Chapter 24
Empty lanterns provide no light
Shrouded by darkness, Link circled the Forsaken Fortress.
Predator scanning prey.
Flock of seagulls and kargaroc swirled the foreboding bastille and despite the sputtering protests from the King of Red Lions; the hero paddled around the huge fortification, staying clear from the wall mounted cannons.
He sketched a plan of action on a loose sheet of paper, frowned in frustration and adjusted his plans. The cannons swiveled in position each time he ventured close and the accursed light generating mechanisms, searchlights Daphnes called them, pierced the foggy cover of night. Arms aching Link bobbed on the waves, pitch irises glaring at the boat cradled in the stone tree. Planks of decayed wood gleamed in harsh, orange light but mystery swaddled the unseen interior. Lowering his gaze, Link consulted his action plan and stomped to the deckhouse, moments later, he wheeled the cannon on deck and cleaned it, till the iron barrel shone under moonlight filtering through clouds.
Nudging the boat closer, Link aimed at the fortress' gigantic, wooden door and wondered how he infiltrated the island before.
"I have no idea but judging from what Nico told me," the figurehead stared at the blazing torches illuminating the entrance, "the pirates catapulted you inside. Personally, I was not here to see you but apparently you were knocked unconscious and you lost your weapon."
Link remembered a bump on the back of his head; so a collision with stone produced it. Chuckling humorlessly, he steadied the boat, the north westerly wind generated by the WindWaker dissipated and an eerie tranquility settled upon the sea.
The calm before the storm, the hero mused, how fitting.
Lighting the cannon's fuse, Link stuck his index fingers into his ears and crouched. A magical, blinking bomb soared out of the muzzle and detonated with the unforgiving gate. Chunks of wood rained in the water and a huge crack widened across the door.
Cannons scanned the area wildly, priming on Link's position and firing. Balls of iron sunk underwater and only harmless ripples reached the boat.
A second bomb disintegrated the door entirely and torn off its iron hinges, it floated, mere driftwood. Swiveling the cannon, Link aimed it at the stone walls, right beneath the wall mounted artillery's flimsy support system and destroyed the brackets holding the cannons upright. Warped metal drowned in the sea, their smoking barrels cooled by frigid waters.
The boat sailed to the central platform, careful of the searchlight glare. Telescope screwed to his eye, Link noted the small army of bokoblin guarding each station. New security measures were put into place and a half grin bloomed on his face at the barbed stake-gates. Ladders were removed and stone bridges across wide gaps crumbled into oblivion.
Curiously, light did not cross the center of the Forsaken Fortress, accessible by a spiral of basalt steps. The paved clearing remained suspiciously clear and as Link hopped overboard, a grip of fear clutched his throat.
"I'm coming back with Aryll." Link swallowed, eyes oscillating between the windowless room and the ominous lair sheltering Ganondorf. "At the first sign of danger, you get out of here as quickly as possible," the boy solemnly declared and Daphnes shook his head. "You must get out of here!" Link stressed, grabbing the figurehead's wooden mane. "There are cannons surrounding you, what will you do if they start shooting? You can't possibly evade all of them!" He gripped the mane tighter, palms sweating. "Please, Aryll and I will find a way to escape. I've been in sticky situations before and my ability to survive is astounding." Still gripping the figurehead, Link searched the upper platforms for enemy signs. "Listen, I'm old enough to take care of myself. And I have the Master Sword..." he mumbled. The sacred weapon was extremely sharp; however, it contained a hollow weightlessness. "King of Red Lions sir, stop treating me like a child."
A beam of light arced across the sky and came to a stop on top of the stairs, cued by the first movement, all the beams shifted, chasing shadow and searching for intruders.
"My boy," Daphnes sighed, "I am not treating you like a child, your words wound me." The hero stepped back and sucked in a sharp breath. "I am not going anywhere without you -wait, let me finish-" the boat interjected when Link opened his mouth to protest, "and if the worst does come into play, fear not, no harm will befall me." Link agitatedly pointed to the mounted artillery archers patrolling the ramparts. "Yes, I have eyes, I can see them. You worry too much." The hero angrily clenched his hands and exhaled defeatedly. "Your mission is to rescue Aryll for the time being, paying a house call to Ganondorf is extremely dangerous but I know you will do it because you are a talented swordsman and you live for the thrill in life." The boat bumped against the stone pier. "If crossing swords with Ganondorf will make you feel alive, by all means go ahead, but remember, your life is precious to all of those who wait for your return. Understand?"
The boy clad in green blinked, assimilating the words. His life was precious, of course he understood but when Daphnes put it in such a way...
He thought of all the villagers waiting in Hyrule. He could not wait to return to them, to watch Colin's baby sister grow up. To hold her and the others and teach them to fish, to fight, to live. This time, he will officially join the resistance and work from the shadows to keep Hyrule safe. Working side by side with Fado and taking care of the goats was fun and Link would never forget the smell of pine needles, hay and the pathetic bleating of newborn kids.
His worries turned to Grandma and his sister Aryll, surely they would want him...the boy safe?
He threw his arms around the figurehead. "I told you I would take care of myself," he stated, "you don't have to worry about me giving my life to defeat Ganondorf, such nonsense is beyond me." Pressing his cheek against the salt scoured wood, Link continued, "I want to be totally honest, as much as I look forward going home, I also want to stay here, sailing the sea is a novel experience...therefore...I don't want you end up as a piece of brightly colored driftwood."
"I will not, rest assured." The King of Red Lions smiled, wood creaking. "You focus on rescuing Aryll and not getting another lasting injury, and I will be here, sitting on the waves." An odd, knowing gleam shone in the figurehead's eyes and Link knew Daphnes once again kept something from him. Giving the wooden mane a comforting squeeze, Link gathered his backpack and melted into the darkness.
And the rocking boat refused to tell him anything, however, Link smiled.
He trusted his companion.
Scampering up the short flight of stairs, the hero waited for the light to change spots before walking to the central platform of the Forsaken Fortress. He tensed, sensing malevolent energy churning in the air currents.
Griping the Master Sword, Link teased it out of its sheath and twirled it while scanning the clearing from all sides. The bokoblin on adjacent towers remained perfectly unaware of him and they manned the lights, moving the device according to a set pattern. The hairs on his nape stood on edge and Link whirled around, scything through a phantom. A ghost? He checked the blade edge for blood; the sword sliced through the midsection but remained free of bodily fluids. Whipping to the side, he dodged a sphere of crackling lightning and the blast blew chips of stone in the air.
Another bright blue ball of cyan followed the first one and swinging venomously, he lobbed it back to the apparition hovering almost a meter above the ground.
Playing ball with a ghost. Link swung harder, instead of cutting the orb of energy, his sword deflected it. The phantom glided closer with each consecutive strike and he gleaned details. A horned helmet, a frayed cape buckling in the wind and a giant sword covered in glowing, teal runes.
The orb of lightning bounced forth and Link lowered his aching arm for a second. In an instant, the ball rushed back and he quickly raised his arms and pelted it with all his might. Freezing sweat drops covered his forehead and his vision blurred. The growing breeze toyed with the end of his windsock-esque hat and Link clutched his sword with both hands and roared furiously. Sparks dissipated from the ball and it flew, nailing the phantom square on its head.
Wasting no time in celebrating small victories, Link covered the short gap between him and the ghost and slammed his blade beneath its chin. The specter glowed eerily and appeared to be sneering before diffusing into thin air.
Where was it?
Link tasted the air, instead of salt, anger weighed on his tongue. Racing across the stone tiles, he parried a broad blade just as it emerged from nothing.
Pushed back, it collapsed on the floor, dripping smoke and hate. Link lopped its head off with a well-timed spin and stabbed the dismembered head for good measure. The wind howled and he quickly pressed against the shadows for fear of being exposed. None of the bokoblin noted the furious battle conducted in the middle of the clearing and a chest appeared in place of the defeated phantom. One eye on the upper towers, Link slunk out of his hiding place and hooked his throbbing fingers beneath the chest's lid.
A skull hammer rested on a pile of ebony feathers. Eyebrow arched, he grabbed the new weapon and twirled it experimentally. The hammer tipped to one side and fell, crushing several tiles and barely missing Link's foot.
Smiling and slightly impressed, he hefted the hammer and advanced. A row of barbed stakes stood in front of him and the stairs; Link raised the weapon and brought it down, smashing the stake. Pieces of wire and wood exploded in the air. A thorn grazed his cheek as he pounded the second one and he rubbed the cut irritably.
A gap separated him from the next paved landing and mentally calculating the distance and the added weight of his hammer, Link concluded he will not make it. Not unless he plunged into an unknown gloom and shattered each and every bone in his body. The child shivered. Belting the hammer on his back, Link checked if he could quickly draw his sword and shield. Satisfied with the arrangement, he retrieved the Deku leaf and scowled.
The concept of a magic meter still eluded his understanding, how did he know when it ran out? Magic did not have a physical presence. Unlike his body which ached and numbed when he ran out of energy, the magic meter (assuming he had one) ran out at inconvenient times and he feared the day it ground to zero while he floated in mid-air. Dying via flying without magic was not on his list of heroic deaths. Fishing the Pirate's charm from his woefully under stuffed wallet, he recalled a female voice guiding him the first time he woke in the Forsaken Fortress. Link tried to picture a face to the tone. Aryll? No, his sister was confined in a cell. Tetra? Highly likely given her boisterous attitude.
The stone lit up in a cyan glow and he shrunk into a slice of darkness cast by a barrel. "Is there something wrong?" Daphnes asked, booming voice bleeding from the stone and Link flinched.
Muffling the charm in his palm, he whispered, "Why do you always assume the worst when I call you?"
The boat laughed warmly. "You hardly call me, so I prepare for the worst when you do."
"Touché," Link grumbled. "In any case, I have a small gap to cross." He cast a sidelong glance at the three meter rectangle of nothing hanging between one platform and the other. "How can I tell if my magic meter is running on empty? I want to make sure if I can make it."
The boat listened attentively. "You can't," he replied and Link regarded the blinking stone disbelievingly. "Only those highly attuned to magic can tell, which is not difficult for the Korok and those island residents seeking to cultivate their magic but for you my boy, it is practically impossible since you have no experience with magic." The hero gaped, his mind exploring possible strategies. "And need I remind you that you scoff at magic. Such narrow mindedness will hinder your connection to the natural energy running through the earth and great s-"
"I get it," Link cut in, "I'm hopeless." He peered over the barrel and rose when no monsters stalked by.
Holding the Deku leaf by its petiole and confronting the certain death waiting for him in the gap, Link waited for a favorable gust of wind. When it came, he jumped, reminiscing over his first, disastrous lesson with the acid tongued Korok. Floating, he held his breath, heart pumping in his ears. The other side seemed impossibly far away and Link dropped in altitude.
A sudden gust bolstered him upwards and he sighed in relief.
Boots anchored safely on solid stone, the boy gauged his progress. So far, he avoided being caught and the lights conveniently swung out of his way. Suspicious, he slunk around a corner and paused when a patrol of moblins kept watch over a door.
Aiming with his bow, he sunk the first arrow in an eye and the beast keeled soundlessly to its knees, tasseled spear falling in an unnaturally loud clatter. The noise altered the second, prowling moblin and the monster rushed back, sooty lantern swinging in a beefy paw. As it bent over its companion to investigate, Link raised his hammer behind the moblin and bashed its skull into the pavement.
Pink brain matter flecked the tiles and wiping his chest, the hero jumped over the mess on the floor and entered into the heart of the Forsaken Fortress.
A long hallway branched into several side rooms containing chests of rupees, weapons and caskets of food. Using the sword to break a chest lid, Link reviewed the goods critically. Loaves of stale bread, some mildewed, lay in a bread bin and coughing, he ransacked a box, spearing a rock hard biscuit and hurling it against the wall. It shattered like a ceramic brick. Piling a few of these impromptu weapons in his bag, he searched half empty barrels, nose wrinkling against the briny odor of salted fish. Carefully, he poked a hole through another barrel, holding his bottle to the stream of fresh water trickling through the planks.
Pottery vases painted with ochre and turquoise, huddled from the tiny human's wrath. Holding them by their delicately long necks, Link smashed them on the unforgiving ground. Crash. Pieces of jagged pottery lay beneath the glassless window. A couple of fairies flew out of one and lunging for them; Link stuffed the silver winged creatures in a transparent box and mentally noted to make a drink out of them later.
Flexing his sore fingers, he stole out of the room, coming face to face with a bokoblin smacking a nail studded club on its thigh. Man and monster gawked at each other for an instant and the olive skinned beast opened his mouth to scream.
A hard biscuit lodged in its throat, effectively cutting off the warning bellow. The bokoblin desperately clutched his neck, gurgling furiously. A clean incision across its jugular sprayed blood in the air and Link wiped his sword across the corpse's hide.
The elongated passage ended at another door crowded with stakes. The hero reduced the barrier into bits of wood and thorns and opened the door to a large tower. A cell dominated the floor, platforms bolted along the walls and lead to the roofless apex. Four torches brewed a fickle warmth to ward off the night's biting chill and Link squinted at his sister and two other girls huddled in the cage. No monsters bothered the girls and he craned his neck upwards, searching for the elusive Helmarock King.
The accursed bird swooped from nowhere the last time and interrupted his initial rescue of Aryll. Boots barely making a noise on the roughhewn stone, Link sidled along the curved walls. Reaching the wooden cell, he gripped the bars and reached for the young, blonde girl slumped in the dirt. She lay face down, hair streaked with grime and her once plump arms shrunk into bone covered skin.
Touching her gently, Link recoiled when Aryll jerked upwards, her eyes wide in fear. She clamped her hands over her mouth and stifled a frightened squeak. "Big brother?" Aryll uncertainly asked, hollow eyes ringed by blue. "Is that really you?" She sniffed and grabbed him tightly. "I thought the big bad bird killed you," the girl cried, pressing her face against the bars and Link gently pried her hands off his tunic. "What are you-?"
"Shh..." He put a finger on his lips and grappled with the padlock. "Stand back, I'm going to break the lock," Link warned and clasping her hands, Aryll shuffled backwards, pressing herself into a corner.
Bashing his sword against the lock, Link met shallow resistance; the implement popped and shattered, metal fragments clanged to the ground. The door to the cell creaked open on rusted hinges and Aryll flung herself at Link, sobbing uncontrollably. Hesitantly, he patted her head and when she looked up, large irises shining like wet ink, he hugged her tightly, pressing his face against her soiled head.
"Come on, let's leave this place together," Link whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around the quivering form of his skeletal sister. "I have a boat docked at the pier." He thought about Ganondorf and his sister crying her eyes out on his chest. "I'll escort you there and come back up-"
"NO!" Aryll screamed, grabbing him so tight he could barely breathe. "No, the last time you said so the bird...the bird took you." She sniffled. "Please, let's go home and forget about this place."
Stroking her head soothingly, Link wiped the tears cascading down her cheeks. "If I don't defeat the bird, there is always a chance it could come after you," he explained. "And I can't bear to have you taken away the second time. Grandma became very sick when both of us left and we can't do that to her can we?" Aryll nodded miserably. "You are very brave Aryll, to be stuck here for so many months, I'm proud of you." She beamed at her brother's words and stood on her tiptoes, giggling and exaggerating her height. Tilting his head, Link smiled, "and I think you grew a little..." Swallowing his words, he snapped to the entrance and pushed her behind his back.
Shrinking, Aryll stuck to him like a clam and gulped audibly.
"Is something wrong?" she mumbled as Link grew rigid, his hand grasping one of the numerous weapons heaved on his back. Her brother seemed more mature...and strong.
And Aryll felt uneasy.
It was her fault he changed like this. Blood caked the hem of his tunic but nonetheless, she clung close to him and shivered.
"I hear voices, humans ones." Link withdrew his sword, a shining mirror of steel which briefly reflected Aryll's gaunt, horror stricken face. "Don't worry, I will protect you." He smiled. "But listen, when I tell you to let go of you, you do so, okay?" She nodded unhappily. "We will make it home Aryll," he promised, "me, you and Grandma, we will be together again."
Fire gushed in his veins and glaring at the door, Link dared anyone, anything, to come between him and his sister. When he broke the lock and Aryll rushed to him, warmth bled from his heart. An indescribable tenderness. The feeling simmered and waned and he desperately held on, savoring its strength.
The door creaked again, battered by a battering ram from the outside. Inside, the girls quivered and moaned, holding each other tightly and praying in breathless whispers.
An earsplitting crash announced the door ripping apart, the sound reverberated to the sky.
"Well, well, well..." Tetra sauntered in with a crew of smirking pirates. "Look what the fish dragged in." She grinned, winked and rested the business end of a muzzle on Link's forehead.
XXXXX
Unnatural Scream
Armored scales, edged in gold, winked in late evening sun. The majestic dragon wheeled around the City in the Sky, wicked talons searching for a purchase on the building's smooth domes. Webbing wings beat a gale and rusted fan blades whirred listlessly before giving up. Powerful muscles rippling under a hide of charcoal, the terrifying dragon swooped under the airborne city and disappeared.
Ooccoo sighed. Ever since the masked man delivered the Twilight Mirror shard to them, he unleashed a shadow dragon to terrorize the residents. Hopefully the Hero of Twilight will deliver peace and the City in the Sky will maintain a constant communication with the surface dwellers.
Hyrule lacked sophisticated technology and the first order of things would be to remedy the situation.
A carpet of fluffy clouds drifted lazily beneath the gigantic city suspended in air and the sinking sun tinted them to a pleasant shade of salmon. Smiling at the beautiful scene, Ooccoo rotated and the grin vanished. Half flapping, half flying to the deck chairs assembled near a pool tiled in emerald granite, he impatiently squawked at the adolescent basking in the rays. A string of turquoise stones wreathed his neck and the hero stretched comfortably while a flock of Ooccoo waited on him. Adjacent to him and wearing a garland of Sky City hibiscus, Midna sipped from a tall glass rimmed with silver dust. She too, purred on a customized deck chair and once her drink finished, the imp crunched ice and ordered another one.
"A rose cocktail and make it fast." The Twilli snapped her fingers and the resident Ooccoo dashed to the makeshift bar.
"One for me too!" Link got up and dove into the pool, spraying a nearby bird from head to toe. "I also want a cocktail," he hollered through a mouthful of pond water.
"You can't drink a cocktail you under aged brat!" Midna exclaimed and the barman stopped mixing. "Give him an orange juice or something," she ordered and lay back down.
Fixing beady eyes at the adolescent completing laps in the gilded pool, Ooccoo's mind whirred, a brat? The hero is at least twenty in human years and twenty is...although pitifully young compared to the other races, by human or even Hylian standards, he was of a mature age. Perhaps an adult. As Ooccoo contemplated, the sandy haired human pulled out of the pool, water dripping pearls from his body.
Leaving wet foot prints along the poolside, Link grabbed a towel, threw it over scarred shoulders and buzzed around, talking to other Ooccoo and trying his hand at mixing drinks. Under swaying palm fronds, he poured dollops of clashing cordials into a shaker and vigorously shook it whilst the barmen and maids cheered and flapped their wings. Midna opened an eye at the commotion and smiled, revealing a fang. Adjusting the necklace of crimson flowers, she sighed contently.
The ivory bird glared at her. "Do I need to remind you, Twilight Princess, that the Twilight Mirror shard is waiting to be rescued?" he asked crisply.
"No you don't," Midna leered at him, "but we all need a break don't we?" She grinned widely when a waitress presented her rose cocktail on a silver, engraved tray. "Thanks." She winked and fiddled with the cherry speared at the end of a stick. "Nice touch with the garnets around your chest," the Twilli complimented and conveniently ignoring Ooccoo, sipped her drink.
Unruffled, he roosted at the foot of her deck chair. "You and the Hero of Twilight have been here for one week, lazing at the poolside and the open air gardens whilst the City rots because of the Mirror shard. One of our generating fans combusted right after you arrived. We don't have tim-" Link, holding a glass containing a rainbow of colors, stuck the straw in Ooccoo's mouth and gurgling, the bird spat the concoction out, face pulled into an ugly grimace. "What is that?" he pointed a wing at the cocktail, "poison?"
"Good job shutting him up!" Midna crowed. She and Link sniggered, directing devious gazes at the sputtering Ooccoo. "Calm down," the imp warped the dangerous cocktail into hyperspace and sat upright. "The legends say the Ooccoo are a peaceful race and I can see as such." The bird-human hybrids stood in small groups, chatting and sharing pleasantries. Dusk bowed, giving way to night and above, a giant moon shone. Midna reached for the pale white disc and her hand closed over nothing. "So how did Zant know about such a place? Sky City works independently and it's rumored not to exist, I know about it thanks to Zelda." She briefly touched her chest. "The Hylian princess often read about fallen continents, apparently this place used to be known as Skyloft?"
Bored when talks turned to serious matters, Link stalked to the pool and sat on the edge, legs dangling in the cold water. Without the sun and so high up in the air, the City in the Sky turned into a freezing fortress at night.
The past week was bliss; he tugged the string of turquoise around his neck, but the constant comfort left behind a deep unease. A dissatisfaction. Standing, he passed Midna and Ooccoo, deep in conversation, and walked into a lavish tower. Wondering how the Ooccoo built the city (they didn't have hands, last time he checked) he entered a tiled foyer, pruned toes skipping across the geometric patterns on the floor. Shivering and climbing a bone white staircase, Link paused in front of his room and gold gilded door shunted aside. No matter how many times this happened, it always pleased him to see the door moving of its own accord and he paraded inside, head held high.
Dragging his feet across a fleecy rug, he collapsed on the large bed and hugged a feather stuffed pillow to his chest. Paintings hung on the walls, images of birds decked in regal regalia. An icy cold wind fluttered gossamer curtains and he shivered, burrowing deep under the dampening comforter. The sense of dissatisfaction evolved into crushing unease and rousing, he paced the room, eventually settling on a stone couch as the night wore on.
What was he doing? Hanging about in gardens and pools while Aryll starved in a dungeon?
Drying himself thoroughly, Link scrabbled through a wood and granite wardrobe and touched the Hero's tunic. The Ooccoo took it upon themselves to scrub it clean from blood, sweat, salt and other stains accumulated on the sacred clothing. Blinking back tears when his thoughts turned to the Hero's shade, he donned the tunic, strapped his sword and shield and retraced his steps back to the pool.
A meteorite.
No...
A large chunk of masonry fell from the dragon's claws. In the onslaught of danger, the Ooccoo froze, various degrees of panic evident in their rigid forms. The barman continued mixing his cocktails, unaware that the drink spilled out and stained his chest plumage. Ooccoo, beak open, gawped at the glint of silver talons and Midna's hair glowed orange.
"Midna, my ball and chain!" Link shouted and the weapon shot out of the warp hole. He swung it and the sphere sailed, meeting the projectile head on. Spikes shattered the pieces marble and it crumbled, plopping harmlessly on the ground and in water.
Relieved, the residents flocked around him, making strange noises of gratitude. Ooccoo perched on his shoulder, face paralyzed as beady eyes tracked Argorok's trajectory. The great dragon vanished but a flash of lightning burnt its silhouette beneath the eyes of the onlookers.
"Guide me around," The hero said. "I'm going to find the Twilight Mirror shard."
Ooccoo, free from the frightened spell, blinked. "Now?" he asked. The rest of the race tilted their heads at a precisely forty-five degree angle and looked expectantly at the human.
Link's eyes hardened. "Yes." The spiked ball rested at his feet. "Now."
The moon, looming larger than life, followed three individuals traversing a bridge choked with weeds. Sloshing through the sweet smelling grass, Link followed Ooccoo through a path of neglect and the trio halted at a sealed gate. Unlike the rest of the buildings in the city, the door did not automatically slide apart and the bird pointed to a diamond switch located in an above niche. Thinking about the Goron Mines and their impossible switch locations, Link sniped the device and the gate whirred open, raining soil. The foyer, tiled in eggshell white and light blue tiles, supported thick pillars. Ivy clung jealously against the columns and between the dense foliage, a jeweled clawshot target sparkled.
Marveling at the wind rushing from beneath his feet, Link pranced in whilst Ooccoo debriefed Midna on the historical reference of this particular tower. The human's boot landed on a blue tile and without warning, the tile gave under; one leg fell through the square space and the floor rammed against his groin. Screeching, he extracted himself, rolled across the ground and left large spaces in his wake.
Sputtering, Ooccoo fluttered after the gasping human; Midna floated, sighed and brought her hands together.
"Goddesses grant me patience," she prayed.
A helmasaur glared at the trio of peace breakers. Pawing the ground, it lowered its head and charged from behind a screen of silver and gold lattice. Turning, Link froze for a moment, death flashed before his eyes. Growling, he reached for his bow, weighed it against the metal capping the monster's head, and pulled out the sword instead.
The monster pounded, pace unrelenting. Dropping, Link rolled around the rampaging creature and sprung, sword effortlessly tearing through the tough leather across its back. The beast tottered forward, grunted and keeled to its side; Link furiously wiped his sword clean and scrubbed his tunic free from blood. Pressing his lips against the blade, an act confusing Ooccoo greatly, he sheathed it and followed his guide, claw-shooting overhanging, broken pillars.
Eroded stairs crawled with moss and ivy, giving it a mystical quality. Landing heavily on an alcove screened by a mesh gate, the hero lifted it up and paused. Whipping around, he sought for Midna, eyes wildly swinging from the steaming monster corpse, to the previous corridors unfolding like a bizarre trick room behind him.
"Where's Midna?" he asked and turned to Ooccoo who merely tilted his head, replying that the Twilight Princess asked to be left alone for a few seconds. The human froze. Grabbing the bird, he shook him roughly. "A few hours!? Do you know she can't use her full powers? The monsters are gonna shred her!" Link hysterically launched off the nook and Ooccoo dove for him, snagging the back of his tunic.
"She will be fine." The words seeped through a mouthful of cloth. "Hero of Twilight, the Princess is far more formidable than you think, she went to search for the dungeon map."
"Why do we even need a map if we have you?" Thankfully, Link stopped trying to jump off and instead, threw his hands in the air. "I've been travelling with her for..." he counted on his fingers, "eleven months now and I still don't understand what goes on in her head," he mumbled under his breath. Giving the chamber one last, poisoned glance, he reluctantly tailed Ooccoo to an outside corridor and gasped.
An ocean of silver clouds frothed beneath the gigantic propellers of the City in the Sky and giggling childishly, Link nimbly hopped over the cracked paving and leaned over the waist height balcony. Grinning, he plunged his hand in the sea of white and gasped again.
"So cold!" Link informed, his innocent joy infectious. Perching delicately on the worn sandstone, Ooccoo drunk the ethereal moonlight and gazed below. "So cold and beautiful." Link leaned further, frigid fingers trailing in the icy vapor. The ancient wall gave under his weight and he plunged, smile transforming into an appropriate mask of terror.
A length of chain flashed under moonlight. A silver serpent anchored into the wall. Plaster crumbled and heart demanding to be let out of his ribcage, Link climbed up, still not quite believing he managed to save himself. Goosebumps rose along his skin and freezing sweat plastered his fringe. Shivering uncontrollably, Link huddled close to the safe side of the outdoor corridor and panted.
The fans under the city whirred, breaking the carpet of fluffy clouds into smaller patches.
Flapping to Link's feet, Ooccoo shook his head. "I understand why the Princess addresses you as a child. Your actions put you and everyone around you in danger. How many times have the Princess rescued you from such happenings?" the ivory bird asked and pointed to the crumbling stone wall. "I did warn you about such hazards, pay more attention." Pouting, Link petulantly drank a comforting bottle of fresh milk and walked over a slot. Pausing, he pointed to the metal teeth lining it. "It housed a gear used to turn these corridors," Ooccoo related wistfully, his necklace of turquoise glimmering. "But the device rusted beyond hope and hope dwindles." The bird launched into a monologue of the grandeur of Sky City and as he rambled, Link worked through an apple, a sandwich which he sniffed vigorously before stuffing in his mouth and cleaned the gear thoroughly, wiping the dirt on his pants.
"It looks like I can fit my spinner into it," he announced. "Midna has my spinner; can you get her for me?"
Ooccoo regarded the hero and deciding he was not pulling one of his distasteful pranks, warped in a shower of light.
Alone, the adolescent continued digging the dirt around the gear and suddenly rocketed to his feet.
A storm, he could smell it. The clouds were pregnant with water and thunder danced, waiting to be unleashed. Feeling very alone, Link hummed a tune and desperately prayed for Ooccoo and Midna to hurry up. The air crackled around him and he clutched his gale boomerang.
A stocky tail, covered in plates of ebony, glided past him. The metal spiked end bashed against the sandstone railing and the structure crumbled. The dragon lifted higher in the sky and the menacing tail disappeared just as Ooccoo returned.
"I leave for you for one and a half hour and the bird tells me you almost died. Twice." The imp snapped and Link scowled at her, face white with fear. Clucking her tongue scornfully, she hammered the spinner in its slot and pointed a tiny finger at it. "Get it moving, we don't have an eternity." Gulping his fear and resentment, the adolescent meekly did as commanded and the grating scream of stone filled his ears. The trio wildly searched the area, seeing nothing in the cover of gloom. "Keep going," Midna ordered and floated higher and Link's heart kick-started, he frantically grabbed her foot while she stared confusedly at him. "A dragon?" the Twilli scoffed, revealing a menacing set of zigzagged teeth. "Don't be such a baby; remember you will be fighting that thing."
Oh, right. The human deflated and poured all his energies to spinning the spinner.
Cutting across the midnight fog, a stone bridge rotated in place.
Having his initial euphoria cut short by the horrifying reminder of death, Link was not keen to visit the dilapidated outside corridors any more. Some of the overhanging gardens grew wild without proper maintenance and he jumped at the leafy shadows, convinced monsters lurked in there. The cold nipped his nose and fingers, reminding him of the cruel province of Snowpeak.
Yeta's untimely demise renewed an ache in his chest and for the next few hours, Link worked silently, lost in the prehistoric metropolis of grey and white stone. He tried picturing the floating city at the pinnacle of its glory and his eyes misted. Aryll and Grandma will never be able to lay eyes on the same scenes he did. And he could not capture the vistas in a pictograph; no one in Hyrule seemed to know what a pictobox was. Head lost in the bewildering clouds of life, Ooccoo and Midna alternately flew and floated in front of him, discussing topics he would rather tune out of.
A large, engraved tile under his feet wobbled and he looked, eyebrows arched. The tile exploded, throwing him flat on his back and a tile worm emerged, body long and pink and utterly gross. Rolling to his feet, Link dispatched the menace with two consecutive arrows and beamed when Midna appraised him.
The Twilli rotated and for the briefest of moments, Link spied an unreadable emotion on her face.
Ooccoo's vivid account of the City in the Sky proved to be a welcome distraction from her turbulent thoughts. The human threw a mini tantrum before confronting the Aeralfos but once he finished, the stubborn tears and pout receded as he waved the double clawshots. The proud gleam in his eyes immediately dimmed and he squinted at her, pupils dilating and contracting. Hovering away from his wolfish gaze, Midna put her hand over her heart and concentrated.
Her eyes flew open when Link appeared behind her and she knocked a fist on his nose.
"Give a woman some privacy," she snapped and he rubbed his nose pitifully. "You are as shameless as ever." The Twilli warped to the moss veined ceiling and discovered a non-working fan plugging the hole. Mold and dust caked the blades and she carefully navigated through. Seconds later, Link clawshot his way to upwards and without sparing him a glance, she trailed Ooccoo.
Worried about the hollow expanding in her chest, the Twilli pressed her hand against her sternum and held her breath.
Nothing.
She no longer felt Zelda's divine presence dwelling within her.
Again, Link's sun kissed face popped in her personal space and she recoiled, her back against the stone walls. "There is something wrong with you," he mumbled. "You keep on staring off into space."
They arrived in an industrialized chamber. Pillars, broken bodies gilded in gold dust, hung from the ceiling; intricate carvings covered the tops and ruby targets winked in predawn light. A large section of the wall fell into ruin and ivy attacked the masonry, breaking them into porcelain dust. The sun peeked over a foam of clouds and Midna shielded her eyes from the light.
"I'm appreciating the scenery." She swept her arms. "Everything here is a work of art," the Twilli declared and pointed to the floor, "those tiles are hard stone, imagine the amount of effort it took to carve them up like that." Her gaze turned to the door frames. "Those too, so artistic." She grinned with forced cheerfulness and leaving Link to puzzle on her situation, she floated on.
Spearing a target, the hero adjusted the length of the chains and swung from a pillar to the air. A breeze, growing pleasantly warm and fragrant, skimmed through his fringe and he landed on another decorated alcove.
"We are stepping outside," Ooccoo warned and Link hooked his fingers beneath a long forgotten door.
Groaning, he pushed it upwards and the residing insects took flight. They emerged on a high clearing and looked down to a field of green. Broken stone walls bordered the garden and trailing plants with magenta blossoms, hungrily converged on the walls. A flock of peahats slowly spun over the magnificent, albeit neglected garden and a lattice of golden chains spread from the remains of a once proud tower jutting over the center. Sunlight painted the sandstone bricks into amber and gold and Link stared, they looked like the curtains in the kitchen back home.
"This was one of our central gardens," Ooccoo gestured to the walled off spaces at the end of the chains, "we grew gum trees and obtained frankincense from the plots on the southern end. The resin is normally burned as incense in the little altars inside the City and we thank the Goddess Hylia for keeping our city afloat. Also, these towers used to serve as a place for learning light magic..." He trailed off, imagining younger chicks chirping and running around the enclosure, beads of amber flashing around their necks. The trees were harvested thrice every year and no ugly monsters inhabited the place.
Floating to the chains, Midna examined them and twisted to see Link spearing the peahats and agitating them. When the swarm gathered and rushed for him, he let loose a storm of arrows, slashing the organic rotors off their heads. The monsters plummeted to the ground, squirming pathetically in overgrown weeds. Stowing the bow, the human stupidly searched for a way to cross the chains and she rested on the tower, clinging to a jutting steeple.
The world spun in dizzying circles and Midna blinked to make it stop.
Her hands trembled as she came to an awful conclusion.
Zelda was gone. Ripped from her by some unseen, evil force.
And without the light bolstering her, the Twilight Princess' skin color leeched, reducing her to a pale shadow.
Clammy hands slipped off the steeple and eye rolling upwards, she plunged head first to weed choked ground below.
A/N: Ah Tetra, always popping up when you least expect her. I like her rough and tough attitude and the fact she is a pirate queen is an added bonus. Midna is again in danger and Link is thinking about Aryll. The driving force behind WW was different, this time it was personal.
My parents are overprotective and overly strict. My older brother rebelled from my Dad's authority and got kicked out of the house. Did the rest of us learn? Nope. Resistance is futile; however, that small bit of pushing back is what makes us feel alive.
Whoa, that was kinda depressing. Read and review people, constructive criticism is appreciated and so are random comments. Don't be shy.
Btw, I didn't die.
At FateVoid: Thank your for your kind comment.
Gratitude to FateVoid, IPSniffer, Lizardon02 and ZeldaBrowser for liking the story, hope it lives up to your standards.