The Legend of Zelda: The Return
Hey all!
Well, it's a bit belated, but thank you so much for the explosion of feedback on chapter 20. :-) If you like long chapters that much I will see what I can do for you. Not with this one though .. . this one's about average. The next one will probably be a doozy, however.
Thanks again for your great reviews, e-mails, etc. on this story! I really, really appreciate it and it's an immense help.
Thank you!
Lady Rose
xxx
A Brief Interlude
Hunter looked up as Neesha approached.
"Hey!" He greeted her brightly, happy to see a friendly Gerudo face for once. "Long time no see. How goes the punishment?"
"It doesn't," she answered, folding her legs and sitting beside him. "I can't find Jinni anywhere. She's not in the fortress."
"Jinni?" Hunter asked. Neesha raised an eyebrow at him.
"I think you and Link refer to her as 'Little-Miss-Perma-Scowl'," she supplied.
"Oh her!" Hunter said with a wide grin. "The one who gave us such a warm welcome the day before yesterday?" Neesha nodded.
"That's her," she confirmed. "You and Link might want to avoid her. She's got a hate on for you."
"Her and everyone else," Hunter muttered with a roll of his eyes.
"Hey, where is Link?" Neesha asked. "I thought you would have been clinging to him like a lost little puppy."
"Ha," Hunter said. "Not when Rue's swinging at him I'm not." Neesha blinked in surprise.
"They're fighting?" She asked in a sudden panic.
"Relax," Hunter said, making a soothing motion with his hands. "She's teaching him some new techniques, is all." Neesha breathed a sigh of relief.
"You had me worried there for a minute. I take it went well with her then?" She asked. Hunter shrugged.
"I guess," He said. "Link told her everything from start to finish and by the time he was done she as looking kinda worried."
"Did he mention anything about him being King?" She asked.
"Yep," Hunter said. "Rue said it was a very serious claim, and if he was lying he'd die for it, but she sent a few women to the library to find out if there's a way to prove his claim or not. Hey, how old is Rue?" Neesha thought about it for a moment.
"Not quite 80 I think," she said. "75 maybe. Why?"
"I was just wondering why she gave Link the benefit of a doubt so easily."
"What does her age have to do with that?"
"Well if she's as old as you say, she's been around long enough to realize that Ganondorf is older than her, and therefore born more than 100 years ago. Lends a bit of credit to Link's story."
"Right," Neesha says. Hunter raised an eyebrow at her.
"You still look confused by something," he pointed out.
"Since when does Link care about his fighting technique?" She demanded with a frown. Hunter shrugged.
"Since yesterday," he answered. "He's been going non-stop. Fighting with anyone willing, doing the archery training game behind the fortress, riding Epona . . . and on top of that he's not sleeping right."
"Nightmares again?" Neesha asked with a frown. Hunter nodded.
"They're getting worse I think," he said. "More often, more violent ., . ."
"He's worried about Zelda?" Neesha suggested.
"That's a big part of it, yes," Hunter said. "But there's something else going on in that thick skull of his that he's not sharing."
"You've asked him about it?" Hunter snorted.
"Yeah right," he said, "I haven't been able to get him to sit still for long enough." Neesha threw her fist into her palm.
"Wanna go beat it out of him?" She asked with a wicked grin. Hunter raised an eyebrow at her.
"Are you allowed to beat your King?" He asked. Her grin faded and she frowned. He shook his head. "I was just kidding, Neesha!" He cried. "Geez . . . it's not like he's a different person right? You had no trouble beating him up before you found out about this whole King thing." Her frown didn't fade. He sighed. "Let's go find him," he said. "Rue should be just about done kicking his ass by now . . ."
xxx
Chapter 22
I block Rue's first scimitar with my sword and her second with the dented iron shield she lent me earlier. While she takes a half-second to recover from the blow, I pull my sword away from hers and swing it at her head. She laughs and sidesteps it easily, twisting around me in a whirl of gray hair and slamming the flat of her blade against my back. I gasp and stumble forward, but right myself and twist around, just managing to block with the shield before her sword can slice me in half.
"You fight too much with your heart," she comments critically, blocking my attempt to stab her. "Use your head instead."
"What difference does it make what I fight with?" I ask, slashing at her again and driving her back a step to avoid it. "Head or heart . . . just a matter of preference. Of strategy."
"And what's a better strategy?" Rue demands, blocking my sword and slicing at my knees. "To have deliberate, planned moves, or to let your blade go wherever your emotions take it?"
"You can't plan a fight," I argue, hurriedly blocking her sudden flurry of attacks. "If it's planned then you're dancing, you're not fighting. Life and death battles . . . you can't win those on strategy alone. And you can't plan them. You have to react. You have to improvise. You have to make it up as you go. If you stick to some pre-formed notion of how the fight's supposed to work, you're gonna die." I jump back to avoid her slash and then leap at her again. "There's strength in the unorthodox."
"No," Rue argues, "there's surprise in the unorthodox. True, you can gain an advantage that way, but an advantage won't win the fight for you." I duck under her swing and bang her knees with my shield she stumbles back a few steps. I jump out of my crouch and at her again.
Normally I'd feel bad about trying to beat up a 75 year old woman . . .
But at Gerudo Fortress, age becomes relative. I can try and beat up little girls and old ladies all I want and feel no shame simply because they can probably beat me back tenfold.
And Rue is no exception.
"Fine," I say. "Maybe, in a controlled fight, in a controlled setting, fighting with your head is a better idea. But take away that control." I slash at her and she blocks and counters with her second sword. "Pretend for just a second that we're backed into a corner. Our escape is blocked. There's no where for us to run. If we're lucky we might still have a weapon, but chances are we're not lucky. And there's our enemy, more than willing to finally finish us off. You're fighting with your head." I block her sword with my shield and thrust at her chest. "I'm fighting with my heart. Which one of us do you think is going to survive?"
"Let me guess," Rue says, sidestepping the blow and aiming one at my knees. "You are."
"Wrong," I answer. She blinks at me in surprise and I leap over her blade. "We both are. Because your head's going to be shouting at you that this is it. This is the end. We've lost. And you're going to give up."
"How is that going to get us both saved?" She demands.
"It won't," I answer. "What will is the fact that I'm fighting with my heart. I'm completely ignoring my head. And as a result I'm going to be able to find a way out of that situation, and despite the fact that my head would tell me dragging along a mentally defeated you is not going to help my chances of survival, I'm gonna haul your sorry ass out of there with me anyway."
"You actually believe that?" Rue demands. She slashes at me again and I duck under the swing and move around behind her, slamming my shield into her back and sending her crashing to the ground.
"I've lived it," I reply.
"Hmm," she says as her foot snakes out and around my ankle, tripping me up and sending me crashing to the ground, my sword skittering across the sand and out of my reach. Rue points her scimitar at my throat.
"You lose," she says. "Your heart didn't save you this time." I grin crookedly at her.
"This time didn't count," I say. "It'll come through for me when it counts." I push myself to my feet. "So will yours someday," I add. "And on that day I'm going to point at you, and I'm going to laugh. And then, if I can manage it around my laughter, I'm going to say I Told You So. About a million times. You'll be lucky to hear the end of it." There's a sharp whistle from behind me. Rue casts a neutral look at the source of the whistle then looks back at me, withered face amused.
"I think your Sheikah friend wants you," she says. "Tell me, does he usually call you the way one would call a dog?" I roll my eyes at her.
"You would take it that way, wouldn't you?" I ask, turning around. "He's just getting my attention."
"That's enough practice for today," Rue decides. "I'm not as young as I used to be. My old bones are starting to tire easy." I frown at her.
That was easy?
"All right," I say. "Thanks." She nods and walks off on her own as I move over to where Hunter and Neesha are.
"Hey!" I call, then frown at Neesha. "Aren't you supposed to be working somewhere?"
"Can't find Jinni," she says.
"Jinni?" I ask.
"Little-Miss-Perma-Scowl," Hunter supplies.
"Ah," I say, realizing who they're talking about. "She's not in the Fortress?" Neesha shakes her head.
"Nope," she says. "She's not anywhere. I've asked everyone."
"Oh well," I say with a grin, "that means maybe we can actually spend some time with you today."
"Ha," Neesha says. "And who ever said I wanted to spend time with you?" I stick my tongue out at her then turn to Hunter.
"So, what's up?" I ask.
"Well," Hunter says, "I can't help but notice you running yourself ragged lately, and it got me to wondering . . ." I frown suspiciously at him.
"Wondering what?" I demand.
"My Dad used to have a saying," he answers. "There are only two reasons people work hard: they're either running towards the target, or running away from the arrow." He raises an eyebrow at me. "Can't help but wonder which of those categories you fall into." I frown at him and cross my arms.
"Bruiser had a lot of sayings," I say, avoiding the subject. "He's a poet at heart. So what?"
"You're gonna make this difficult, aren't you?" Hunter asks.
"Always," I answer easily. Neesha rolls her eyes.
"Fine," Hunter says, "I'm not so much wonder if you're running from something or not. I know you're avoiding something. I wanna know what."
"None of your business," I say flatly. "And what makes you think I'm avoiding something?"
"Because you've been keeping yourself far beyond busy for no apparent reason ever since Zelda got captured. You're teetering on the edge of collapse because you haven't slept in forever and you keep pushing yourself. You're not stupid, Link. And you're not that ambitious when it comes to your skills. In fact you're downright lazy when it comes to them."
"You're one to talk," I mutter darkly. He ignores me.
"Why, Link?" He asks. "Why are you doing this?"
"I . . . because," I say. "I want to. Why does it matter? Why do I have to explain myself to you?"
"You don't," Hunter says. "But I'd like to know. Whatever it is, the way you're dealing with it is going to drive you to an early grave. Maybe I can help, maybe I can't, but at least then I'd understand." I try and maintain my scowl but it falters under his frowning gaze.
He's just worried about me.
Why am I taking it out on him?
I haven't got that many friends left at this point.
I can't afford to fight with them.
"Sorry," I say, dropping onto a nearby crate and lying back on it, covering my eyes with my arm to hide from the sun. "Why do you always have to be so calm about this stuff?"
"Hmph," Hunter says. "One of us has to."
"Hey, I resent that," Neesha says grumpily.
"This from the little Berserker," Hunter says. I laugh. I can't see her expression but I can picture it and the thump (immediately followed by a loud "Ow!" from Hunter) confirms it.
"Look, are you gonna talk or not?" Neesha demands crankily. "I'm probably supposed to be punishing myself since Jinni's not here to do it, and I don't want her to suddenly appear and see me doing nothing. I'm in enough trouble thanks to you."
"Hey, it was your choice to follow me out of the desert," I say. "I had nothing to do with it. In fact, I believe I told you to go home at one point."
"So?" Neesha demands.
"So start talking, Link," Hunter interrupts before I can respond. "What's up with you? What's going on in that overworked little mind of yours?"
"Nothing," I answer.
"Surprise, surprise," Hunter says wryly. "Let me rephrase my question. What would be going on in that overworked little mind of yours if you'd stop long enough to let it get working?" I don't answer him.
If I don't want to think about it . . .
I definitely don't want to talk about it . . .
"I'm worried about Zelda," I say after a moment. It's not the complete truth, but it's part of it. Maybe that'll get them to leave me alone about it.
"Go on," Hunter says.
"What are you, some kind of shrink?" I demand, frowning at him from under my arm.
"For the duration of this conversation, yes," he answers. "Go on."
"Fine," I say, hiding under my arm again. "I'm worried about her, and I feel guilty about her being caught, and I feel like crap after the things I said to her, and now she probably thinks I hate her, and that I probably really did let Dark Link take her like I said I would, and I feel guilty because I'm more worried about her than I was about the others when they all got captured, and Dark Link had my Dad's memories for some reason and I can't for the life of me fig . . ." My voice dies off and a startled silence settles in. I remove my arm and stare at Hunter and Neesha's surprised expressions and wince. "I didn't mean to say that last part," I say. "Guess . . . I got carried away."
"That's what happens when you avoid stuff like this," Hunter says. "They lure you into a dark alley and mug you."
"I'm not . . . avoiding it," I say. "I just . . . don't want to think about it. But every time I stop I think about it, and I just . . . I can't . . ."
"What did you say about your Dad?" Hunter asks me. I sigh heavily and lie back down, replacing my arm over my eyes.
"I . . . when Dark Link was forcing me to remember everything . . . I . . . I saw another memory. One that wasn't mine. It was my Dad's. Brayden's. I don't know why he remembers things that happened to my Dad."
"Maybe it was your memory of your Dad?" Neesha suggests. I shake my head.
"I'm sure it was my Dad's," I say. "It was him."
"But if Dark Link has your Dad's memories . . . then . . . would that make Dark Link your . . ."
"No," I say sharply. "He's not. He can't be." I shake my head and close my eyes tightly. "And now you know why I don't want to think about this stuff."
"How do you know, Link?" Neesha asks, surprisingly gentle. "How do you know he's not?" I sit up abruptly.
"Because he wouldn't put me through this," I say. "Because . . . because he wouldn't do this to me."
"But . . . if Ganondorf . . ."
"Look, Dark Link is not my father," I say flatly. "Besides, I saw Detsu kill him." I clench my fist and close my eyes. "I watched that son of a bitch fight him. I watched him shift his grip on his sword, and I watched him hit . . ." My voice dies off an my eyes snap open.
"Link?" Hunter asks. "You all right?"
"I watched . . . I watched . . ."
I pull my sword out of it's scabbard so fast that Hunter and Neesha jump backwards in surprise. I twist my grip on it the same way Detsu did and stare at the hilt in shock.
"What's your problem?" Neesha cries, staring at me wide-eyed.
"I watched Detsu hit him with the hilt of the sword," I whisper. "I watched Detsu knock him out . . . I didn't watch him die . . . I just assumed . . ."
"Then . . ." Hunter says slowly, " . . . Dark Link could be . . ."
"But . . . that makes no sense," I say frustratedly. "I mean . . . he doesn't look like my Dad anymore than I do . . . he looks like me . . . exactly like me. Brayden and I looked alike . . . but . . . not identical . . . he . . . he can't be . . ." Hunter sighs.
"So much for helping you sort stuff out," he says. "I think we only managed to make it worse." His words don't even register in my head. I'm too caught up in the implications of the realization that I didn't see my Dad die . . .
"Hey!" All three of us turn to stare in surprise at the Gerudo staring expectantly at us. "Rue wants to see you in the Meeting Room." Having delivered her message she turns on her heel and leaves. We exchange glances.
"Which one of us does she want?" Hunter asks.
"Let's all go," I say, getting to my feet. "Might as well."
"You just want to avoid this again," Neesha comments.
"Like the plague," I agree.
xxx
I stare apprehensively at the small iron chest on the table in front of Rue.
Whatever's in there is going to prove whether or not I'm the King of the Gerudo.
One of the Kings anyway.
I really shouldn't be nervous.
There's no doubt in my mind that I am.
I mean . . . there's no way I can't be, right?
So I really shouldn't be nervous.
I frown darkly at the box.
Did they have to make it so ominous looking?
With the chains . . . and the lock . . . and the way it kind of shakes every now and then . . .
Hunter and Neesha stare at the box with similar expressions of mingled curiosity and apprehension. The rest of the Gerudo gathered around the table are either looking at the box, at me, or at Rue and their expressions range from smug to irritated (they probably consider this a waste of their time) to amused. Rue apparently briefed them on the whole situation before Hunter, Neesha and I arrived. She even told them what was in the box.
I wish she'd told me what was in the box . . .
The suspense is killing me.
Rue looks around with a sudden frown.
"Where's Jinni?" She demands. Neesha shrugs.
"I couldn't find her earlier," she says. "She's been gone all . . ."
"Here I am!" Jinni runs in, out of breath and panting. She bows to Rue apologetically. "Sorry I'm late, Rue. I had some . . . business out in the desert." I catch a flash of what looks almost like guilt on her face just before she straightens. I cast a glance around but no one else seems to have noticed it. I shrug it off to her being late. Neesha, I can't help but notice, is struggling not to look smug.
Jinni notices as well.
"Leave," she snaps at Neesha. "This is no place for children." Neesha's face goes scarlet and I can see her literally biting her tongue.
"Leave her be," Rue says, waving at Neesha to sit back down. "She's befriended Link, and if he is, in fact, who he says he is, he will probably want his friends to be with him in a minute or two." This time it's Jinni who goes scarlet. Rue turns her attention back to the group as a whole. "Which brings us to the reason for this little meeting." Her eyes alight on me and one silver eyebrow raises. "To see if Link really is our King." There's a murmur of sound around the room as the Gerudo mutter under their breath. Rue silences them by pulling on a thick leather glove and reaching for the box.
I'm liking this less and less . . .
Oh man . . .
This is gonna hurt, I know it!
Rue pulls the lock off the box and opens it slowly, reaching in and pulling out an animal about the size of a lap dog. It's some kind of scorpion. A really, really big black scorpion, with a red mark on the back of it's back that's eerily like that on the back of a black widow. Any reaction I might have made to it, however, is interrupted by Hunter's reaction.
"Nayru, Farore, and Din!" Hunter shouts, leaping up and away from the table so fast he knocks his chair over. He moves himself as far back as he can go, his expression a mixture of surprise and a tinge of fear. "Those things are supposed to be extinct!" He says angrily, pointing at it. "The treaty you signed said you'd destroy them all!"
"Settle down, Sheikah," Rue says, rolling her eyes. "We destroyed all the Maeasm's we could find, but there's no way we could clear out the whole desert. Sit down." Hunter crossed his arms, never removing his eyes from the Maeasm.
"No," he said flatly. "Nothing doing."
"Suit yourself," Rue said with a shrug. I stare at Hunter in surprise.
"What's wrong? What is it?" I ask.
"A Maeasm," he answers with a scowl. "Those things are deadly to Blood Sheikah. One sting and your dead before you know you've been stung."
"Deadly to Sheikah and everyone else," Rue says, walking around the table towards me. Oh man I am not liking this. "But not so to Gerudo. If Link really is a Gerudo, we'll know."
"If it's not deadly to you, why are you wearing a glove?" I ask, eyeing the Maeasm.
"Not deadly," Rue answers, "but still poisonous. It'll make you very sick for a few days, but you'll survive it. If you're Gerudo." She stops in front of me and holds out the Maeasm. I meet her eyes and steel my courage, reaching for it.
"Link, don't do it!" Hunter cries, starting forward. "You're as much a Blood Sheikah as you are a Gerudo! What if it kills you anyway?"
"No Gerudo's ever been killed by a Maeasm," Neesha says, walking over to Hunter. "And there have been plenty of different races mixed into the Gerudo. There kind of has to be when we're all women . . ."
"Maybe so, but never a Sheikah-Gerudo mix," Hunter argues. "There's no guarantee it won't kill him, even with his Gerudo blood."
"Yeah but –"
I tone them out and stare at the Maeasm. It's beady little red eyes glare furiously back at me as it struggles in Rue's grip.
I am a Gerudo, but this is the only way to make them believe it . . .
This is the only way to get the Gerudo to follow me . . .
This is the only way to save Hyrule . . .
The only way to save the Sages and the others . . .
The only way to save Zelda . . .
"It's the only way," I say, cutting across Neesha and Hunter's argument by throwing my hand towards the Maeasm. It reacts instantly, it's barbed tail striking my hand and snapping back. I wince and pull my hand back quickly. A drop of blood oozes from the wound, the same angry red color as the skin around it. The room has gone absolutely silent. I turn to look at Hunter and Neesha. Neesha stares at me apprehensively and Hunter with open fear.
"L . . . Link? Are you all right?" Hunter asks as the room starts to spin wildly. I try to stand up but my legs won't support me and I fall over instead. Rue hurriedly stuffs the Maeasm back into its box as Hunter and Neesha rush to my side.
"Well," I hear Neesha say just before my world goes black, "he's not dead . . ."
xxx
A Brief Interlude
"Well," Neesha said, "he's not dead! That's good, right?"
"Neesha!" Hunter cried angrily. "This isn't the time to joke!" He dropped to his knees beside Link, and rolled him over onto his back. "Link? Link! Talk to me?"
"Lighten up," Neesha said. "He's not dead. That means he'll be fine. Although, the poison never hit anyone this fast before . . ."
"You keep forgetting he's part Sheikah," Hunter said. "It's gonna hit him differently."
Neesha suddenly looked nervous again.
The room had suddenly burst into noise as the Gerudo discussed the implications of the fact that Link was still breathing – albeit raggedly. Hunter looked up and noticed Jinni staring at Link with a pale face.
"He is the King . . ." He heard her whisper.
"Take him back to –" Rue was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek of laughter, immediately echoed by another. Rue's face suddenly went pale. "The Witches . . ." There was a puff of smoke, again followed by a second and when it faded hovering in the air on two ancient brooms were two ancient looking women.
"What do you think, Koume?" Asked the first with a wicked grin.
"I'm thinking the same thing you're thinking, Kotake," said the second. The first lowered her hand and Neesha and Hunter were thrown bodily back against the wall. The second raised her hand and the ground beneath Link began to swirl and eddy wildly with power in a red and black tide pool.
"No!" Hunter cried, throwing himself at Link.
He was too late.
Link disappeared into the tide pool and the floor reformed itself where he had been.
Hunter struck the floor and glared up at the Witches who laughed and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The room burst into noise once again and only Rue smashing her fist on the table was enough to quell it. Her face was furious.
"I don't know how they found out about him," she snarls, "but we'll not lose another King to them the way we lost Ganondorf. Summon the Elite! I want them armed to the teeth and at the Gates yesterday! We're going to the Spirit Temple! Neesha! Sheikah! Arm yourself and join us." Hunter and Neesha jumped to their feet and followed on her heels as she ran out the room after the rest of the Gerudo.
The door slammed shut.
Jinni stared at it from her position on the floor in shock.
"What have I done . . ."