Chapter 20: Zora's Wedding

Three days had passed since Maiku proposed and convinced Ruto to marry him. He lay in wait in a chamber behind the large waterfall in the main cavern as the last minute preparations were set up for the wedding. Many thoughts passed through his head, thoughts of his home, if maybe any of his friends back home could've been transported into Hyrule as well, He hadn't seen anyone that resembled them by name or appearance but he had nobody would recognize him anyway.

As he thought about current matters mainly his marriage with Ruto, he reconsidered if he should continue his quest that Zelda had implied to him or not.

…Maybe I should… he thought to himself; …If not for Zelda's sake, then for Ruto and the Zoras.

He placed both hands to the sides of his head to try and remove the mask; but found that no matter how much he tried to remove it, it wouldn't budge only adding pain to his face. But he felt fine knowing that he could not remove the mask. He figured that if anything was to happen to him that called for him to remove the Zora Mask, if he would just place the other mask over his current one then the Zora Mask would just be replaced my the other one.

A Zora surfaced beside him, "Maiku?" he said

"Yes?" Maiku replied

"It is time to start the wedding ceremony."

He sighed, "It's about time…"

"Why do you say that?"

"…. I was just getting worried because it was taking so long."

"Oh…"

Maiku dove into the water and surfaced near the ladder, climbed up it, and headed towards the royal chambers. He was escorted by two guards to Zora's Fountain once he reached the chamber. Once he emerged from the tunnel leading from Zora's Domain, he found that every Zora was in attendance and were wading in the water; he guessed that Jabu-Jabu must have been submerged far below because it was nowhere to be seen and the Zoras were where it was supposed to be facing the platform talking amongst them selves.

King Zora was sitting on the platform, his immense blubber was jiggling like a pulsating mass of jelly; the pattern of the jiggles was hypnotic in a weird The Blob way, he stopped staring and shook his head. The guards instructed him to stand next to King Zora and wait for the ceremony to begin, he did as he was told and walked over to the platform; the Zoras stopped their talking and stared straight at him, he began to feel nervous as all those eyes were set upon him; he looked around at the crowd of Zoras and noticed the that nurse he had met several times was glaring at him in contempt.

He stopped glancing down at the water and waited. He suddenly sensed that something dark was coming soon, but he assured himself that he was just imagining things and he relaxed a bit. Ruto finally emerged from the water and pulled herself up onto the platform. He stared at her, watching the water drip off of her perfect body, the way her body reflected the sunlight with her wet and sleek body. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

The rite of marriage was recited by an elder Zora priest who was normally praying or worshipping something at the Water Temple but was acting as the one to perform the wedding ceremony in Zora's Domain that day. They stood there for one hour listening to the priest reciting everything from the rite book in that old and dry but wet voice of an old Zora. Maiku nearly fell asleep a few times while trying to keep his attention span in tact; he kept being bumped by Ruto to pay attention and for about twenty minutes he did but fell asleep again.

He finally paid attention as the priest was wrapping things up, "… And do you Maiku…" said the priest, "Take this woman to be you lawfully wedded wife….?"

"I do." He answered

"And do you Ruto… take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." She answered

"Then by the power invested to me by the Royal Family of Zora's Domain, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Maiku and Ruto kissed and the ceremony was complete. They smiled but Ruto's expression turned solemn as the sounds of huge conch shells could be heard. "Oh no…!" she said

"What? Aren't you happy that we're together?" he asked

"Oh yes, I am! But…"

"But what…?"

"Ganondorf is approaching."

"What?!"

"The conches are used as a warning alarm; a known evil is near whenever they are blown."

"Damn it…! I don't even have my equipment with me so that I can defend you!"

"Where is it?"

"It's in the room behind the waterfall."

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get it!"

He shook his head, "Not alone, I won't."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to you to go with me; I… don't want to lose you!"

"Okay."

He took her by the hand and ran into the tunnel. He stopped when they reached the waterfall, "I want you to stay here." He said suddenly.

"What?"

"Just stay right here, you got that?" he approached the ledge

"Maiku!"

"Don't worry, if Ganondorf comes… then… jump over the waterfall where I'll be for about a minute. If you see me going back up here, then jump in anyway and catch up to me."

"Oh… okay…"

He leapt over the side of waterfall, surfaced after he made contact with the water, and pulled himself out of the water. He went into his room and picked up all of his equipment, making his way back up to the Royal Chamber. Halfway up the path, the collapsed to his knees when the whole cavern rocked violently as if it were hit by a bomb explosion followed by Ruto's scream of terror. "Maiku, help me!" she yelled.

"Ruto!" he yelled; stood back up and ran faster to the top. When he reached the top he gasped; ahead of him stood Ganondorf with Ruto is his grasp by the neck. She was facing away from Ganondorf, facing Maiku. He yelled her name again.

"Maiku, please help me!!!"

"You bastard, let her go!!!!" he yelled at Ganondorf

Ganondorf laughed coldly at him, "Pitiful Zora…!" he said, "All talk and no action?"

"Ganondorf!" he drew his sword, "Let her go!"

He drew a dagger and held it to Ruto's neck, "Give me the Spiritual Stone of Water or else she dies!" he smiled coldly, "Well? What are you going to do?"

"Maiku," Ruto screamed, "Do as he says!"

"But…" Maiku said

"If you love me, then you'll do as he says."

"Ruto… I do love you…" he opened his satchel, took the Zora's Sapphire out, and sighed, "Here Ganondorf…." He tossed it at him.

Ganondorf caught it and ran out of the cave with Ruto still in his grasp. Maiku ran onto the platform and leapt off of it, landed on the throne gate, and ran after Ganondorf.

"Damn it Ganondorf!" he said as he caught up to him, "Put her down now!"

Ganondorf laughed at him

"What the fuck are you laughing at?!"

"Fool!" he said deeply, "You actually believed my word? Now pay for your-" Ruto stuck out her leg and kicked backwards, landing the hit directly on his crotch, "Wench!" He sent dark energy into her body, let go of her, levitated her body and punched her; sending her flying towards the fence that was built at the top of the main waterfall to act as a barrier so that no one could fall over the side into the jagged rocks below. The force of impact nearly broke the wood, Maiku ran over to her to try and protect he, Ganondorf pulled her body back to him and tossed her again; the second time he threw her, the fence broke and she fell over the side.

Ganondorf took aim and hurled the dagger at her, Maiku saw and tried to use his body as a shield but the dagger only cut the top of his shoulder and drove itself into her back. "Ruto!!!" he screamed and leapt over the side to catch her. He made himself fall faster and caught her around the waist with one arm and held onto a barely noticeable line with his free hand, he wrapped her arms around his neck and climbed up the line to the top of the waterfall.

After a while, he finally reached the top of the waterfall. He kneeled down and unwrapped her arms from around his neck resting her on the water on her back. Her sapphire blood blended in with the water.

"R-Ruto?" he said to make sure she was still alive.

"M-Maiku?" she replied as she barely held onto life, her mouth painted a deeper blue as her blood was slowly spilling out "Is that…. You….?"

"Yes, Ruto… it is me…"

"Am I going to die…?"

He sadly nodded, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"How much more time… left…?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Are we the only ones left?"

He looked around and saw the bodies of hundreds of Zoras littering Zora's Fountain, "Yes…"

"Maiku…"

"Yes Ruto?"

"…. Please don't forget me…. Maiku…. Never forget my face…."

"What are you saying?"

She stood up slowly, "Please Maiku… do something with me before I die….."

"What's that?"

"Pray with me… for my father… for the Zoras…. Anyone… Please Maiku…."

"Okay… at the platform….?"

"Yes…"

He helped her to the platform and kneeled as she did. They both prayed, even though he had no idea what the word were, he just followed her lead and hoped he was doing something. "Maiku… leave me to finish the prayer…"

"But what if Ganondorf comes back?"

"I don't know… just please, leave everything to me. Maybe we can see each other again somehow…. Just keep on being yourself. And try not to have a breakdown, okay….?"

"Ruto… You don't have to do this."

"Yes I do… please… go…"

"But…"

She smiled, "Don't worry about a thing. Meeting you was the best thing that had ever happened to me, I just want you to remember me after this day." She cupped her hands together and bent her neck down, purple light suddenly shone over her; he looked up and saw the figure of a man with a large thick sword in his hands.

Why does this look so familiar? He thought to himself and realized that the man was Ganondorf. Before he had a chance to warn her of him, he stabbed her through the back and out the stomach. She opened her eyes wide as she felt the cold steel pass through her body, she coughed up blood and slumped lifelessly over the blade. Ganondorf pulled the blade forcefully out of her body and sneered at Maiku.

Maiku held out his arms and caught Ruto as she fell onto the ground. "No…! This…. Can't be…."

"Stop acting as if you were sad…"

"What?!" he turned around and glanced at him, "How can you say that?"

"Because… I know you have… a dark soul within you… so you cannot feel any true emotions… as well as something more…"

"Damn it! You make no sense!" he rested her body on the ground and drew his sword, pointing at Ganondorf, "Ruto is gone! I feel a complete emptiness inside me, and it's all because of you!"

"You honestly believe that those emotions are coming from your heart?"

"Of course, who hell do you think I am!?"

"Well…. I have got to admit that you've got guts, Zora…. I like that… Now…" he grabbed Maiku by the neck.

"Ggh!" he choked, "Ganondorf… why? Why did you… attack Zora's Domain….? Shouldn't getting the Ocarina of Time be good enough for you?"

He tossed Maiku to the tree root; before he was hurled, Maiku took the Zora's Sapphire from out of Ganondorf's hand. His body made contact with a large rock head first, and was caught between to outcropping roots from the main root and dangled over the water, his blood dripped into the water and he let go of the Zora's Sapphire. The last thing he saw was the jewel slip out of his hand and fall into the water before he fell into darkness.