Yay! Two chapters in one week! No one was responding to chapter eight, so I figured it was because it was on the second page - no one hardly ever looks there. So anyways, I updated so you don't have to wait forever! Here you go! Oh, and also - Lady Rose, if there is anything similar to your story in here, or in any other chapters, it was completely unintentional. I don't think there is, but I just needed to WRITE. You know how that feels. Happy writing, everyone!!

Link was riding Epona, riding across Hyrule Field in a frightening state of fury. He was bouncing up and down, and Navi, who had been sleeping in his pocket, woke up groggily. "Wha- what? Why are you going so fast, Link? Slow down!!" Navi yelled. "Don't dare tell me you were asleep back there," Link said dangerously, his eyes flashing as he looked ahead. Navi was silent. "Argh!!" Link yelled. "I don't want to explain," he said. "Well you're going to have to," she said. Link sighed. He told her what had happened the night before and this morning with Kiarakiku. Navi gasped. "Well, what are we going to do?" "We're going to Gerudo Valley." He said, the entrance now coming into view. "What for?" she asked. "Well, think about it. The leader is captured. The daughter of the man they most despise has her. They're the strongest and most capable race in all of Hyrule. Need any more reasons?" "So you're going to rally the Gerudo?" "That, and ask them if they know where the Sheikah are." "And we need the Sheikah because." Navi prompted. "Sheikah are masters of disguise," he said knowingly. "And they'll help cause both Impa and Zelda are gone. They've been serving the Royal Family faithfully for hundreds of years - but I don't know where they stay." "Oh, I see," she said. Link pulled Epona to a stop outside the carpenters' tent. "Be good, girl, and wait for me until I get back," he said. He looked to the head carpenter who nodded in understanding. Link and Navi entered the fortress, and stopped the nearest guard. "Hey, kid." She said. All the Gerudos knew him as "kid". "Hey," he said. "Listen, I need to see whoever's filling in for Nabooru - right now," he said firmly. The Gerudo's eyes opened wide at his tone. "Yes, sir," she said. "Follow me." Link kept up easily as the Gerudo led him through the many passageways of the hideout. Finally, she came to a small button in the hallway. She pressed it, and led him down a dark passageway. The torches were lit by a spare deku stick. The guard lit it in the main hallway. The passage curved and twisted and became very cold. "How far underground are we?" he questioned, shivering. "We're on the bottom floor of about two stories that are underground. Not too far." She said. Link felt it getting warmer and warmer until they stopped a stone door. The Gerudo rapped her knuckles on it. "Yes?" came a voice. "The kid." Link coughed loudly. "Er, Link is here," she said. "Send him in," she commanded. The Gerudo pushed the door slowly open, just large enough for Link and Navi to get in. "What do you want?" she said, eyeing him. "My name is Nikira. Why have you come?" "I came with bad news," he said. "Something has happened to Nabooru." Those were the magic words. Quick as a flash, Nikira was upon him, her scimitar at his throat. "What did you do with Nabooru, boy?" she hissed. "I didn't do anything! Someone else did. That's other bad news." Link said, trying very carefully to sound calm. Nikira slowly backed away, sheathing her scimitar. "What exactly are you trying to say, boy?" Link became angry. "Stop calling me boy! The fate of Hyrule is once again in my hands and you're calling me boy! Can't you treat me with any respect?" Nikira held his shoulders to stop him. "All right, I'm sorry. Now would you please explain what is going on?" Link calmed down. "This morning, at the festival.I couldn't find Zelda.I needed to talk to her, but I had to go to Opening Ceremonies.Zelda and the Sages were missing, all of them.Saria, Darunia, Impa, Nabooru, Rauru, Ruto.King said they weren't there.evil laugh.knew where they were.wouldn't tell us.appeared in Zelda's throne.had triforce on her wrist.told us she was Kiarakiku.Kiarakiku.Ganondorf's daughter." He trailed off. "She's what?!?" Nikira exploded. "Ganondorf's daughter?!? Wouldn't that mean another Gerudo was." she stopped here, for Link was holding his stomach as if he were sick. "Yes," he nodded meekly. "Can we drop that part?" Nikira nodded. "And she's got the Sages? All of them?" Link nodded again. "And she didn't tell you where she was hiding or where she put them?" "No, and she didn't try to attack or take the castle," Link said. "Well she's certainly smarter than her father," Nikira commented. "That's what she said, too," Link added. Nikira sat down. "Well, we're going to have to tell the others, and rally them," she said. She looked at Link expectantly. "Oh, no. I'm not telling them. I'm just fighting the main battle. You're their leader, you can be the one scared for your life telling them Nabooru's been captured and Ganondorf has a daughter. No way. Not me. You can forget it." Link said firmly. The next morning, Link stood in front of hundreds of Gerudo, fearing for his life.

*********

A Brief Interlude

"You filthy bastard! Let us out of here right now!" Nabooru screamed at the sky. The sages were in a circular room, each in their own cell. A small hole in the center of the room let in daylight. Meals were bread and water. "Nabooru, she can't hear you," Zelda said, exasperated. "Zelda, shut up! All you can do is nag me," Nabooru retorted. "Hey! Lay off, Nabooru. You're getting on everyone's nerves with all your ranting." Impa said. "I could do something about this if I was out of the STUPID cage!!" "Nabooru, you couldn't do anything to stop from getting in here, and it's going to be awhile until we get out. If we EVER get out." Rauru said. "Wait! Couldn't we use our Sage power?" Saria said. "I already tried," Zelda said. "Usually I can get rid of bars like this, but I can't." "Should we try it all together?" Ruto asked. "It's worth a try, I guess," Darunia said. The Sages lifted their hands to the sky. One by one, their magic appeared. Green, red, blue, purple, orange, yellow, and pink all rose above the heads. And one by one, they all disappeared. Kiarakiku laughed from a distance. "Silly little children," she said. "If it was that easy to escape, do you think I would have put you in there in the first place? There is so much evil surrounding this place your magic won't work. Not even with it all combined." She laughed again. "We're never going to get out of here, are we, Zelda?" Saria said, huddled in a small corner of her cell. "Shh, Saria. Don't worry. You're forgetting Link's not in here. Don't worry, he'll save us all," Zelda said reassuringly. "Stupid girl," Kiarakiku said. "He'll never find you here. You don't even know where you are - why should he?" Nabooru was about to say she did - then went silent, making Kiarakiku laugh again. "See?" she said. "He'll find us! You'll see! Link is the Hero of Time - there's nothing he can't do! The Triforce of Courage and the ugly thought of you will lead him here, wherever we are. He'll find you! You just wait. He'll come here and exterminate you just like he did your father. You're just like him, hiding behind your power and the Triforce.." A lightening bolt shot in the hole and struck Zelda. She screamed in agony. "Zelda!!" the Sages screamed. Zelda lay motionless on the floor of her cell. "Looks like her piece of the Triforce isn't working." She said. Then she peered around at the other Sages. "He'll never find us," Kiarakiku hissed. "Is that clear? Or does anyone ELSE want to contradict my word?" The room was silent. "That's what I thought," she said. "Now be good little Sages and don't be stupid. I am who you follow now." Kiarakiku laughed and didn't say anymore. "Is - is she gone?" Saria asked timidly, after a few minutes of silence. "I think so," Rauru said. Impa, who was in the cage next to Zelda, reached through the bars separating them and checked her pulse. "She's still alive," the Sages sighed with relief, "but she's unconscious. She'll be out of it for a few hours." They all sat back, defeated. "Well, what do we do now?" Ruto said. "I guess we just sit and wait," Rauru said.

******** You could hear a pin drop. Gerudos were quiet when they needed to be, but now they were listening to Link, hanging on his every word. "We won't need you yet," he said. "But Nikira will need to come with me. She will return to you when you're needed for battle. If we take too many now, it will make everything very obvious. But you need to be ready at anytime, for anything." "Meaning you'll be sleeping in shifts - half at night, half during the day, armed to the teeth twenty-four-seven. I mean it. I am putting Shina in charge. Go and arm yourselves." Nikira added. The Gerudos went back into the fortress. Link sighed. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Nikira asked. Link shot her a glare. "Too bad it's the easiest," he said. "Come on, you need some rest," she said. "We'll be up before dawn tomorrow." Link didn't answer; he had been too busy staring into space. Then suddenly he began to run. "Nikira! I just thought of something! Hurry up!" Link raced into the fortress, Nikira on his heels. They tore through the hideout, left and right and up and down - until finally they came to Link's room. He threw open the door and ran inside. He fumbled through his pack until he found his fairy ocarina, and held it up for her to see. "What would we use that for?" she asked, eyeing it incredulously. "Saria's Song," Link said. "Is she a sage?" Nikira asked. "The Forest Sage," Link said, "and using this song I can communicate with her."

*****

The faint notes of an ocarina reached Kiarakiku's ears. She glanced over at the pile of the Sages' things; among them was Saria's ocarina. She smirked. Making her way to the dungeon where the Sages were, she called for Saria. "Saria.guess what?" "You leave her alone!" Ruto said, and screamed as she dodged a lightning bolt. "Shut up, you twit. Saria.guess what?" she said again. "What?" Saria said defiantly. "I have something for you," she said, and made the ocarina visible through the hole in the ceiling, and Saria's tiny ears picked up the sound of her song. "Give me that ocarina!" Saria shrieked. "Oh, you want it? Why?" Saria opened her mouth to say something, and shut it again. "Because I just do." Saria said. "What are you going to do with it?" she taunted her. "Nothing! You said it yourself - your magic is so strong we can't do anything, right? I mean, that is the truth, isn't it?" "Of course it is!" Kiarakiku hissed. "So may I have it?" Saria asked shyly. "If you can catch it," she said, and cackled. "NO!!" Saria screamed, but it was too late. Her prized ocarina, her only connection with Link, was released from Kiarakiku's grasp and fell to the floor, shattering into a million tiny pieces. "No! No.no.no." Saria cried, crumpling down to floor, sobbing. "No..." she whispered. "No." Kiarakiku laughed and left. Saria was curled up in the fetal position in the corner of her cell. "No..."

A/N: Sorry if this was long, but I wanted to write a really long, hopefully powerful one. Please review.