**Author's Note** I've finally made another chapter, so keep coming with
the reviews, and that's all I need to be happy with my work ^_^ I would
recommend if you want to be notified right when I add a new chapter that
you add me to "author alert" so that way you won't miss anything! I want to
thank all those loyal readers and reviewers of my story, who are people who
review and always have a positive thing to say about my work, as well as
add some suggestions and input. Here are just some of the wonderful things
such great reviewers have put down in my review column (thanks to all of
you!)
flaminchica: oh! Suspense! Give me more. This is getting better and better!
LainieG304: Wow, that was a quick update! ^^ I really like how you've added all those little details to the Zoras - like their fin colours and gills and mating rituals (hehe). Keep up the good work! ^_^
Rainer Aquarius: Ouch. You know what happens when you talk into a bullhorn, right? Well, imagine the underwater path leading to Zora's Domain as a bullhorn that empties into a very large cave. When the creature roared into it... well, I cant imagine the Zoras were very happy. Scared sh*tless too. Anyway, thanks for using the fisherman! Hehe, 'I want to catch a fish like THAT!' that was good. Keep writing these stories!
Midnight* Starfire: Whenever someone reviews me, I usually check out their work. (Thank you!!) I don't believe I have ever found a story like this, especially one about Ruto. Very nice job, I look forward to more. :o)
Afgncaap5: Thank you! Ruto's one of my favourite characters. It's about time we got a few decent stories about her. :-)
Silver17: This is such a good story! Ever since OOT, Ruto has been one of my favourite characters and there aren't nearly enough stories on her. Keep up the good work!
And now, back to the story...^_^
Ruto kept plummeting, feeling waves of water rush by her. For the first time in a long while, she was really truly scared. All around her was darkness so thick and black she couldn't see anything. No light came from above, nothing. Where was she going? Would she keep falling forever? The Zora princess closed her eyes tightly, praying to the water spirits she wouldn't die – not so soon, not when she had come so far and gone through so much...
Then, as though out of nowhere, she felt her entire body slam into a hard surface. From what she felt underneath her, it appeared to be some sort of sandy floor. Ruto could feel sand rising up around her from the force of her impact, but she still couldn't see anything at all. Helplessly she felt around blindly, trying to get up but ultimately remaining where she lay while clutching onto the trident desperately, hoping...
As if on cue, Ruto saw light once more! In surprise, she looked at the trident and noticed a ball of light had shot from the combined forces of its pointed ends, and glowed brightly in front of it while surrounded by zaps of static. The light was bright enough to illuminate a few feet in front of her, which gave her enough range to get her bearings once more. Cautiously Ruto looked at the floor to see what she was standing on, and noticed it was dark smooth ebony colored sand, the blackest she had ever seen. Wherever she ended up, she was deep inside the earth and well below the floor of Lake Hylia.
Since it was so dark, she had no idea where she was or where she should go. There was also a strange sound coming from somewhere inside the room, appearing to sound like the sandy floor was stirring as though restless. It bothered her to hear something and not know where it came from, and that the place was so dark she couldn't see, even though she was a Zora and Zoras had extremely good vision underwater. Ruto moved forward a few steps, or what she thought was forward, and listened carefully for the sound. The second she moved, she heard it again – this time more noticeable, as if it was close by.
Being calm was the only way to figure things out, Ruto thought to herself. It would be stupid to panic now, especially since nothing was coming to attack her. She swallowed hard and looked warily around, her sparkling purple eyes dancing under the light from the trident. Nothing – because she couldn't see much of anything except blackness all around her, with the one exception being the small area the trident lit in front of her. Other than that, she was absorbed within the blackness of the room. Ruto sighed with exasperation, listening to her own words fill the room as she spoke to herself in growing frustration.
"If only I knew what to do now...everything in this place is a mystery. Even if I fail and die in here, I won't give up all hope until every possible struggle to save my people and home is made."
She looked around once more, and began to feel increasingly lonely and isolated from the outside world, lost within the darkness. There was no one coming to help her, she had to help herself if she wanted to survive and succeed. After all, she didn't venture into the serpent's lair for nothing, as everything had a purpose and she had many for being here. It was difficult to hold back feelings of helplessness and despair, even if it hindered her.
The sound of the moving sand grew steadily louder, and as it did Ruto grew more suspicious. It seemed to be so close to her, but she couldn't see far enough to really know how close it actually was. Ruto listened again for it, and it wasn't until she glanced behind her when she came upon the startling discovery of what had been watching her all along.
A few feet behind her was a huge pair of fierce round glowing red eyes, which appeared clearly through the blackness. The eyes had dark black slits in them that were so thin it looked like a cross between cat eyes and lizard eyes. Ruto turned fully around and backed away, all the while thrusting the trident in front of her and shining the light in its direction. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't very friendly looking. The eyes blinked once, and Ruto heard the familiar sound of rustling sand as the shadowy creature moved toward her and out of the darkness that had concealed it so well.
From what she could see, it appeared to be a huge black armored lobster like thing. The main part of it that grabbed Ruto's attention was the fact it had two massive pincers that looked so powerful it could chop her to pieces with ease. For legs, it had four long sharply pointed legs on either side of its body that supported it off the ground. A hard shiny black shell covered its back and from within the darkness, Ruto could make out its long thick plated tail that had seven protruding spikes attached to its fan-like end. The lobster-like creature had eyes that bulged away from the rest of its body, which swiveled constantly as it looked down at her. Its mouth was open slightly, revealing small black pointed teeth that glistened under the light. Near the center of its hideous face were two tentacles spaced widely apart that were so long they dragged on the ground and wound up in coils.
Ruto noticed the creature blinked a lot, which gave her the impression it didn't like bright lights very much – she could figure why too, especially since she found it in such a pitch black environment. Since the lobster- like thing was black itself, it blended completely into the blackness of the room and its silence allowed it to move around nearly unnoticed unless she listened for sounds. Ruto was relieved she had been blessed with such good hearing, and it was a handy thing to have when she couldn't see very well.
The light from the trident suddenly increased, which surprised Ruto almost as much as it surprised the lobster-like creature. The energy ball illuminating in front of its three pointed ends grew brighter and brighter, all the while lighting more of the room, as the static around it suddenly flashed in a bright explosion of light that made the energy ball disappear and instead made the entire trident radiate in a golden glow that lit every corner of the small square-shaped room. The lobster-like creature thrashed its powerful pincers in the water and skittered back a few feet, apparently blinded by the light in the room. Ruto didn't understand exactly what power the trident had or how it glowed so powerfully, but she did have some advantages now, one main advantage being she could see and the monster in front of her and that it would have a hard time adjusting to the sudden explosion of light in the room.
Strangely enough, the light blinding light didn't harm the Zora princess in the least. In fact, she felt a surge of power flow through her as she held the trident in both her hands and set it in a crossed position in front of her. Ruto decided to stop trying to comprehend the trident's power, and begin focusing on the monster that chose to challenge her. Nothing would get in her way, not now or ever.
The lobster thing scuttled forward again, its eight legs moving its body quickly through the water. Ruto watched as it came toward her, but couldn't see her very well, which forced it to extend its long tentacles and feel through the sand to sense her vibrations in the room. As one of the tentacles came within a few feet from her, Ruto angrily took the trident and stabbed it into the tentacle, and watched through hardened eyes as blood seeped from the tentacle and into the water. The monster reared back in pain as she drove it farther into its tentacle until it went all the way through, before she ripped the trident back toward her as well as taking off part of the tentacle along with it. The piece of its tentacle flew away from the creature and floated in the water until sinking to the dark sandy bottom.
The lobster creature could sense where Ruto was now, since she had ripped off the end of its left tentacle, and was probably near it somewhere. It thrashed its pincers in anger, and Ruto attempted to back away in surprise but was quickly overcome when the creature's right tentacle shot toward her and wrapped around her body and easily lifted her from the ground as it pulled her toward its face. Ruto struggled in surprise, feeling the tentacle's grip on her tighten greatly, and so much so she could barely take water into her gills. A loud scream escaped her throat, feeling the tentacle's force strengthening with ever passing second and an intense pain came over her, fearing the monster would break every bone in her body.
Amidst her pain, Ruto realized her arms were still free, and the tentacle only managed to wrap around her waist to restrain her. Feeling her life literally being squeezed out of her, she managed to gather enough strength from within to use the trident. Ruto held the trident above her head before hurtling it down as close to the tentacle as she could get, all the while forcing it into the tentacle as far as she could muster. Upon impact, Ruto tasted blood in the water, and a rush of relief swept over her when the tentacle's grip quickly loosened enough for her to fall down to the sandy floor in a heap.
Ruto lifted her head from the black sand and heard the monster emit what sounded like some sort of scream as it pulled the remaining part of its tentacles in toward it and curled them up underneath its body. Ruto wanted to cheer when she saw a chuck of its right tentacle lying near where she lay. Even if she could cheer, she had no time to and rolled to her right as quickly as she could when the lobster's pointed legs tried to come down and stab her. Not only did she have to dodge all eight of its legs as they came down one after another in frenzy, but she also had the creature's pincers to deal with as they tried to slash at her while she was rolling.
Ruto couldn't figure out just how she managed to get by without being seriously hurt, and almost lost her life when one of the creature's armored legs came within an inch of her chest. Before it could stab through though, she managed to force it above her chest with the long handle of the trident. The trident glowed furiously, and Ruto watched while struggling to keep the leg from stabbing though her as the lobster's swiveling red eyes widened from seeing flash of light and it quickly relented and backed away, giving her enough time to escape and gain some distance. Ruto rolled away from its body and ran, all the while looking behind her as the monster shrunk back from the light.
When she felt she was far enough, she stood in front of it with the trident readied and watched the lobster thing gain its composure again. It seemed whenever she was in imminent danger; the trident would glow brightly and ward off the evil thing from killing her. Ruto knew she had to get close to it if she ever had a hope of killing it, but it would be impossible for her to survive if she tried running at it by foot, because she would surely be ripped apart by its huge pincers or stabbed by one of its eight long pointed legs. There was only one option left, and she was nervous about using it but she had no choice. Bravely, Ruto glared at the monster and spat viciously through clenched teeth.
"If you want me, come and get me. I'll make sea food out of you, you ugly worthless creature of darkness!"
The lobster like creature scuttled towards her swiftly, as its pincers flew through the water in Ruto's direction. The Zora princess watched until it came a short distance away, until its pincers were close enough to rip her apart, before she flung the trident's three pointed ends into the sand and then thrust her body forward while holding on tightly to its handle. Using her feet, she projected her body off the sand like a spring and used the trident to force her forward in the water, sort of like a Zora version of pole-vaulting only underwater and with a trident. She could have swum toward the creature, but she needed the sudden burst of speed and moment of surprise to make her attempt successful.
Ruto managed to project herself toward it high and fast enough that she just barely grazed by the lobster creature's pincers and then landed on its shelled back. The monster thrashed in front of it in alarm, until it felt Ruto standing on its back and moved around the room quickly to try and knock her off. Ruto stood for a moment, but couldn't keep her balance and fell to her hands and knees on its back, still holding on though by digging her pointed fingernails into its shell and shoving her knees into the shell for extra balance. The creature thrashed its pincers wildly, didn't have enough movement in its arms to be able to pick Ruto off its shell. Ruto was safe there as long as she could stay on, which proved difficult when the lobster tried to ram its back into the wall in hopes of knocking her off.
Ruto clung to the creature's shell desperately, feeling the rocky wall scrape roughly against her back as her own blood began to fill the water. In a fit of rage, she moved father up its shell until she was near the front part of its body. The creature became all the more angry when it failed to remove her from it, and moved back to the center of the room as its pincers thrashed continuously. Ruto took this time to stand up on its shell again, slowly trying to regain her balance. The shell was somewhat smooth and slippery, making standing on it very precarious. To help her, she lifted the trident and dig it's sharp pointed end into its back and gripped the handle for support so she could steady herself. The Zora princess relentlessly stayed on despite how frightened she was of the monster's sharp thrashing pincers, and when she finally remained standing for a long enough time, Ruto lifted the trident into the air and then plunged it down into the lobster's shelled back.
The force she used and her intense anger made her drive the trident as far into the monster's shell as she could make it go. Upon impact she felt the shell give way as a long jagged crack ran all the way down to the tip of the creature's tail. A few chunks of the monster's shell flew away, revealing its tender flesh hidden deep underneath. The lobster like creature emitted a deafening scream and moved wildly around the room; trying to force her off only to no avail as Ruto had the trident firmly positioned inside its back and was holding on tightly to the weapon's handle. Ruto noticed its tender pink flesh was now exposed, and jammed the trident in beyond the shell until it sank deep into the open area. A torrent of blood squirted out, which seeped into the water and nearly filled the room. Ruto removed the weapon for a moment, and barely kept her balance until she thrust it in again for a second stab, piercing the same area and listening to the creature's near deafening screams of pain as it moved rapidly underneath her to escape.
Finally, she removed the trident for the second time, just as the creature jerked to the left, which caused her to lose her balance and topple off of its back. Ruto landed harshly on the sandy floor, her face buried into its black grains as the creature froze in place and continued to emit its screaming like noises, as it seemed to be in too much pain to move. Ruto lifted her head slightly, but quickly buried it in the sand again when the monster's thick plated tail swung over her and nearly hit her. She hadn't killed it, but she managed to immobilize it for a while.
Slowly, she crawled forward toward the center of its body, and the second she moved from where she had been thrown, the lobster lifted its tail and pointed the spiked fan toward the ground and slammed it into the place where she once was. The strength of its blow caused a swirl of black sand to lift into the water, which nearly blinded Ruto from seeing where she was going. Ruto crawled along the sand, trying to see but a dense amount of black grains of sand clouded the water. Desperately, Ruto looked to the trident, hoping it would do something. She felt her grip around its handle tighten, knowing she was shaking profusely. Calmly though she prayed to the water spirits, begging inside her mind to be helped.
As she prayed, the trident began glowing once more, and Ruto noticed the sand that clouded the water had drifted apart clearly enough for her to find her way. Ruto realized she was almost directly underneath the creature, and had to move a few more feet before she would reach the center of its belly. Ruto struggled to crawl forward, all the while blocking out the creature's screams from her mind so she could concentrate. The second she got beneath the lobster's belly, the monster sensed her presence and moved its legs around to try and stab her again. When one of its four legs on its left side flew toward her, Ruto slashed at it with the trident and managed to cut the leg off, which caused the monster to lose some of its balance and tilt slightly forward.
The lobster like creature screamed again, and in its rage it reared up into the water, thrashing wildly with its pincers. Ruto positioned the pointed ends of the trident upward and held it above her in a braced position, doing this in mere seconds while the monster's body came back down. As it's weight came down as though trying to crush her beneath it, it instead hit the trident with full force and pierced straight through. Ruto yelled as the creature's eyes widened in agony while the trident went deep into the center of its body. Blood flowed like a river into the water, and the monster gave a final scream as Ruto ripped the trident out, along with chunks of its inner flesh. Without further delay, Ruto scrambled out as fast as she could from beneath it as its body tumbled to the sandy floor.
Ruto stood next to it, watching the monster but it didn't move. Its eyes no longer swiveled, as it lay on the sand in a disgusting pile of slashed flesh and blood. The Zora princess could feel her gills moving rapidly, almost preparing herself for something to happen, and when nothing did she stood the trident upright next to her and used it to help support her so she could keep standing. The ordeal left her greatly shaken, but when it seemed against all possible odds, she was the one left alive after such a ferocious battle.
Slowly, Ruto took in water, but quickly regained her senses. So many things had attacked her that after each one it was easier for her to recover. This had been her most intense battle as of yet, but the water serpent would be even more intense. It almost made her wonder how she would stand against something even stronger than the lobster-like thing she just killed, as it proved to be enough of a handful.
Calmly, Ruto felt her body relax, and she scanned the room for the exit. A rather large rocky opening was located behind her, where she had originally faced before she turned around and saw the lobster thing hiding in the shadows. Ruto moved toward the exit, barely disturbing the sandy floor, and feeling almost numb from all the battles she survived. There were numerous gashes in her flesh, as well as pain that shot up through her body from the force the lobster thing used when it nearly squeezed her to death with its long tentacle. Ruto ignored the pain, just as she was now ignoring her feelings and fears. There was nothing to feel down here, she just had to keep going no matter what.
When Ruto left the room, the next room she entered was a small rugged looking chamber with a floor covered with large smooth patterned tiles. As her feet touched the tiles, Ruto looked down at one and realized they had a similar pattern as the tiles that covered parts of the water temple. Carefully she made her way to the center of the room, and shortly after noticed she wasn't alone yet again. The Zora princess quickly raised the trident protectively in front of her when she saw two spiked ball-like creatures rolling towards her. They were a shiny silver color, and covered all over with dagger like spikes that clanked as it rolled over the floor. When one got too close for comfort, Ruto slashed at it with the trident and noticed when she did the spikes disappeared and the creature turned into what looked like a small rock that sat idly on the floor. Without letting it recover from her blow, she slashed at it again and saw it disappear into a cloud of bubbles.
The other rolling spiked ball didn't hesitate when the other one was killed, and rolled quickly toward her. Ruto barely had enough time to turn and slash at it, but managed to just before one of its spikes came close enough to impale her in her left arm. The spikes disappeared from it and it turned into its rock form on the floor, which gave Ruto enough time to slash it again with the trident and make it disappear in a bubbly cloud. Once she finished the last one off, Ruto looked around in the room and came to the conclusion there was nothing else in it. It somewhat surprised her to discover this, but she also understood she was nearing the end of the lair, and soon she would have to face her greatest battle as of yet...
flaminchica: oh! Suspense! Give me more. This is getting better and better!
LainieG304: Wow, that was a quick update! ^^ I really like how you've added all those little details to the Zoras - like their fin colours and gills and mating rituals (hehe). Keep up the good work! ^_^
Rainer Aquarius: Ouch. You know what happens when you talk into a bullhorn, right? Well, imagine the underwater path leading to Zora's Domain as a bullhorn that empties into a very large cave. When the creature roared into it... well, I cant imagine the Zoras were very happy. Scared sh*tless too. Anyway, thanks for using the fisherman! Hehe, 'I want to catch a fish like THAT!' that was good. Keep writing these stories!
Midnight* Starfire: Whenever someone reviews me, I usually check out their work. (Thank you!!) I don't believe I have ever found a story like this, especially one about Ruto. Very nice job, I look forward to more. :o)
Afgncaap5: Thank you! Ruto's one of my favourite characters. It's about time we got a few decent stories about her. :-)
Silver17: This is such a good story! Ever since OOT, Ruto has been one of my favourite characters and there aren't nearly enough stories on her. Keep up the good work!
And now, back to the story...^_^
Ruto kept plummeting, feeling waves of water rush by her. For the first time in a long while, she was really truly scared. All around her was darkness so thick and black she couldn't see anything. No light came from above, nothing. Where was she going? Would she keep falling forever? The Zora princess closed her eyes tightly, praying to the water spirits she wouldn't die – not so soon, not when she had come so far and gone through so much...
Then, as though out of nowhere, she felt her entire body slam into a hard surface. From what she felt underneath her, it appeared to be some sort of sandy floor. Ruto could feel sand rising up around her from the force of her impact, but she still couldn't see anything at all. Helplessly she felt around blindly, trying to get up but ultimately remaining where she lay while clutching onto the trident desperately, hoping...
As if on cue, Ruto saw light once more! In surprise, she looked at the trident and noticed a ball of light had shot from the combined forces of its pointed ends, and glowed brightly in front of it while surrounded by zaps of static. The light was bright enough to illuminate a few feet in front of her, which gave her enough range to get her bearings once more. Cautiously Ruto looked at the floor to see what she was standing on, and noticed it was dark smooth ebony colored sand, the blackest she had ever seen. Wherever she ended up, she was deep inside the earth and well below the floor of Lake Hylia.
Since it was so dark, she had no idea where she was or where she should go. There was also a strange sound coming from somewhere inside the room, appearing to sound like the sandy floor was stirring as though restless. It bothered her to hear something and not know where it came from, and that the place was so dark she couldn't see, even though she was a Zora and Zoras had extremely good vision underwater. Ruto moved forward a few steps, or what she thought was forward, and listened carefully for the sound. The second she moved, she heard it again – this time more noticeable, as if it was close by.
Being calm was the only way to figure things out, Ruto thought to herself. It would be stupid to panic now, especially since nothing was coming to attack her. She swallowed hard and looked warily around, her sparkling purple eyes dancing under the light from the trident. Nothing – because she couldn't see much of anything except blackness all around her, with the one exception being the small area the trident lit in front of her. Other than that, she was absorbed within the blackness of the room. Ruto sighed with exasperation, listening to her own words fill the room as she spoke to herself in growing frustration.
"If only I knew what to do now...everything in this place is a mystery. Even if I fail and die in here, I won't give up all hope until every possible struggle to save my people and home is made."
She looked around once more, and began to feel increasingly lonely and isolated from the outside world, lost within the darkness. There was no one coming to help her, she had to help herself if she wanted to survive and succeed. After all, she didn't venture into the serpent's lair for nothing, as everything had a purpose and she had many for being here. It was difficult to hold back feelings of helplessness and despair, even if it hindered her.
The sound of the moving sand grew steadily louder, and as it did Ruto grew more suspicious. It seemed to be so close to her, but she couldn't see far enough to really know how close it actually was. Ruto listened again for it, and it wasn't until she glanced behind her when she came upon the startling discovery of what had been watching her all along.
A few feet behind her was a huge pair of fierce round glowing red eyes, which appeared clearly through the blackness. The eyes had dark black slits in them that were so thin it looked like a cross between cat eyes and lizard eyes. Ruto turned fully around and backed away, all the while thrusting the trident in front of her and shining the light in its direction. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't very friendly looking. The eyes blinked once, and Ruto heard the familiar sound of rustling sand as the shadowy creature moved toward her and out of the darkness that had concealed it so well.
From what she could see, it appeared to be a huge black armored lobster like thing. The main part of it that grabbed Ruto's attention was the fact it had two massive pincers that looked so powerful it could chop her to pieces with ease. For legs, it had four long sharply pointed legs on either side of its body that supported it off the ground. A hard shiny black shell covered its back and from within the darkness, Ruto could make out its long thick plated tail that had seven protruding spikes attached to its fan-like end. The lobster-like creature had eyes that bulged away from the rest of its body, which swiveled constantly as it looked down at her. Its mouth was open slightly, revealing small black pointed teeth that glistened under the light. Near the center of its hideous face were two tentacles spaced widely apart that were so long they dragged on the ground and wound up in coils.
Ruto noticed the creature blinked a lot, which gave her the impression it didn't like bright lights very much – she could figure why too, especially since she found it in such a pitch black environment. Since the lobster- like thing was black itself, it blended completely into the blackness of the room and its silence allowed it to move around nearly unnoticed unless she listened for sounds. Ruto was relieved she had been blessed with such good hearing, and it was a handy thing to have when she couldn't see very well.
The light from the trident suddenly increased, which surprised Ruto almost as much as it surprised the lobster-like creature. The energy ball illuminating in front of its three pointed ends grew brighter and brighter, all the while lighting more of the room, as the static around it suddenly flashed in a bright explosion of light that made the energy ball disappear and instead made the entire trident radiate in a golden glow that lit every corner of the small square-shaped room. The lobster-like creature thrashed its powerful pincers in the water and skittered back a few feet, apparently blinded by the light in the room. Ruto didn't understand exactly what power the trident had or how it glowed so powerfully, but she did have some advantages now, one main advantage being she could see and the monster in front of her and that it would have a hard time adjusting to the sudden explosion of light in the room.
Strangely enough, the light blinding light didn't harm the Zora princess in the least. In fact, she felt a surge of power flow through her as she held the trident in both her hands and set it in a crossed position in front of her. Ruto decided to stop trying to comprehend the trident's power, and begin focusing on the monster that chose to challenge her. Nothing would get in her way, not now or ever.
The lobster thing scuttled forward again, its eight legs moving its body quickly through the water. Ruto watched as it came toward her, but couldn't see her very well, which forced it to extend its long tentacles and feel through the sand to sense her vibrations in the room. As one of the tentacles came within a few feet from her, Ruto angrily took the trident and stabbed it into the tentacle, and watched through hardened eyes as blood seeped from the tentacle and into the water. The monster reared back in pain as she drove it farther into its tentacle until it went all the way through, before she ripped the trident back toward her as well as taking off part of the tentacle along with it. The piece of its tentacle flew away from the creature and floated in the water until sinking to the dark sandy bottom.
The lobster creature could sense where Ruto was now, since she had ripped off the end of its left tentacle, and was probably near it somewhere. It thrashed its pincers in anger, and Ruto attempted to back away in surprise but was quickly overcome when the creature's right tentacle shot toward her and wrapped around her body and easily lifted her from the ground as it pulled her toward its face. Ruto struggled in surprise, feeling the tentacle's grip on her tighten greatly, and so much so she could barely take water into her gills. A loud scream escaped her throat, feeling the tentacle's force strengthening with ever passing second and an intense pain came over her, fearing the monster would break every bone in her body.
Amidst her pain, Ruto realized her arms were still free, and the tentacle only managed to wrap around her waist to restrain her. Feeling her life literally being squeezed out of her, she managed to gather enough strength from within to use the trident. Ruto held the trident above her head before hurtling it down as close to the tentacle as she could get, all the while forcing it into the tentacle as far as she could muster. Upon impact, Ruto tasted blood in the water, and a rush of relief swept over her when the tentacle's grip quickly loosened enough for her to fall down to the sandy floor in a heap.
Ruto lifted her head from the black sand and heard the monster emit what sounded like some sort of scream as it pulled the remaining part of its tentacles in toward it and curled them up underneath its body. Ruto wanted to cheer when she saw a chuck of its right tentacle lying near where she lay. Even if she could cheer, she had no time to and rolled to her right as quickly as she could when the lobster's pointed legs tried to come down and stab her. Not only did she have to dodge all eight of its legs as they came down one after another in frenzy, but she also had the creature's pincers to deal with as they tried to slash at her while she was rolling.
Ruto couldn't figure out just how she managed to get by without being seriously hurt, and almost lost her life when one of the creature's armored legs came within an inch of her chest. Before it could stab through though, she managed to force it above her chest with the long handle of the trident. The trident glowed furiously, and Ruto watched while struggling to keep the leg from stabbing though her as the lobster's swiveling red eyes widened from seeing flash of light and it quickly relented and backed away, giving her enough time to escape and gain some distance. Ruto rolled away from its body and ran, all the while looking behind her as the monster shrunk back from the light.
When she felt she was far enough, she stood in front of it with the trident readied and watched the lobster thing gain its composure again. It seemed whenever she was in imminent danger; the trident would glow brightly and ward off the evil thing from killing her. Ruto knew she had to get close to it if she ever had a hope of killing it, but it would be impossible for her to survive if she tried running at it by foot, because she would surely be ripped apart by its huge pincers or stabbed by one of its eight long pointed legs. There was only one option left, and she was nervous about using it but she had no choice. Bravely, Ruto glared at the monster and spat viciously through clenched teeth.
"If you want me, come and get me. I'll make sea food out of you, you ugly worthless creature of darkness!"
The lobster like creature scuttled towards her swiftly, as its pincers flew through the water in Ruto's direction. The Zora princess watched until it came a short distance away, until its pincers were close enough to rip her apart, before she flung the trident's three pointed ends into the sand and then thrust her body forward while holding on tightly to its handle. Using her feet, she projected her body off the sand like a spring and used the trident to force her forward in the water, sort of like a Zora version of pole-vaulting only underwater and with a trident. She could have swum toward the creature, but she needed the sudden burst of speed and moment of surprise to make her attempt successful.
Ruto managed to project herself toward it high and fast enough that she just barely grazed by the lobster creature's pincers and then landed on its shelled back. The monster thrashed in front of it in alarm, until it felt Ruto standing on its back and moved around the room quickly to try and knock her off. Ruto stood for a moment, but couldn't keep her balance and fell to her hands and knees on its back, still holding on though by digging her pointed fingernails into its shell and shoving her knees into the shell for extra balance. The creature thrashed its pincers wildly, didn't have enough movement in its arms to be able to pick Ruto off its shell. Ruto was safe there as long as she could stay on, which proved difficult when the lobster tried to ram its back into the wall in hopes of knocking her off.
Ruto clung to the creature's shell desperately, feeling the rocky wall scrape roughly against her back as her own blood began to fill the water. In a fit of rage, she moved father up its shell until she was near the front part of its body. The creature became all the more angry when it failed to remove her from it, and moved back to the center of the room as its pincers thrashed continuously. Ruto took this time to stand up on its shell again, slowly trying to regain her balance. The shell was somewhat smooth and slippery, making standing on it very precarious. To help her, she lifted the trident and dig it's sharp pointed end into its back and gripped the handle for support so she could steady herself. The Zora princess relentlessly stayed on despite how frightened she was of the monster's sharp thrashing pincers, and when she finally remained standing for a long enough time, Ruto lifted the trident into the air and then plunged it down into the lobster's shelled back.
The force she used and her intense anger made her drive the trident as far into the monster's shell as she could make it go. Upon impact she felt the shell give way as a long jagged crack ran all the way down to the tip of the creature's tail. A few chunks of the monster's shell flew away, revealing its tender flesh hidden deep underneath. The lobster like creature emitted a deafening scream and moved wildly around the room; trying to force her off only to no avail as Ruto had the trident firmly positioned inside its back and was holding on tightly to the weapon's handle. Ruto noticed its tender pink flesh was now exposed, and jammed the trident in beyond the shell until it sank deep into the open area. A torrent of blood squirted out, which seeped into the water and nearly filled the room. Ruto removed the weapon for a moment, and barely kept her balance until she thrust it in again for a second stab, piercing the same area and listening to the creature's near deafening screams of pain as it moved rapidly underneath her to escape.
Finally, she removed the trident for the second time, just as the creature jerked to the left, which caused her to lose her balance and topple off of its back. Ruto landed harshly on the sandy floor, her face buried into its black grains as the creature froze in place and continued to emit its screaming like noises, as it seemed to be in too much pain to move. Ruto lifted her head slightly, but quickly buried it in the sand again when the monster's thick plated tail swung over her and nearly hit her. She hadn't killed it, but she managed to immobilize it for a while.
Slowly, she crawled forward toward the center of its body, and the second she moved from where she had been thrown, the lobster lifted its tail and pointed the spiked fan toward the ground and slammed it into the place where she once was. The strength of its blow caused a swirl of black sand to lift into the water, which nearly blinded Ruto from seeing where she was going. Ruto crawled along the sand, trying to see but a dense amount of black grains of sand clouded the water. Desperately, Ruto looked to the trident, hoping it would do something. She felt her grip around its handle tighten, knowing she was shaking profusely. Calmly though she prayed to the water spirits, begging inside her mind to be helped.
As she prayed, the trident began glowing once more, and Ruto noticed the sand that clouded the water had drifted apart clearly enough for her to find her way. Ruto realized she was almost directly underneath the creature, and had to move a few more feet before she would reach the center of its belly. Ruto struggled to crawl forward, all the while blocking out the creature's screams from her mind so she could concentrate. The second she got beneath the lobster's belly, the monster sensed her presence and moved its legs around to try and stab her again. When one of its four legs on its left side flew toward her, Ruto slashed at it with the trident and managed to cut the leg off, which caused the monster to lose some of its balance and tilt slightly forward.
The lobster like creature screamed again, and in its rage it reared up into the water, thrashing wildly with its pincers. Ruto positioned the pointed ends of the trident upward and held it above her in a braced position, doing this in mere seconds while the monster's body came back down. As it's weight came down as though trying to crush her beneath it, it instead hit the trident with full force and pierced straight through. Ruto yelled as the creature's eyes widened in agony while the trident went deep into the center of its body. Blood flowed like a river into the water, and the monster gave a final scream as Ruto ripped the trident out, along with chunks of its inner flesh. Without further delay, Ruto scrambled out as fast as she could from beneath it as its body tumbled to the sandy floor.
Ruto stood next to it, watching the monster but it didn't move. Its eyes no longer swiveled, as it lay on the sand in a disgusting pile of slashed flesh and blood. The Zora princess could feel her gills moving rapidly, almost preparing herself for something to happen, and when nothing did she stood the trident upright next to her and used it to help support her so she could keep standing. The ordeal left her greatly shaken, but when it seemed against all possible odds, she was the one left alive after such a ferocious battle.
Slowly, Ruto took in water, but quickly regained her senses. So many things had attacked her that after each one it was easier for her to recover. This had been her most intense battle as of yet, but the water serpent would be even more intense. It almost made her wonder how she would stand against something even stronger than the lobster-like thing she just killed, as it proved to be enough of a handful.
Calmly, Ruto felt her body relax, and she scanned the room for the exit. A rather large rocky opening was located behind her, where she had originally faced before she turned around and saw the lobster thing hiding in the shadows. Ruto moved toward the exit, barely disturbing the sandy floor, and feeling almost numb from all the battles she survived. There were numerous gashes in her flesh, as well as pain that shot up through her body from the force the lobster thing used when it nearly squeezed her to death with its long tentacle. Ruto ignored the pain, just as she was now ignoring her feelings and fears. There was nothing to feel down here, she just had to keep going no matter what.
When Ruto left the room, the next room she entered was a small rugged looking chamber with a floor covered with large smooth patterned tiles. As her feet touched the tiles, Ruto looked down at one and realized they had a similar pattern as the tiles that covered parts of the water temple. Carefully she made her way to the center of the room, and shortly after noticed she wasn't alone yet again. The Zora princess quickly raised the trident protectively in front of her when she saw two spiked ball-like creatures rolling towards her. They were a shiny silver color, and covered all over with dagger like spikes that clanked as it rolled over the floor. When one got too close for comfort, Ruto slashed at it with the trident and noticed when she did the spikes disappeared and the creature turned into what looked like a small rock that sat idly on the floor. Without letting it recover from her blow, she slashed at it again and saw it disappear into a cloud of bubbles.
The other rolling spiked ball didn't hesitate when the other one was killed, and rolled quickly toward her. Ruto barely had enough time to turn and slash at it, but managed to just before one of its spikes came close enough to impale her in her left arm. The spikes disappeared from it and it turned into its rock form on the floor, which gave Ruto enough time to slash it again with the trident and make it disappear in a bubbly cloud. Once she finished the last one off, Ruto looked around in the room and came to the conclusion there was nothing else in it. It somewhat surprised her to discover this, but she also understood she was nearing the end of the lair, and soon she would have to face her greatest battle as of yet...