Author's Note: I hope you guys are reading the bonus chapters.
The Eldin Province is the second smallest province in Hyrule, located in the northernmost region of the kingdom. It has the lowest population of any province in Hyrule, baring the Gerudo Province. Its only notable landmark is Death Mountain, where the Gorons are located, as well as one of the Saints of Power, who keeps them in check. Due to Death Mountain's layout, it is from here where most of the monsters from outside Hyrule cross into the kingdom from. The Eldin Province contains the most lucrative materials to be collected and traded, yet has the lowest number of merchants, due to the monopoly larger corporations have on the area. Many of people who choose to live in this area usually choose to do so to get away from other people.
Chapter 15
Combat
Malon felt her body stiffen at the question. She knew full well that her mother, and especially her father, would disapprove of her nightly endeavors.
"I've noticed that you stopped seeing that boy every afternoon, her mother told her, "Have you started seeing him at night instead?"
"No!" Malon denied vehemently.
"Then where have you been going?"
Malon knew exactly what she was going to say, but the split second it took for her to conjure the her words felt like an eternity.
"I've just been leaving out for some quiet." she lied, "I've been feeling cooped up here, so I wanted some time to myself outside."
"I see... I guess it is pretty boring here for someone your age." Catria turned to leave the room, "The next time your father leaves out, I'll have him pick up some books for you. Is that okay?"
"Uh-huh," Malon nodded. She watched her mother leave the room and shut the door behind her. The clicking of the door as it shut seemed to intensify the following silence, leaving room for what she had just done to sink in.
Malon had never lied to her parents before - all her life, she had always been honest with them. She lowered her head into her hands, a sorry attempt at stopping her tears as they flowed down her face.
What was she doing? Sneaking out at night? Prostituting herself to Thomas? Lying to her own mother?
It had to stop. She couldn't do this anymore...
"Kill me."
Malon shook her head. No...this had to stop...
"I'm tired of living like this. Kill me."
Malon shut her mouth tight to hold in her sobs. How much worse will she get? How much further would she go to protect him?
"Please..."
The girl buried her head into her pillow, unable to keep her emotions contained any longer.
She couldn't do it, she decided, she couldn't give up and allow Link further punishment. Not when she's perfectly capable of protecting him.
Her heart was broken, but her will was iron. She wanted to quit, to just return to her life as a normal ranch hand. But she couldn't leave Link at his master's mercy.
"Someone," she sobbed into her pillow, "help me...I just don't know what to do..."
Linkle snuggled deeper into her bed, sighing at the soft feel of her blankets covering her. Her comfort blinded her to all outside happenings...even the heavy footsteps that drew ever so closer. She felt a hand touch her arm through her blanket. The hand moved up and down before moving away after a few repetitions.
Suddenly, the blanket was lifted off her body halfway.
Linkle opened her eyes, puzzled, before a massive weight pressed down on the bed behind her. She felt two large arms pull her into an embrace from behind. Brushing one of her braids away, she turned to observe this presence behind her, her glance answered by a kiss on the cheek.
"Sleeping well?" Oliver asked her.
Lana jolted at the sound of screaming coming from one of the houses. As she rushed toward the shrill screeching, she could hear additional voices begin to rouse from slumber.
"Linkle!" Ruto called, shaking her shoulders, "Wake up!"
The blonde girl shot straight upward in bed, tears flowing down her face as her eyes opened wide.
"Are you okay?!" the Zora asked.
"Sounds like one heck of a nightmare." Midna said.
Linkle looked around at the growing crowd around her.
It was all a dream...thank goodness, it was just a dream...
"Here," Lana said as she entered the building, "I'll check on her. You guys go see if anyone heard us."
"What?" Midna complained.
"Just go!"
With a lazy groan, Midna hunched over as she floated out of the enclosure, accompanied by Ruto, and Agitha, who had been watching.
"What was that sound?" Darunia asked outside.
"It's already taken care of." Midna told him.
Lana poked her head out of the wooden house to peek at her friends before turning her attention to Linkle.
"...You were dreaming of that man, were you?" she asked, "The one who was trying to force himself onto you?"
Linkle nodded, sniffling as she tried to calm herself.
Lana sighed, "...I had a friend, two years ago. She went through the same thing you did, but...I didn't make it in time to help her."
Linkle looked over at the sorceress as she continued. Her heart broke thinking that someone else went through the same things she had. "How did she deal with it?"
The sorceress's eyes remained glued to the floor, glowing in contrast of her thoughts. "The next morning...she forgot it happened to her. The only other person to know about it seems to have forgotten, too... What I'm trying to say is...I know what you must be going through...and I want you to know that I'm here for you if you ever feel you need to get anything off your chest. We all are." Lana turned to leave, "That's...all I wanted to say..."
"Can we go back inside now?" Midna whined as Lana emerged from inside the house, "It's freezing out here!"
Linkle glanced down at the sheet covering her lower body and sighed. Even if she felt comfortable enough to talk about her ordeal with Oliver, what was she going to say? Was she going to say how much it scared her? Was she going to blame Midna for bringing up Oliver in the first place? No...she would never speak to a soul about any of it. Surely, this nightmare was a one time happening, right? If she just ignored the memory surely it would go away eventually...right?
Linkle rubbed at her eyes as she sat up in bed. She couldn't sleep a wink after her dream last night.
"Hey!" Lana called, as she emerged from outside, "Is everyone awake?"
Linkle looked over at Midna and Ruto as they lay asleep. Agitha seemed to have gone out earlier.
Lana took a deep breath, "HEY!" she repeated, "IS EVERYONE AWA-"
"UUUGH!" Midna shouted, "Could you pipe down?! I can't ignore you if you shout like that!"
Ruto yawned as she sat on the edge of her bed, "My goodness...is it morning already?"
"Get up, everyone," Lana told her allies, "we're all meeting up at the Deku Tree."
"Of course we are." Midna complained, "Ugh, I never get to sleep in..."
"Did something happen?" Ruto asked.
"Something's about to." Lana answered in a low voice, "Just be sure you're wide awake once we're all there." Lana looked around, "Do you guys know where Agitha is?"
"She's probably somewhere playing with bugs or something." Midna said as she paused by the entryway into the house before floating away, muttering all the while.
The sorceress approached Linkle, "Are you feeling okay after last night?" she asked.
"I ruined their sleep..." the girl uttered.
"No you didn't. Midna's always like that in the morning. You'll get used to it. Come on, let's go."
...
"Is everyone here?" Lana asked.
"Looks like it." Ruto answered answered with a glance around, "So what's happening?"
"Volga is still waiting outside the forest." Impa announced, "The others seem to have left, but the fact that he's still out there says that the enemy knows for a fact that we're still here, and that this is our 'hideout' of sorts."
"So what'll we do?" asked Darunia, "It'd be pretty bad if we led them here."
"That's not a problem." Lana said, "Remember, we use my portals when we enter the village. We only have to worry when we're leaving the forest."
"Then what will we do about Volga?" Ruto asked.
"Well, Impa and I decided that it was just like Midna said: we'll have to fight him sooner or later. Since he won't leave, and we need to go, we'll just deal with him now."
"You mean we're gonna do the thing I said we should do two days ago?"
"Midna," Impa reprimanded, "enough. The rest of you, we have some planning to do before you all go out there."
"You're not coming?" Midna asked.
"She can't be seen by the enemy, remember?" Lana reminded her ally, "And neither can you, now that I think back. We don't know if those other two who were with him yesterday will come back, so we can't afford the risk. You'll have to stay too."
Impa continued, "Since you'll be emerging from the forest, you'll have the element of surprise. But so does he, in a way, considering we don't know his abilities."
Midna scoffed, "It's one of him, and, like, a million of us. Well, besides Tingle."
"What?!" Tingle snapped, "Tingle can fight, too!"
"Yeah, but the readers aren't gonna take you seriously."
"Midna," Lana chastised, "stop that. Tingle can come."
"Like I said," Impa continued, "we don't know his abilities, so you'll need to approach a battle against him with caution. Lana will make a copy of herself to use, so the rest of you can observe. We don't want to risk any friendly fire, so she will decide when each of you jump in. I won't be able to go all-out against him, because it might catch someone's attention if they're nearby, so I'll be counting on all of you."
The team spent the better part of an hour going over their strategy. Linkle was not to interfere, but she was allowed to watch. She was to stick close to Darunia, who would be guarding Lana's original body.
As Impa mentioned, Lana has the ability to split her very being to make copies of herself. The term "copies" could be misleading, however, as every "copy" of the sorceress could be considered the "real" Lana. Instead of each copy acting of their own accord, however, Lana controls every extra body she makes, like a single puppeteer controlling multiple puppets. Due to Lana's inexperience with this ability, she can only efficiently use one body at a time.
The only ones who will be awaiting a signal to enter combat would be Ruto, Agitha, and Tingle.
Volga sat down on a rock, still waiting for the sorceress to appear. Then, out of nowhere, Ghirahim appeared before him.
"You're still here?" he asked.
"Yes." Volga replied, "Something is telling me that the sorceress will appear here."
"Hm...well I was hoping you'd still be here anyway. You have no idea how boring the Hero's life has gotten."
"So you came here to alleviate your boredom?"
"Isn't that why you volunteered to sit out here?"
"...I'm going for another look around the area..."
Elsewhere, Lana had emerged from inside the forest, and into the open. So far, there was no sign of Volga. She kept walking.
Collectively, the group agreed that, because none of them could sense where Volga was at any given moment, it would be best to leave the Lost Woods through the north, because at the very least, Volga would be most likely to stop there to rest, if he was actively searching the edge of the forest. Hyrule Castle was due directly north, meaning Volga would likely have approached the forest from that direction.
Lana was growing more and more tense with each passing second of silence. Volga not being there meant that he was either searching another part of the forest's border, or that he was resting elsewhere. Another option, which was the worst case scenario, was that Volga had simply left to return to Hyrule Castle while the group was on their way out of the forest.
The sudden sound of a crash behind the sorceress startled her.
"Sorceress..." Volga called as Lana turned to face him, "At long last, I have found you... I challenge you, to single combat!"
Lana's reply was a battle-ready stance, her tome levitating between her palms as her expression hardened to steel.
"Prepare yourself!" Volga shouted. He charged at the sorceress, brandishing a pike. Lana planted a hand on the ground, prompting a transparent, rectangular pillar to rise from beneath. As Volga's weapon bounced off the pillar, Lana kicked off of the flat surface before raising a hand towards the sky. She then sent a ball of electricity crashing into the pillar. Red wings sprouted from Volga's back, and with a flap, he rose into the air, dodging the resulting explosion. A second flap of his wings sent the Dragon Knight towards Lana. He swung his pike as he drew close, an attack that Lana was just barely able to dodge by leaning back midair. He flew over Lana as she landed, turning to launch a stream of fire towards his opponent.
Fire, Lana thought. She dodged the attack before a wave of her hands prompted what appeared to be a large branch appeared. She glanced over at the trees in the forest. Her fight with Volga had started to take her away from its reaches. I'll have to get closer, she thought to herself. She ran underneath Volga, closer to the edge of the forest before she planted one end of her spear into the ground. Her weapon morphed into a large slingshot before she fired a projectile at her opponent. Volga effortlessly dodged this attack before letting loose another stream of fire. Lana planted her spear into the earth again. This time, what appeared to be a glowing blue circle, centered by some sort of emblem, appeared on the ground, followed by a large icicle. Steam erupted as the icy shield blocked the flames. Looking to take advantage, Volga closed in, prepping for a swiping attack with the pike, only to be blown away by a sudden gust of wind. The mist cleared, and in its place, Volga could see Lana holding a large leaf that immediately morphed back into her spear. With another flap off his wings, Volga flung himself toward the ground. Not even a second after landing on his feet, his free hand changed form into that of a giant, reptilian foot, accentuated by three giant claws. With a swing, the Dragon Knight sent a matching number of projectiles toward Lana. The attack came too fast, and so Lana was unable to stop the attack from grazing the right side of her right shoulder as she dodged. Volga charged at her again, looking to close the distance between he and his opponent.
"Ruto!"
Ruto leapt from her hiding place in the trees, her arms spread wide as she sent watery projectiles at her enemy.
"GRAA!" Volga shouted, the attacks hitting their target.
Now!
Lana charged at the Dragon Knight. Upon approach, she swung her spear, her attack hitting the mark, and sending Volga off balance. Refusing to retreat, however, Volga planted a foot in the ground, finding his base, and breathed in as he turned to face Lana and Ruto, prepping for another fire-based attack. Thinking fast, having seen what was coming, Lana planted her spear into the earth, and kicked off the ground, her hands still on her spear. As her body spun around her weapon, she kicked Volga right on the side of his face, altering his aim, and sending his planned flaming projectile to his right.
"Watch out!" Ruto shouted, as she neared the ground. She fell on top of Volga, knocking him onto his back. She jumped to her feet and put some distance between she and the Dragon Knight.
Volga performed a backward roll before he stood onto his feet. "Coward!" he shouted at Lana, "You dare resort to trickery?! Have you no shame?!"
Lana glanced at her ally, "Ruto?" she said, "Let's finish this!"
Without warning, Volga quickly closed the distance between he and Lana before swinging his pike, aiming for her throat. Lana ducked before she jabbed him with her spear, spun around, and whacked him on the side of his face. She leapt out of the way as Ruto conjured a massive wave of water aimed at Volga. Quickly gathering his bearings, Volga sprouted his wings, and launched himself off the ground, dodging the attack. Not missing a beat, Ruto swung an arm, prompting a smaller wave to errupt, colliding with its target, and sending him flying. As Lana ran to catch up with him, she re-equipped her tome, and tapped the ground, creating a pillar behind Volga. As he collided against the flat surface, Lana sent a ball of electricity at her creation. Volga struck the pillar with his pike overhead, launching himself off its surface. Using the momentum, he performed a forward roll to minimize damage from the explosion, and, from his low position, leapt into the air toward the sorceress, cocking back his arms to attack. Realizing Lana would be unable to dodge this attack, Ruto swung her arm again, sending another wave at the two. The wave collided with Lana, and sent her careening toward Volga, before he was ready to attack. Utilizing his quick wit, Volga grabbed the sorceress by the throat, and, using their momentum, slammed her onto the ground as they landed.
Lana gasped for air, having had the wind knocked out of her. Switching targets, Volga charged at Ruto, who suddenly dived into what looked like a puddle she had created behind her. Volga swung his pike down at the water, only for the circular pool to shrink and vanish. Then, Volga was attacked from behind by a high-pressured water attack as Ruto launched herself from the pool that had appeared behind him. She landed on his back, looking to pin the warrior down by his wrists. Ruto was not as physically strong as Volga, however, and with his strength, the Dragon Knight wrest his right arm free, and struck Ruto with a backhanded swing of his fist. He spun to his feet, and was in the process of swing his pike at his downed opponent when an electric projectile struck him from behind. Both he and Ruto shouted in agony as they were electrocuted. Volga jumped to his feet, and away from the Zora, facing Lana as he landed. The sorceress rushed to check on Ruto, holding her shoulder as she bled from a previous attack.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her breathing frantic.
"I can barely move..." Ruto answered, her voice anchored by the pain.
"How unfortunate." Volga said, "I wonder why you even brought here when she's that weak."
"Come on," Lana said to Ruto, "if you can't go on, try and put some distance between us."
"I'm about to turn things up a notch." Volga told Lana, "I hope you'll do the same."
Volga threw his head back, letting out a near ear-splitting roar. As he leapt into the air, his body began to glow red, and his wings, again, began to sprout from his back. His form increased in size as it began to change and distort. His voice went from that of a man, to one more beast-like as man took the form of a glowing red dragon.
Lana watched on as she helped Ruto to her feet. She breathed in.
"Agitha!"
"Now, sorceress!" Volga's booming voice seemed to echo, "I await-"
Just then, what appeared to be a giant, gold beetle collided with the dragon, knocking him a short distance away.
Volga glanced at the odd creation. By now it was clear what the sorceress was doing.
To the shock of all his opponents, Volga reverted back into his man-like form.
"Enough of this foolishness." he said, "How long will you continue to ambush me with these weaklings? I'm here to fight you."
"Sorry to disappoint you!" Lana told him as she held Ruto up.
"Why do you hesitate?! Put on your mask!"
Lana stared in confusion, "What?" she asked, "What mask?"
"Do not play coy with me. The mask that you stole all those hundreds of years ago. The one with the power to destroy this entire kingdom! I wish to test my power against it! Put it on! Majora's Mask!"
Just then, Ghirahim appeared next to Volga.
"That was quite an entertaining fight." he said, "But it sounds to me like you're having a little too much fun. We're here to capture the sorceress, remember? Not for you use her for your entertainment."
"Silence, you fool." Volga responded, "You've heard the tale just as I have. To not want to test your might against such an opponent is nothing short of cowardly."
Ghirahim sighed, "Very well. But I'm not sure the others will prove to be quite the sportsman you are."
"LINKLE!"
Just then, everyone's attention was turned to the young girl emerging from the greenery of the forest. Her eyes were wide as she paused in the open, and they were locked onto Ghirahim.
Darunia retreated back into the bushes he and Linkle had been hiding in, deciding not to put Lana's other body at risk.
"What are you doing out here?!" Lana yelled at her.
Slowly, hesitantly one would even say, Linkle rose a finger to point at Ghirahim.
"You killed my mom..." she barely spoke.
"...What was that?" Ghirahim asked her.
"You killed my mom." the girl repeated.
Ghirahim blinked a few times, genuinely confused. That was when he remembered.
"That boy... That's Link, isn't it?"
A wide smile spread across the man's face. "Yes," he said, "that was me. And you're the Hero's younger sister, aren't you?"
"Why'd you do it?" Linkle asked, her voice trembling, "Why'd you kill my mom?"
"Why did I do it? Well you see..." Ghirahim began to walk towards the girl.
Lana looked over at Volga, who was watching his ally. Keeping her eyes on him, she began a speed-walk toward Linkle. "Stay back!" she said, shielding the girl.
"Hah!" Ghirahim laughed, "How lucky you must be to have the sorceress here for you, just as she was on that day! But to answer your question... You know how those Humans are crazy about their...guns... I thought I'd try one out. And when I saw your mother, that's exactly what I did."
Linkle was taken aback at the simplicity of her answer. "That's it?" she asked, "You killed my mom just for that?!"
"...Do I need any more reason?"
Linkle dropped to her knees, her strength failing her. She couldn't believe it; she just couldn't wrap her head around this reasoning. Her mother was everything to her. Her comforter, her best friend...she was the only one willing to put up with her, to hear all she had to say, to give her love, when everything else in the world gave her hate.
And it was taken away from her. He took it away from her. And for what? Because he wanted to test a gun?
It was unacceptable... Absolutely unacceptable...
Through her tears, Linkle looked up at the man who took her mother before rising to her feet. "I'll kill you..." she said. She reached for her crossbows, aiming them at the subject of her rage, "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Linkle!" Lana shouted, "No!"
Ghirahim watched on, sickening and sadistic thoughts widening his grin.
Linkle shot two arrows at the subject of her anger. With little more than a raise of his arm, Ghirahim responded by the creation of a barrier, effectively nullifying the girl's attack.
"You'll need more than that to defeat me," he said, "I'll go and get the others." Ghirahim told Volga, "I'm sure they'll be happy to clear out the sorceress's allies so you can have your little one-on-one." With a snap of the fingers, he vanished.
Linkle slammed her Crossbows onto the ground in a fit of anger.
"Sorceress," Volga called to Lana, "we will continue our battle."
Lana looked at him, then turned to Ruto, who was still injured. "Get Linkle out of here," she instructed, "then take everyone back to the village. I'll meet you there."
"Okay." Ruto nodded.
As the Zora led Linkle back into the forest, making sure to retrieve her Crossbows, Lana locked eyes with her opponent. I can't stay here for long, she thought, but I'll need to get rid of Volga, fast.
Lana took a few steps toward her opponent, equipping her Summoning Gate as she stopped.
"Come." Volga told her. Lana charged at her opponent, and Volga responded in kind. With several waves of her arms her gate expanded in size. Volga cocked his arm back, looking to leap through the large circle the gate formed, and impale his foe with his pike. Just then, an image began to display inside the circle. Volga was unable to halt in time, and passed through the portal Lana had opened up. Succeeding in her goal, Lana closed the gate quickly, so that Volga wouldn't escape. She sighed, surprised at how easily she pulled off such a hastily incepted idea.
"Well that was easier than I thought it'd be." she said to herself.
Meanwhile, in the forest, Darunia and the others were making a hasty retreat deeper into the Lost Woods.
"Which way do we go?" Tingle asked, after noticing the group had started wandering aimlessly.
"I dunno." Midna answered, "We've never entered the village through the forest before."
"You mean as many times as we've left to forest on foot, no one's memorized the path?!"
"Says you - you could've made a map or something in case we ever had to come here without Lana!"
Just then, as if on cue, Lana's original body awoke from its professed slumber. Darunia had been holding her as the group made their way through the forest.
"I lost Volga," she said as the Goron released her.
"Why did you need to lose him, anyway?" asked Darunia, "Couldn't you have just ran away with us?"
"If I did that, he'd just follow us into the forest."
"Oh..."
"You have some explaining to do." said Ruto, who had been holding Linkle's hand during their escape, "The mask the Dragon Knight spoke of. Why do you have it? You know what will happen if you put it on, right?"
"No. And even if I did, you wouldn't have to worry about it - I don't have the mask."
Linkle gasped.
"What is it?" Lana asked.
Linkle sniffed. She was still shedding tears over her meeting with Ghirahim, "Something's behind that rock!" she said, "It was staring at me!"
"It was probably a Skull Kid." Lana told her, "For whatever reason, it follows us most of the time when we come through here."
Darunia looked over at the rock, then at Lana, "Huh. I never noticed him."
"Neither have I," Ruto added, "Why have you never told us?"
"I thought you guys noticed."
"Tingle noticed!" the little man said.
"Well, anyway, it shouldn't mess with you if you don't mess with it. I tried to talk to it once, and it just ignored me and ran. Funny thing, though...no matter which way we leave the forest, that seems to be the only Skull Kid we come across."
"How can you tell?" Darunia asked, "In my time period, all the Skull Kids look the same."
"Because every other Skull Kid I've ever seen was playful. That one just seems...I dunno, bitter I guess. And I never see more than one at one time, even though they always hang around in groups."
"Well like you said," the Goron told the sorceress, "it won't mess with us if we don't mess with it. Let's get going."
"I haven't seen Wizzro around lately," Ghirahim noted.
"Who knows?" Cia sighed, "He's probably off doing something weird and wizard-like. You never know with that one."
"So you spend your time obsessively accusing the princess of treachery, when Wizzro is the most blatantly secretive of us all?" Zant asked the witch.
"Unlike Wizzro, the princess has a reason to want to work with our enemies. Isn't that right, Princess?"
Ghirahim, as promised, returned to Hyrule Castle to inform Ganondorf that Volga had found the sorceress, and that she, indeed, had allies. The Saints, who were still on standby, were summoned, and brought to the site of Volga's battle against she and her allies.
Zelda, who had separated herself from the others, sighed, "Why did you bring us here, again?" she asked.
"Indeed." Zant said, "Wasn't there a battle going on? Where is Volga?"
"I can't sense him anywhere." Ghirahim noted, "Perhaps the battle is over."
Zelda turned to face her allies, "Or perhaps they fled into the forest, and Volga followed after them."
The others pondered the option in silence.
"Regardless," Ghirahim said, "I can't sense him. So either he went into the forest, or he's in another province. I'll let you all guess which is more likely to have happened."
"...What now?" asked Cia, "We can't go in after them."
"Chances are," Zant suggested, "the sorceress lost Volga in the forest. It's the most likely possibility."
"The only thing to do now," Zelda said, "would be to cut our losses, return to the castle, and report this to Lord Ganondorf."
"I concur." Zant agreed.
"How unfortunate." Ghirahim sighed dramatically, "It looks like now we'll have to replace Volga. Hopefully we don't take another five hundred years this time."
"Hmph," Cia chuckled, "who knows? Maybe we'll find another backstabbing princess like the one we have here."
After returning to the Kokiri Forest, the group rendezvoused with Impa inside one of the houses.
"How did it go?" Impa asked Lana after she and the others returned.
"Bad." the sorceress replied, "It turned out Volga wasn't alone. Now our enemies know for a fact that we at least pass through here frequently."
"So what do we do now?" Ruto asked, "Do we rest, and leave back out tomorrow?"
"That's a bad idea." Impa stated, "There may be another one of Ganondorf's minions waiting for us by tomorrow. If they aren't out there already."
"I think we should leave out now as planned." Lana proposed, "It'd be the last thing they'd expect, and we'll be at least a step ahead of them."
"I agree." Impa nodded, "The sooner, the better."
Lana turned to the others, "Our stuff's still all packed up, right?"
"Yes," Impa answered, everything's sitting near the front entrance to the village."
"Alright. Tingle, bring me the map."
"Tingle has the map!" he announced triumphantly.
Lana unrolled the sheet of paper, and held it out in front of her. "Alright," she started, "we should probably avoid Faron altogether, so I think we should start at our old campsite in Eldin, and head east."
"And what happens once we get to Lanayru?" asked Ruto.
"We'll just stop by a village and ask around. We know who owns Link, we just need to find out where he lives."
"How are we going to ask anyone?" Linkle asked. Just then, she felt two taps on her shoulder.
"Hi!" an exact replica of her greeted, "My name's Linkle!"
The girl jumped away, startled.
The replica burst into laughter, this time, her voice sounding just like Midna's.
"What do you think?" she asked, "Great impression, right?"
Linkle stared, shocked. "Midna?"
"Midna can transform herself to look like other people." Lana explained, "It's how we found out where you and your brother lived."
"Heh," Midna chuckled, "all I need is a glance. I could show up in front of anyone you know like this, and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference!" Midna winked and struck a pose, "Bet I can work my 'feminine charm' better than you can."
"Yeah," Darunia laughed, "and you have to transform to look like someone else to do it!"
Midna turned and frowned at the Goron.
"And besides!" Ruto added, "Some men, prefer shy girls!"
"Can we stop talking about this?" Linkle squeaked, her cheeks red.
"Please." said Impa, "Besides, we don't want to lose too much daylight. We need to cover as much ground as possible."
After finalizing their next course of action, the group met up near the village's entrance to the Lost Woods, where they gathered their horses.
"Listen here, rookie," Midna volunteered to explain, "this is what we do when we're traveling. You know that ability I showed you earlier? I use it when I'm driving. We gotta blend in when we're out there. You all, on the other hand, get to stow away in the back, inside those crates."
"Why do we have to sit in crates?"
"Because those Humans are nosy. Besides, not all of you have to. Come here."
Midna put an arm on Linkle's shoulder as she whispered, "You see that fat guy over there?" she asked, pointing at Darunia, "He can't fit in our crates, so he has to sit on the floor."
"The crates are open!" Darunia announced.
"Aaaall right, kid," Midna stretched, "back up."
Linkle took a step back, watching in amazement as Midna shape-shifted to a Human man.
"Why do you have to look like a boy?" Linkle asked.
"Because the last time she didn't," Ruto answered after overhearing, "we almost got found out."
"Apparently," Midna spoke, "it's 'weird' for women to drive freight wagons around on their own. Can you believe that?"
"All right Linkle," Ruto called, tapping a crate, "come get inside."
Hesitantly, the girl approached the large wooden box.
"It's been a while since we last shopped in a village," Ruto said, "so we had Darunia borrow this crate from the shop in this one. I'm not sure why the Kokiri need a store, anyway, or why they need wooden crates, but we made sure to get a spacious one for you so you don't get too uncomfortable."
Linkle climbed inside and sat down. The crate was less uncomfortable than she was expecting.
"You aren't afraid of the dark," Ruto asked, "Are you?"
"Um...no?"
"Good."
Ruto shut the top of the crate, sealing Linkle in total darkness.
Linkle hugged her shins. She was only a few feet away from her allies, but being in the crate, within those walls, and the dark they created, made her feel as though she was all alone.
It's funny...she hadn't had any "alone time" in what felt like forever, but in reality it was just a few days ago. It was shocking how fast everything was going for her. In just a few more days, for example, she was going to see her brother again...
Her brother...
"Why did you have to be born?"
"If it weren't for you, ... I'd be free right now..."
"If these people knew what you did, they'd hate you too-
Just then, the crate opened.
"Hey there!" Lana greeted, the light of the sun surrounding her, "You okay?"
Linkle's gaze fell back into the darkness. "Uh-huh." she nodded.
Lana stared for a moment. "Move over." she said.
"Huh?"
"Move over. I'm gonna sit in here with you."
"Okay..."
"Alright!" Lana called to someone outside after climbing in, "Shut the crate!"
Midna, still disguised as a Human man, looked inside. "Oh, goodness." she said, "You've adopted this one, too, haven't you?"
Lana smiled.
"Oh, boy..." Midna moved to shut the crate, and stopped halfway. "How old are you again?" she asked Linkle, "Fourteen?"
"Uh-huh."
"Ugh, it's like deja vu."
"NO, LI'L TERMITE!" Agitha shouted from inside another crate, "DON'T!"
"What's going on?" Midna asked as she shut the crate, leaving Linkle in total darkness once again.
Or at least it would have been total darkness.
"Why do your eyes glow like that?" Linkle asked Lana.
"Oh. I put a spell on myself a long time ago that lets me see in the dark. This is just a side effect. I don't know how to make it stop."
Just then, the girls felt the crate ascend from the ground, followed by a strained grunt outside.
"Are there two people in here?!" they heard Darunia ask outside.
Lana giggled.
"Um... Lana?"
"Yeah?"
Linkle hesitated.
"...Do you hate me?"
Lana turned to look at the girl, completely befuddled at what, to her, was a dumb question. Through the darkness, she could see the look on Linkle's face begin to match their setting.
"Of course not!" Lana answered, putting her arms around Linkle.
"Stop moving!" Darunia yelled from outside.
"I love children!" the sorceress continued.
"But I'm not a child..."
"Yes you are."
"...That guy with the cape said you were the one who came and saved us after my mom died."
Lana's smile faded, "Yes...I am."
Linkle fixed her mouth to ask the question. Did Linkle's presence keep Lana from taking her brother with her that day? It was a question she desperately needed an answer to. However, fear of the answer she may receive stilled her tongue.
"Did you mean what you said to Ghirahim?" Lana asked suddenly.
"...Ghirahim? Is that the one with the cape?"
"Yeah. When you said you'd kill him. Did you mean it?"
Linkle froze. Those words were ones she used in the heat of the moment. But did she really mean them? She knew first-hand, or close enough, what death was like. She had seen the moment it happened to her mother; she had seen the moment life was taken away from her. The blood...the fear, the horror and heartbreak...all those is what she associated with death.
Was she ready? Was she willing to put someone else through what Ghirahim put her mother through?
"Yes." she answered, "I meant it."
"...I see..."
Just then, the two heard two knocks on the crate.
"What was that?" Linkle asked.
"That was Midna. I told her to let me know when we crossed the portal I opened up so I'll know when to close it. She probably told Darunia to knock on our crate. Now they're probably arguing."
Linkle hugged her knees again, "...So why did you want to sit in here with me?"
"I was worried about you. When you were talking to Ghirahim about your mother, the look on your face reminded me of when your father was killed."
"You knew my dad?"
"No, I was watching your brother. He had lashed out when he saw the boys who killed him."
Linkle thought back to a conversation she had with her mother.
"...He was beaten to death by three boys."
So her brother must have found them...but how did that happen?
"That was the first time your old owner sent him to The Hole. My heart broke for him...because I knew how it felt to lose a parent, but I couldn't imagine being in his exact situation. I just had to see him." She sighed, "When I found him, he had cried himself to sleep. I stayed there with him that night, and I remember wanting to hold him in my arms and protect him forever..."
"Um...can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"How did you find my brother the first time if you can't find him now?"
"After your brother was born, Ganondorf came and took him to Hyrule Castle. He was kept with Princess Zelda for about two years. I'm not sure why, but after those two years, Ganondorf took him back to your parents."
"Did...they hurt him?"
"Of course not! He was a baby! Besides, the king and queen took care of him."
"WHAT?"
"Shh!"
"Ganondorf took care of him?"
"What? No! Princess Zelda's parents took care of him."
"But-...why would they do that? Aren't they bad people?"
"...Whether they were bad or not, they weren't gonna do anything to a baby. And besides, Ganondorf needs Link alive and well, so they couldn't do anything to him, even if they wanted to."
"But if Ganondorf needs him alive, why did he let my brother live as a slave?"
"Well...when I said he needs him alive and well, I guess I was misleading. He only needs him alive. It doesn't matter if he's 'well' or not."
"Why does he need him alive?"
"...You haven't heard of the Triforce, before have you?"
"No."
"Well...let's just say for the sake of simplicity that the Triforce grants whatever wish you want. There are three pieces of the Triforce, and your brother has one of them."
"Then why did Ganondorf send my brother away?"
"I don't know."
"Where are the other two pieces?"
"Ganondorf has one, and Princess Zelda has the other."
"So if Ganondorf has two pieces already, why-...I don't understand any of this..."
"...I don't understand either. But if we can rescue your brother, we can go from there."
Hours passed by as Midna directed the horses across the northern fields of Hyrule. They had passed by the path to James's estate a while ago. As expected, it was a high-traffic area. It seemed like every few minutes, Midna would pass by another person either on a horse, or driving a carriage or wagon. She hated being forced to respond to their greetings and nods in kind.
After another hour or so, Midna could see a good-sized building in the distance.
"Hey!"
Midna's head snapped forward. There were two men on horses just ahead of her.
"Hold on a second." one called.
"Yeah?" Midna responded in her disguised voice as she slowed her horses.
"Are you from this region?"
"No, I'm from...Faron."
"Oh. Well you guys haven't heard, but an estate nearby was attacked by the White Sorceress."
"Oh, yeah, I heard."
The men blinked in confusion.
"How did you hear about it?" one man asked, "the Hyrulean Chronicle hasn't released this week yet."
Midna froze. Crap. she thought to herself.
"What are you carrying back there, anyway?"
"Supplies."
"Oh, you must be a traveling merchant. That's how you heard about it."
"Yup."
"So what are you transporting?"
"...Wood."
"Man of few words, eh?"
"Yup."
"Not surprising." the other man said, "You boys down there in Faron have your nose so deep into work, I'm surprised you aren't all built like Lord Ganondorf. Anyway, we wanted to ask if you had any information on the White Sorceress."
"No."
"Oh. Okay then, I won't take up too much more of your time. Good luck with all your trading and whatnot."
"Thanks, you too."
The two men gave each other a puzzled look as Midna went on her way.
"You suck at talking to people." Darunia told her.
"Shut up, you dumb rock!" Midna snapped in a hushed tone, "You're not helping!"
"Coast is clear, isn't it? I can talk if I want to. I just haven't because it's you I'd have to talk to."
"Don't make me stop this wagon!"
"So who were those guys, anyway?"
"I dunno. Probably those guys we-, uh...got attacked by the sorceress."
"Hmm... None of the other people responded like this."
"Well, it was ou-, the biggest attack the sorceress had ever done. Chances are, some bigwig got upset over it."
"Hmm... We'll have to tell the others after we stop."
The group stopped in another wooded area before they made camp. It was then when Midna and Darunia reported what they had seen.
"These two guys stopped us." Midna explained, "I didn't think anything of it, but Darunia made a big deal out of it."
"What'd they do?" asked Lana.
"They asked us about you." Darunia told her.
"Ahem!" Midna interrupted, "They asked me about you. Apparently we messed with some bigwig when we attacked that mansion."
"...It probably had to do with with that guy I...killed."
"Makes sense. I'd honestly forgotten you did that."
"Have you read about him?"
"Not really."
"His name was Oliver Koffman. You told us about him yesterday, remember? Apparently, he was the son of the head of Eldin Private Security. Their headquarters isn't too far from the estate.
Midna and Darunia looked at each other, then at Lana.
"So should we be worried?"
"I'm not sure. I don't know who the head of EPS is. We'll just have to be more careful is all."
"'EPS'?"
"Yeah, Eldin Private Security. It's an abbreviation."
"...All right..."
"Anyway..." Lana lowered her voice, "I need to talk to you guys about Linkle."
Volga leaned back against the stone wall behind him, staring through the bars in the dimly lit area.
During his battle with Lana, the sorceress had apparently sent him to a cell in the dungeon of Hyrule Castle, located in the castle's basement.
"I knew I sensed you here."
Ghirahim emerged into the light provided by the torches adorning the wall outside the cell.
Volga's eyes met his, "It would seem as though I've been fooled by the sorceress."
"Why haven't you escaped, yet? You could easily melt these bars."
"I've been thinking of ways to avoid this situation the next time I face the her. I think best when it's quiet."
"Well, I suppose I should let you out."
Using a small key, Ghirahim unlocked the cell door, and pried it open. "I'm surprised this cell is still functional." he commented, "No one's been confined here for hundreds of years."
As Volga walked by his comrade, he caught the sight of a pale grin smeared across his features.
"Are you that glad I haven't fallen in combat? Or did something happen while I was in this cell?"
"Did you see the way that girl looked at me?"
"What girl?"
"The blonde one. Who told me I killed her mother."
"...Yes, I saw it. What of it?"
"Her face was simply drenched in such hatred and malice. I'm still getting chills just thinking about it..."
"And that made you happy?"
Ghirahim flung his arms at shoulder length in a dramatic fashion. "Of course!" he said, "You don't know how downtrodden I was when Lord Ganondorf told me was wasn't to lay a hand on the Hero. I think I may have found a suitable replacement. And it's his sister no less!"
"What do you plan to do? I could tell by a simple glance that she was weak."
"That doesn't matter. What I plan to do is make her hate me even more. I want that adorable face of hers to wrinkle in hatred everytime she sees me. And once we deal with the sorceress and her allies, I'm going to keep her, and then I'm going to break her. The only question is, should I shatter her hatred in one fell swoop? Or should I let it melt into fear? Oh, I can't wait to listen to her innocent voice howl and scream in agony as she begs for me to kill her and end her suffering..."
Volga turned and walked away. "Every moment I spend in the company of you people is another reminder why I prefer to spend my time away from you all."
Linkle didn't dream that night. Not about Oliver, not about her old friends, not about anything. Perhaps she was simply too exhausted from the day's events. She was woken up early the next morning by Lana. Outside her tent, she could see that the others were already all awake. They all stood by a portal that Lana had opened up.
"What's going on?" she asked, "Did something happen?"
"We're gonna help train you." Midna answered.
Linkle blinked herself wider awake. "Huh?"
"Yup!" Lana added, "We all sympathize with you after yesterday, so we all thought it'd be great for all of us to help you train! We already have everything set up. But before we go... Are you sure you're serious about getting revenge on Ghirahim?"
The mention of the name cleared away any grogginess left. She looked at all her allies. Their faces were all hardened by the gravity of Lana's question. They were going to train her to kill.
Linkle nodded. This was how badly she wanted her enemy to pay for what he did to her, and to her mother.
"All right. Step through this portal."
On the other side was the Sacred Forest Meadow, where Impa was.
"So you were serious." she said, "Very well."
"Hey Tingle!" Lana called, "You're keeping watch at camp, right?"
"If Tingle hears anything, Tingle will come running!"
The others joined Linkle and Impa on the other side of the portal.
"Think you've gotten then hang of using those crossbows?" Lana asked Linkle.
"Um...no."
"Just aim and shoot." Midna trivialized the matter, "Can't be that hard, right?"
"You've more resolve than you did before," Impa told Linkle, "I believe that will serve as the tipping point, so to speak. I trust you'll grow accustomed to those crossbows very quickly."
"Before we get started," Lana began, "I want to tell you about an advanced technique you'll be learning after you start to feel a little more at home with those crossbows. Sit down on that stump over there."
Linkle obliged while the others spread out throughout the meadow. Lana erected a barrier around them all, so as to protect their surroundings from harm.
"When we fight," Lana explained, we use Elements in order to power up our attacks. I'm sure you saw when we were out there fighting Volga. Ruto's attacks, for instance used an Element. Water, as I'm sure you can guess. There are five Elements in all: Water, Fire, Lightning, Light, and Darkness. To use these, you'll have to learn how to utilize the energy inside you."
Linkle tried her best to not look as confused as she felt.
"All of us have an innate energy inside our bodies." Impa said, "It goes by different names in different cultures. Energy, chi, etcetera. To give you idea, controlling it is like redirecting water flow. You control the energy, make it flow into your weapons, and that is how Elements are used."
"But if it's in your body," Linkle responded, "how does it get to your weapon?"
"Think of your weapon as an extension of your body."
"Let me show you." Darunia volunteered. He brandished a large hammer he had brought with him. As he held it in front of him, flames began to rise from the head.
Linkle watched on, her eyes wide in amazement.
"See?" the Goron continued, "Think of your weapon as part of your body, and direct your energy to that part."
"Once you get good enough at it," Lana said, "You can start using more than one weapon in order to increase your flexibility in battle. Take Impa for example. She can use two weapons, which lets her use two different Elements."
"And sometimes, it's not as complex as that." Impa added, "Sometimes, you can use multiple Elements using one weapon. Like Agitha.
The odd girl answered Linkle's glance with a friendly wave.
"Show her, genius!" Midna told her.
"Oh! Sorry."
Agitha raised her parasol into the air, and opened it, prompting the familiar giant, gold-colored, beetle from the battle against Volga to appear alongside what appeared to be a giant butterfly of a matching color.
"As we've come to find out," Lana said, "the butterfly is Agitha's Element, Light, but the beetle is Lightning. Who knows? Maybe one of your crossbows will be one Element, and the other will be another!"
"Don't you know?" Midna cut in, "You made them, didn't you?"
"Shh! Anyway, while it's important that you master, this, it's even more important that you be careful in battle, because our enemies can do this, too. And you wouldn't wanna get hit with your weakness."
"What's my weakness?" Linkle asked.
"I dunno. But take our fight with Volga for example. The element of my tome is Lightning. When I hit both Ruto and Volga with my attack, it hurt Ruto more than it hurt Volga. That's because Lightning is Ruto's weakness and not Volga's."
"That's why you called out Ruto right?" Linkle asked, "Because Volga's weakness is Water?"
"That was more guesswork than anything. I'd hate to think his weakness was Water, though - it looked like it barely phased him."
"Well, your attacks didn't phase him at all until you used your spear." Darunia speculated, "Neither did Agitha's beetle."
"We'll talk about that another time. But, yeah, that's all there really is to using Elements. But before you start training for that, you have to get used to the weapon you'll use it with. Ready to get started?"
Linkle nodded, determination etched into her face.
"You're back!"
Benjamin hitched his horse at the hitching post before climbing down.
"How'd it go?" one of his employees asked.
"Lord Ganondorf is letting us help." Benjamin answered, "Starting tomorrow, all those who want to come with me can, those who don't are free to continue their duties."
Benjamin and the employee started on their way inside the large building before them - the headquarters of Eldin Private Security.
"So how are we gonna go about this?"
"First we'll need to bolster our ranks. Lord Ganondorf's gonna help us with that by having an advertisement put into the Hyrulean Chronicle. I don't wanna be misleading to anyone joining us, so from now until we catch that sorceress, I'm gonna splitting you guys up into two divisions: one will be handling our normal duties, and the other will help search for the sorceress, and her allies. The Saints of Power agree that she's made her hideout inside the Lost Woods, so we'll be going ahead with the plan to establish an outpost outside its perimeter."
"You're not gonna be sending any of us in there, are you?"
"No. Lord Ganondorf and the others have speculated that the sorceress is able to teleport to the forest, but she has to get to wherever her next target is on her own. We're gonna see if we can track her scent with the hounds, and once find her, that's when the fun starts."
Thomas answered the door with an amorous excitement.
It was Malon, as expected.
He wasted no time in taking her down the hall, and to his bedroom. He had nothing to do that night, which left him all the time in the world to do what he wanted with her, and he made sure to do just that. For him, their meeting the previous night was the best they had so far. He had little idea as to why, but Malon was completely different than she was before. She was more receptive to his touches, less hesitant to do what he told her to do, and she did what he wanted with more vigor.
He didn't know why she had such a change of heart, but if he had to guess, it was most likely because of how good he was in the bedroom.
Thomas thrust into her with everything he had, his eyes locked onto the girl as she welcomed everything he gave her.
He felt it. It was building up inside him. His climax was nigh. He thrust harder, and harder, then harder still, as Malon wrapped her legs around him, and pulled him closer. He smirked as he watched her. The girl lied flat, her face beet red, and her arms sprawled over her head as she made no effort to hold back her moans and shouts. He marveled at the sight before shutting his eyes as he felt his pleasure climb higher, and higher, and higher. Until-
"LINK!"
Thomas's eyes flew open, disbelief taking away from his climax. He looked down at Malon, who stared back, her eyes wide, not in disbelief, but like a child who had been caught breaking the most forbidden of rules.
Her eyes feared for what would happen next.
To be Continued!
Bonus Chapter
Lana and Link
Lana removed a large wooden lid she had found as she searched the southern Faron property. "Found you!" she whispered as she peered down into the darkness.
She descended down the ladder toward the sleeping boy at the bottom, elated that she had finally located him after almost an hour of searching. She approached the floor beneath in a slow manner, more so to not trip over the black hooded cloak she wore for disguise than out of fear of waking the boy. Lana had made it a point to never see him in person until the time came for him to retrieve the Master Sword, but after the day she watched him have, she couldn't help it - she had to be there for him, whether he knew she was there or not.
"Hi there!" she whispered to the sleeping boy, "My name's Lana, and yooooouu're Link, right? Nice to meet you!"
Gently, as she sat down next to Link, she lifted his small frame from the ground. As his body slumped against hers, she took a look at his face. It was tearstained - the boy had cried himself to sleep.
Lana forced a smile at him, hiding the surge of emotions she felt upon seeing the sight. It was something she was used to doing by now. "You're so cold," she told him, "Here, hang on a sec." Lana sat back against the ladder before removing her cloak. She used it to cover Link before embracing his body as a means to keep him warm.
The boy snuggled closer to the sorceress.
Lana tilted her head. "Aww." She sighed. "When Mother died I felt the same as you did. Sad...angry... In a way...me refusing to accept that she was gone caused all of this; had I never tried to bring her back, none of this would be happening...and I wouldn't have ended up like this."
Lana readjusted the cloak covering she and Link, making absolutely sure that he was fully covered. "You've been through so much already haven't you... You never seem to be born in a time when you can just live in piece - to live a long and happy life. Had I never made the mistakes I made, Hyrule would have never gotten like this...meaning you would never have been born. It's terrible... I wish there was something I could do to change it...I wish I could stay here, and hold you in my arms forever, and protect you from everything wrong with this world...but I can't... I'm sorry..."
She could hear them... The sound of Keese approaching in the distance. She formed a barrier, in hopes of keeping them away.
"The least I can do," she continued, "for now...is protect you from the cold."