The Missing Link
V1.5b
(or: Flower Petals in Your Ear Part Two!)
By: The Kirby Kid ( thekirbykid@hotmail.com )
Disclaimer:
Well, I'd like to say that I own The Legend of Zelda™. Then I could say to people.. "Hey, I own Zelda™.". To which they'd say. "Hey, you're cool.". But of course I can't say that because Nintendo owns Zelda™. So there goes my dreams and ambitions of being cool…
Author's Notes:
First off, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed my fiction so far. This bud's for you! ( or Coca-Cola, for those of you too young to drink. ). I really appreciate your comments.
Second, It was a long time between chapters. Sorry…I dunno what to say…I was just busy. Sorry for those who were interested in this fic. I'm also trying to work on a website for drawings of this and other fics.
To answer a question asked in one of my reviews…Yes, everyone who enters the Dark World turns into an animal. ;). Actually, no…but if you play A Link To The Past™, you'll see that for people who enter the Dark World, the omnipresence of the Triforce ( of Power maybe ) turns them into a physical representation of what they're really like. For example, if you're always bouncing from opinion to opinion, you'd be a Ball in the Dark World. The dark influence of the Triforce of Power might be one reason why Ganondorf turned into Ganon The Pig. (Ocarina of Time™)
That's what I'm using in this fiction. In the game, there was an item needed to turn you back to your old body. Will my Link look for and find the same item? Wait a minute…that sounds like a Next Chapter line. Grr. Let's just start with the fiction. Enjoy!
Last Chapter:
Well in Hyrule, Invincible embarks on his journey to save Princess Zelda and Liute of the Zora from the Dark World, while being stalked strange new monster. That can't be good. Meanwhile, young Link was rescued from the Moblin Troop by the lovely and talented Itali. Who is she and where'd she come from? We'll find out soon enough.
Now Link's in a bar full of vicious toughs who want to eat a guppy, a perhaps sentient guppy, in peace. What's a hero-in-training to do?
************
"Please…please don't let it eat me!", Link heard the guppy cry as it was slowly tipped from the small jar of water. Link's pink fur bristled, and he planted his paws on the bar table in stress.
"Can't you hear that!?", he hissed at his dinner partner, a young girl with two braided pigtails tied together with huge bows. She was also dressed in a two-piece black jumpsuit topped over with a short sleeveless diaphanous dress. The girl's name was Itali, for those at home keeping score.
Itali stared at him, putting down her spoonful of broth. "I don't hear anything. What's wrong with you?".
"Please. Someone help me!".
Link watched in horror as the boar-man from the neighboring table lifted the jar and prepared to pour it into the chunky soup.
Link released a high-pitched growl and leapt from his table with a powerful push of his hind legs. Quick as a rabbit, he snatched the bottle from the boar-man with a swipe of his paw while crashing into the boar and his companions food, before skidding on the wooden floor of the bar.
Pausing for a moment, he opened his paw and looked to see if the glass of the jar was broken. Luckily, it was whole and the guppy inside was alive. There was no expression on it's face, and the only movements it made was the opening and closing of it's mouth to intake precious air from the water. Still, Link smiled a big toothy grin upon realizing the creature was safe.
Then he realized he might not be so safe, when he noticed that the sound of talking and music and laughter in the bar had come to a complete silence. Link nervously looked behind him and saw the two angry boar-men rising from their seats. Their clothes were stained with their dinner, their tusks gleamed and their teeth were bared with rage. Link gulped, smiled and waved at the two angry men with his fingers.
The boarman roared and made a move towards the rabbit, but stopped with a small gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Itali smiling radiantly at him with shining blue eyes. "I'll pay you three times what you paid for that dinner to make this little incident 'go away'.", she cooed.
The snorted and glanced at Link's direction. "You will pay me one-thousand rupees.". He grunted.
"Two Hundred.", Itali retorted.
"Eight.".
"Three hundred.".
The boarman stared at her with blazing red eyes. "Five hundred, plus another 1 for the cost of my delicacy.".
Itali smiled stiffly. "Six-hundred it is then.", she said, reaching to a small purse at her waist and pouring all the contents to the table surface. Dozens of shiny yellow gems clanked and danced around in front of the greedy Boarmen's eyes.
They smiled and took the money. Then they turned to Link and grunted menacingly, before making the move to another table. The serving woman that had been helping the Itali and Link before moved to them now with a sad face.
"Boss thinks you guys should leave now.", she told them with a frown. "Sorry.".
"It's okay.", Itali said. "I think some of us have overstayed our welcome.". She yanked Link up by the ears to his feet and they proceeded out of the bar. The two of them completely ignored the angry stares directed at them. At least, they tried to.
Outside, Link clutched the jar of guppy to his chest and turned to Itali. "Hey, that was close.", he started. "The poor thing would have boiled in that soup, I'm sure…". He trailed off when he saw the look on Itali's face. Her eye color had become very dark.
"You really have no idea how angry I am right now, do you?", she said quietly.
Link blinked. "I'll pay you back.", he started.
"When, huh? How? What kind of job's a pink rabbit gonna find around here? I saved up that money for a long time, bunny!"., she said through grinding teeth.
"I'll pay you back when I get my old body back. Maybe then I'll get my wallet and sword back too and…".
"Again about your damn body! It's not gonna happen!", she screamed. At that point she began to walk away, pressing her hands against her temple and squinting her eyes.
Link bounded after her, keeping a bit of distance. "Look… I'm sorry I messed up your dinner, but it was for a good cause!". With that, he pushed forward the jar to the girl. "This fish is alive, and…I mean it is somebody. Maybe it's from Hyrule, and it's got this lousy body like me…".
"You better hope not, cause if that's true, it'll wish it really was a mindless guppy.". Itali sighed and put a hand to her temple again. "…because there's no way to change your shape back!".
"How do you know!?", Link persisted.
"Graah!!!", Itali yelled, as she reared to face the rabbit. Instead of continuing however, she stared behind him, and her eyes became cold and angry.
Link turned. The boarmen that he had rescued the guppy from were approaching them. The walked menacingly, shoulder to shoulder, and their mouths formed an evil grin. Link twitched his nose and instinctively moved behind the girl. Goddess how he hated being a rabbit.
The boarmen flanked Itali and stood their, breathing heavily and staring lustfully. Itali was nonplused. "You guys come to apologize for overreacting?", she started with a sarcastic smile. Her smile fell when the boarmen refused to answer. "What do you want? I paid you what you didn't I?".
"I believe we want a bit more.", Boarone growled, sliding a bristled finger down the girls cheek. She flinched just a little, and the boarman grinned wider. "After all, that was a very…". He inched his snout closer to her face, causing her to shut her eyes and tremble slightly. "…very rare delicacy.".
"So we want to make a complete exchange.", Boartwo said, inching closer. "One rare delicacy for another.".
Link had had enough. He put the jar down and was prepared to do whatever his little body could to prevent an atrocity from happening, but was shocked frozen when Itali's eyes flared open, blazing red.
"You want a delicacy?", Itali said coldly. She stamped her foot hard into the ground, so hard that the ground exploded into a little crater. Flower blossoms erupted into the night air, and invisible threads of power burst from her body and latched onto the boarmen. Their eyes bulged out and they strained against the force that held them in the air… all to no avail.
Itali brought her small arms forward and crossed them over her chest. A little storm of whirling flower petals coiled around her feet and she raised a few inches into the air. The boarmen screamed as the were slowly lifted as well.
Link could see the strain on Itali's arms as she seemed to struggle against some unseen force. The boarmen began to whirl around her in the same direction of the flower petals and upward.
Finally, when the boarmen reached the apex of their spiral, Itali released her arms to her side, and they blasted upwards with a tremendous eruption. They were fired with such a force that flower petals, dust and chunks of dirt were propelled away at a radius. Even Link was knocked to his bottom. He looked up and watched as the boarmen continued to soar into the atmosphere until they became a tiny speck in the skyline.
Itali let out a gasp and settled to the ground roughly. "Hope they got all they wished for.", she whispered angrily as her panting slowed. Link tentatively walked up to her, and then patted her back with a soft paw.
"You're ok.", was all he said. He wasn't going to talk about how amazing what she just did was. That went without saying.
"Link…", Itali sighed. Her shoulder's drooped and she began to shuffle her feet away from him. "I need to get away from you. You're dangerous.".
"Come on…".
"I've used more magic in three hours than I have the last three days.". Itali continued. "Not to mention all that money…".
Link hopped to her side, holding the jar gingerly. They walked a distance away from the little village until it was barely visible through the clearing. Finally, Link said, "As soon as I get my body back, I'll pay you back. I promise.".
Itali turned on him, pigtails swaying, and shouted into his long ear, "What did I tell you!? There's no way to get your body back!!!".
"That's…not necessarily true, Miss.".
Both Link and Itali turned to the source of the new voice. Underneath a dry tree, leaning up against the rough bark was perhaps the most beautiful boy either of them had ever seen.
He looked around 17, and was nearly 6 feet in height. His hair was short over his eyes, parted down the middle, with large locks, and glistened an eerie silver color. His skin was tanned, almost bronze, and his body was muscular, while toned and lean. He wore a white sash around his waist that were held up around his shoulders, and that lead into a white knee-length kilt. His arms and legs were banded with white leather. He simple sandals on his feet.
And as if his Adonis-look wasn't enough, he also had a simple pair of honest-to-gosh white wings on his back.
"You've got to be kidding me.", Itali breathed. She put a hand on her hip and looked at the young man skeptically. "What do you know about the Traveler's Problem?".
Link blinked in confusion. "Traveler's Problem?".
"What we call your predicament, Bunny.".
"Try 'Link', Itali. It's monosyllabic, so it shouldn't be so hard to say.".
"Monosyl-", Itali started, before waving her hands in frustration. "Whatever.".
The new guy waved a hand between the two. "Uh, guys. Let's try to focus here.", he told them with a smile.
Itali twirled and faced him angrily. "What do you want!?", she shouted. That caused him to put his hands up in defense.
"Just to help!"., he said quickly, still smiling. "The answer to your friend's problem lies in Death Mountain.". He placed his fists on his hips and flexed his fluffy wings. "There's a powerful wizard or somebody that lives up near the peak's cave. All we have to do is pass the Death Mountain Trials, and we're golden.".
Itali rolled her eyes and pointed to the gigantic volcano. "Oh sure. No problem. All we have to do is pass the acid rain, scolding ash and boiling water, as well as blood-thirsty Tektites before we even get into the bloody Trials.". She peered at Link sidelong. "If you're tired of living, following this goofball is the way to go.".
The new guy shook his head. "Not with me at your side. I'll protect you guys.".
"We don't need your protection!", Itali growled. "Why are you so eager to help, anyway?".
He shrugged. "'Cause bunny-guy needs help, and helping someone's the right thing to do.", he explained simply.
"Oh please.".
Link took a step towards the young man. " If you really think me and this guppy can get our old bodies back, then I'm going. Thanks.".
"Thank me when you've got your body back.", the other said smiling. "The name's Rune.".
Link smiled. "I'm Link. This is Itali.", he said, thumbing his paw at the girl. "Let's start!". Rune grinned and with a flex of his wings, started towards the mountain. Itali reached over and grabbed Link's shoulder.
"Bad idea!", she hissed. "You don't know if this boob can protect you and your fishy friend up there.".
Link smiled mischievously at her. "That's why you'll be coming along with that fancy magic of yours, right?". With that, Link hopped off and continued by Rune's side. Itali watched them for a moment, grinding her teeth.
"Damn my soft spot for pink furry things.", she grated, and followed the boys up the perilous Mountain.
************
Invincible patted Epona after a smooth dismount, and led her to the pool of crystal clear water. She bent down her head and drank greedily, and Invincible stood in the shade of a singular tree while he surveyed their surroundings. Around them was sand. Miles of sand.
Letting out a sigh, he popped open the lid of a leather flask and drank the warming water inside. He took in another swig and then sloshed the water around in his mouth, before spitting it to the ground. Sand was getting everywhere, his mouth, his eyes, his hair…his unmentionables.
"Halfway there.", Invincible breathed, and sat silently. He had forgotten how far away from Hyrule the Gerudo's live, and since they've been moving about in the vast desert recently, it had become even harder to find them. Invincible closed his eyes slowly, and began to lie on his back.
Then, his eyes flared open, and he jumped to his feet, but not before an explosion of sand rocked him from underneath. He struggled to keep his balance, while trying to keep the flare of sand from blinding him. Angry at being surprised, he reached behind him and grasped the handle of the slim edged blade strapped horizontally on his back.
"Take it easy there hot-shot.". A voice boomed calmly in the sand winds. The sand finally settled, and Invincible tensed ever so slightly at the creature in front of him.
The thing looked like a giant bear. It towered over Invincible at 8 feet and 6 inches height and its shoulders were 5 feet wide. Its skin was a rough golden color. Its long arms ended in four enormous claws, and its short legs ended the same way. It wore a short cape draped over its shoulders. The cape was red, and on the shoulders were the symbols of the Golden Triangle.
The bear held up a hand at Invincible, who was still ready to pull out his blade and create major carnage. "Like I said, tone it down there Sparky. I'd hate to hurt ya.".
Invincible snarled at the beast. "What do you want!?".
The bear frowned slightly. "That's not very polite there, Link. Then again I suppose being raised on a farm didn't teach you any manners.". It shrugged it's head and held up a hand in apology. "No, that's not right. Your wife, Malon's got plenty of manners. So does Talon…both the Talon's. No, I think it's just you. As the Queen would say, you're just a knucklehead.".
With that, it sauntered towards Epona at the small Oasis, Invincible staring after him in complete befuddlement. The creature nudged Epona a bit, and the horse sidestepped a few feet away, continuing to drink. Invincible inched slowly towards the creature.
"How do you know so much about me?".
"I read it in a book, Charlie Brown.". The creature replied, without looking. It sat roughly to the ground with a mighty thud, and then patted the ground to his left. "Sit. Let's talk, Tiger.".
Invincible inched even closer. His hand was at his side, but was still ready to go for his blade at any moment. "What's there to talk about?". He asked sternly.
"There are two Links in this Universe, living at the same time. You, and the boy. That's never happened before, ever.".
Invincible frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about. There are many people in Hyrule named 'Link'.".
"No really? I didn't know that cause I live under the sand.". The bear rolled his eyes and sighed. "Let's try this again, there are many people named 'Link', true…but now there are two Links. Two you's. You're not supposed to be here, the boy is. Now the Universe is trying to fix it's mistake, and it can't. That's how your very presence might end up in the total destruction of everything that is.". The bear replied. It crossed it's mighty arms across its chest.
Invincible blinked in surprise. "Me!?", he started in protest. "You're talking crazy!! What did I do?".
The bear chuckled. "What did I do?", he repeated in a whiny voice and then he glanced at the warrior. "How about 'you were born?', genius. It's not entirely your fault. For whatever reason, you were put on this earth…and now it might lead to it's demise. The seeds were planted during the Ghanim assault ten years ago, they're growing in action today and it'll bloom when your daughters are grown.".
Invincible's head began to reel. This thing knew everything about him. Suddenly, something the beast had said rung in his mind. "Daughter's?". Invincible said. "Does that mean Malon's gonna have a girl?". The beast must have known Malon was pregnant. It new everything else.
"You know exactly what I mean, Sparky.", the bear said, leveling a cold grin towards the elf. Invincible blanched for a moment. The thing did know everything about him. He then flushed in rage.
"Who the hell are you?", he growled, reaching for his sword.
The bear chuckled. "Guess I hit a nerve.". It got to his feet, towering over Invincible impressively . "I am Ursus. My people have been around long before pointy-eared Neanderthals evolved into the Elves, Gerudo, Zora's and those rock folk. You see, we are the Goddesses first creation.". He said that last part with a shrewd smile.
Invincible relaxed visibly, and put a hand on his hip. "Right. You really had me going for a while. You knew what only 2 people in this world knew, and I know they'd never tell. Still, this new story's a bit too much.".
"Sit and I'll explain, Billy Bob.", Ursus said smiling, and sat to the ground once more. This time, Invincible sat, not next to him, but still close enough for the bear not to shout.
"Nayru, Farore, Din…They were kids, children. When They came to this world, They saw it as a perfect place to make Themselves a sister/child. You see, They were bored with Themselves, and wanted to make a sister/daughter that was just like Them. But They never created anything before, especially not anything divine, so They needed a little practice. So, They created us, the Ursus. ". He spread his arms wide to showcase himself. Invincible wasn't impressed.
"Oh really.".
"Yeah, but we were good. Too good. We couldn't die, we didn't need food or drink. There was no challenge to our lives. That's not what the Goddesses wanted. So They used what They fashioned to make us, but divided it evenly in three. Thus, the Zora, the Goron and the Hylians.".
Invincible was smirking. "You forgot the Gerudo.", he reminded the bear.
"Don't be stupid. Gerudo's are basically elves. They've simply inherited a genetic condition that makes them have a disproportionate number of female children. Otherwise, aside from some physical differences, you're the same. Now where was I?". Ursus tapped his chin with a massive claw and then smiled. "Now the Goddesses were adept at creating life with a balance, so now They tried to create their divine sister/child. The result…". Ursus put his claw thumbs and his index claws together into a triangle shape.
"The Triforce…".
Ursus nodded. "Yes, the Triforce. However, it didn't work out. Because the Triforce was Divine, it wasn't sentient. Try as they might, the Goddesses couldn't figure out how to give the Triforce sentience, while retaining it's divinity. So that was it. They left the Triforce, a small piece of themselves, to govern this world and They left. Maybe to try Their luck at creation again, in some small pocket of the universe, far far away.".
Invincible could only shake his head and look at the bear disdainfully. "That's not just a bunch of bull, it's a blasphemous bunch of bull.".
"Why?".
The Hylian warrior blinked in surprise. "What?".
"Why is it false? Is it because you didn't see it? Or is it because you heard differently from someone else?".
"It was written…".
"By the Goddesses?", Ursus pushed.
Invincible frowned. "No…".
"Then did whoever wrote whatever it was that "was written" see it happen personally?".
Now the Hylian was rubbing his head. "Why are you here Ursus?", he grated, hoping he was changing the subject. "Why're you telling me all of these things?".
Ursus shrugged. "I'm interested in your little dilemma. People vanishing here and there…important people, always makes for a bit of interest.".
Invincible leaned forward towards the bear. "What do you know?".
"Only that you're right. This is a systematic attack.".
"But why?", Invincible started. "Why kidnap the Hylian and Zoran princesses. I mean, what could they want? Why not go after the Queens of Kings?". He paused for a moment and then an idea came to him. "Wait…why kidnap the others, the civilians?".
"Yes…why would they kidnap the civilians. Good question. Hmmm…".
Invincible paused. "You're saying the weren't kidnapped.". Suddenly he slammed a fist into his palm. "They were just a distraction. To get after Zelda and Liute!".
Ursus smiled. "Worked real nice too. You guys were like Cucco's with their heads cut off. It was easy pickings.".
"But what does Zelda have to offer? Why go after her and not the King?".
"You mean besides the obvious?".
"The obvious?", Invincible wondered. The first thought that came into his head was something so vile he couldn't stomach it, and he brushed it out violently. He couldn't live thinking that Zelda would be abused like that. There had to be another reason. Invincible tried to think. "Riches?", he muttered.
"The ransom note would have mentioned that.".
"What note?".
"Exactly.".
Grinding his teeth, the knight shot Ursus a vexed look. "Then what!? Give me a clue, know-it-all!!".
Ursus crossed his mighty arms again. "Well, you'd agree that power is the ultimate goal for just about anyone who thinks of getting out of bed in the morning, right?".
Invincible paused for a moment, and then nodded. Power, in whatever shape or form is a common form of motivation.
Ursus continued. "What is power?".
The first word that came to Invincible's mind was 'knowledge.'. He didn't say it though, because it was pretty cliché. But what was power? What is knowledge? Invincible took in a breath as the answer dawned in his mind.
"Knowledge…Wisdom! Zelly's magic!".
"Hot dog, we have a wiener.".
The smile fell off of Invincible's face when he suddenly realized that this little quiz game was wasting time. This thing knew all the answers, so it made sense that he probably knew something else too, something important.
"You know where she is.", Invincible growled.
"Maybe.".
Invincible was furious. "You know! Tell me NOW!".
"Or what? You'll kill me?".
"Maybe.". With that, Invincible laid a hand on the sword handle strapped to his back and moved up to his feet with slow precision. Ursus let out a mighty booming laugh.
"Don't hurt yourself.", the bear began. "You can figure it out pretty easily. After-all, there are only two places she could be. Here or There.".
Here or There? It wasn't making enough sense. Before Invincible could open his mouth, the bear moved to his feet quickly and held out a palm.
"Just keep doing as you were and go see the Gerudo. Armed with your new information, you'll find the answers your looking for. But Link…or er…Invincible, whatever your calling yourself nowadays, you have to be careful. There's something waiting for you in the desert. Something strong, something that won't stop until your dead. Kill it, but be mindful when and how you do, or you'll miss something very important.".
Invincible blinked. "Could that be any more cryptic?", he lamented.
Ursus shrugged again and shambled into the sands. "You're welcome. Be prepared, hero.". With that, the bear shuffled into the sands until the desert dunes took him from Invincible's vision.
He brought a hand up to his eyes and searched the desert for another sign of the massive creature, but Ursus was gone. Epona simply continued to rest by the oasis pond, as if nothing had happened.
Invincible laughed. "Maybe he was a mirage.", he joked to himself. Perhaps he was. Still, the warrior sat to the ground and tried to meditate on what he had heard, or thought he had heard.
He was going to solve the puzzle of Zelda's disappearance, even if it took the revelations of a mirage to help him.
************
The path up Death Mountain was relatively easy, especially with Rune batting Tektites left and right as if they were flies. Itali normally wasn't easily impressed, but even she had to marvel at the winged boy's strength. Throughout it all, Rune just grinned modestly.
Finally, the group made it up into a cave at the side of the mighty hill. Itali and Link noticed that this cave was obviously not a natural phenomenon. The walls were smooth and chiseled out of the rock facing. Inside the dampness of the cave was a thin strip of light that stream from the bottom of the wall.
"What is this?", she asked curiously as Rune strolled passed her and to the wall. He knelt and reached under the small crack in the rock. With a grunt, he began to pull upwards. He let out a grunt of effort, veins bulged in his neck and his muscles tensed. The ground shattered beneath his feet as he heaved the rock upwards. Itali and Link backed away from the dust and pebbles that rushed from the fissure. With a final yell, Rune pulled the hidden slab doorway up and open.
Link brushed the dust away from his face and Itali covered her mouth. When the cloud was cleared, they could see that beyond the rock doorway was the hollowed out spire of Death Mountain. Inside was a large waterfall of lava that poured from a fissure stories above and into a pool. Gears and pulleys moved platforms about and around and up to the spiral's crown. Itali and Link could only stare with their mouths agape.
Rune turned, gave them a winning smile and flexed his wings once more. "Guys, welcome to the Death Mountain Trials.".
NEXT CHAPTER:
Anyway, next chapter the Trial begins. Link needs to take a lot of steps to get his and the guppy's body back, and he'll need all the help Rune and Itali can give him. Meanwhile, Invincible's gonna have a close encounter of the Erfos kind. Stay tuned for the next action packed Chapter: Later! (o'.')o