a bit hesitated, without taking her eye on the target

"Possibly saving your life," Darithee whispers, not looking behind him and projecting his voice directionally so that he cannot be heard by anything not directly behind him. "Now be quiet, and get ready to hang on. If we have to run, I can move faster than you can, and this is something that I have no problems with exercising."

"Ok... but I must warn you I'm agile..."

Kazuko prepares herself mentally. It seems the pirate has some sort of plot. At least it didn't include missiles like on Yoshiko's...

"Fine. If you assist our enemies then you too become an enemy." A nova of electricity shot through the water on the ground as En moved into a fighting position, his chains clinking under his cloak.

Darithee now risks a glance over his shoulder, a warning to the girl. He doesn't even acknowledge the electricity in the water, but instead mutters to her a short

"Hold on!"

And with that, he is off. The door to the chamber slams shut behind him, cutting off pursuit for the moment as the commando hurls a spike of bendezium fibers across the room so that it slams into the ceiling. It sticks there, and he uses it as a rope with which to swing across the room and actually through the door into the room beyond. There is no water in the room, which is a cylinder several hundred meters in height and dominated by a great pillar from bottom to top. There are a number of passageways leading off the main chamber, undoubtedly leading off to other areas of the structure, whatever it is.

Kazuko had grabbed hold on the pirate, as they sung towards the tall pillar.
Once in safe grounds she gasped.
The sudden action was taken drastically quick. Or too quick for her plotting could manage.

"I wonder what he wants from us, it mostly obvious most of us have their different plans."

She stared at the place around her; it looked quite ancient and sacred but at the same time tampered with some evil, hidden within.

"I know this place..." she muttered, weather the pirate hears or not, her mind was working fast trying to finish the puzzle. "This place... where have I seen it before..."

A soothing sound was in her, luring as addictive, it didn't have any intensions of leaving her.
A serenade...

"A Serenade of Water..."

Darithee leaps down toward the sandy bottom, heedless of the great height. He, after a bit of toying with his bendezium fibers, shifts his burden around from his back to cradle her at his front. With that, he fires series of quick bursts from his bendezium jetpack and lands softly on the ground below.

"I apologize for my abruptness, but I'm afraid there wasn't much choice," the commando says, still carrying the girl as he runs toward the next door.

"It's aright" Kazuko replied, already used to Darithee's actions and sudden moves.

After stretching some bit, but not as slow as it should take, she noticed the sandy floor.
Netherless to say, she turned back guided by pure instinct to find herself with a door.

"We need a key..." she muttered "That's on F2..."

The puzzle of her memories was starting to join together.
Not only had her seen this place, also Yoshiko and Keiko.
She had managed to help them 'pass' the place, but what or when? She had actually never been there before.

"Or met Samus Aran as well..."

She opened her eyes widely. Finally, everything made some sense.

"The serenade of water... It summons you to the Water Temple" She said out loud, like convinced of her results, reciting it as in school "The Water Temple at Lake Hylia, domain of the Zoras..."

And for the first time, she smirked with overconfidence.

"Thanks for the advice," Darithee says, shifting his grip to cradle the girl with both arms so that one arm is not carrying the burden exclusively, "but I'm afraid that I'm more concerned with getting away from Mr. Psycho up there." The commando leaps over the bolt of lightning as it impacts the sand before him and hurls himself forward with bendezium stilts. He passes through the doorway, then runs through the stone passageway. This passage opens into a wide room which is square in shape, and has four passageways which branch off from the main chamber. Shallow water of two or three inches covers the floor. Thinking quickly, Darithee chooses a random door and enters.

Meanwhile, Kazuko chased Darithee with the visor on not exactly to find the fiend. She was mostly busy on 'downloading' a map.

"I know I kept this in my data... The collector's edition had only been released a year ago..."

Switching thru maps, from 'Secret Underground Path, JP' to 'AGCHQ', she looked for any signs of what she was looking.
Until she did.

She almost crashed the wall after the pirate had chosen the door.
Still, she looked happy. Most likely, satisfied.

"There you are, Water Temple Map... Yoshiko sent me this info long time ago when we played 'Ocarina of Time' last summer..."

Darithee runs around the corner to the leftmost passage, then looks down at the girl which now is in his arms.

"I don't know what you're doing, but I'd really appreciate it if you turned your attention to evading or deterring the guy chasing us," the commando says, running through the open door. The room there is a chamber with a reasonably large pool in the center, one which is rather deep. There is another passage to the side, and then another in the ceiling. Darithee now decides to hide himself rather than run, and gestures to the girl to keep quiet as he does so.

"Comlink?" she tough, the only remote link after the psy one was a radio one. Probably that one he was referring.
'Switching' links, she finally found a 'frequency' which would match the pirates.
Even though he stated normal, she rather liked to get the one which worked the best.

"There" she said by the link "Now, as I was probably muttering by the excitement, I think I have found a map for this place... but, the reality I know and this temple can be far different. Still, this may be a handy help"

Darithee reaches his chosen hiding place, speaking exclusively over the comlink and remaining absolutely silent once he is there.

"It could easily be. Keep it in mind while we're here. Anything that can possibly be of use should always be kept in mind."

"Right…" the girl nodded "Though, we can go from some ladders in here (I'll pass the map in your com if I manage to hack your security system, or let me through...) this place or temple changes with the water. So at least we find some switch of thing..."

She kept on with her theories, pointing at the places on her visor as she could. This mission was indeed interesting and even started to be a surprising challenge.
She knew the place, but the place resisted to be 'passed' so quickly. More, they where being followed by some entity which tried to either join or destroy.

"Still, you can use some sort of rope (If I recall, there's something called longshot here...) that can be used to cross here..."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't hack my security" the Commando replies, shifting the girl's weight slightly in his arms so that his left arm exclusively is cradling her weight (her shoulder just in front of his and his arm going down the length of her body with a slight bendezium extension widen his arm's area of support)."And I have something far better than rope or longshot. Just tell me where to go"

With a silent command, he shifts authorization codes to allow his companion access to his mapping functions. He then raises his right hand over his head, and six lines of bendezium fibers rocket upward to slam into place around the lip of the vertical chute they are in. Pulling the two of them upward, he allows his legs to relax slightly for the first time in much too long, as he had been using them to hold himself aloft in the small area.

Far from they where, En swiftly turned into the hurried entry but suddenly stopped. He had just sensed something. Something that was coming from behind and which was not trying to hide. He tried to get closer to the entrance. The other two would have to come out there sometime. Besides, they were of minimal importance now. His priority was to find people to join his father. By the moment, he decided it was best to just stalk away.

Mission 22 - End

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Sorry for the LONG non-updating

Anyhow… here finishes the stuff

Or did it? What drove the Pirates to the Water Temple? What is going on? And… what will happen?

Stay tuned on this RP and Happy Holidays

See you Next Mission!!