A/n: This chapter has been revised.
Disclaimer:Meh.
Chapter 38: The Fortress of Thieves Part 2
"We need to proceed into this area with great caution."
Sheik's stern warning was the first of any real words exchanged among the group during their travel. While Navi had originally predicted that the group wouldn't be able to leave until morning, the girls were anxious and the urgency of the situation forced them out as soon as they finished Malon's meal. Sheik was currently traveling with them and was provided a horse by Malon to accommodate that, but now that the party was entering through canyon territory again, they discarded the horses and sent them running back to the ranch.
"So, is this path really the only way back?" Katara picked up her pace to meet the swift steps of their newfound party member. Sheik reached up to adjust his scarf and, for a minute, it seemed like he was so locked in his own thoughts that he barely registered Katara's inquiry. He blinked a bit before turning to her, nodding apologetically.
"Well, in a sense." Sheik's hands fell limply at his sides while he walked, his eyes worried despite his even tone of voice. "The canyon is a very confusing place, a layered maze of sorts, with tons of fragmented paths in, out, and all over the area. Gerudo Valley, where the fortress and the rest of the Gerudo settlement are, merely lies at the outskirts to it all. At the heart of it all is the Desert Colossus and, surrounding that, is the Haunted Wasteland"
"That sounds pretty confusing." Aya rubbed the back of her head.
"Indeed." Sheik nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Navi would have explained this when you got closer to it, but you crossing the Haunted Wasteland is very difficult and, earlier in your journey, you were ill-equipped to handle such a harsh journey. Now, you all would be fine. I was certain that sneaking past the fortress and into the Haunted Wasteland would be the easiest step in this process."
"I wasn't expecting some dumbass carpenters to mess that up." Navi grumbled, now sitting on Aya's shoulder.
"The Gerudo certainly don't like intruders, but they don't often go out of their way to hunt down individuals unless they are very annoyed or threatened. Those carpenters must have done a great deal to test their patience."
"Well, they are stupid." Aya sighed. "I'd be arresting everyone in sight like a madman too if I had to deal with that."
"Hey, Teapot." Navi flew off of Aya's shoulder and over to Sheik. "I thought you were only going to take us to the entrance. You're going through the path with us?"
"I feel like it is partially my responsibility that this happened." Sheik looked at the fairy sadly. "If I had just taught you the warp song, none of this would be happening."
"It's hardly your fault." Kaori put a hand on Sheik's arm, though he flinched a bit. "We probably helped cause a scene by jumping that chasm on horses."
"Yeah, that probably didn't help the tight security thing." Aya said.
"Of course, I will leave saving them to you, but I have no problem distracting them to get you into the fortress." Sheik crossed his arms, sidestepping a huge crack in the path as they walked. "I can most certainly act as a distraction for you four."
"I figured you be able to defend yourself. Sheikah are natural badasses." Navi sat back down on Aya's shoulder.
"My combat abilities hardly matter right now." Sheik shook his head, his eyes locked forward again.
"Are the Gerudo going to be guarding this path?" Katara shut her eyes, worried. "I don't want to be ambushed by them again."
"They don't have the manpower to realistically guard every single entrance to the desert." Sheik responded. "And this path should be fine. A very long time ago, before the desert really became anyone's enemy, this path was used for trade. But war and failing political relations, as well as natural wear and tear, left this path abandoned. It's actually very dangerous, and gets very unstable in some places. With no one to maintain it, there's not much left. Lucky for us, the path should deposit us somewhere close to the fortress area, but behind it. Since the fortress is built into a stone wall, we'll have to go around and find a way to sneak in from the side."
"This is going to be so complicated." Katara looked down at her feet, worried. "I just don't want anything to happen to the others."
"I'm just tired of all the bad stuff that keeps happening." Kaori rubbed her hands together nervously. "I know this journey is dangerous, but I feel like we keep almost losing everyone and I just don't know if I can handle something happening to the boys."
"You all have faced great hardships throughout your journey." Sheik's voice was serious.
"We're not going to lose them." Aya shook her head. "The boys are tough. They'll be able to hold out until we find them. Look at everything we've put up with until now?"
"Yeah, let's quit worrying about the what-ifs and get to them before anything actually happens." Navi interrupted. "This isn't discounting the fact that the boys might be able to get themselves out. Joey and Kurama can manipulate elements and Link has the luck of the freaking goddesses."
"We'll find the whole place in ruins by the time we get there." Aya rolled her eyes.
"Sneaking into the fortress at night might be a little easier. The shadows will be on our side." Sheik nodded his head.
"Alright, girls…and guy." Katara winked at Sheik. "Let's pick up the pace."
Somewhere else…
Link had woken up confused. And he had stayed pretty confused for pretty much the entire time he had been awake despite being the Hero of Time, Link actually wasn't that great at measuring time and had no guess as to how long he had been awake. And as the minutes ticked by, he began to feel a foreign pang in his stomach that Link finally decided to associate with anger. Maybe he wasn't angry, but what would Kurama call it?
Annoyed.
The realization hit him very subtly, since at this point, nothing really mattered much other than his own thoughts, which were pretty jumbled up at the moment and that's saying something given Link's normal train of thought. Once Link decided he was, in fact, annoyed, he had to put his scattered mind to work on finding a way out of the situation he found himself in. The headache he had received after being knocked unconscious lingered, though it wasn't anything terrible. Just a dull ache that tugged at the sides of his head. He really couldn't reach up to poke at the pain though to determine where it was or how bad it was, though, because his hands where firmly shackled behind his back with metal cuffs that attached to a short chain in the wall. The wall was very cool against Link's back.
Link felt pretty naked at the moment, since he had been stripped of his gear and left with only the clothes on his back, minus his gauntlets and hat. He had been gagged and the cloth left a muddy taste in his mouth. He wasn't in a jail cell, though, but small, enclosed room with nothing but a heavy, wooden door sealed shut in front of him and no doorknob on his end. Link had been weighing his options between fragmented thoughts. Should he wait it out and see what would happen? Should he try to escape? How did he escape? Were these cuffs escapable? How much longer could he stand the nasty taste in his mouth from the gag? How were the others doing? Was he the only one here?
Link was not the most perceptive, but he certainly wasn't stupid. At least, not stupid when it counted. And Link had taken heed of all of Navi's warnings and decided that Gerudo Fortress wasn't worth sticking around in. How would he plan his escape, though?
Eh, Link never really planned anything. That wasn't his job in the group.
I bet I can wiggle out of these cuffs! Some cuts and bruises are things I can put up with! Well, it might be harder than that. But this gag is driving me crazy.
Link commenced with wiggling, shifting back and forth, carefully maneuvering his hands to find weakness in the cuffs secured on his wrists.
I'll bet that if Joey and Kurama are here, they'll have no problem getting out of this stuff. Joey can probably just melt them off or something. And Kurama will do something smart or whatever.
Link's thoughts continued off in their various random directions while he wiggled around like a professional escape artist, methodically freeing himself.
I'm worried about the others, though. Did they take the girls? And what about Mustache Man? And his friends? Hmmm….
A slight click and then the whispered sound of rattling chains stopped Link's thoughts. And there was a feeling of victory that washed over his mind, lighting his eyes up despite the bland darkness of the room he was in. Link immediately ripped the gag out and quietly coughed a couple of times while he was trying to rub some of the soreness out of his wrists. He felt stiff, his back ached, and his legs had fallen asleep. He had been sitting and chained up for a good amount of time.
Now, for the fun part! What do I do?
Link stood up, carefully sneaking across the floor. Each step was careful and quiet, and he slowly put his ear up to the big door. He heard some faint voices on the other side. He needed to act fast. Now that Link knew what the guards looked like, though, he figured he wouldn't really be surprised if they attacked him again. Weighing his options, Link figured he'd probably be able to take a group of them on and come out relatively unscathed.
Navi did say I was tough. And lucky. What do I do to get this door down, though?
Link tapped his chin, leaning against the wall on the opposite end of the room. With none of his gadgets available to him, Link was forced to look back on old situations in hopes of finding something he could do. He lacked the rest of his party's ability to manipulate the elements at will and, if Navi were with him, she'd tell him to use his wits. What could he still do to escape this area without any of his stuff?
Um…Oh, I can use magic!
The group barely remembered that everyone in the party could technically use a fire spell, and Link forgot most of all. Navi had mentioned Din's Fire was a powerful spell that was a lot more powerful in Joey's hands, being a natural wielder of fire magic, but the Great Fairy had given them all access to the spell. Really, Link had taken for granted Joey's presence in the party and figured he'd never need to do anything fire-related as long as the Spirit was with him.
All Link had to do was remember how to use the spell. And really, he had never used it and never learned to activate it. He just decided to concentrate and mimic what Joey did to use the spell back at the Shadow Temple. Link's blast was nowhere near as powerful as Joey's. Unsurprising, considering he was the least magically inclined of the heroes, but it was powerful enough. In a flash of bright orange, fire lit up the room and bounced around the room in a violent ricochet before the rest plummeted into the door, blasting it off its hinges and onto the two guards that were standing outside. The noise caught the attention of another guard that was patrolling around the corner and she came running up, her spear poised for attack. Quickly, she shot towards Link, but he dodged her moves with a practiced grace before lowering himself and sweeping her off her feet with a low kick. He followed that up with another kick that sent her into the wall, knocking her into unconsciousness.
"Alright, now to find something. Or someone." Link started to run forward. "Whichever comes first, really."
To the girls and Sheik…
With a quickened pace and strict guidance from Sheik, the party had made it to the fortress and had made it to the side of the building. Hiding behind a large stack of discarded crates, Katara studied the movements of the guards near the entrance carefully. Navi had flown up higher to get a closer look at the building, which was an impressively large, sprawling structure, much larger than even its reputation gave it credit for. It was huge, multi-level and was almost intimidating in how it was laid out, with guards seeming to patrol every corner.
The guards themselves were just as intimidating, regardless of their beauty. Unblemished, copper skin smoothed out over taut muscles and the somewhat revealing outfits, with midriff revealing tops and low cut, poofy pants, showed off every inch of their athletic forms. All of them had brilliant red hair, definitely more on the orange end of the spectrum in comparison to the rose crimson of Kurama's hair, and their piercing eyes seemed to glow bright in the night shadows like a cat. Some disappeared around corners but their steps were quick and precise, like all of them had walked their patrols a million times in their lives. They were as structured and intimidating as the building itself.
"I mean, this was never going to be fun, but there is no way this is going to be not obnoxiously difficult, either." Aya whispered, studying the steps of the soldiers alongside Katara.
"The guards of the Gerudo Fortress are trained warriors and very perceptive." Sheik was half-knelt on the ground, an arm propped up on one knee. "To get past them, you have to be quiet and creative."
"Do you have any ideas, Teapot?" Navi fluttered down to Sheik. The fairy was scouting for the rescue party, but was trying to be as inconspicuous as she could be. She hovered close to the ground, near Katara's feet and she looked up at Sheik, whose visible eye held an unbroken gaze at the patrolling guards up ahead.
"I said I would offer myself as a distraction." Sheik looked down at Navi reassuringly. "The Gerudo are skilled combatants and should never be taken lightly, but none are sneakier than the Sheikah."
"What do you want us to do, then?" Kaori leaned forward.
"You have to either sneak past them without them seeing your or incapacitate them somehow." Sheik turned. "Projectile attacks from afar, preferably magic, should do the trick without killing them. Such things shouldn't be an issue for me. You all wait right here. Wait for my signal."
"What about after, Sheik?" Katara looked concerned as Sheik began to pull himself up into a standing position.
"You needn't concern yourselves with that." Sheik didn't look at Katara while he spoke. "You will see me again soon. I will not abandon you here. However, once you enter the fortress, you're on your own."
"If either Link or Joey's escaped, they're bound to have caused a scene." Aya glanced at Katara while she spoke, her voice amused. "They shouldn't be hard to find if that's the case."
"Sheik, good luck!" Kaori lifted a hand out, almost trying to stop the young man out of worry, but Sheik simply nodded his head and stepped to the edge of the crate pile. In a few swift motions, he had pulled out a few knives and launched them at the two guards patrolling to the left of them, sending them both to ground. A guard to the right saw this and ran towards Sheik, his walk almost a casual stroll. Sheik pulled out a larger knife from the same nothingness he seemed to always pull his harp out from and clashed blades with the guard. Sheik's movements in battle quick, graceful, and delicate, almost like dancing, and with a few flips, Sheik disoriented the guard enough to get a split-second advantage, knocking that guard to the ground unconscious. Sheik, blade still clutched in his right hand, lifted his free hand and waved it a couple of times, his back still turned to the girls hiding behind the crate pile.
"Go, go!" Navi said under her breath. Katara sprinted into the nearby entrance, while Aya sharply yanked Kaori off the ground and sprinted after her. Navi flicked the light of her aura a couple of times like a quick acknowledgement to their ally. Sheik carefully studied them as they disappeared into the fortress. Sharply kicking a waking guard in the head and sidestepping the attack of another guard, Sheik knocked that guard down and turned his head over his shoulder, his eye locked on something in the shadows.
"Why aren't you stopping me?" Sheik's voice was much harsher than he liked it to sound. "Aren't you a servant of Ganondorf?"
"If I did everything that bastard asked me to do, I'd get bored real fast." Dark Link stepped out of the shadows. In a manner that could be described as haughty, he tossed some of his black hair out of his face, his eyes seeming to glow as he studied the Sheikah gripping his blade. "What fun would I have if the war ended here?"
"…." Sheik didn't respond right away, carefully choosing his words.
"Listen, I'm not here to report anything. I'm just here to observe." Dark Link crossed his arms, shifting the weight of his feet around. One of his pale fingers drummed against his other arm. In the light of the moon, he seemed like a ghost. "The 'boss' has it wrong about those kids, I think. He's been wrong to ignore him like he has. If I were to tell him about the situation now, he'd be pretty ticked and start freaking out."
"You've been observing us from afar. I thought I sensed an unwelcome guest in the vicinity. Far too sneaky to be a Gerudo." Sheik studied Dark Link carefully. "Of course you are sneaky. You are a shadow."
"Yeah, whatever you want to call me." Dark Link stepped forward, but maintained a careful distance from Sheik. "Don't worry. My stay wasn't very long. I just wanted to see what would happen to this group. If they make it out of this fortress thing in one piece, then Ganondorf will have some problems and it will be funny to watch. If I'm bored, I cause trouble."
"You're already causing trouble, but I digress." Sheik's words were beginning to lose anything resembling politeness.
"Ouch. That hurts coming from a Sheikah of all things." Dark Link feigned hurt. "Don't believe me? Just watch. I won't cause any more trouble today. Maybe I want to give the boss a hard time, too. Besides, the Gerudo, as great as they are at combat, obviously haven't figured out who they have in the custody. If Ganondorf knew, he'd have a little hissy fit. Let's just let those little heroes of yours have fun."
"You'd do well to leave, shadow." Sheik narrowed his eye. "Be gone from my sight while I still have patience with you." Sheik turned around and tossed a knife at another guard regaining consciousness, causing the guard's head to slump into the dirt again.
"Touchy, touchy." Dark Link lifted his hands innocently, but began stepping backwards. "Just let me have my fun and I'll let you have yours, okay? Maybe we both can benefit from seeing this group get a little farther." With that, Dark Link disappeared into the shadows again. Instantly, Sheik stopped feeling his presence. It was like he hadn't been there at all.
"I'll have to question his motives later."
Inside the fortress…
The girls were not aiming to kill anyone when the entered the fortress, but all three girls were suited for projectile attacking from afar in the least lethal manner they could manage. Luckily, they had all managed to be pretty quiet, so aside from knocking guards out as they came upon them, they hadn't really caused a scene. It was hard to keep talking to a minimum, though, since too many noises would give them away and they settled for quiet hand signals from Navi to get by as they snuck from corridor to corridor. After turning another corner, they came to a large area with a jail cell, where a couple of large, scared men sat. Based on Mutoh's description of his men, the girls could only assume that these were a couple of them. They looked dirty and disheveled and it was obvious they had been in these jail cells for a while.
"Hey!" Aya said in a quiet voice as they approached the jail cells. "Are you some of Mutoh's guys?"
"Y-yeah." One stuttered out. "What do you want with us?"
"To save your sorry asses while we're trying to find the people we came here to find." Navi grumbled. "You idiots are part of the reason our friends got arrested."
"Hey, we never expected the Gerudo to be this unfriendly." one of the men lifted his hand defensively.
"Right." Navi ignored the man. "I'm not even going to bother."
"Hey! Look out behind you!" one of the guys called out. Katara whirled around first, being the fastest of the three, and raised up a blade of ice, barely dodging the sudden attack of another Gerudo guard. This one was different from the rest, her outfit was just as revealing as the other guards, but with more decorative details. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she wore make up, her lips the same deep red as her outfit. She jumped back and pointed one of the two blades she wielded to Katara.
"You three will pay for trespassing in the Gerudo Fortress!" the woman sneered. "It takes a lot of guts to come sneaking around here!" The woman ran forward and launched on Katara, throwing the two into a quick battle of blades and ice.
"Find the right time to attack!" Navi instructed. "Don't worry about her speed. Just find an opening! There are three of you and one of her." The guard was incredibly skilled, but in the end, Navi was right and the battle wasn't nearly as long as it would have been one-on-one. A final arrow from Kaori at the end of the battle struck the woman in the leg, dropping her to the ground in pain. She made a hissing sound through her teeth before jumping up and retreating through another door. In her haste to retreat, she left a small key behind.
"Well, a key is always a good sign." Aya picked it up and tried it out on the lock of the prison cell. With a long creak, the rusty door cracked open. "Well…uh…You're free?"
"We're getting out of here as soon as possible!" one of the carpenters said. "Thanks for saving us!"
"Wait!" Kaori reached her hands out but they weren't enough to stop the two carpenters from rushing out the door the girls had come in from, the arms flailing at the sides in a panicky manner.
"Let's hope that most of the guards along the way haven't come to." Navi sat on Aya's shoulder. "And that Sheik intercepts them and gets them out of here safely."
"I hope Sheik is still out there." Katara crossed her arms. "Right. Whatever. Let's not waste any more time."
To Link…
"Somebody has to be here somewhere." Link whined as he ran at top speed down another empty corridor. There were scores of unconscious guards behind him, all taken down by Link in some fashion, and he hadn't really stopped moving since his escape. He had found his gear and bag, and was able to arm himself again. Now that Link had his sword and most of his gadgets and was desperate to find his companions, he was nigh unstoppable in the face of threat. Link skid to stop around a corner and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to take out the source of footsteps he heard. With a loud metallic sound, Link ripped out the Master Sword and threw his body weight at his target around the corner. The target was somewhat taken aback by the onslaught, and once Link realized the target was not an armed guard; he lost his balance out of shock and toppled over on the person.
"Kurama!" Link's shock was short lived and replaced immediately with excitement. He pulled himself off but gave Kurama little chance to say anything before he threw his arms around him in a joyful hug.
"Hello, Link." Kurama's voice was its same usual calm and pat Link's back in a manner that was only slightly awkward coming from the unflappable redhead. "I figured you'd have no problem getting yourself out. It seems we really have gotten ourselves wrapped up in a mess."
"Yeah. It was uncomfortable." Link let go and bent down to pick his sword back up, which had fallen to the ground in the excitement. "My mouth tastes like a dirty sock. Or something like that. Mud. I don't know. It tastes nasty."
"I feel your pain." Kurama put his hands in his pockets and began quietly strolling behind Link as they continued forward. Any close inspection would yield no hint at all that, just a short while ago, Kurama, too, was probably chained up and gagged somewhere like Link. There wasn't a hair out of place.
"You don't look uncomfortable or gross at all." Link put his sword up. "I feel sweaty. I've been running a lot. And I used that fire spell thing that Joey used at the dead house. It was the only thing I could think of to get out of the room I was in."
"Trust me, Link, I feel gross." Kurama lifted a finger in protest. "As I've said about numerous other experiences up to this point, I hope to never do that again."
"Do you think Joey and the girls are okay?"
"Of course." Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "The girls will be fine, though I highly doubt they were taken here with us. I'm surprised we haven't heard Joey yet. His escape was bound to be the most destructive of us all."
"How far into this fortress-y thing are we?" Link looked around. "There are barely any windows."
"Based on some observations I made, I believe we are on the second floor of this place." Kurama explained. "I think there are only two levels, but this place runs very deep and seems to be very large despite that."
"I give up sneaking." Link pulled his sword and shield out again and launched on some nearby guards, overpowering them. Link stopped paying attention to what was behind him, knowing that he didn't have to be as careful fighting with someone watching his back again. The quick steps of Kurama behind him assured him that whatever enemies were coming up were disposed of. They came down another corridor to a larger room with prison cells. In one was Mutoh and another, smaller man that they assumed was one of his workers.
"You kids really are insane." Mutoh crossed his arms. "I barely know you a day and I'm already caught up in your chaos."
"Mustache Man!" Link ran forward. "I'm glad to see you're okay."
"I'm glad to see you kids are okay. Well, a couple of ya." Muto looked between the two. "I'm not sure where the rest of your buddies are."
"L-l-l-look you behind you!" the worker cried out suddenly, though Kurama had already turned around in time to dodge the blade of another Gerudo guard, similar in looks and beauty to the one that had attacked the girls earlier. This one had a green color scheme, though. She made another motion to attack, but Kurama had dodged again and shoved Link out of the way. Link turned on his heels and began fighting with the woman. With two of them attacking her at every angle, the woman didn't last long in battle against them, as good as she was. In the final moment of battle, one of her blades was flung out of her hands by Kurama's whip and Link had thrown her into a wall. The woman stood up, wobbly on her feet, before running out, leaving another key behind on the ground.
"Key!" Link said proudly, holding it to Kurama, who nodded in response. Link used the key on the prison doors. No one was able to get a word in before Mutoh's worker ran off down the corridor Link and Kurama had come from in a deep panic, but Mutoh was more hesitant to move.
"Ugh, I can't let the bastard get captured again. He'll probably be killed this time." Mutoh started moving. "You kids find your friends. If we all make it out of here alive, I owe you guys drinks or somethin'."
"Like milk?"
"No, kid." Mutoh rolled his eyes. "I'll teach you how to drink like a real man."
"What does he mean, Kurama?"
"We'll let it be a surprise when the time actually comes." Kurama answered.
"Okay. I like good surprises! Bye, Mustache Man!" Link waved his hands as Mutoh ran off after his worker.
"I hope they make it out." Link looked up at Kurama while the two started running again. They continued running, stopping only when they came to a hallway, where a fight was happening in front of a staircase between Joey and few guards. Joey looked incredibly frustrated and threw his hands to the ground, sending up a fiery blast of heat that threw all the guards around. He stood back up again, straightening his jacket and letting out a loud, defiant huff.
"Joey!" Link ran forward and hugged him in the same way he had hugged Kurama. "I knew it! You really are tough like the sun!"
"Damn straight I'm tough like the sun." Joey smirked, his mood seeming to instantly cheer up at the greeting from the hero. Once Link let go, as the hug didn't last long, he looked over Link's head and gave Kurama a nod. "Hey, Red. How did I know you two would make it out okay?"
"We've run into a couple of snags, but it's nothing we weren't able to handle." Kurama walked forward, nodding at Joey in return. "Excuse me if I don't hug you. I can assure you I'm thrilled."
"I'll settle for a bro fist." Joey held out his fist. Kurama lifted an eyebrow, skeptical for a moment, before returning the gesture. "That's one for the books. Red actually gave me a bro fist."
"Let's waste less time on that and try to get out of here." Kurama smiled, his voice a bit teasing. "We've all seemed to discard anything resembling caution in our escape right now."
"This place must be pretty fucking big if none of you heard the racket I was making." Joey pointed over his shoulder to the corridor he just came by, where there were scorch marks on the wall. "I did fight this fancy looking guard, though, and saved one of those stupid carpenters. The dude just ran off in a panic before I could escort him out, though."
"We saved Mustache Man and one of his minions, too." Link smiled proudly.
"Well, Red. Bud." Joey gestured to the stairway started running down it The two joined suit, but Link ,who was the last one down the stairs, began running too fast and missed a step, tumbling into the two other guys. The three proceeded down the stairs in twisted, tangled ball. They picked up speed near the end of their descent and found themselves crashing into something else.
"What the hell?!" a voice yelled and, for a moment, there was no response as everyone wiggled around. Link was the first to pop out of the human knot he'd created.
"I found the girls!" Link yelled excitedly. "I recognize Kaori's shoe!"
"It's nice to see you didn't get executed or anything." Navi fluttered down to meet Link at eye level and his eyes lit up at the sight of the fairy.
"Hi, Navi!" Link pulled himself out of the pile completely. "See, I told you I could take care of myself!"
"I'm very proud of you." Navi responded, patting Link on the head with her small hand.
"Wow, uh." Joey's voice sounded a little bemused. "Kat, you need to be very careful with how you get off of me. I'm pretty sure if I move, I'll get blamed for anything that happens afterwards."
"You guys get captured by Gerudo thieves wanting to do questionable things to you and some perverted warning is all you have to say to me?" Katara questioned in a flat tone.
"I'm helping you out here." Joey argued back.
"Please don't start having one of your Hyrule-famous spats here in enemy territory." Navi scolded.
"Well, hello, Kurama." Aya's voice didn't seem overly surprised at the close proximity of Kurama, who had landed on top of her and was pulling himself up. He reached out a hand and helped pull Aya up.
"Hello, Aya." Kurama brushed himself off. "I'd ask if you're okay, but I feel that question is pointless."
"Yep." Aya nodded her head, her voice sarcastic. "I mean, do you really have to question how awesome my life is right now?"
"I'd never dream of questioning your state of happiness when it's so obvious." Kurama turned and made a motion to help Kaori up, but Link had already yanked up and placed her on her feet.
"Ow." Kaori rubbed her head. "Hi, everyone!"
"Reunion over, let's move." Navi ordered. "We'll have story time later!" No one argued that and everyone began moving through the corridors at top speed, now taking down all obstacles in their path effortlessly with their group complete again. The girls took over navigating, making their way back to the path they had entered through, but were stopped when the guard in red jumped down from the ceiling, blocking their path.
"You all." the woman's voice was commanding and deep. Everyone in the group stiffened and Joey had sparks in his fingers, ready to launch an attack if necessary. She eyed everyone before lifting her hand. "Rest your weapons."
"We're not getting taken again!" Link frowned, his voice cracking a bit.
"No need to concern yourselves with that." the guard lifted her hand. "I am one of the captains of our forces. We have discussed it with our other soldiers and have decided to let you all go."
"Wait…what?" Aya leaned forward in disbelief. Everyone else shared varying states of shock.
"Why?" Joey stared at the woman like she was a monster of some kind. "We just beat the crap out of pretty much everyone in here and you're congratulating us?"
"Yes, essentially." the guard nodded her head. "We are impressed by great shows of force. It's not often that anyone can come sneaking around in our fortress and make it out alive, let alone beat us. We respect worthy opponents."
"So…We're not going to get locked up again?" Joey asked.
"No. You all are free to roam the area now." the captain shrugged her shoulders. "We don't care who you are or what you are doing. We are impressed. This is your reward for earning our respect. Do not take it for granted. Please. Come and go as you wish."
"Thanks!" Link put his hand out to shake the captain's hand. She looked between Link and his hand for a moment before she took it and accepted Link's hearty handshake. He seemed thrilled.
"Morning is coming." the captain started to run away. "The sunrise above the canyon is very beautiful." With that said, the guard vanished around another corridor. Stepping outside, the sky was lit up in bright splashes of orange and pink and all the guards from before were walking around, ignoring or giving the occasional nod to the party as they walked by on their patrols. The party walked a long ways away from the fortress and found that, beyond the fortress, the Gerudo had a long settlement laid out, with training grounds, horse corrals and houses. The party walked out further to a quiet area where they found Sheik looking up at the sunrise. The area was on the outskirts of the settlement and, by the looks of it, Sheik was the only one around.
"Oh, what's Sheik doing here?" Joey looked over to Katara for an answer.
"Sheik helped us get back to the fortress." Katara offered. "He led us up another path into the desert that was near Lake Hylia. He helped distract the guards to get us inside the fortress, too."
"Teapot over here is a real badass, believe it or not." Aya joked. Sheik turned around to the party, and he seemed as serene and mysterious as he always did.
"You all made it out okay. I knew that you guys would be fine." Sheik turned around to face them, almost a silhouette against the rising sun.
"We made friends with the Gerudo." Link announced proudly.
"At the very least, they aren't going to kill us or anything." Navi said, perched on Link's shoulder. "I'm not sure that qualifies as friendship."
"Sheik, do you know what happened to Mutoh and the carpenters?" Kaori asked, a concerned look on her face.
"I remember you saying something about carpenters on our way to the fortress, so I waited outside and escorted them all back to the valley." Sheik stepped closer to the group. "Mutoh insisted that they would make it on their own and finish rebuilding the bridge. They said that's what they were getting paid for. Mutoh told me to give you all his thanks."
"At least Mustache Man is okay." Link smiled proudly.
"Thanks for all of your help, Sheik." Katara smiled at the man.
"Yeah, seriously." Aya agreed. "You were a real lifesaver back there."
"You all did most of the work. But you're welcome." Sheik nodded in approval. "It is merely my job to make sure you all complete your mission. And, well…I suppose I owe you for helping me back when the spirt of the well broke loose. Consider us even."
"You got it, Teapot." Navi nodded her head.
"Captain Teapot, what now?" Link inquired, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I would tell you that the Haunted Wasteland is next." Sheik looked concerned. "And, normally, that's what I would tell you to do. That is usually the only way to get to the Desert Colossus. But…"
"But?" Joey tilted his head to the side.
"I do not wish for you to get hung up on anymore obstacles like this." Sheik answered, lifting a finger to his chin. "While this is technically a trial, I feel it is best for you to continue on with haste. I fear that any more obstacles like that will prolong the end of the war. And put the odds in Ganondorf's favor."
"I guess we don't need any more near-death experiences." Aya rolled eyes while she spoke. "I mean, all we need is one of us dying and screwing everything over."
"I will teach you the warp song to the Desert Colossus." Sheik pulled his harp out. "I will not make you try and get through the Haunted Wasteland. It would be too long and the risks of you being lost are too high. The curse on the Spirit Temple is only feeding the rage of the storms in the Haunted Wasteland, making it even more treacherous and unforgiving. Please, Link. Your ocarina."
"Got it!" Link fished around in the bags for his ocarina, eventually being handed the item by Kaori, who pulled it from its hiding spot in the party's main item bag. Link held it up and waited for Sheik's cue. The pair was very used to each other when playing music, though, and Sheik didn't even bother signaling to Link when he started picking out notes on his harp. At first they seemed like nothing, but slowly, as Link began to mimic the notes on his ocarina, the two molded together an incredibly slow, solemn melody. While the Nocturne of Shadow was dark and empty, this song felt sad and deep. The song felt like a weight being placed on the shoulders of the party, holding them down, and the sadness ran as deep as the chasm they jumped to get the valley. Quiet, lonely, and careful, the song only had a few notes to its tune but it felt so much longer than that.
"That is the Requiem of Spirit." Sheik spoke, letting the meaning of the song sink in before he started talking again. His harp seemed to vanish behind him as he did so. "That will warp you to the Desert Colossus. Everything is up to you, now."
"Thanks, Captain Teapot." Link put the ocarina away while he spoke, carefully tucking the delicate instrument away in his bag.
"And thanks for letting us skip that dreadful step." Navi chimed. "I was more worried about the Haunted Wasteland than I was anything else."
"I trust you all to find the last sage." Sheik started to step back. "I will see you again when the time is right." Sheik threw down a deku nut and was gone before anyone could stop him.
"Anyone else notice that Sheik's basically dropped the purple prose and is getting to the point about things, finally?" Aya turned. "He's been so much more…straightforward since the end of the Water Temple."
"I'll take it over whatever the hell he was saying before." Joey turned around. "I like it better than that blabbering about time rivers and growth and whatever."
"Now that we have access to warp songs and go to the Desert Colossus whenever we want, I vote we find a place to rest. I know its morning. But I'm exhausted."
"My mouth still feels like a dirty sock." Link stuck his tongue out.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Joey stuck his tongue out, too.
"Let's just warp back to Kakariko or something and rest and clean up there and then come back to the desert tomorrow?" Katara turned. "Or we could warp to the lake and clean up there to get some privacy."
"Let's go to Lake Hylia." Navi voted. "It's quiet there and no one is really around. It'll get you guys some privacy and keep us as far away from Ganondorf as possible."
"Good point." Joey agreed. "And we can have the story time and discuss what happened to each other. I'd love to get everyone's sides of the story."
"I agree. That was quite an adventure. Alright. Link" Kurama turned to Link, who began pulling out the ocarina again. "I believe warping us is your job."
"Got it!" Enthusiastically, Link began playing the song, ready to take the party somewhere to rest before the next leg of their journey.
A/n: I did some major changes here, again. First, I had Sheik help them out a bit because I wanted to do a little more with Sheik. And I wanted to sort of hint that some of Sheik's super wordy bullshit from his earlier appearances was mostly an act and that he's lot more willing to help the party then before. And that he's more worried about them. Sheik is Zelda, so I want to hint at that sooner. Like, Sheik's moments of worry and openness are the true Zelda coming out and Sheik clamming up again is Zelda trying to reign it all in to keep up the façade.
I also had Dark Link make a cameo. He may make another one before the final dungeon, but I'm not sure. He plays a pretty important role in the events of the final battle, so I guess we'll see.
Also, I changed how things in the fortress went down. I have no idea why I had the guys sit back and wait to be rescued in the first place, when all three are perfectly capable of getting themselves out. I originally planned on the girls rescuing at least one guy, but settled on them rescuing a couple of carpenters and having the whole group meet up again in the middle of the fortress. It made more sense to me than how I originally handled it. It's hard to justify three skilled combatants, one of which is great in frontline combat and two who can manipulate elements (let alone Kurama, who is just too smart to justify staying captured) sitting by and waiting for the girls to rescue them. Though, the girls were pretty badass. This just made more sense. And I decided to have Sheik teach them the warp song now so that they can skip the Haunted Wasteland. Sheik probably wants to urge them along, and I didn't feel like wasting time on the Haunted Wasteland.
Also, I thought things playing out like this just made things a little more dramatic and gave me a chance to show off that Link really can be capable and resourceful on his own.
So…yeah. There might be some discontinuity until the following chapters are updated.