The Legend of Zelda: The Return
Hey all!
Sorry for the wait for this chapter . . . and for the fact that it's relatively short. On the upside, I do have a good reason – I'm a bit under the weather and I've been having trouble staring at a computer screen for any length of time . . . I had originally planned to include an Interlude with Neesha, but I don't think my concentration's going to last much longer, and you've all waited long enough as it is for a chapter, so . . . it'll be in the beginning of the next chapter!
Once again, I'm sorry! And thanks so much for the continual reviews and e-mails! They're much appreciated!
Lady Rose
P.S. To anyone who's e-mailed me and I haven't yet replied, I'm getting to it, I promise! Please bear with me . . .
Chapter 30
"Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man . . ."
"Relax, Link," Thomas says, raising an eyebrow at my panicked face as his sister and my bodyguard duke it out in the ring in front of us. "They're just sparring . . ."
"Apparently I wasn't the only one sleeping during history," Hunter muttered. "Thomas, look at their faces and tell me this is just a spar."
"All right, so they're serious about it," he says with a shrug. "Ket's always serious about her fighting. It's no biggie. Nothing's going to happen."
"But what if something does?" I demand. "What if one of them hurts the other? What if one of them kills the other? They're using real weapons up there . . ."
"Nothing's going to happen," Thomas repeats seriously. "Ket won't let it." He turns back to watch. "You don't know my sister."
"You don't know Jinni," Hunter and I respond simultaneously, turning back to watch as well.
Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man . . .
This was such a bad idea . . .
Relations between the Sheikah and the Gerudo are tense enough as it is . . .
If something goes wrong here . . .
We can kiss any hope of uniting them goodbye . . .
Bel and Mel cheer enthusiastically everytime Ketari lands a hit . . .
Malon and Thomas (who expressed an extreme distaste of encouraging his sister in anything earlier) cheer everytime Jinni lands a hit . . .
Hunter and I just wince everytime someone hits someone else . . .
Please, oh please . . . if you Goddesses really are out there . . . I know you hate me, but just this once don't let anything go wrong . . .
"How long have they been fighting?" I ask Hunter.
"About five minutes," he answers. I blink.
"Five minutes? That's it?" I demand. "It feels like so much longer . . ."
"Why hasn't Jinni lost her temper yet?" Hunter demands. "I expected her to lose it three minutes ago . . ." I blink again.
It's true.
Jinni hasn't lost her temper.
And neither has Ketari.
Except for the clang of their weapons and the occasional grunt or shout, it's been a quiet battle. They're not talking to each other at all. No insults, no taunts, no provoking . . .
All the insults and taunting and provoking is coming from the sidelines, and the combatants have completely tuned us out anyway . . .
I don't know if that's good or bad . . .
"She's at it again, isn't she?" Demands a voice from my side. I gasp and jump, turning to look at the speaker. Thomas shifts his weight innocently.
"At what, Mum?" He asks. "They're just . . . comparing fighting styles is all." Bel, Mel and Malon turn to look at the woman as well. Bel and Mel suddenly look as innocent as Thomas.
I get the distinct feeling someone's done something wrong.
"Who started it?" The Sheikah woman demands, blue eyes narrowed. "Who challenged who?"
"I started it." I blink in surprise and turn around to stare at Jinni in shock. Apparently the fight's over. She meets the Sheikah woman's gaze easily. "I've been away from the desert for too long and I was worried that my fighting skills may begin to dull. This woman, Ketari, looked as though she could handle a sword and I merely thought to practice with her." She crossed her arms and gazed challengingly at the woman, daring her to dispute her story. "I apologize if I've offended." The rest of us – including Ketari – stare at her in stunned silence.
"No," the woman says, "no offence. I had just worried that perhaps Ketari had offended you and that was why the fight." Jinni shakes her head wordlessly and Ketari studiously avoids her mother's gaze. The woman shakes her head and turns to me, bowing slightly.
"I'm happy to finally meet you, Hero," she says. I look desperately over at Hunter for some sign of what I'm supposed to do. He inclines his head just slightly and I repeat the gesture.
"Likewise," I say as she straightens. "I take it you're the leader of the Sheikah in Impa's absence?" She smiles slightly.
"Thanks to you," she replies. "You did us a great favor in ridding us of Detsu. With him out of the way his followers panicked and we managed to rout most of them out. We owe a great deal, Hero."
"Well," I say, "you can start by giving me your name . . . might make conversation a tad easier for both of us." She laughs brightly.
"My name is Dune," she says. "We will talk more later. I've come to let you know that Karun and Link of the Gorons are finished with their preparations. They've asked to meet with you in the Conference Room. Hunter can show you the way if you're unsure. I'll meet you there later." She turns to her children. "Ketari, Thomas," she says, steel in her voice. "I'll see you both later." They wince as she turns and jogs back the way she came. We all watch her go until she's out of sight and then as one turn to Jinni, who frowns at us.
"What do you want?" She demands.
"You stuck up for Ketari," Hunter says with a frown. "What happened to the little-miss-perma-scowl we all know and love?"
"Don't read too much into it," she says flatly, sliding under the ropes and out of the ring. "The two of you take so long to get anything done I thought we might wind up stuck here for a while, and if that's the case I'm not going to sit idly by and watch my talents go to waste. The Sheikah proved a decent training partner, despite her race, and would most likely have been forbidden to fight me anymore had the truth been revealed. It doesn't mean I like her, or any of you for that matter. Now if you don't mind, I believe she said the Gorons were waiting for you, and I'd like to get this over with as fast as possible and return to the desert." She turns and jogs down the path without waiting for an answer.
"Oh," Hunter says. "There she is."
xxx
"Woah, hold up," I say, staring at Karun in surprise. "What did you just say?"
"I said that as General, you're going to need to . . ."
"Where did that come from?" I demand.
"What?" He asks, perplexed.
"That General thing," I say.
"General thing?" Goron-Link asks with a slight frown.
"I can't do the General thing," I reply.
"I believe what my oh-so-articulate comrade is trying to say," Hunter translates from beside me, "is that he's wondering how he wound up the General, given his lack of military experience or even general knowledge of the way a military works."
"Thank you," I say.
"It's what I'm here for," he replies.
"It wasn't our idea," Goron-Link says. "It was the troops. They've been calling you that since we filled them in –"
"Briefed them," Karun corrects.
"Since we briefed them on the plan. It was your idea. You're the one organizing it and spearheading it. As far as this goes so far we've deferred to you, so they just assumed you're the one in charge. Which, technically you are, so there really wasn't much we could do about it."
"No, no, no, no, no," I say. "See, there's a huge problem with that. I know nothing about how to run an army. Nothing. I thought you already had generals, all of whom are very capable, and know exactly what they're doing."
"We do," Karun says. "They'll be acting under you. We're aware of your lack of military knowledge, and so are our Generals. They know what they're doing, so all you have to do is give the order."
"How am I supposed to give the order, when I don't even . . ."
"Link, you're looking at it wrong," Hunter says.
"As usual," Jinni comments from the back of the room. I ignore her. So does Hunter.
"You don't have to know what you're doing. You just have to know what you want. You tell the Generals what you want, and they make it happen."
"Example?" I ask. He thinks.
"You say, I want into the Castle as fast as possible with minimal casualties. We'll need them when we get in there. And the Generals will take that, and they'll turn to their troops and they'll translate that into Military Lingo, probably by telling them to use the Gorons in a 9-pin formation at full speed and back them up with Sheikan Archers and Gerudo Calvary." I stare at him blankly.
"I understood everything except the Military Lingo part," Goron-Link says.
"Yeah, I'm with Link on this one," I say. "You lost me when you actually started speaking Military Lingo."
"That's fine. That's all you have to understand," Hunter replies. "You're really only going to be the General as far as telling everyone what they need to accomplish. They'll figure out how." He looks over at Karun and Dune for confirmation. They both nod, and Karun looks impressed.
"You seem to know a fair bit of 'military lingo' yourself," he says. Dune snorts derisively.
"It was about the only thing he ever paid attention to during lessons," she says. Hunter cracks his knuckles and leans back in his chair.
"It was about the only thing of interest during lessons," he responds easily. Karun looks thoughtful.
"Do you know how to counter a Water Fall maneuver?" He asks. Hunter scratches his chin.
"Who's pulling it?" He asks.
"Gerudo and Moblins," Karun answers.
"Terrain?"
"Canyon. Flat ground, walls to each side."
"Who've I got?"
"Sheikah and Gorons."
"Odds?"
"Against you. Three to one." Hunter thinks for a moment.
"Well," he says, "you could pull an ambush setup. Get small forces of your men to hide further down the corridor, then have your main force pull back and retreat once the enemy's engaged, forcing them to chase you back down the corridor and be ambushed from both sides." Karun smile is slightly triumphant and he opens his mouth, but Hunter interrupts him. "But," he says, "not only is that traditional and expected, it's going to cause you heavy losses, and with odds of three to one your chances of success aren't that great. They're just going to run right over your ambushes and continue harrying your main force. So instead I'd probably suggest something a bit simpler, if more difficult to pull off. Take your Gorons in the 9-pin position, but stretch them out a little bit. Have them run right down the middle of the Water Fall and have the Sheikah right behind them, following them in. Split the enemy right up the middle and you'll stop the Fall dead in it's tracks and since you're not attacking the whole force, there will be less casualties. Once the enemy's been split have your forces move in and keep them that way. Surround them on the outside of the two halves and have your soldiers fight their way in. If you're lucky and you've got some magic-users try blasting the middle of the halves with fireballs. Get the Moblins to panic. They're not bright and if you're really lucky they might start panicking and attacking anything that moves, or just stampeding out and trampling their own troops." He grins at Karun's stunned expression. "A friend of mine once said that there's strength in the unorthodox. Coming from a guy who's got no clue about war tactics it's still pretty good advice."
"Not bad, Hunter," Karun says, scratching his stomach thoughtfully. "Not bad at all. Though perhaps it would be wiser to have the Sheikah . . ."
And before I know what's happening Hunter and Karun are engaged in an animated discussion of military tactics and maneuvers that leaves me completely lost.
Jinni heaves a disgruntled sigh behind me.
Looks like this meeting's going to take a bit longer than expected . . .
xxx
"What? No!"
"Why not?" Hunter demands. "It would be funny . . . even you've got to admit that."
"Absolutely not," I say with a frown. "Hunter, she can't swim. She'd probably drown."
"So I'll push her in somewhere shallow," he promises.
"Hunter. You're not pushing Jinni into the river anywhere. You two already don't like each other. You don't need to make it worse." Hunter mutters something about me being a spoilsport. I raise an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were the responsible one," I say. He grins at me.
"Me?" He asks. "I thought you were the responsible one."
"I'm not the responsible one," I say. "Yeah right. I couldn't responsible my way out of a paper bag."
"That didn't even make sense," Hunter says, making a face at me. I grin at him.
"I got my point across," I say. "That's all I care about. Sense isn't that big a deal to me."
"Common or otherwise," Hunter mutters wryly.
"What are we talking about?" Malon asks, suddenly between us.
"Link's lack of common sense," Hunter answers.
"We were not," I say, frowning at him. "We were – hey, if you're up here, where's Jinni?"
"Right here," the Gerudo answers from my side. I gasp and jump, turning to glare at her.
"Don't do that!" I cry. "Farore! Your as bad as the Sheikah!" Hunter grins and buffs his nails on his uniform.
"We aim to please," he says. Jinni rolls her eyes but says nothing. Hunter, thankfully, doesn't appear to have noticed.
"Remind me again how I let you talk me into taking you on this trip?" I ask of Malon, who flashes me an innocent smile.
"I guilt-tripped you so bad you said yes just to get me to lay off," she says.
"You can't even use a sword," I point out. "There's a lot of sword-using involved in this."
"Too late to come up with reasons for me to stay behind now, Fairy-Boy," she says. "We're almost at Zora's Domain. What are you going to do? Send me back all by my lonesome so the Moblins can get me?" I roll my eyes.
"Oh like you'd go even if I told you to," I respond.
"Good point," Malon agrees, then grins. "Guess you're stuck with me." Hunter smirks.
"You could always leave her with the Gerudo for a week," he says. "She'd have to learn to fight there."
"Thanks for volunteering to teach her, Hunter!" I say brightly. "I'm sure you'll do an excellent job!" His eyes widen.
"Woah, what?" He demands. "What did I just do?"
"Volunteered to teach Malon how to use a sword," I say. He raises an eyebrow at me.
"Link, I hardly paid attention to lessons when I was the student," he says. "What kind of teacher am I going to be?"
"A better one than me," I answer easily.
"Given," Hunter says. "But . . ."
"Look, someone's got to teach her," I say. "I get the feeling I'm going to be completely and unwillingly wrapped up in all kinds of meetings for the next month and I probably won't have time to breathe, let alone teach her anything."
"Then Jinni can teach her," Hunter says.
"All right, fine," Jinni says flatly. "I'd do a better job of it than you anyway." Hunter glowers at her.
"I didn't say that," he points out.
"Then why won't you teach her?" Jinni demands. "Face it, Sheikah. She's better off with me. With you as a teacher, she'd probably fall on her sword in the first lesson."
"I love the way we can all just talk about me as if I'm not here," Malon says brightly. "You know, I'm not completely helpless . . ."
"Nobody said you were," Hunter says hastily. "But, Link's right. You do need to know at least the basics of using a sword if you're going to travel with us. Link's a trouble-magnet."
"Hey!" I protest. "I told you, you don't have to come with me! It's not like I try to attract trouble!" Hunter flashes me a pacifying grin.
"Relax, man," he says. "Just letting the lady know ahead of time."
"Ha," Malon says. "I know that already. I didn't hang out with him for six years and not figure out that he'll spend half his time with you getting you into trouble."
"I love the way we can all just talk about me as if I'm not here," I say, raising an eyebrow at Malon. "Your words I believe."
"You didn't let me finish," she says. "He spends half his time with you getting you into trouble, but the other half getting you out of it." She raises an eyebrow at me. "See? Don't interrupt. Not everything I have to say about you is bad, you know."
"No, just half of it," I say. She grins.
"Two thirds, but who's counting," she replies.
"Seriously though," I say. "Malon, I'm not always going to be there to get you out of trouble. Look at what happened at Lon Lon, and Castletown. I wasn't there to get you out of that, was I?"
"I'm out now," she points out.
"But what if I fail you next time?" I demand. "What if I can't get you out next time? What if I can't save you next time?" I raise an eyebrow at her. "You have to be able to get yourself out of it."
"All right, all right, fine," she says. "You've made your point."
"Great," Hunter says with a grin. "We'll start tomorrow." I smirk at him.
"What changed your mind?" I ask. "You seem awfully eager all of a sudden."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, avoiding my gaze. "I just decided it wasn't worth it to argue with you about it."
Uh-huh.
Sure he did.
And I bet it had nothing to do with Jinni saying she could do a better job, either . . .
Apparently the competition between those two has it's occasional upsides . . .
xxx
Jinni stares at the blue tunic I've just tossed her (courtesy of Acqul) with a mixture of distaste, perplexity, and suspicion.
"What's this for?" She demands. Hunter, Malon and I exchange glances. I've already filled them in on how we're going to get to Kokiri's Forest from here.
I'm still trying to find a way to tell Jinni without getting beaten to a bloody pulp.
"Well," I say, choosing my words carefully, "that particular tunic has magic woven into it."
"Magic for what?" She demands, her expression a little less perplexed and a little more suspicious.
"For breathing under water, actually," I say. "I had one like it. Before I changed time. It, uh . . . it came in quite handy." She glances down at the narrow, deep pond we're standing beside. Things start to click. Her expression darkens.
"Why do I need it?" She growls.
"You said you wanted to get this done and over with, right?" Malon asks. Jinni nods, her scowl never fading.
"And . . ."
"And you want to take the fastest route, right?" Hunter asks. I didn't think it possible, but her scowl darkens even further.
"And . . ."
"," I say in a rush.
"What?" Jinni cries.
"And the fastest route involves diving into this pool of water and through a lost door at the bottom," I repeat slowly. She crosses her arms over her chest.
"I can't swim," she says flatly.
"That would be why you have the tunic, and the rest of us don't," Hunter says. "You don't need to swim. You just need to hang on to Link and he'll get you through it."
She throws the tunic back at me.
"No."
"Why not?" I demand.
"I'm not diving into any kind of water, let alone this water," she says flatly.
"Come on," I say cajolingly. "It'll only be a few seconds . . . then we'll be out and in the Kokiri's Forest and that much closer to the Desert."
"No."
"Jinni, this is the fastest way," Malon says. "Come on! If I can do it, you can do it."
"No."
"Jinni, put the tunic on," I say, holding it out to her.
"No," she snaps, pushing my hand away.
"Please?" I ask, holding it out.
"No," she snaps, pushing my hand away again.
"Come on . . ."
"No."
"Just for . . ."
"No."
"What if I . . ."
"No."
"What's the matter, Jinni?" Hunter asks, a smirk dancing on his face. "Is the big, bad Gerudo afraid of a widdle bit of water?"
Jinni snarls and leaps at him (a sure sign he struck the nail on the head) but he simply laughs and avoids her grasp by jumping into the pool. He resurfaces with a gasp and a grin.
"You want me?" He asks. "Come and get me. I'll meet you in the forest."
"Don't go anywhere until I get there!" I shout after him as he dives under again. "Unless you like life as a Stalchild . . ." I turn back to Jinni who's still glowering at the water where he disappeared.
"Jinni," I say. "I'm going through the Lost Door at the bottom of this pond, with or without you. But it's going to be kind of hard to protect me from Zora's River, if I'm at Kokiri's Forest."
She turns her glower on me.
"Please don't make me order you," I beg her.
She glowers at me for a moment more, then snatches the Tunic out of my hand and pulls it roughly on over her uniform.
"If you tell anyone about this . . ." She snarls at me.
"My lips are sealed, I swear," I say, crossing my heart. "Malon, go ahead. Hunter should be through by now. We'll follow you."
"All right," she says, diving into the pool after the Sheikah.
We watch as she swims downward, her hair and skirts billowing around her.
If she's going to stay with us, we're going to have to find her some pants . . .
A moment passes and she slips through the Lost Door and out of sight.
I cross my arms, and cast a sidelong glance at Jinni.
This is probably not the best time for this . . .
But . . .
"Jinni?" I ask. "Why did you follow me?" She blinks and looks at me.
"Pardon?" She asks.
"Why did you follow me and not Vicea?" I ask. "Why didn't you go back to Ganondorf?"
"Why does it matter?" She asks. "I follow you. Why does the reason matter?" I shrug.
"I guess . . . I guess it doesn't," I say. "Sorry. Stupid question. Are you ready to go? Wrap your arms around my neck and don't let go until we're back on dry land, all right?" She does so, and I throw my weight forward.
Her grip tightens painfully just before we connect with the water and ever more so once we're in it. If I were trying to breathe right now, I'd be failing miserably, but since I'm not, there's not much point in complaining about her grip. If that's what she needs to do to feel safe, then so be it.
A few seconds later I spot the Lost Door, glittering warmly up at me – welcoming me home.
I slide through the opening and for a split second everything goes dark, but then light breaks through the dark once again as we slip out the other side.
I look upwards as we move upwards, squinting at the vague shapes. Two large shadows peer down into the water – Hunter and Malon – and one bright blue light glows just above the surface.
I grin.
Navi!
I hadn't even realized how much I missed her until just now . . .
I guess you get used to having someone around all the time.
My grin turns evil when I get a bit closer to the surface and the image above me becomes clearer.
It's definitely Hunter, Malon and Navi . . .
But Navi's eyes aren't on the water, they're on Malon and Hunter . . .
She doesn't know I'm coming . . .
I put on an extra burst of speed (causing Jinni to yet again tighten her grip) and explode from the water just under Navi with a loud shout.
My fairy-partner screams and bolts, flying behind Hunter's head and peeking out. Her eyes narrow when she spots me, struggling to drag myself and Jinni out of the water . . .
I'm laughing too hard to get out . . .
Hunter grabs me and Malon grabs Jinni (both of whom are trying not to laugh) and they haul me out.
I continue to laugh and I point at Navi.
"The . . . look . . . on your . . . face!" I gasp between laughs. "You were . . . so . . . scared!" I clutch my sides and laugh. "Priceless!"
Navi makes a gesture as though rolling up her non-existent sleeves and dives at me. Still laughing I throw my arms over my face to try and defend myself from her furious assault . . .
. . . I don't know how I ever got on without her.