FLASHBACK

While on the Jaegers boat, Kurome woke up and slowly stood up to see that she was in a different location. The ground was covered in fog and there were different types of buildings and locations in the area. Looking around, she couldn't hide her surprise, as she was sure she was about to fight a golden wolf. But their fight had barely started when she was teleported to this strange place.

"That damn wolf, where am I?" "Asked the young woman, before feeling a presence behind her.

Kurome quickly turned to see the same golden wolf who had attacked her earlier. Immediately she drew her sword before a light blinded her for a second. After Kurome regained the vision, she saw that the Golden Wolf was now a large armored skeleton with a glowing eye on the right side of his face.

" What is this? " She wondered, even though she thought she was hallucinating. " Is this real? "

"Who are you!?" Kurome asked furiously, as she prepared to attack. Yet the skeletal warrior stood in one place, and remained silent.

Seeing this, Kurome showed her frustration, before pretending to walk towards him. It was then that she heard a voice.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you." the warrior said, but Kurome did not lose her guard. "I am one of the ancient warriors of the distant past who would challenge the strongest swordsman I face."

"An ancient warrior? "Kurome repeated." The strongest swordsman? Are you kidding me "

"Not at all! I have come to you to help you."

"Help me? How's that?"

"You come from a far away world, and I could sense that you have fought tremendous battles in the past. As a spirit of heroes, let me test your abilities, young swordsman." Said the warrior known as the spirit of the hero before drawing his sword.

Seeing him do it, Kurome tightened her grip on her weapon before declaring.

"If you want, I have no problem with that. Let's go!" Kurome shouted, before leaping at the hero's mind.

Striking to kill, Kurome attempted to slice the spirit with a vertical blow, but the Warrior simply blocked her saber with his shield. The Warrior then pushed Kurome with his shield before swinging his sword horizontally, but Kurome did a back flip to avoid it. Then, barely Kurome landed on her feet than she tried to slice the warrior again, but this time the warrior swung his sword in order to confront Kurome. Kurome and the warrior looked at each other as they pushed with their swords with great force.

Thinking at first that they were evenly matched, Kurome suddenly felt her cheeks swell, before she vomited blood.

"Huh?" The warrior spirit wondered, stepping back.

Trying to emulate him, Kurome seemed to be hurt and exhausted, as blood continued to trickle down her chin. The effect of the drug on her body had damaged her body more than Wave realized.

"Is there a problem with your body, young swordsman?"

In response, Kurome ignored her injuries and ran towards her opponent to slash the warrior in the legs. However, the Warrior jumped over the bar and countered with a jump attack. Kurome quickly pulled away before slicing the warrior in the back. "GUH! " The spirit shouted, before hitting Kurome with his shield. Unable to avoid, the young woman felt her feet leave the ground.

"GAH! " Kurome cried.

Yet, managing to remain conscious, she performed an aerial pirouette, before falling to her feet. However, she then brought one knee to the ground, still feeling the taste of blood continue to form in her mouth.

"Are you giving up?" Asked the warrior spirit.

Grimacing in anger, Kurome forced himself to stand up, risking further deterioration of her body condition. Seeing her refuse to give up, the Warrior then charged Kurome while holding his sword in the air, as Kurome waited for him to get closer.

Then, when he was close enough, Kurome made a powerful gash down at the spirit, but the warrior suddenly vanished and appeared behind her back. The spirit then raised his sword in the air and swung it at Kurome, only for her to raise her sword in the air in order to block it. Then, using all her strength, she managed to push the warrior back. Then, rushing towards him, she spun like a top, before slicing him. Yet again the warrior spirit had once again vanished.

Trying to find him, Kurome then heard the sound of someone running behind her. Guided by her instinct, she quickly swung her sword behind her, only to have her wrist grabbed by the warrior. The spirit then used his shield to strike Kurome in the face.

Stunned, Kurome took a few steps back, as blood flowed from a wound to her forehead. After the hit and wanting to take advantage of her weakened state, the Warrior then raised his sword and was about to strike Kurome, but Kurome used her foot to strike the Warrior in the chin causing the Warrior to lose his focus. As the warrior came to his senses, Kurome could have hurt him. Yet her legs felt strangely heavy, as they shook. Then, little by little, her sight became blurry.

Seeing her in a sorry state, the warrior spirit began to sigh.

"Really, I think it's time to end this fight! You are not powerful enough to defeat me."

"Of course it is." Kurome retorted, running towards him.

However, dodging her sword without difficulty, the Warrior Spirit then kicked her with a knee, which struck her abdomen. Trying to grit her teeth, Kurome finally coughed up blood, before falling to her knees. Then, before they could defend themselves, the spirit's foot struck her face, smashing her nose, and knocking her on her back.

Seeing her drop her sword, which fell to the ground, the warrior spirit asserted.

"You have great determination, but what can you use it for if your body remains physically weak?"

"I… I'm not weak?" Kuroome retorted, trying to get up.

"Really? So if you are powerful, can you tell me why you are giving up drugs, in order to get stronger? Do you really believe that this will allow you to become the mightiest swordsman? Idiot! It only degrades your body, and that will prevent you from finding the path to follow, in order to surpass your own limits! A warrior who gets stronger by cheating is nothing but pathetic cowardly. "

Watching Kurome remaining lying on the ground, the spirit finally leaves, before declaring.

"Right now, you can't beat someone as strong as me! So it's okay for you to try and face an opponent stronger than me."

Pretending to go away, he suddenly declared.

"To defeat me, you have to exceed your limits! And to get there, you have to do it on your own.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Ku ... me! K ... ome! Do you hear us?"

Opening her eyes weakly, Kurome finally saw the faces of Run and Tatsumi. Lying on the ground, the young woman now had her body covered with various bandages. At first surprised, she ends up standing up, while asking.

" Where is he ? "

However, she hardly made this gesture that she began to cough, before spitting out a few droplets of blood.

"Rest." Run ordered her, forcing her back to bed. "Damn it, what happened to you? And why is the boat damaged? Who did you fight against?"

"The boat?" Kurome wondered.

At that moment, she saw saber marks on the plasterboard of the boat, as if her battle with the warrior spirit had taken place here. Finally, she understood what had happened.

" We got into a fight here and he really used an illusion technique to make me believe he had teleported me somewhere else. "

"Where are the others?" Tatsumi asked, while there was no one else on the boat.

"Go looking for you! And Seryu?"

"We don't know where she is." Run confessed.

"In the end, you still have to find the rest of your friends." Link remarked.

Seeing him, Kurome asked.

" Who is it ? "

"He's a friend." Run assured. "Kurome, this is Link-san! Just like Mario-san, he's a participant in the tournament hosted by Master Hand! He helped us get here! Link-san, this is Kurome-san! That's it!" a member of our group. "

"An elf?" Kurome wondered, seeing his pointy ears.

"I am not an elf."

"A tournament participant…" Kurome repeated. "So you are powerful, I imagine."

"Yeah, you should have seen him. He took down a big monster in one fell swoop. Even Esdeath would be in awe of his power."

"There is more important." Run retorted. "Kurome, what happened here?"

Lowering her gaze, the young woman closed her fists, remembering perfectly the fight she had just led. Then Run was surprised to see tears rolling down her cheeks.

" Kurome ? "

"Run ... Esdeath-san ... she's going to hate me."

"Huh? Why?"

"I ... I ... Someone came and challenged me! I agreed to fight him and I ... I lost! I lost again."

Starting to cry in shame, she ran her hand over her eyes, before starting to sob completely.

"Since ouru left our world, I haven't done anything right! I lost my teigu! I have no more cookies! And I lost twice! Run ... Esdeath m 'kicked out of the Jaegers. "

"But what are you talking about?" Run asked her. "Why would she do that?"

"Because I have become the weakest person in our group."

"Don't say anything! You're not weak! It's just that ..."

"STOP TRYING TO CONSOLATE ME!" Kurome roared. "I KNOW I AM WEAK! I AM SO WEAK THAT I HAVE TO ABSORB DRUGS TO BECOME STRONG!"

Gritting her teeth, she declared.

"He's right! Without my drugs I suck! Without them I would never have been able to be part of the Jaegers."

Listening to her, Run and Tatsumi didn't know what to say. Finally, they heard.

"Because you think crying will make you stronger?"

Surprised, Kurome turned to Link, who was now seated and leaning against the mast of the boat.

"Is it a shame for you to lose? You're really stupid."

"What did you say ? "

Pointing at himself, Link asserted.

"The first time I participated in the Master Hand tournament, I lost in the first round! I was beaten by Sonic, without having managed to touch him once."

"What?" Tatsumi wondered. "Did you ... Did you really lose?"

"Yes! And it is true that I had felt humiliated, then! However, as I was on the ground, and the match was over, Sonic had come over to me and held out his hand. to help me get up! Then he told me that he would like to fight me again! It was by hearing him say that that the humiliation of my fight had disappeared, to be replaced by motivation Since that loss, I have been training hard so that I can beat him in our next fight. "

Staring at Kurome, he declared.

"How important is it to lose? You're still alive, aren't you? Instead of crying, ask yourself what made you lose and get better."

Listening to him, Run brought a smile to his face, before asserting.

"I couldn't have given better advice than this, Link-san."

Just shrugging, the hero stood up, before asking.

"What are you going to do now? Are you going to stay here while your friends come back?"

"Hmm, actually, come to think of it, we just tried to find our friends, not thinking of looking for that mysterious heart that we're supposed to find. " Tatsumi said. "It might be better to start looking for him or, at least, find a clue."

"It's true that they'll come back here eventually." Run agreed. "Plus, we can always find them using our dial pieces! On the other hand, if they decide to come back here, it is best that someone stays to inform them that we have left to find the heart. "

"How about we just leave a note?" Tatsumi asked, as he took out a piece of paper and wrote down some stuff.

Seeing them activate, Kurome was silent, and finally jumped, when she heard Run question her.

"Kurome, are you fit to follow us?"

"I… I don't know." Kurome confessed.

In truth, Kurome felt weaker mentally than physically, afraid of becoming useless again. Ignoring her anxiety, Taytsumi looked around the boat, before asking.

"But where do we look first? This place is huge. "

"If I make a suggestion, I might know some people who could help you." Link said, as he grabbed everyone's attention. Link then points to the other side of the lake. "There is a place called the mirror chamber right up there. There are sages who might know where the object you are talking about is." Link said.

Looking at Run, Tatsumi and Kurome saw him thoughtful. Then, finally, the boy nodded.

"That might get us a lead! We're following you, Link-san."

During this time...

Back at the big bridge, King Bulblin's pig went straight to the edge of the field as he heard someone climbing up. He then saw King Bulblin retreat to the field. King Bulblin stood up and started to smell a scent, he then smiled and took out two big shields that were attached to his pig, he then wrapped the shields around his arms and rode on his pig, before to go directly to the village of Kakariko.

Following the same path as Esdeath and the rest of the Jaegers, Tatsumi, Run, Kurome, and Link went for a walk to Fyer's house, until Tatsumi saw the cannon with legs.

"Ohhhh, what is this thing? A cannon that can walk? What is it for?"

"It's a cannon that will launch us towards the city in the sky." Link said.

Hearing this, Tatsumi felt drops of sweat appear on her face. Then, rushing over to Run, he begged him.

" Take me with you. "

"Sorry, Tatsumi." The man apologized, while Kurome was already in front of him. "Kurome already asked me."

"Traitor."

"Don't worry, the trip won't be dangerous." Link assured.

Then, searching the ground, he grabbed a small green emerald, before throwing it at Tatsumi.

"We'll just need this."

"What is it?" Tatsumi asked, looking at the little gem.

"It's a rupee. It's the currency of this country. You can find them anywhere here in Hyrule." Link said, before walking away from them.

Continuing to follow him, the Jaegers stayed behind him, while Tatsumi put the rupee in his pocket.

Finally, a few minutes later, Link arrived in front of Fyer's house.

"Oh, if it isn't Link and some other strangers." said Fyer.

Looking at the clown in surprise, Tatsumi looked surprised at the emotions he could see on his face.

"I can't tell if he said that in a happy or a sad way." Tatsumi tells Run.

"Whatever, I don't care," the boy said, with a dry and somewhat angry tone.

" Run ? "

"It's okay! It's just that I don't like clowns very much."

" Really ? "

"Hello Fyer, we are heading towards the Gerudo Desert. Do you mind bringing us over? »Link requested.

"Ha ha, no problem, Link. It will be ten rupees for the trip. Fyer said. Link took a yellow rupee from his pocket and gave it to Fyer.

"How is this depressed clown going to help us?" Kurome asked.

"You will find out." The link responded.

"Alright guys, come in and I'll be whisk you to the Gerudo Desert in no time." Fyer said as he stepped aside to let Link and the Jaegers in.

However, seizing Kurome, while understanding what was going to happen, Run swore.

"We will follow you flying! Good luck, Tatsumi."

" Hey, un instant. "

Too late. The door then immediately closed as Fyer walked over to the music box lever and began spinning it as the music began to play. The house then started to move when the roof opened to let out a large cannon aimed at the desert. The cannon then fired, causing Tatsumi and Link to fly at high speed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cried Tatsumi.

Following the duo, Run was flying behind them, but soon found that his speed was slower than Tatsumi's.

"It's the first time I've seen someone fly faster than me."

Then, a few seconds later, Tatsumi felt himself fall as his body approached a desert place. Imitating him, Link was able to perform various aerial pirouettes, before landing on the sand at ease, while Tatsumi landed so hard that their upper body sank into the sand. Landing behind him, Run put his feet on the ground and put Kurome down, before asking.

"Are you still alive, Tatsumi?"

"I'm tired of being a Jaeger!" Tatsumi growled, pulling his head out of the sand. "Since I'm with you, I only get into trouble."

"We need to move on quickly. We don't know when these will appear." Link said starting to run.

"Hmm? What will appear? " Tatsumi asked, as he saw some sort of creature come out of the sand and fly straight towards them.

However, faster than it, Kurome drew her sword and sliced the monster in half.

"Leevers! Run! " Link exclaimed as they now started to run in the desert.

A few Leevers appeared behind them, but the Jaegers quickly used their teigus to push them back.

"Hurry up, head for that door!" Link shouted, gesturing to a wooden door.

Kurome went ahead and walked through the door, as everyone passed.

"They won't follow us here. We can continue without delay." Link said.

"Phew ... It was a scary desert." Run said. "From what I see, you have to know the fauna of this kingdom well before going sightseeing."

"Who would be sightseeing here?" Tatsumi growled.

At that moment, as she walked past the small group, Kurome spotted a monument resembling a colosseum.

"What is this place? Shall we go there?"

"Yeah, that's it. We should go while it's still daylight." Link said, making the others understand that danger could come at night.