Wow, sorry it's been so long O_o I have a research paper due in all of my classes so I've been focusing on them for the last couple of weeks.

SS is EPIC! Totally love it (even though I've only played for about 3 hours...). Hopefully the game doesn't effect the progress I've been making on this story, but...well, I'm sure you know what I mean :)

So, if you haven't gotten SS yet and are debating on whether or not to buck out the extra 20 and get the controller, do it! The controller rocks! My husband is even jealous, haha!

Oh, and yes, I realize that in the game, you can shoot the Gerudo guards with arrows to get passed them, but that just isn't realistic. I mean, is Link really going to shoot some women in the chest and later come back to find they are okay? Just thought this made better sense XD

Hope you enjoy ;)


Link turned, ignoring the now screaming guy behind him, and came face-to-face with a guard.

"Uh, hello," he said, carefully placing his hand on his sword.

"How did you escape?" She exclaimed, grabbing a saber in each hand and holding one above her head, the other outstretched to block any incoming blows.

"I climbed out," he stated. He then frowned. Why was she in here, instead of out there in Maple's strange trance?

"You just...'climbed out?'" She then growled. "Well then, I'll just have to throw you back in!"

She lunged, Link barely managing to dodge out of the way before her blades struck him. He then spun around, pulling out his sword and swinging in one precise movement. She was quick, however, and spun out of the way, her blades coming dangerously close to him.

"Oh, you're a quick one, aren't you?" She mocked, facing him and gracefully circling him. He made sure to keep his back from being exposed to her.

"You might say I've had seven years of practice," he said, smiling as he spun his sword around in his hand. She responded by doing the same.

"Well, let's see how you do against the Gerudo!" She lunged again.

It was like some strange dance, Maple's music playing in the background the entire time. He would swing, and she would easily dodge and swipe at him in response. But he was just as quick, managing to move out of the way of her blade before it could strike. Before long, Link was exhausted but wasn't letting it show. She, clearly, had the better training, since she was showing no signs of weariness. In fact, she was smiling a little.

"Getting tired, green one?" She asked, after about ten minutes later.

"Not one bit," he lied.

"Good." She then lunged.

I can't take much more of this, Link thought to himself. He was drenched in sweat; his legs were shaking. His sword felt like it weighed a million pounds. And the fact that it was well over 100 degrees inside of the buildings wasn't helping much, either.

Maybe he should have worn his red tunic after all.

She lunged at him, and he barely managed to get out of the way. He even felt his tunic tug as her saber caught it. But then he saw an opening; her exposed back.

He acted quickly, spinning around and slashing with his sword. Blood sprang up from a large slash in her arm as his sword connected, and it instantly went slack.

"No!" She yelled, and then disappeared as she jumped into the air and out through a hole in the ceiling.

Link almost instantly fell to the ground, gasping for air. This was the most exhausted he ever remembered being before. The only other time he ever remembered even being this close, was when he had to rush through the Shadow Temple to save Maple.

He shuddered briefly, Maple's broken body popping up in his mind. His heart sank remembering what she looked like, how she had practically died...

Hey, she's fine, now, he told himself. There was no reason to worry about her any longer.

He looked up, realizing that something was laying on the floor near where the guard had disappeared. He reached down and picked it up.

It was a key. Well, that just saved him some time trying to find a way to unlock the cell.

Link turned around and quietly unlocked the door. He then pushed the door until it swung inward.

The carpenter looked extremely relieved to see the cell opened.

"I'm Ichiro the carpenter," he said as Link walked into the cell.

"Nice to meet you," Link answered. "But, I have a quick question?" Ichiro looked at him with a raised brow. "What are you doing here inside of an all-female fortress?"

He laughed. "We were really interested in joining their all-female group, but they locked us up like this just because we're men!"

Well, that answered his question about why they had locked him up, yet let Maple go free. "Interesting."

"We don't care about the Gerudo anymore! They're so rude!"

"How many of you were captured?"

"Three of my fellows have also been captured," he answered, already walking toward the door as if extremely anxious to leave, "so please help them escape, too!"

"Be careful," Link said as the man walked outside of the cell and toward the nearest exit, "the Gerudo are still out there! Just stay out of their sight and you should be fine."

Ichiro nodded at him and then left.

Link sighed and leaned back against the wall. He knew that he should leave, in case the guard came back and tried to lock him in, but he wasn't ready to leave quite yet.

"Link," Navi said as she flew from his hat, "there are still three carpenters left here! We should get moving!"

"Yeah, I know." Link stood up straight and stretched his shoulders. He then walked out of the cell and out through a different hallway.

He was back outside, but in what looked like a small courtyard off to the side of where all the Gerudo were still dancing. He could see Maple, playing the guitar and dancing as well, but she looked tired.

He would have to hurry.

He turned to his left, quickly running through a doorway. He walked up a small slope, and then turned to his right. He quickly ran down the hall, turning with it as it curved to the left.

He emerged into a large kitchen, a staircase on either side of the room. He ran up the one closest to him, following it as it curved around to the left. He then emerged back outside, but was now up on the second floor. He turned, going through another doorway on his left.

He was in a room with another cell.

"Hey! Over here!"

Link didn't even get that far.

Almost instantly, the guard that had attacked him before dropped to the floor. Link groaned, pulling out his sword and wishing that she would just leave him alone.

They fought, and the one thing he noticed, quite quickly, was that she actually appeared tired. Her movements were slower than they had been before, her sabers seemed as if they were heavier. All of that would have been good news...if it wasn't for the fact that he was just as exhausted.

Link forced himself to move quickly, ignore his fatigue. He knew that Maple wouldn't be able to keep the other guards under her spell much longer, and he couldn't waste time fighting this guard.

He swung, slashed, spun, blocking her blows as she blocked his. He finally, much sooner than he expected, saw an opening and slashed open her other arm.

"Not again!" She bellowed, before jumping into the air and disappearing much like she had before.

Link took a moment to gather his breath before bending down and grabbing the key that had fallen from her pocket during the fight. He then opened the cell and walked over to the man now waving his arms above his head.

"You're a cute kid!" He said, which caused Link to step back from the man. "Thank you for coming to save me! I'm Jiro, the carpenter."

"You okay?" Link asked.

Jiro nodded, and then shivered. "These women are so scary! I'd rather work as a carpenter than join them! I can't wait to say good-bye to this place!" He then turned around and ran out of the cell without looking back at Link once.

Link frowned. What a strange man, he thought to himself. A little...feminine; lazy as well.

Well, he wasn't Link's problem anymore.

Link then walked out of the room through the door he had come through. He went back to the kitchen, walking up the other set of stairs.

He was back outside. He dropped down, onto the roof below, and walked through the doorway in front of him.

He followed the hallway, until he emerged into a room with another cell.

The man inside didn't even get to speak. Almost the exact moment that Link emerged into the room, the guard dropped down, both arms freshly bandaged.

Not again...


So, after playing SS for awhile, I realized that this is the only LoZ game that I don't absolutely hate a LinkXZelda pairing. I don't like it, per-say, but I don't hate it. I think it's mainly because they've been friends their entire lives, so Zelda isn't just some princess that Link's barely met or anything.

Have you played it yet? How do you feel about the Zelink thing?

And Odnet... Sorry, didn't get it DX

Oh, hope you enjoyed! Have a great Thanksgiving!