Well, at least you all didn't have to wait too long for me, this time anyway. I'm not sure that this is my favorite chapter either, but hey, its a chapter, so there. Trust me, part three gets better, it just starts slowly is all.

I'm so excited though! My favorite band is coming to town and i'm going to see them! Muse is coming! Oh my g.o.s.h!

ANyway, enjoy this shorty-shortenstine chapter. It's basically just setting everyone up for where they're going to be. Also, just a warning, watch out for the language, I went a little crazy I think...

Chapter 26

Crocodile Tears

Having parted with Remus, telling him to check the entrance on his own, Gea strode further, deeper, into the darkness of the caves. All around her the air was damp and cold, droplets of condensation falling from the ceiling and dribbling down the walls. Above her, stalactites protruded menacingly from the hard brown stone, sharpened tips pointing directly down on her. Not that it bothered her.

She hadn't feared death in quite a while.

The further she traveled, however, the warmer it became, coming closer and closer to the mountain's core. When she passed through a narrow passageway, only a few inches leeway on either side, making her shimmy to get through, she found herself in a massive crater. The heat that assailed her body was intense, and cloying, and made her feel as if she was going to choke, it was so thick.

She regained her composure, and for the first time, got a good look at the place she had stumbled into. She was standing on a ledge, several hundred feet above the floor of the crater, with no feasible way to reach the bottom. Only but a few feet away from the base of her ledge, thick red magma was pooled, bubbling and spattering, bubbles releasing a hiss as they popped. Embers floated lazily into the stagnant air, no wind or breeze to carry them.

She'd found Snowhead's core. Despite it's name, and unbeknownst to the villagers that had settled at its foot, the mighty mountain was in fact an active volcano. It hadn't erupted in a millennia, but the lava still flowed freely within it's depths.

"It took you long enough." A sharp voice hissed from her left. She whirled toward the sound, swiftly drawing twin knives from their secret sheathes within the fabric of her coat. A man was seated upon a large rock near the edge, a conceited smirk playing at his lips.

"Who the hell are you?!" She said, snarling. The light of the embers glinted on the pristine metal of her knives. He let loose a short, haughty laugh.

"She was right, you really don't listen to anyone, do you?"

He stood, revealing his massive height, easily dwarfing her, and took a few sauntering steps forward. He was clothed all in black, from head to toe, a crisp shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and relatively tight pants that were tucked into his riding boots. On his sharp, chiseled face, an almost cruel look was plastered, one corner of his mouth pulled up toward his cheek.

His hair was a bright, almost fire-red, cut to hang just below his rounded ears, spiking out in an every direction. He looked as if he hadn't brushed it in days.

"She? She who?"

"Didn't you receive word of my coming?"

"No, no I did not, why the hell would I? What are you, a king?"

He smirked, leaving her hanging for a moment, savoring it, backing her up to the opposite edge. Her heels were teetering off of the ledge, rocks and pebbles breaking from beneath her and falling to the floor below.

"King isn't exactly accurate, I suppose. Prince is more fitting."

Her perplexed expression seemed to bring him great pleasure, as he laughed directly in her face.

"Gea, my dear, you really shouldn't disregard messengers like that-"

By that point, she'd grabbed him by the jaw, making his teeth snap together as she forced his mouth shut, cold metal of her knife pressed against his neck as she held tight. She leaned in close, and through tightly gritted teeth, she hissed, "I don't freaking know you, don't you dare talk to me like that!"

She grabbed his shoulder with her free hand, and he watched with widened butter-yellow as she used him as a spring board, shoving his whole body down toward the floor, as gracefully as a crane taking flight, she swung herself over him, kicking her legs high into the air, bending her body till her feet hit the ground. He fell to the hard rock when she released, letting her knife slide across his skin, leaving a shallow red line where it touched.

"I don't know who you think you are, but no one speaks to me like that. Try it again and you'll be well acquainted with this blade.

She watched over her shoulder when he stood, waveringly, holding a hand to his bruised jaw. When she had flung her weight over him, she'd ripped his jaw with her, making sure to hear a nice, hearty pop. She felt a pang of disappointment when she saw that it wasn't broken. To further her dismay, he even chuckled, laughing yet again to himself as if he was in on a joke she didn't understand, making it even funnier.

"Lady Majora was right. You really don't get along with anyone, do you? Hmm…Must be a pretty pitiful life."

"Majora? How the hell do you know Majora?"

He snorted. If he didn't knock it off, she was going to rip his bloody voice box out. Try and laugh at me then! You'll get about as far as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest, my friend.

"Well, if you hadn't killed that innocent messenger, you'd know."

She held her hips in her hands lowering her head so that she could firmly glare at him in utter disdain.

"Would you stop avoiding my questions?! If you think that its sexy or mysterious or even mildly amusing, you are sorely mistaken," she growled, watching him intently. "It only makes more of an ass of you. Unless, of course, that's what you're going for. Then you'd be doing a flawless job." She sighed, and allowed one hip to drop.

"Well, I wasn't going for the whole 'ass' vibe, but it's a perk," he sneered, his smirk returned when she rolled her eyes. "You seriously don't know who I am?"

"Do you think that if I did, I'd still be here? Curiosity is the only thing that's stopping me from lodging this knife in your windpipe."

"Perhaps I oughtn't tell you then."

"Either way, end my curiosity or leave me hanging too long, my knife will still find you."

"That's not very fair."

"Welcome to life, princess. Life isn't fair."

"I'm here to-"

A thunderous rumbling coming from the cave's entrance, a sound that dwarfed all other noise around them, drowned his voice out. She jerked her head toward the narrow passage, eyes flickering between it and the man across from her, meeting his own eyes several terse times.

It felt as if the whole world was crumbling down around her.

Before he could react, she'd flung one of her knives at him, narrowly missing his throat, burying into his shoulder with the wet sound of ripping flesh and tendon. He hissed and staggered back, giving her the opportunity to race into the passage, shimmying as fast as she could manage, crab walking her way to open cavern. He recovered quickly, yanking the knife with a splatter of crimson droplets from his unprotected shoulder, and charging after her with ferocity.

He was already halfway though the passage by the time she broke free. Her boots thundered across the shaking shale and stone, jumping to dodge falling stalactites and crumbling rocks from above. She could hear him behind her, gaining ground quicker than she could cross it.

She gasped as a heavy force his her back, pushing her to the ground, crushing half the air straight from her lungs, making her struggle for air. He'd tackled her, and was now sitting on her back.

"You dirty bastard get off of me!"

Her own knife was pressed against the delicate skin of her nape, making her freeze.

"Next time, think before you fling a knife at the single most powerful warrior under Majora's command." He hissed cruelly.

"Pardon me? Most powerful? Oh, no, you didn't just say that-" She flung her entire bodyweight to one side, forcing him to topple over, her eyes caught the glint of the knife, and that was her first target. She grabbed his wrist, now laying on her side, facing him, forcing the blade back toward him. When he gave a burst of strength, she retaliated with a well-aimed kick, hitting him below his belt.

He cried out and released the dagger, giving her the moment she'd needed. She snatched it up in an instant, and this time straddled him, holding the metal to his chest with both hands.

"Next time," she sneered as the world around crumbled beside them, using his own words to taunt him. "Think before you steal another person's title. I did hear about you, a pretty little Gerudo from Hyrule. You think you can just waltz in and throw your weight around? There's a pecking order here, and I'm damn well higher up than a rookie like you."

The knife was just about to jab into his chest when two horses came thundering around the bend, one gray, and one black, riders clinging to their saddle-less mounts. The gray, carrying two, bolted past her, but the black skidded to a frenzied stop when the rider spotted her.

"Gea?" he gasped, holding the mare back from racing away after it's companion. "What's going on?! We have to go, the tunnel is collapsing!"

She smirked at the man beneath her, and when she turned to look up at her beau, put on a seductive little pout, letting her bottom lip jut out, lowering her eyelashes.

"He tried to kill me, Remus!" She said in a pitiful voice, a few clear, perfect, crocodile tears slipped from her now saucer plate eyes as she swung onto the mare, settling herself against him a flinging the man on the ground a quick, secret crude gesture with a hand as the mare gave a short whinny and broke into a gallop, leaving him behind to fend for himself against the rapidly crumbling cavern…

So there you go. Have another chapter, I think that as far as plot goes, it'll get better from here on out, 'cause next chapter reveals some...interesting...character backstories...

Hope everyone is having a safe, happy holiday!

R & R.