Enpowera: Revelations and the plot thickening.
Things were full of hectic worry when Raja arrived with the princess and she was rushed to the healer, who quickly got to work.
"Lady Raja, is there anything going on with her besides her crushed airway?" He was quick to start applying his own, stronger potions.
Raja leaned in and whispered that she may have ended up pregnant, and she could guess by who very easily.
"How? I examined her myself when the palace healer came to the determination? It isn't possible…" The Zora healer was surprised as he finished healing her throat, going to examine her abdomen and see if his magic picked anything up. He jerked his hand back in shock as he could feel the slight firmness that most Hyrulian women had at the start of pregnancy. "She is…How long has she been...with her lover?"
"...Probably since the first day they met, which was shortly before we got the letter from Zelda about her childrens' kidnapping." Raja knew her kind too well to know it doesn't take long.
"That was a bit over two months ago...even if she got pregnant the first time...How many life forces do you sense?"
"Only one, which may be all she can take given her health. I pray to the goddesses that she pulls through and never has another child."
"Is it possible you're missing a life force, she has to be expecting twins with how large her uterus is. You have midwife training, feel…"
Raja examined her again, "...She will die and I'm holding that half-blood voe responsible for it."
"She's the Hero. She'll have to keep fighting," The Healer was equally worried. "We need to at least let her lover know and pray to the Goddesses for all to end well."
"Summon him, I believe he's here."
The healer went to fetch Damon, not able to hide his hateful glare.
Damon didn't even say anything, he could tell from the consort queen's eyes that he was in trouble and was going to get an earful for it.
"She's pregnant. With twins. No doubt by you. Yet you still have her fight!? Even the most essential Gerudo knew to retire from combat in their early stages of pregnancy!"
Damon paled on hearing this news, "When...when...but she said…!"
"We're Gerudo, when do you think she ended up pregnant?! Secondly, human bodies aren't consistent with certain things - she may not have bled monthly, but there are plenty who do who cannot bear children! She will likely die and Hyrule will mourn the loss of a Princess Zelda in eight months' time! I understand your desire to step away from the legacy and shadow of your sire, my daughter came to me while we waited out our healers' process to help Bunny, but all you've done is repeat history like all those before him!"
Damon just stood there and took it.
Raja took a deep breath and gathered her queenly sense of steel, "You are to write to her parents of what has happened. I assume you know how to write in Hylian?" She got a quick nod to confirm. "Good. Then I subject you to a quest of your own: find the Goddess Springs and beg for their mercy on you and the princess. You are to do this alone, but I am merciful enough to send you with some knights to escort you out of the domain. She will be sent home so that she may spend her remaining time with her parents and write out what legal procedures she must to ensure that your children won't be tossed aside for being born out of wedlock."
Damon just lowered his head. "Understood."
"Then get out of my sight. You're exiled from Zora's Domain once you've been led away. Sav'orq."
Some footsteps interrupted the yelling, Bunny having woken up to hearing Raja's loud scolding of Damon. She tried to speak but found words evading her. She put concerns about that aside to go stand by Damon's side, grabbing his hand and making it clear that she wouldn't be separated from him. I have to finish the quest. I have to risk it. I'm sorry. If all goes well then I'll live through the birth too. I won't let people treat me like I'm weak.
"Princess…" Raja sighed sadly, "you cannot continue on. You're risking three lives now. Your mother barely managed on her own, even with magic at her disposal."
'I am fighting with Damon.' She mouthed, trying not to panic at no words coming out again, throat feeling achy when she tried. 'You aren't my boss.'
"I'm aware, Bunny. Your spirit is strong and it's admirable, but there's a new limit to your body that you must be aware of and not overdo it for the sake of your health." Raja had a point.
Bunny just shook her head in defiance, and went to reclaim her armor, trying to signify to Damon that they were leaving the Domain at least, as she wouldn't back down. The Goddesses picked her to be the Hero and she would finish the job instead of waiting around for her possible death.
"Princess Zelda!" Raja called after her while walking, "Then be aware that I've instructed him to do this alone, for that must be his punishment for shortening your life."
"Don't defy her," Damon warned quietly. Even he was shaken by the older woman's presence.
'Main quest.' She mouthed to make sure he understood, 'Rescue my brother. Not my boss.' She went to lead him out, ignoring Raja by this point.
Raja sighed and rubbed a temple. "She is her father's child…" she turned to an advisor who had been either brave or stupid enough to witness all of that. "Send word to her parents. I know I just told him to write, but we have to hope she'll listen to them."
The advisor nodded and went to do so. Bunny led Damon past the group, assuming they heard everything. She'd figured either they'd follow or not at this point, focusing on the task at hand while her brain tried to catch up to everything. She was quickly surrounded by the group and they all begged her not to continue on literally for the sake of her life and her unborn children while Damon was shoved out of the way by Neja in the process. Bunny figured it'd be hopeless to think the sages would have her back at all, knowing they were distrustful of Damon and in turn her to begin with. She pushed Neja back to reclaim her lover, starting to pull him into a run to flee the domain. Ravi made a decision and summoned a portal to help them, giving Bunny a nod as she pulled Damon through it.
"Don't bother trying to change her mind. She's finishing this quest. It might be for the best if she loses the children anyway, they're a death sentence and all three will die when the time comes."
Everyone was uncomfortably silent at that.
"...So is anyone gonna tell Aunt Raja or…?" Adara asked, "Not it."
"Not it," Neja knew her mom well enough that this news can and will lead to a man hunt and didn't want to be the first domino in it.
"...Fine, I'll do it. I've got to learn how to inform others of news like this anyway." Lonán sighed and went to the throne room. He ran out shortly after informing her of this, "We should probably go get our supplies and leave before we're trampled by the guards!"
"Where'd you send them too?" Hilda asked her brother.
"Near the Spirit temple. I can do the next one…" Ravi opened another portal, "grab the stuff and go!"
Everyone rushed through, Ravi going through last and barely making it before the portal collapsed, sitting on the ground to take a breather. Nearby had Damon and Bunny looking at the group in confusion, having been setting up camp. Or rather, Damon was setting up camp while Bunny was resting against a rock, having used up her limited strength and not recovered fully from earlier.
"Come to gut me and make a banner out of my remains?" Damon asked dryly.
"Ravi made the choice on where we landed, we just ran through." Lonán glared at him as he went to check on Bunny.
"So, this is what my mother talks about in the stories of her childhood…" Neja looked around and could see some pieces begin falling in place as she recalled them. "I may not be able to stay long due to my Zora heritage, unless someone knows how to summon water this far out."
Hilda and Ravi both pulled out water rods, stating the rental price in almost unison.
"...I am both impressed and scared." Neja hoped she could manage to get at least one as she counted out her Rupees.
"C'mon guys, really?" Adara cocked her head to the side, "She'll die without water an' you're charging her money for rent?"
"..." Both looked guilty and handed the items over. "We'll loan them on credit…"
Adara tapped her foot while crossing her arms and giving them an indigent stare.
"Fine. Free. But you gotta pay me instead," Ravi decided, informing Adara of his decision.
"I think we can arrange a payment method right quick if we get the tents up already." Adara smirked as she went to pick a place to set up, giving his chin a little tilt as she walked past him.
What have I gotten myself into? Neja pondered as she casually doused herself with water.
Meanwhile, Bunny nodded in greeting to Lonán, though it wasn't overly friendly given how he was glaring at her lover.
"So…" Lonán scratched the back of his head, "are you okay? After everything in the Water Temple, you've been awfully quiet."
She nodded her head yes even though she really wasn't. She prayed he just thought she didn't want to speak to him.
"Right...um...we're technically family, so if you need anything I'm here for you." He gave her a hug, transferring a bit of magic to her in the process in some hope it would help her energy, then went to help a very confused Neja on how to set up a tent.
Bunny just sighed mentally and went to go claim her and Damon's tent, curling up upon herself to cry silently as the stress of the day hit her, along with the knowledge she'd become pregnant and would most likely lose the children.
Damon joined her shortly after and curled around her. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Bunny." He started to cry as he held her.
She clung to him, letting herself be weak. Once they both had a good cry she made sure he could see her mouth, 'I love you.'
It took him a while since he's never had to read lips before. "I...I love you too."
She gave him a bit of a smile and leaned up to kiss him. He kissed her back while gently stroking her hair and the small of her back, holding her close as if she'd fade if he didn't. Bunny broke the kiss after a while, snuggling close.
"Bunny...is the shock of everything making it hard to speak?" Damon realized she didn't make any sort of quip for the longest time.
She motioned to her throat, trying to signify that she couldn't speak.
His eyes got pretty wide as this information sunk in. I really am like him...I ruin everything I interact with…
"I...I'm s-sorry…"
'Not your fault.'
Yes it is! "Do you think it'll be permanent?"
She nodded yes, figuring it was something to do with her earlier injury. He held her closer and kept apologizing until it was just incoherent babbling. Bunny just sighed, realizing she couldn't convince him otherwise. She finally made him look at her and shook her head 'No' and kissed him fiercely to try and snap him out of it. It did help him get out of his bad mental state as he returned her affections, gently pinning her in the process. She responded by grinding up against him, showing him she was up for a bit of fun to de-stress from the day. He thought it might be risky for a bit until his body started reacting to this and mentally decided to say 'Screw it, we need to work out this tension.' He started taking off his pants since he's learned that him being naked first gets her really riled up. His plan worked as Bunny soon took the lead, shifting them so that she was on top and able to get her own bottoms off along with her armor and tunic. He was sure to run his fingers over her skin as more of it was exposed, massaging her more sensitive areas to get her excited. It seemed to work as she silently moaned his name, working on possibly being a bit gung ho in order to mount him, already being driven crazy. She just couldn't help how he made her feel. He leaned up and kissed her while stimulating her breasts, already getting hard due to their mutual feelings. Soon they were lost to each other's passions, reaching their climaxes quickly due to how familiar they were with each other's bodies. Bunny fell asleep just after they finished, clinging to him as if he'd disappear. Damon fell into an uneasy sleep shortly after her, holding her close like normal but had a sense of fear that he'd lose her when the dawn came.
Meanwhile, everyone was mortified at how loud Damon could be during sex and were debating just skipping this temple until the sounds left their collective memories. They found it a bit odd they didn't hear Bunny, but also thanked their lucky stars for it too. The group soon tried to sleep for the night, knowing that the battle in the Spirit Temple would be difficult tomorrow. Dawn arrived and everyone was ready to go fight so they could hurry up and finish the questing. It didn't take long to reach the temple, the group entering and getting to quick work on the puzzles, happy Bunny's small size let her access to areas blocked by almost child sized passages.
"...Ya feel like we're forgetting something?" Adara questioned while the group waited to finish up with an aforementioned passage-only puzzle.
"No?"
"Sage of Spirit…" Hilda realized with a sinking gut. "Maybe we're lucky and Damon is the Sage of Spirit. He is Gerudo…"
They soon had their answer as a door opened, Bunny waving to motion them to hurry up. Once they entered the room they soon found themselves attacked by a certain brainwashed prince, who looked like himself only his usual blue eyes were red. Nearby had Karka rushing in to fight the group, hands glowing as two pieces of the triforce were seen. She focused her efforts on Damon, trying to corner him away from the group.
Damon did his best not to fall for his sister's tactics as he worked more on the defensive, having gotten better at doing such thanks to training Bunny. "Hit the prince!"
Bunny went to do so, but Hilda beat her to it out of fear of Bunny hitting him too hard. She gave him a good 'twack' with a rod of some sort, knocking him out. Luckily it seemed he was considered the boss as the Spirit Medallion appeared. Meanwhile, Karka got Damon pinned, both standing on a strange symbol on the ground, She grabbed his wrist and whispered a spell, a dark glow surrounding them both. He screamed as the glow began to increase around the both of them, turning into dark fire and forcing itself in like arrows into his body. He grew limp when the deed was done and Karka stumbled back out of the circle.
"It has been done...w-what have I done?" She was questioning her actions as Ganondorf's magic no longer resided in her. It was short lived thanks to a double team sneak attack by Ravi and Lonán with their respective magic.
Hilda panicked a bit and put Bunny through a portal outside to their campsite out of fear that she'd get hurt. Soon most of the group was through the portal, even Karka who Ravi was carrying through, having seen her absorb the Spirit Medallion.
"She's the Spirit Sage. I'll tie her up until we have a chance to interrogate her." Ravi explained.
"You have to be careful…" Conan groaned a bit as he started coming to.
"Why?" Hilda was quick to be by his side.
"She…" Conan looked very ashamed as he spoke, "forced herself on me and...I-I could not control it, forgive me Hilda…"
"She's pregnant," Hilda realized in shock, mind going numb as she backed away from Conan, tears in her eyes, though her reaction was hidden thanks to her hood.
Lonán made a mental note to write to his aunt and uncle again to update them. For now he just focused on hugging poor Hilda in comfort.
I'm surprised she didn't go for the throat…Neja pondered as she helped Conan to his feet.
Hilda just pushed Lonán away, storming off.
Neja followed after her in silence, figuring to keep an eye on her just in case. Hilda sat down and started crying once she thought she was by herself. Meanwhile, Bunny was in a state of shock at leaving Damon behind and was getting ready to run back into the temple to go get her lover. Adara had to haul her away from the steps to the temple.
"We can't now! Whatever she did...I don't think he'd go easy on ya. He's not Damon anymore, Bunny. He's...just full of malice now." Adara warned.
Bunny just shook her head, trying to fight Adara off and rush in. She didn't care, she just wanted him back.
"Bunny, will you listen for once in your life?!" Adara didn't hold back and dragged her. "I know you're the hero and he's your lover, but guess what? Heroes don't get it easy! In case you forgot, your dad 'bout died when he fought Ganondorf! And he has the Master Sword, the thing that banishes evil! Your hammer won't do jack on Damon right now an' chances are he's so powered up by dark magic he won't listen to reason! Now trust me, the stupid twin, when I say you will die if you set foot in there! So quit actin' like a five-year-old who's not gettin' her cookies and STOP! You didn't listen to your folks when you were younger an' look at what that got'cha, ya didn't listen to Aunt Raja an' now look at what's happened to Damon, now you're not listenin' to me and look at us! You're not bein' a hero, you're bein' a brat!"
Bunny fought back the urge to cry, wishing she could tell her that she was wrong. She did the only thing she could think to do and slapped Adara, hard. This gave her a chance to start running, but she paused as the strong wave of evil magic permeated the area.
Adara could sense it too and focused really hard with her staff, making cacti spontaneously grow and age to a point where they'd be hard to fight through even with a sharp weapon. "Are you gonna listen now or do ya wanna see what happens when a pregnant girl gets hit with dark magic!?"
Bunny just gripped her weapon tightly, Triforce glowing as she rushed on forward, ignoring the warning. She saw Damon exit the temple, and upon seeing him look normal for the most part, aside from new armor, and the dark magic seemed to fade, loosened her grip on the weapon, going to approach him almost like a lost puppy.
Damon looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing a full set of black-colored armor with gold detailing and sapphire embedded in the gauntlets, chestplate and could see some blue glints on the shoulderpads. "This will take some getting used to…" he muttered while flexing his fingers a bit. Then he looked up and saw Bunny, a small grin on his face as he opened his arms to her. "Hello, princess."
"Bunny, don't you dare!" Adara was now trying to summon more cacti to keep her away.
Bunny used her warhammer to destroy them, rushing forward. Once she was close enough she sheathed the warhammer in it's special pouch and slowed down to approach him.
'Damon?' She mouthed, looking as innocent as her nickname suggested.
"C'mon princess, who do you think I am?" he cocked his head to the side with a smirk.
Bunny just looked a bit lost as she kept stepping forward, not willing to accept reality, it seemed. Soon she was right in front of him, somehow managing to look him in the eyes.
He leaned down and hugged her, but that hug became less loving and more like he was purposefully trying to break her spine and/or cause an early birth. Bunny didn't make a peep, just having a small smirk appear on her face as she ignored the pain, bringing her armored knee up and nailing him in what was typically her favorite body part. He obviously went down and ended up taking her with him because she was still in his arms. Bunny wiggled free and summoned her weapon to attack him while he was down, hating that her love's body was being used like this. He managed to block that with a dark magic shield and then used the force of the hammer back at her, amplified for extra damage of course. Bunny silently yelped, going down for the count.
"You'll pay for that, harlot!" Damon's voice was warped to sound older, deeper and with more anger as he worked on getting to his feet.
"I told you!" Adara yelled over her cacti army, or what was left of it.
Bunny was out cold, not moving and defenseless. By this point the others had rushed to join in the fray too, even Hilda, all wanting to protect her. Adara stayed back until she saw Ravi take a hit, then she lost it and shot flames at Damon in some hope to cook him. The king of evil reborn just retaliated with shooting everyone back with a wave of dark magic, which worked on everyone but Lonán thanks to his Nayru's Love. The young prince then had to quickly gather everyone up and get one of his cousins to get a portal to someplace, anyplace, that was safe. The only one missed was Bunny, who was right beside Damon/Ganon and found herself scooped up by him as he recalled how willing a bed partner she'd been. He opened a portal and was off with her, going to a hidden hideout.