buSection 7
Stealing from Thieves, the Stormbringer/u/b
Link and Sohran followed the mermaids, who were swimming just off shore. They took the Hylians around the perimeter of the island. The island was not very big, and it only took the Hylians and the mermaids about two hours to get to the other side of it. There, they found the iDark Predator/i, anchored inside a gulf of the island like Cattanya had said. The mermaids and Hylians had already agreed on a plan. They would wait until nightfall, until all but one pirate was sleeping. The mermaids would call to this one awake guard, who would not wake his companions because he would want all the fun for himself. They would convince him to lower the ladder and come down, then take him to the other side of the boat and distract him. Link and Sohran would climb the ladder and get Link's stuff back, sabotage the ship, and return to the water. Another thing Link would do is shoot the rudder with an ice arrow again. The last one had melted in a few days and didn't matter because it kept the pirates on course anyway, but this time the ice would prevent them from leaving the gulf for a few days. Plus, the mermaids said they had the magic not to make ice, but to maintain it, and would make sure the ice wouldn't melt for a very long time. The pirates could live off food from the island, and wouldn't be out stealing from people, so it was a good plan.
Link, Sohran and the mermaids waited. The sky was clear and cool as dusk crept nearer, and soon it was nightfall. It would still be a while before the pirates went to bed, though. Link saw that they had come to shore, and mile or so away from where he waited with the mermaids, and were dancing and singing around a bonfire. Sohran was hiding somewhere up ahead, in order to get a better view of the pirates. It seemed like they were feasting on meat and strong drinks while someone played a flute-sounding instrument. They sang a lot of pirate songs, like 'A Pirate's Life for Me' and 'Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest'. After a few hours of partying, the pirates got drowzy and started stumbling rather than dancing, and their singing was terribly off-tune. Soon, they all returned to their ship to turn in. After about half an hour, all was silent and the guard pirate of the ship was outlined against the dark blue sky on deck, the only one awake.
"Link, let's go!" Cattanya whispered from the water. "Link!" There was no reply. She looked over at the bush he had been hiding in and found nothing. "Hmm...Shehira, you're the fastest, go see if he's there." Shehira flopped onto the beach and pulled herself across the sand over to the bush and looked in. She found a snoring Link.
"Hey, wake up!" She said, slapping his cheek.
"What, who?!" Link said, sitting up.
"Time to go, you flake!" Shehira said, giving him an irritated look.
"Eh, sorry. Let's go, then." Link found Sohran and the two slipped into the water with the mermaids, swimming off at an angle so the guard pirate wouldn't see them. The mermaids swam right up to the side of the ship and started calling to the pirate.
"Down here, handsome!"
"We want to meet you, strong man!"
"You're a lot better-looking than your shipmates..." The half-drunk man leaned over the side, grinning at the beautiful mermaids.
"Guuuh...Stay right there, you pretty things! Just let me get this rope ladder down..." Hiccuping, he threw a rope ladder over the side and it rolled down, its end landing in the water. The man begun to climb down but because he was intoxicated he let go halfway, falling into the water. The mermaids pulled him around to the back of the ship and started showering him with compliments and kisses. Link and Sohran swam silently around and climbed the ladder, and looked around the deck. The coast was clear. Link found the hatch that led belowdecks and quietly opened it, stepping down onto the stairs. Sohran followed, Hylian sword drawn. When they reached the bottom they turned right, and found two branching ways. Link knew that one led to the crew's quarters and the other a storage room that held his gear. He had no idea which one to choose. Cautiously, he opened the one on the right. It creaked as it opened, and Link poked his head in. He saw several men sleeping fitfully on hammocks. He backed away from the door, not wanting to close it because he knew it would creak again. So, he left it open and he and Sohran went in the left door. It was the storage room, and Link spotted all his stuff lying on top of a box. He quickly re-equipped it all on the spot, so he wouldn't have to carry it in his hands. Without a sound, the Hylians left the storage room and returned to the topside of the deck. Now time for the fun part, sabotage. Link took out his dagger and began cutting some ropes and pieces of sail he could reach. Sohran helped with his sword, grinning at Link. If pirates were as bad at sewing as they were at singing, it would take them a long time to repair the sails. As Link turned around to cut another sail he froze, seeing a bird. Captain Jordaan's bird.
"AAAAAWWWWK! INTRUDER, INTRUDERRRS!!!!! IT'S THE CABIN BOY AND HIS FRIEND, INTRUDERRRS!" The cry must have woken half the ship. Link and Sohran dived overboard, not having enough time to grab a boat. Link quickly shot an ice arrow at the rudder of the ship as he swam towards the shore after Sohran. They couldn't be caught by the pirates! The pirates, though not the best fighters, would surely gang up fourty to two, and Link didn't like those odds. They would prabably be captured. If that happened, they would drown Link again and make sure he stayed that way. There was no telling what they would do with Sohran, probably sell him as a slave. Halfway to shore, Link realized that even if he and Sohran outran the pirates, which would be only too easy, the persistant, angry men would probably search the whole small island for them. How could Link make sure that didn't happen? Maybe by wounding the Captain again...Link and Sohran reached the shore, and two boats were right on their tail. One held Koske the slanty-eyed pirate, and Captain Jordaan without his bird, the other two pirates in the second boat Link didn't know. All of them looked drunk but Koske.
"Sohran. I think we'de better show these four our power so they won't follow us. It will be easy enough to beat these guys, and if this plan works, it will prevent all of them from ganging up on us," Link said, looking over at the other Hylian.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Let's get them!" Link and Sohran turned to meet the pirates as they got to shore, jumping out of their boats. Jordaan and the slany-eyes foreign-speaking pirate came for Link, the other two went for Sohran.
"This time you won't escape death, boy! Koske, kill him!" Jordaan ordered.
"Hai, Jordaantuno!"
"And stop with that rubbish, ye yellow sea dog!" Jordaan said, nearly falling over.
"Hai! I mean, Aye-aye, Captain Jordaan!" Koske rushed forward, slashing at Link with an odd, long, slightly curved and very sharp sword. The handguard was small and oval-shaped, and the hilt was the same width as the blade. Link hadn't ever seen a sword like it. Link brought up the Master Sword, which was more that strong enough to hold off Koske's sword.
"Shinay! I mean, Diiieee!" Koske forced his sword against Link's in an effort to throw him off balance. Koske then quickly brought down his sword, aiming to cut Link's middle. Link was quicker, parrying the blade and giving Kanoske a rather large slash in his shoulder. "Nani....ksssuh!" The pirate slumped to the ground, holding his profusely bleeding shoulder. Link looked up, expecting Jordaan to rush at him, but to his surprise, Jordaan was not in front of him. He was behind him. Laughing crazily, Jordaan brought the hilt of his sword down on the back of Link's head. Nearly losing consciousness, Link was thrown to the ground. Jordaan dragged him toward the water.
Sohran finally managed to get behind the defenses of the dim-witted but fast pirate he was fighting, and cut his legs, rendering him unable to stand. He then casted a quick freezing spell on the last one, scaring out of his meager wits and securing his feet to the ground with ice. He looked around for Link, but all he saw was Jordaan, holding something underwater.
"Link!" Sohran dashed over to Jordaan, yelling. Jordaan was too stupid and drunk to notice, and Sohran slashed the side of his back. Screaming, Jordaan backed up and Link came up, coughing. Swaying a bit, Jordaan turned his rage on Sohran. Catching the warrior off-guard, he brought the flat of his blade against Sohran's head, stunning him. He then grabbed Sohran's neck and forced him to lean over, exposing the back of his neck as the Captain raised his blade. Still coughing a bit, Link slashed quickly at Jordaan's sword arm. Link was very angry at the pirate trying to kill Sohran, and put a deep slash in Jordaan's arm. Jordaan still brought his blade down, but missed Sohran's neck. The drunken pirate had cut off his own hand.
"Aaaaahhh!" Jordaan's hand instantly let go of Sohran as the Captain screamed. He stumbled backwards and landed on his rump on the sandy shore. Link and Sohran rushed past him, into the jungle. Koske got to his feet, meaning to follow them.
"Jordaantuno, I mean, Captain Jordaan, I'll kill them personally for what they did to you!"
"No, don't follow them."
"Nani?"
"They will only kill you. You know...I do think that boy was the Hero of Time! I always wanted a hook for a hand, anyway," Jordaan said, laughing crazily and swaying dizzily.
While dashing through the jungle, the Hylians were ambushed. Not by pirates, but by shadow assasins. One shadow monster sprung out behind Link, blocking off Sohran. Ahead, one creature slammed into Link, bringing them both to the ground. Two more emerged from the trees, ready to kill Link while the first one held him down. Link wouldn't allow that, of course. Link got to his feet, throwing the one on his back off. He turned around and picked that one up, and threw it at another one. Sohran was busy battling his shadow beast, and had cut its chest. Unfortunately his sword was not as effective on the beast as the Master Sword, and it would take much more than that to defeat the monster. Link drew his sword as his third monster advanced on him, dagger drawn. Now that Link was on his feet with his sword, the shadows were not much of a threat. Link slashed the one in front of him clear in half, making it dissappear. The other two had gotten up and sprang at Link. Link, unimpressed and unintimidated, slashed them both in half as well. They disintegrated, and Link turned to Sohran just as the warrior cut off his monster's head.
"Nice one," Link said.
"Thanks," Sohran replied.
"I think these shadow monsters mean we're close to finding the person or thing that sent the first one! We should continue in a straight line." Sohran nodded and the two were off running again. They were close to their goal.
Unfortunately, there were more shadow things. Seven more shadow things. Seven more shadow things that jumped on Link, pinning him to the ground. Link could easily have gotten up with one or two on his back, but now there was five, because two had gotten off to go fight Sohran. One more got off and came around to Link's face, his dagger gleaming in the moonlight that slipped between the trees. Link struggled and one monster on top of him grabbed his hair, pulling it back and exposing his neck. The shadow in front of him knelt, putting its dagger on Link's neck.
"From an old nemesis...goodbye, Link!" The faceless shadow growled. Link bit its hand. Hissing, the thing pulled its hand away and dropped the dagger. Link picked it up in his mouth and stabbed the hand of the monster on his back. Yowling, it jumped off, taking the other three monsters with it. Link jumped up and drew his sword.
"Sohran, get down!" Sohran, battling two shadows, dropped to the ground. Link performed the spin attack.
"Kai-ten-giri!" Link yelled as red magic sliced his enemies to shreds. The Kai-ten-giri was an improved spin attack he had been working on, and it was obviously very effective against evil monsters. It was also effective against other things, though. And Link chopped down about four trees along with the shadow beasts. "Ack....whoops, sorry, jungle!" Link said, as if the jungle could hear. Sohran shook his head and laughed, getting to his feet.
"You're really powerful. Well, let's go." Sohran said.
"Thanks," Link said, and the two started walking, on the lookout for any more shadow assasins that might try to surprise them. None did, and as Link and Sohran got deeper into the jungle, things got quieter. Bird calls and the chirping of insects faded into silence. It reminded Link eerily of the deep parts of Ethereal Forest, a very dangerous but beautiful forest in North Hyrule.
Link could feel that he and Sohran were walking straight towards danger, but it didn't bother him. What did bother him was the fact that Sohran might get hurt, but knew it would be insulting to him if he asked him to stay behind. He just kept going, for nearly half an hour, while everything around him but his own booted feet and Sohran's was silent. He wasn't even thinking of pirates anymore, knowing he had left them far behind. Abruptly, Link and his companion came out of the trees and into a clearing. They gasped. In the middle of the large clearing was a big rock, and standing in front of that rock was a calwot. It was Feelock.
"F-Feelock?! What are you doing here..." Link asked, bewildered. Sohran had never even seen Feelock before, and was so surprised he didn't speak.
"Silence, Hylian." Feelock said. But it wasn't Feelock that said it, at least it seemed that way. Link could see the tall, armor-clad, black cat clearly in the moonlight, and his mouth had not moved. Also, the voice was not his. It did sound familiar, though... Link might have recognized it if it wasn't distorted by a strange echo effect. "I am surprised you got past my shadow assasins, Hero of Time, but then again, I suppose I expected no less from you. You recognize me, don't you? I am Feelock, King of the Calwots!" The strange voice was still speaking, and Feelock's lips were still not moving. There was a blank, stricken look on the calwot's face as he remained still. The bright, yellow-golden eyes looked almost trapped, somehow...
"But I thought you turned good, Feelock! What are you doing?" Link realized that Feelock, being a calwot, did not have the power to make shadow monsters. Something very strange was going on. Suddenly, without explanation, lightening struck the rock behind Feelock, making it crawl with electricity. The tendrils of light remained on the rock after the bolt had dissappeared, but did not do damage to the rock. Link and Sohran looked at the skies. There was not a single cloud.
"Yes, Hylian, I am the one who caused the great storms with my immense calwot power. I am also impressed that you lived through those, but neither you nor your friend will live through this encounter. You are far away from home, and no one will help you here. You don't even have a fairy partner anymore. You will be defeated." iFairy partner? How does Feelock know about Navi...?/i Link was quite confused. The only thing he was sure of was that this was not completely Feelock, and that whatever was going on, this cat meant to kill him. "You have been rocked consistantly by blue to the southwest for more than seven days, and you have met this green piece of land and found me...you fell for my trap, Link." Still expressionless, the black-winged calwot raised his paw and casted a quick containment spell. A half-transparent box formed around Sohran. "As soon as I'm done with you, your friend will be killed. Now, die!" Feelock's face hadn't changed or moved, but the cat charged at Link. Link drew his sword and rolled to the side, not wanting to encounter Feelock's super-sharp armored claws. The cat flew past him and landed next to a tree, flexing those razor-like claws. Link looked at Feelock's left wrist, remembering that during their last battle it had been nearly burnt off. Sure enough, a metal hand had replaced the old one. Its claws were just as sharp as ever.
"Lethal Internal Blender!" This attack was one that blends the insides of anyone unlucky enough to get caught by it. Fortunately Link had been practicing defense against magic with Zelda, Chain and Impa, and brought out his shield, casting a spell on it. The Internal Blender's magic glanced off the shield harmlessly. "You've grown stronger..." The strange voice said. Link thought he detected a hint of fear in that voice. "But I am the Dark One, I will defeat you." Feelock, staing at Link blankly, rushed forward and caught the shield. He then hurled the shield, and Link with it, into the electrified rock. A few hundred volts tore through Link as he slammed into it.
"Eauugghh!" After getting zapped for a few seconds Link fell to the ground. His body felt stiff and burnt, but he managed to get up shakily. "Oweeee..." The strage voice laughed and Feelock flew high into the air. Forming a volleyball-sized fireball in his paw, he threw it at Link. Link pulled out the mirror shield and deflected the blast, but Feelock dodged it. Link brought up his sword as Feelock dived at him. The magical cat blew smoke in Link's face, and Link couldn't see as the calwot ripped five lacerations in his right shoulder. It was extremely painful because of the razor claws and Link yelled in pain, but was grateful the cat hadn't slashed open the shoulder of his sword arm (Link is left-handed if you didn't notice from the game). The smoke cleared and Feelock came around for another pass, this time breathing ice like a water dragon. It was not a good idea. Link simply deflected the ice, which covered the cat's head and caused him to crash right into the electric stone. An explosion resulted, and Link was thrown twenty feet through the air, landing roughly and skidding on the grassy ground. He wasn't hurt, but Feelock was.
"What a useless, pathetic calwot. Well, I can try one more thing," The voice said.
"Hey, you're controlling Feelock, aren't you, 'Dark One'? Let him go or you'll be sorry, mark my words! He's not a powerful puppet for you to manipulate!" Link really hated when creatures were forecd to do things against their will. He was enraged. "You hear me?! Let him go!!"
"Hm.... So you found out my little secret, eh? Well, it's only sensible that you would be nearly as smart as me. I won't let him go, and you cannot make me." Link didn't know what to do now. How could he attack Feelock when he was innocent? The voice of the 'Dark One', whoever that was, was right. Feelock barely had the strenght to get up and probably didn't want to, but was forced to anyway. In one last show of amazing speed, and cat dashed over to Link. Link brought up his Hylian shield (he had put the mirror one away), but it wasn't even up all the way before the cat reached him. Slicing through the side of the metal shield easily, the wounded cat managed to chant and scratch Link once before the warrior jumped back. At first the small scratch didn't hurt any more than his other scratches, but then Link felt a warm, painful feeling spreadng through his body from it. It made him feel numb and stiff.
iI'm being paralyzed! /iLink suddenly realized, dropping to his knees for lack of feeling in his legs. Soon he simply fell over, growling in irritation, temporarily unable to move anything below his head. Feelock was bleeding from a cuncussion to his head when it had been frozen and smashed into the rock, but the puppet cat walked slowly over to Link. "Feelock...listen to me, you're being controlled! I know you were unstable the last time we met, but I think you have the mental power to break out of it if you just try!" Link said, trying to look up at the approaching cat's face, which was half covered with blood.
"He can't hear you, Link. He is completely under my control. I have gained powers beyond what you can imagine since the last time we fought..." iThe last time we fought? Whoever the Dark One is, he's someone I've met before.../i
"Feelock, stop! You ican/i break out of his control! Just try it!" Link pleaded.
"He won't stop, he doesn't even know where he is, fool." Feelock's eyes suggested differently. He looked sad and scared of what was happening. He didn't look like he was trying to break free, though. He leaned down, putting a paw on the paralyzed warrior's neck.
"Please try..." Link said as the paw squeezed. Link could do nothing, not even try to pull the paw off. Feelock still looked very sad. Then, he looked mad. He looked angry and determined as if trying to take the strangling Link's advice.
"No! Stop that..." The voice cried. "You can't break my control, don't even try it." But Feelock iwas/i trying it, and there was nothing the voice could do about it. Feelock did not want to hurt Link, and desparately tried to shove the dark prescence out of his mind. "Halt. This is not happening...You'll hurt yourself if you get rid of me!" Feelock didn't care. Link would pass out if he didn't get his paw off quick, and he would do anything to do it. Link, choking violently from the tight grip, looked up at Feelock. The cat was trying to break free and suceeding! Link rejoiced silently as his vision darkened. Feelock growled ferociously, seeing Link's peril. "Don't, Feelock...!" The Dark One protested one last time, but it was too late for him. With a mighty mental shove, Feelock was rid of his captor. "You will never defeat me, Link. I will be waiting for you back in Hyrule." The voice muttered, fading away. Unfortunately, the voice was right about Feelock hurting himself. As the calwot tore his paw off Link, a mental shock resulting from the separation caused him to gasp and fall unconscious instantly and painfully. The box around Sohran dissappeared. He quickly ran over to Link, who was beneath the KOed Feelock.
"Link, are you okay?" He lifted Feelock off the heavily breathing Hylian.
"Yes, I'm fine...but it will be a few minutes before I can move again. Would you mind using my Arlia to heal Feelock's head? It's in my belt." Sohran took it out.
"What about you? You're hurt too, if you didn't notice!"
"Heal him first. He took a nasty blow to his head, just behind his left ear." Nodding, Sohran rubbed the Arlia bud on the spot. As soon as it looked normal again, he healed Link's numerous scratches and bruises. By the time he was done, Link could move again and sat up, thanking him.
"You're welcome. Now, what are we going to do with poor Feelock?" Sohran asked, looking at the still calwot.
"I have a feeling he won't wake up for a while. Let's take him to the shore and maybe the water dragons will be nice enough to carry him back to Hyrule with us."
"Okay. Here, I'll grab this end..." Link and Sohran pidked up Feelock, and using their general sense of direction, began walking the way they thought would take them back to shore. Link then remembered he had a compass, and checked it. They were going in the right direction, and walked through the dark trees. It had to be around three to five o'clock in the morning now, and a thin fog clung to the trees, covering everything with moisture and silence. Link and Sohran had been walking in the silence for nearly an hour when they heard a weird noise. It was a sort of howl, almost sounding like a mournful voice. It was coming from the right, though the trees, and sounded several times, making Link and Sohran stop to listen.
"Hmmm...that's a wierd sound. It's almost like a wolf's howl and someone crying at once." Link said.
"If we stop we might not get to the shore quick enough, and who knows if those dragons will wait for us. Their nice sometimes, but hate wasting time..."
"Okay, you keep heading towards the shore and I'll catch up with you. I'll find out what's making that noise."
"Curiosity killed the cat, but if you insist, I'll keep going." Sohran shifted all Feelock's weight onto his strong shoulders, and Link crept through the trees to where the sound was coming from. Being a die-hard warrior, he drew his sword even though he didn't know if the noise-maker was a threat at all. After a few moments Link came to a large clearing. Even through the mist, Link could tell this clearing was at least half as big as the Deku Tree's grove had been. Little flying light illuminated the misty grove, giving it a mystical look. Fittingly, there was a huge tree in the middle. The willowy-looking tree was as big as the Soku Tree had been, and it seemed to be crying. Link put his sowrd away and rushed in front of the tree, looking up at the distressed creature's face. It was a female.
ubSection 8
The Great Cosu Tree, Farewells/b/u
"Ooohhh...I do not know if I shall ever hear from my brother again! I don't even know if he's alive anymore I haven't heard from him in so long! Oh, my poor brother...my poor Soku Tree!"
"Please calm down, miss! Don't worry, your brother is alive! I've seen him myself." The tree's pretty face stopped crying, looking down at the small Hylian before her. "Why...who art thou, little one? Thou lookest like a grown Kokiri, but that is impossible!"
"Well, I'm actually a Hylain, but the great Deku Tree raised me as a Kokiri. My name is Link, mam." He said, bowing to the great tree.
"What a kind little Hylian...I am called the Cosu Tree." She said, cheering up.
"The Cosu Tree? Hey, I have something of yours." Link had all but fogotten the leaf given to him by the Soku Tree. "It seems like so long ago, but about a week and a half ago, your brother, the Soku Tree, gave this to me and said it was yours. Here you go." Link got out the small, beetle-sized shiny leaf with wierd gold writing on it the other tree had given him. A willowy branch came down to recieve the leaf, and held the small thing up to her eyes.
"Oh, this is definately my brother's writing! It is so good to hear from him! Thank thee, Link!"
"No problem. I love to help great trees...they remind me of the Deku Tree..." Link said, sadly remembering his huge parent/friend. There iwas/i the small Deku Tree, but he just wasn't the same.
"Such a nice boy...I have a feeling thou wilt have need of great power in the future, and thy future will effect everyone's future. Thou art a hero, are thee not?"
"Well...kind of, I guess..."
"Do not be so modest, Link. I can sense it - thou art the Hero of Time!" Link nodded and the tree grinned. "I have something for thee - it will increase thy power. Recieve the Platinum Gauntlets!" Link's Golden Gauntlets suddenly lost their gold - it was replaced by some extremely shiny, bright metal. The diamond-shaped rubies that had been on the Golden Gauntlets were replaced by round jewels with swirling green centers. "Now that these gauntlets have touched thy hands, Link, they have attached themselves to thee permanently. The gauntlets themselves can be removed, but the strength they give thee is now yours to call upon forever. They work exactly the same as thy Golden ones worked, but the ability to call upon their strength will not dissappear if the gloves are taken off thy hands, and they are more powerful!"
"Wow, thanks, great Cosu Tree! I'm sure they'll be very helpful," Link said.
"Thou art welcome. Thou must be on thy way before thy friend gets too much ahead of thee," She said, somehow knowing about Sohran. "Tell my brother that I miss him greatly, and thank him for sending thee with my leaf. Fare thee well!"
"You too, good-bye!" Waving to the tree, Link ran after Sohran. He caught up with Sohran and told him what had happened while the two of them continued to carry Feelock to the sea. In about another hour the sky began to lighten and the mist to clear, and Link and Sohran found themselves free of the jungle. The water dragons and Remorie had not arrived yet, so they put Feelock down. Link checked his condition and found him to be okay, and he and Sohran sat and looked at the sea. Cattanya popped out of it.
"You didn't think you were going to leave without a goodbye, did you?" She asked irritably.
"Eh, no! Thanks for all your help, Cattanya...and you other mermaids," Link said, seeing the rest of them come out of the sea as well.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you all," Said Sohran. The mermaids grinned and came up on shore, sitting in front of Link and Sohran.
"So, do you have anything for us in return? We do deserve something." Cattanya said.
"Eh....um...what do you want, exactly?" Sohran asked. He really didn't have anything he thought mermaids would like, except maybe rupees, and neither did Link.
"Oh, nothing..." She said, pulling herself closer to Sohran.
"Um...it looks like she wants my personal space!" Sohran whispered to Link. Link laughed, until he noticed a few mermaids getting closer to him too.
"I just want to kiss a decent man who's not a pirate!" Cattanya declared.
"Aaahhh! No, you crazy girl!" Sohran protested as she kissed him on the cheek. He turned bright red. Link made a beeline for the jungle.
"Hey, come back here!" Shehira, being the fastest on land because of her large tail, pulled herself after Link. Link tripped on a palm tree root sticking out of the ground, and Shehira caught up, kissing his cheek. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Getting kissed by a pretty girl is nothing to run from. Besides, you owe us so don't be rude."
"He didn't mean to be rude, Shehira. We appreciate your help." Sohran said.
"Speak for yourself," Link said, his face also red. Sohran laughed at him. "Oh, you be quiet, Sohran. You have a girlfriend, remember?"
"Oh, crap! Don't tell her about this, Link!" It was Link's turn to laugh.
Link spotted the sea dragons swimming toward the shore. Half an hour ago he and Sohran had bid farewell to the mermaids, after turning down their requests to kiss the Hylians more. The mermaids reluctantly left, but hoped to meet Link and Sohran again. Link and Sohran had then waited for the dragons, and here they were.
"Hello! Ready to go, guys?" Remorie asked, her repltilian head poking above the water.
"Hey, Remorie. Can we take Feelock with us, too? He's this calwot here." Link said, pointing to the unconscious cat.
"Sure. Yavatan and Eucheso have plenty of room on their huge heads. Here they are now..." The large messenger dragon-leviathan Eucheso and a dark purplish-blue dragon-leviathan who was just as big raised their wagon-sized heads above the water. "Yavatan, you wouldn't mind having an extra passenger on your head, would you?" The purplish blue dragon made a sour face.
"bIs it another Hylian? If I have two on my head and I get hungry.../b"
"Yavatan, don't be so rude! Besides, it's a cat thing, not another Hylian." The blue-purple dragon sighed.
"bVery well. Just keep in mind - I'll never be a beast of burden for a human again!/b" Yavatan growled.
"bHuman called Sohran, you will be riding on me. Get on./b" Eucheso said, and Sohran obeyed. He took a seat on the great dragon's head, grabbing a vertical fin for stability. At Yavatan's request, Link pulled Feelock and himself on Yavatan's head, and the water dragons were ready to go. Remorie announced that she would not be coming because she was a much slower swimmer than the two giant dragons.
"Well, see you sometime, Remorie. Thank you so much for all your help. Let me and Hyrule know if there's anything we can do for you, okay?" Link said, smiling at the dragon. Remorie nodded.
"Bye, Remorie. Say thanks and goodbye to Jaconoru for me, please." Sohran said. Remorie nodded again.
"Have a safe journey, you two. Yavatan and Eucheso - you'd better not eat them!" Remorie cautioned.
"bDon't worry, we can't eat humans under the Queen Mirraden, and Jaconoru's protection anyway. See you later, Remorie,/b" Eucheso said, waving. With that, they were off. The two water dragons were faster than Link had expected. Much faster. Practically flying through the water and creating huge waves on either side, the dragons had to be going between a hundred and two hundred miles per hour! Holding on for dear life, Link and Sohran knew they would arrive at the cliffs of Ganon's Swamp very soon.
hello, this concludes the first part of the Return of the Dark One. I'll begin posting the chapters of the second part of it as soon as this chapter gets reviewed, like usual. As always, e-mail if you want pics I drew of my stories. And btw go read StoryWeaver1's story right now!! j/k but it is cool, if you didn't read it by now I think it's worth your time (of course this is assuming anybody reading this isn't storyweaver himself because he and Inversion seem to be the only ones reviewing all my stories .). Want a preview of the next story? Well I'll tell ya that when Link gets back his welcome isn't exactly fit for a hero. Something bad happened while he was gone. See ya next time -Talonclawfange
Stealing from Thieves, the Stormbringer/u/b
Link and Sohran followed the mermaids, who were swimming just off shore. They took the Hylians around the perimeter of the island. The island was not very big, and it only took the Hylians and the mermaids about two hours to get to the other side of it. There, they found the iDark Predator/i, anchored inside a gulf of the island like Cattanya had said. The mermaids and Hylians had already agreed on a plan. They would wait until nightfall, until all but one pirate was sleeping. The mermaids would call to this one awake guard, who would not wake his companions because he would want all the fun for himself. They would convince him to lower the ladder and come down, then take him to the other side of the boat and distract him. Link and Sohran would climb the ladder and get Link's stuff back, sabotage the ship, and return to the water. Another thing Link would do is shoot the rudder with an ice arrow again. The last one had melted in a few days and didn't matter because it kept the pirates on course anyway, but this time the ice would prevent them from leaving the gulf for a few days. Plus, the mermaids said they had the magic not to make ice, but to maintain it, and would make sure the ice wouldn't melt for a very long time. The pirates could live off food from the island, and wouldn't be out stealing from people, so it was a good plan.
Link, Sohran and the mermaids waited. The sky was clear and cool as dusk crept nearer, and soon it was nightfall. It would still be a while before the pirates went to bed, though. Link saw that they had come to shore, and mile or so away from where he waited with the mermaids, and were dancing and singing around a bonfire. Sohran was hiding somewhere up ahead, in order to get a better view of the pirates. It seemed like they were feasting on meat and strong drinks while someone played a flute-sounding instrument. They sang a lot of pirate songs, like 'A Pirate's Life for Me' and 'Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest'. After a few hours of partying, the pirates got drowzy and started stumbling rather than dancing, and their singing was terribly off-tune. Soon, they all returned to their ship to turn in. After about half an hour, all was silent and the guard pirate of the ship was outlined against the dark blue sky on deck, the only one awake.
"Link, let's go!" Cattanya whispered from the water. "Link!" There was no reply. She looked over at the bush he had been hiding in and found nothing. "Hmm...Shehira, you're the fastest, go see if he's there." Shehira flopped onto the beach and pulled herself across the sand over to the bush and looked in. She found a snoring Link.
"Hey, wake up!" She said, slapping his cheek.
"What, who?!" Link said, sitting up.
"Time to go, you flake!" Shehira said, giving him an irritated look.
"Eh, sorry. Let's go, then." Link found Sohran and the two slipped into the water with the mermaids, swimming off at an angle so the guard pirate wouldn't see them. The mermaids swam right up to the side of the ship and started calling to the pirate.
"Down here, handsome!"
"We want to meet you, strong man!"
"You're a lot better-looking than your shipmates..." The half-drunk man leaned over the side, grinning at the beautiful mermaids.
"Guuuh...Stay right there, you pretty things! Just let me get this rope ladder down..." Hiccuping, he threw a rope ladder over the side and it rolled down, its end landing in the water. The man begun to climb down but because he was intoxicated he let go halfway, falling into the water. The mermaids pulled him around to the back of the ship and started showering him with compliments and kisses. Link and Sohran swam silently around and climbed the ladder, and looked around the deck. The coast was clear. Link found the hatch that led belowdecks and quietly opened it, stepping down onto the stairs. Sohran followed, Hylian sword drawn. When they reached the bottom they turned right, and found two branching ways. Link knew that one led to the crew's quarters and the other a storage room that held his gear. He had no idea which one to choose. Cautiously, he opened the one on the right. It creaked as it opened, and Link poked his head in. He saw several men sleeping fitfully on hammocks. He backed away from the door, not wanting to close it because he knew it would creak again. So, he left it open and he and Sohran went in the left door. It was the storage room, and Link spotted all his stuff lying on top of a box. He quickly re-equipped it all on the spot, so he wouldn't have to carry it in his hands. Without a sound, the Hylians left the storage room and returned to the topside of the deck. Now time for the fun part, sabotage. Link took out his dagger and began cutting some ropes and pieces of sail he could reach. Sohran helped with his sword, grinning at Link. If pirates were as bad at sewing as they were at singing, it would take them a long time to repair the sails. As Link turned around to cut another sail he froze, seeing a bird. Captain Jordaan's bird.
"AAAAAWWWWK! INTRUDER, INTRUDERRRS!!!!! IT'S THE CABIN BOY AND HIS FRIEND, INTRUDERRRS!" The cry must have woken half the ship. Link and Sohran dived overboard, not having enough time to grab a boat. Link quickly shot an ice arrow at the rudder of the ship as he swam towards the shore after Sohran. They couldn't be caught by the pirates! The pirates, though not the best fighters, would surely gang up fourty to two, and Link didn't like those odds. They would prabably be captured. If that happened, they would drown Link again and make sure he stayed that way. There was no telling what they would do with Sohran, probably sell him as a slave. Halfway to shore, Link realized that even if he and Sohran outran the pirates, which would be only too easy, the persistant, angry men would probably search the whole small island for them. How could Link make sure that didn't happen? Maybe by wounding the Captain again...Link and Sohran reached the shore, and two boats were right on their tail. One held Koske the slanty-eyed pirate, and Captain Jordaan without his bird, the other two pirates in the second boat Link didn't know. All of them looked drunk but Koske.
"Sohran. I think we'de better show these four our power so they won't follow us. It will be easy enough to beat these guys, and if this plan works, it will prevent all of them from ganging up on us," Link said, looking over at the other Hylian.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Let's get them!" Link and Sohran turned to meet the pirates as they got to shore, jumping out of their boats. Jordaan and the slany-eyes foreign-speaking pirate came for Link, the other two went for Sohran.
"This time you won't escape death, boy! Koske, kill him!" Jordaan ordered.
"Hai, Jordaantuno!"
"And stop with that rubbish, ye yellow sea dog!" Jordaan said, nearly falling over.
"Hai! I mean, Aye-aye, Captain Jordaan!" Koske rushed forward, slashing at Link with an odd, long, slightly curved and very sharp sword. The handguard was small and oval-shaped, and the hilt was the same width as the blade. Link hadn't ever seen a sword like it. Link brought up the Master Sword, which was more that strong enough to hold off Koske's sword.
"Shinay! I mean, Diiieee!" Koske forced his sword against Link's in an effort to throw him off balance. Koske then quickly brought down his sword, aiming to cut Link's middle. Link was quicker, parrying the blade and giving Kanoske a rather large slash in his shoulder. "Nani....ksssuh!" The pirate slumped to the ground, holding his profusely bleeding shoulder. Link looked up, expecting Jordaan to rush at him, but to his surprise, Jordaan was not in front of him. He was behind him. Laughing crazily, Jordaan brought the hilt of his sword down on the back of Link's head. Nearly losing consciousness, Link was thrown to the ground. Jordaan dragged him toward the water.
Sohran finally managed to get behind the defenses of the dim-witted but fast pirate he was fighting, and cut his legs, rendering him unable to stand. He then casted a quick freezing spell on the last one, scaring out of his meager wits and securing his feet to the ground with ice. He looked around for Link, but all he saw was Jordaan, holding something underwater.
"Link!" Sohran dashed over to Jordaan, yelling. Jordaan was too stupid and drunk to notice, and Sohran slashed the side of his back. Screaming, Jordaan backed up and Link came up, coughing. Swaying a bit, Jordaan turned his rage on Sohran. Catching the warrior off-guard, he brought the flat of his blade against Sohran's head, stunning him. He then grabbed Sohran's neck and forced him to lean over, exposing the back of his neck as the Captain raised his blade. Still coughing a bit, Link slashed quickly at Jordaan's sword arm. Link was very angry at the pirate trying to kill Sohran, and put a deep slash in Jordaan's arm. Jordaan still brought his blade down, but missed Sohran's neck. The drunken pirate had cut off his own hand.
"Aaaaahhh!" Jordaan's hand instantly let go of Sohran as the Captain screamed. He stumbled backwards and landed on his rump on the sandy shore. Link and Sohran rushed past him, into the jungle. Koske got to his feet, meaning to follow them.
"Jordaantuno, I mean, Captain Jordaan, I'll kill them personally for what they did to you!"
"No, don't follow them."
"Nani?"
"They will only kill you. You know...I do think that boy was the Hero of Time! I always wanted a hook for a hand, anyway," Jordaan said, laughing crazily and swaying dizzily.
While dashing through the jungle, the Hylians were ambushed. Not by pirates, but by shadow assasins. One shadow monster sprung out behind Link, blocking off Sohran. Ahead, one creature slammed into Link, bringing them both to the ground. Two more emerged from the trees, ready to kill Link while the first one held him down. Link wouldn't allow that, of course. Link got to his feet, throwing the one on his back off. He turned around and picked that one up, and threw it at another one. Sohran was busy battling his shadow beast, and had cut its chest. Unfortunately his sword was not as effective on the beast as the Master Sword, and it would take much more than that to defeat the monster. Link drew his sword as his third monster advanced on him, dagger drawn. Now that Link was on his feet with his sword, the shadows were not much of a threat. Link slashed the one in front of him clear in half, making it dissappear. The other two had gotten up and sprang at Link. Link, unimpressed and unintimidated, slashed them both in half as well. They disintegrated, and Link turned to Sohran just as the warrior cut off his monster's head.
"Nice one," Link said.
"Thanks," Sohran replied.
"I think these shadow monsters mean we're close to finding the person or thing that sent the first one! We should continue in a straight line." Sohran nodded and the two were off running again. They were close to their goal.
Unfortunately, there were more shadow things. Seven more shadow things. Seven more shadow things that jumped on Link, pinning him to the ground. Link could easily have gotten up with one or two on his back, but now there was five, because two had gotten off to go fight Sohran. One more got off and came around to Link's face, his dagger gleaming in the moonlight that slipped between the trees. Link struggled and one monster on top of him grabbed his hair, pulling it back and exposing his neck. The shadow in front of him knelt, putting its dagger on Link's neck.
"From an old nemesis...goodbye, Link!" The faceless shadow growled. Link bit its hand. Hissing, the thing pulled its hand away and dropped the dagger. Link picked it up in his mouth and stabbed the hand of the monster on his back. Yowling, it jumped off, taking the other three monsters with it. Link jumped up and drew his sword.
"Sohran, get down!" Sohran, battling two shadows, dropped to the ground. Link performed the spin attack.
"Kai-ten-giri!" Link yelled as red magic sliced his enemies to shreds. The Kai-ten-giri was an improved spin attack he had been working on, and it was obviously very effective against evil monsters. It was also effective against other things, though. And Link chopped down about four trees along with the shadow beasts. "Ack....whoops, sorry, jungle!" Link said, as if the jungle could hear. Sohran shook his head and laughed, getting to his feet.
"You're really powerful. Well, let's go." Sohran said.
"Thanks," Link said, and the two started walking, on the lookout for any more shadow assasins that might try to surprise them. None did, and as Link and Sohran got deeper into the jungle, things got quieter. Bird calls and the chirping of insects faded into silence. It reminded Link eerily of the deep parts of Ethereal Forest, a very dangerous but beautiful forest in North Hyrule.
Link could feel that he and Sohran were walking straight towards danger, but it didn't bother him. What did bother him was the fact that Sohran might get hurt, but knew it would be insulting to him if he asked him to stay behind. He just kept going, for nearly half an hour, while everything around him but his own booted feet and Sohran's was silent. He wasn't even thinking of pirates anymore, knowing he had left them far behind. Abruptly, Link and his companion came out of the trees and into a clearing. They gasped. In the middle of the large clearing was a big rock, and standing in front of that rock was a calwot. It was Feelock.
"F-Feelock?! What are you doing here..." Link asked, bewildered. Sohran had never even seen Feelock before, and was so surprised he didn't speak.
"Silence, Hylian." Feelock said. But it wasn't Feelock that said it, at least it seemed that way. Link could see the tall, armor-clad, black cat clearly in the moonlight, and his mouth had not moved. Also, the voice was not his. It did sound familiar, though... Link might have recognized it if it wasn't distorted by a strange echo effect. "I am surprised you got past my shadow assasins, Hero of Time, but then again, I suppose I expected no less from you. You recognize me, don't you? I am Feelock, King of the Calwots!" The strange voice was still speaking, and Feelock's lips were still not moving. There was a blank, stricken look on the calwot's face as he remained still. The bright, yellow-golden eyes looked almost trapped, somehow...
"But I thought you turned good, Feelock! What are you doing?" Link realized that Feelock, being a calwot, did not have the power to make shadow monsters. Something very strange was going on. Suddenly, without explanation, lightening struck the rock behind Feelock, making it crawl with electricity. The tendrils of light remained on the rock after the bolt had dissappeared, but did not do damage to the rock. Link and Sohran looked at the skies. There was not a single cloud.
"Yes, Hylian, I am the one who caused the great storms with my immense calwot power. I am also impressed that you lived through those, but neither you nor your friend will live through this encounter. You are far away from home, and no one will help you here. You don't even have a fairy partner anymore. You will be defeated." iFairy partner? How does Feelock know about Navi...?/i Link was quite confused. The only thing he was sure of was that this was not completely Feelock, and that whatever was going on, this cat meant to kill him. "You have been rocked consistantly by blue to the southwest for more than seven days, and you have met this green piece of land and found me...you fell for my trap, Link." Still expressionless, the black-winged calwot raised his paw and casted a quick containment spell. A half-transparent box formed around Sohran. "As soon as I'm done with you, your friend will be killed. Now, die!" Feelock's face hadn't changed or moved, but the cat charged at Link. Link drew his sword and rolled to the side, not wanting to encounter Feelock's super-sharp armored claws. The cat flew past him and landed next to a tree, flexing those razor-like claws. Link looked at Feelock's left wrist, remembering that during their last battle it had been nearly burnt off. Sure enough, a metal hand had replaced the old one. Its claws were just as sharp as ever.
"Lethal Internal Blender!" This attack was one that blends the insides of anyone unlucky enough to get caught by it. Fortunately Link had been practicing defense against magic with Zelda, Chain and Impa, and brought out his shield, casting a spell on it. The Internal Blender's magic glanced off the shield harmlessly. "You've grown stronger..." The strange voice said. Link thought he detected a hint of fear in that voice. "But I am the Dark One, I will defeat you." Feelock, staing at Link blankly, rushed forward and caught the shield. He then hurled the shield, and Link with it, into the electrified rock. A few hundred volts tore through Link as he slammed into it.
"Eauugghh!" After getting zapped for a few seconds Link fell to the ground. His body felt stiff and burnt, but he managed to get up shakily. "Oweeee..." The strage voice laughed and Feelock flew high into the air. Forming a volleyball-sized fireball in his paw, he threw it at Link. Link pulled out the mirror shield and deflected the blast, but Feelock dodged it. Link brought up his sword as Feelock dived at him. The magical cat blew smoke in Link's face, and Link couldn't see as the calwot ripped five lacerations in his right shoulder. It was extremely painful because of the razor claws and Link yelled in pain, but was grateful the cat hadn't slashed open the shoulder of his sword arm (Link is left-handed if you didn't notice from the game). The smoke cleared and Feelock came around for another pass, this time breathing ice like a water dragon. It was not a good idea. Link simply deflected the ice, which covered the cat's head and caused him to crash right into the electric stone. An explosion resulted, and Link was thrown twenty feet through the air, landing roughly and skidding on the grassy ground. He wasn't hurt, but Feelock was.
"What a useless, pathetic calwot. Well, I can try one more thing," The voice said.
"Hey, you're controlling Feelock, aren't you, 'Dark One'? Let him go or you'll be sorry, mark my words! He's not a powerful puppet for you to manipulate!" Link really hated when creatures were forecd to do things against their will. He was enraged. "You hear me?! Let him go!!"
"Hm.... So you found out my little secret, eh? Well, it's only sensible that you would be nearly as smart as me. I won't let him go, and you cannot make me." Link didn't know what to do now. How could he attack Feelock when he was innocent? The voice of the 'Dark One', whoever that was, was right. Feelock barely had the strenght to get up and probably didn't want to, but was forced to anyway. In one last show of amazing speed, and cat dashed over to Link. Link brought up his Hylian shield (he had put the mirror one away), but it wasn't even up all the way before the cat reached him. Slicing through the side of the metal shield easily, the wounded cat managed to chant and scratch Link once before the warrior jumped back. At first the small scratch didn't hurt any more than his other scratches, but then Link felt a warm, painful feeling spreadng through his body from it. It made him feel numb and stiff.
iI'm being paralyzed! /iLink suddenly realized, dropping to his knees for lack of feeling in his legs. Soon he simply fell over, growling in irritation, temporarily unable to move anything below his head. Feelock was bleeding from a cuncussion to his head when it had been frozen and smashed into the rock, but the puppet cat walked slowly over to Link. "Feelock...listen to me, you're being controlled! I know you were unstable the last time we met, but I think you have the mental power to break out of it if you just try!" Link said, trying to look up at the approaching cat's face, which was half covered with blood.
"He can't hear you, Link. He is completely under my control. I have gained powers beyond what you can imagine since the last time we fought..." iThe last time we fought? Whoever the Dark One is, he's someone I've met before.../i
"Feelock, stop! You ican/i break out of his control! Just try it!" Link pleaded.
"He won't stop, he doesn't even know where he is, fool." Feelock's eyes suggested differently. He looked sad and scared of what was happening. He didn't look like he was trying to break free, though. He leaned down, putting a paw on the paralyzed warrior's neck.
"Please try..." Link said as the paw squeezed. Link could do nothing, not even try to pull the paw off. Feelock still looked very sad. Then, he looked mad. He looked angry and determined as if trying to take the strangling Link's advice.
"No! Stop that..." The voice cried. "You can't break my control, don't even try it." But Feelock iwas/i trying it, and there was nothing the voice could do about it. Feelock did not want to hurt Link, and desparately tried to shove the dark prescence out of his mind. "Halt. This is not happening...You'll hurt yourself if you get rid of me!" Feelock didn't care. Link would pass out if he didn't get his paw off quick, and he would do anything to do it. Link, choking violently from the tight grip, looked up at Feelock. The cat was trying to break free and suceeding! Link rejoiced silently as his vision darkened. Feelock growled ferociously, seeing Link's peril. "Don't, Feelock...!" The Dark One protested one last time, but it was too late for him. With a mighty mental shove, Feelock was rid of his captor. "You will never defeat me, Link. I will be waiting for you back in Hyrule." The voice muttered, fading away. Unfortunately, the voice was right about Feelock hurting himself. As the calwot tore his paw off Link, a mental shock resulting from the separation caused him to gasp and fall unconscious instantly and painfully. The box around Sohran dissappeared. He quickly ran over to Link, who was beneath the KOed Feelock.
"Link, are you okay?" He lifted Feelock off the heavily breathing Hylian.
"Yes, I'm fine...but it will be a few minutes before I can move again. Would you mind using my Arlia to heal Feelock's head? It's in my belt." Sohran took it out.
"What about you? You're hurt too, if you didn't notice!"
"Heal him first. He took a nasty blow to his head, just behind his left ear." Nodding, Sohran rubbed the Arlia bud on the spot. As soon as it looked normal again, he healed Link's numerous scratches and bruises. By the time he was done, Link could move again and sat up, thanking him.
"You're welcome. Now, what are we going to do with poor Feelock?" Sohran asked, looking at the still calwot.
"I have a feeling he won't wake up for a while. Let's take him to the shore and maybe the water dragons will be nice enough to carry him back to Hyrule with us."
"Okay. Here, I'll grab this end..." Link and Sohran pidked up Feelock, and using their general sense of direction, began walking the way they thought would take them back to shore. Link then remembered he had a compass, and checked it. They were going in the right direction, and walked through the dark trees. It had to be around three to five o'clock in the morning now, and a thin fog clung to the trees, covering everything with moisture and silence. Link and Sohran had been walking in the silence for nearly an hour when they heard a weird noise. It was a sort of howl, almost sounding like a mournful voice. It was coming from the right, though the trees, and sounded several times, making Link and Sohran stop to listen.
"Hmmm...that's a wierd sound. It's almost like a wolf's howl and someone crying at once." Link said.
"If we stop we might not get to the shore quick enough, and who knows if those dragons will wait for us. Their nice sometimes, but hate wasting time..."
"Okay, you keep heading towards the shore and I'll catch up with you. I'll find out what's making that noise."
"Curiosity killed the cat, but if you insist, I'll keep going." Sohran shifted all Feelock's weight onto his strong shoulders, and Link crept through the trees to where the sound was coming from. Being a die-hard warrior, he drew his sword even though he didn't know if the noise-maker was a threat at all. After a few moments Link came to a large clearing. Even through the mist, Link could tell this clearing was at least half as big as the Deku Tree's grove had been. Little flying light illuminated the misty grove, giving it a mystical look. Fittingly, there was a huge tree in the middle. The willowy-looking tree was as big as the Soku Tree had been, and it seemed to be crying. Link put his sowrd away and rushed in front of the tree, looking up at the distressed creature's face. It was a female.
ubSection 8
The Great Cosu Tree, Farewells/b/u
"Ooohhh...I do not know if I shall ever hear from my brother again! I don't even know if he's alive anymore I haven't heard from him in so long! Oh, my poor brother...my poor Soku Tree!"
"Please calm down, miss! Don't worry, your brother is alive! I've seen him myself." The tree's pretty face stopped crying, looking down at the small Hylian before her. "Why...who art thou, little one? Thou lookest like a grown Kokiri, but that is impossible!"
"Well, I'm actually a Hylain, but the great Deku Tree raised me as a Kokiri. My name is Link, mam." He said, bowing to the great tree.
"What a kind little Hylian...I am called the Cosu Tree." She said, cheering up.
"The Cosu Tree? Hey, I have something of yours." Link had all but fogotten the leaf given to him by the Soku Tree. "It seems like so long ago, but about a week and a half ago, your brother, the Soku Tree, gave this to me and said it was yours. Here you go." Link got out the small, beetle-sized shiny leaf with wierd gold writing on it the other tree had given him. A willowy branch came down to recieve the leaf, and held the small thing up to her eyes.
"Oh, this is definately my brother's writing! It is so good to hear from him! Thank thee, Link!"
"No problem. I love to help great trees...they remind me of the Deku Tree..." Link said, sadly remembering his huge parent/friend. There iwas/i the small Deku Tree, but he just wasn't the same.
"Such a nice boy...I have a feeling thou wilt have need of great power in the future, and thy future will effect everyone's future. Thou art a hero, are thee not?"
"Well...kind of, I guess..."
"Do not be so modest, Link. I can sense it - thou art the Hero of Time!" Link nodded and the tree grinned. "I have something for thee - it will increase thy power. Recieve the Platinum Gauntlets!" Link's Golden Gauntlets suddenly lost their gold - it was replaced by some extremely shiny, bright metal. The diamond-shaped rubies that had been on the Golden Gauntlets were replaced by round jewels with swirling green centers. "Now that these gauntlets have touched thy hands, Link, they have attached themselves to thee permanently. The gauntlets themselves can be removed, but the strength they give thee is now yours to call upon forever. They work exactly the same as thy Golden ones worked, but the ability to call upon their strength will not dissappear if the gloves are taken off thy hands, and they are more powerful!"
"Wow, thanks, great Cosu Tree! I'm sure they'll be very helpful," Link said.
"Thou art welcome. Thou must be on thy way before thy friend gets too much ahead of thee," She said, somehow knowing about Sohran. "Tell my brother that I miss him greatly, and thank him for sending thee with my leaf. Fare thee well!"
"You too, good-bye!" Waving to the tree, Link ran after Sohran. He caught up with Sohran and told him what had happened while the two of them continued to carry Feelock to the sea. In about another hour the sky began to lighten and the mist to clear, and Link and Sohran found themselves free of the jungle. The water dragons and Remorie had not arrived yet, so they put Feelock down. Link checked his condition and found him to be okay, and he and Sohran sat and looked at the sea. Cattanya popped out of it.
"You didn't think you were going to leave without a goodbye, did you?" She asked irritably.
"Eh, no! Thanks for all your help, Cattanya...and you other mermaids," Link said, seeing the rest of them come out of the sea as well.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you all," Said Sohran. The mermaids grinned and came up on shore, sitting in front of Link and Sohran.
"So, do you have anything for us in return? We do deserve something." Cattanya said.
"Eh....um...what do you want, exactly?" Sohran asked. He really didn't have anything he thought mermaids would like, except maybe rupees, and neither did Link.
"Oh, nothing..." She said, pulling herself closer to Sohran.
"Um...it looks like she wants my personal space!" Sohran whispered to Link. Link laughed, until he noticed a few mermaids getting closer to him too.
"I just want to kiss a decent man who's not a pirate!" Cattanya declared.
"Aaahhh! No, you crazy girl!" Sohran protested as she kissed him on the cheek. He turned bright red. Link made a beeline for the jungle.
"Hey, come back here!" Shehira, being the fastest on land because of her large tail, pulled herself after Link. Link tripped on a palm tree root sticking out of the ground, and Shehira caught up, kissing his cheek. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Getting kissed by a pretty girl is nothing to run from. Besides, you owe us so don't be rude."
"He didn't mean to be rude, Shehira. We appreciate your help." Sohran said.
"Speak for yourself," Link said, his face also red. Sohran laughed at him. "Oh, you be quiet, Sohran. You have a girlfriend, remember?"
"Oh, crap! Don't tell her about this, Link!" It was Link's turn to laugh.
Link spotted the sea dragons swimming toward the shore. Half an hour ago he and Sohran had bid farewell to the mermaids, after turning down their requests to kiss the Hylians more. The mermaids reluctantly left, but hoped to meet Link and Sohran again. Link and Sohran had then waited for the dragons, and here they were.
"Hello! Ready to go, guys?" Remorie asked, her repltilian head poking above the water.
"Hey, Remorie. Can we take Feelock with us, too? He's this calwot here." Link said, pointing to the unconscious cat.
"Sure. Yavatan and Eucheso have plenty of room on their huge heads. Here they are now..." The large messenger dragon-leviathan Eucheso and a dark purplish-blue dragon-leviathan who was just as big raised their wagon-sized heads above the water. "Yavatan, you wouldn't mind having an extra passenger on your head, would you?" The purplish blue dragon made a sour face.
"bIs it another Hylian? If I have two on my head and I get hungry.../b"
"Yavatan, don't be so rude! Besides, it's a cat thing, not another Hylian." The blue-purple dragon sighed.
"bVery well. Just keep in mind - I'll never be a beast of burden for a human again!/b" Yavatan growled.
"bHuman called Sohran, you will be riding on me. Get on./b" Eucheso said, and Sohran obeyed. He took a seat on the great dragon's head, grabbing a vertical fin for stability. At Yavatan's request, Link pulled Feelock and himself on Yavatan's head, and the water dragons were ready to go. Remorie announced that she would not be coming because she was a much slower swimmer than the two giant dragons.
"Well, see you sometime, Remorie. Thank you so much for all your help. Let me and Hyrule know if there's anything we can do for you, okay?" Link said, smiling at the dragon. Remorie nodded.
"Bye, Remorie. Say thanks and goodbye to Jaconoru for me, please." Sohran said. Remorie nodded again.
"Have a safe journey, you two. Yavatan and Eucheso - you'd better not eat them!" Remorie cautioned.
"bDon't worry, we can't eat humans under the Queen Mirraden, and Jaconoru's protection anyway. See you later, Remorie,/b" Eucheso said, waving. With that, they were off. The two water dragons were faster than Link had expected. Much faster. Practically flying through the water and creating huge waves on either side, the dragons had to be going between a hundred and two hundred miles per hour! Holding on for dear life, Link and Sohran knew they would arrive at the cliffs of Ganon's Swamp very soon.
hello, this concludes the first part of the Return of the Dark One. I'll begin posting the chapters of the second part of it as soon as this chapter gets reviewed, like usual. As always, e-mail if you want pics I drew of my stories. And btw go read StoryWeaver1's story right now!! j/k but it is cool, if you didn't read it by now I think it's worth your time (of course this is assuming anybody reading this isn't storyweaver himself because he and Inversion seem to be the only ones reviewing all my stories .). Want a preview of the next story? Well I'll tell ya that when Link gets back his welcome isn't exactly fit for a hero. Something bad happened while he was gone. See ya next time -Talonclawfange