CHAPTER THREE
Aryll stood in the same cage as she had been in before, but this time she was with Zill and Joel, not with the other girls. She saw the Helmaroc King's Master in the shadows and wondered if it really was Ganondorf. She bared her teeth at the outline. She had taken enough of this torture.
"What?" snapped the outline.
"You should have killed me the first time we met, you cheating beast."
The outline laughed. "I decided to let you live so that I could watch ye suffer, girlie."
"Then you are a fool." Joel and Zill gazed up at Aryll, shocked. "And a coward."
"Your brother tried to slay me and he failed! Not even the Hero of Time can kill me!" hollered the outline. It definitely WAS Ganondorf.
"From now on, my goal is one and only one: TO KILL YOU!" Aryll shouted, rattling the bars angrily. The shadow backed away, and Aryll saw the evil Ganondorf. She cringed at the sight of the evil man. He had a large scar going from the top of his head to his chin.
"That's where Link struck you, isn't it!?" shouted Aryll, going crazy. "Isn't it, King of Evil, isn't it? Well, he failed, but what about the Heroine? The Heroine shall not fail, Dragman Ganon! I will not!"
Ganondorf ran from the cage room, shaking. What a warrior! Still, she was going to die by his own sword.
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"You gonna help us gerrout of here?" asked Zill cautiously. Aryll turned around and nodded. "Don't worry boyo. I will not fail us."
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"This is the Master Sword!" yelled Link. "If someone pulls it out of Ganon's head, then his stone casing shatters! How did you do it!"
Bryn looked ashamed as she muttered, "Turned into an otter. Nifty beasts, otters. Anyways, I swam down and found this old place. It was like Atlantis. I found this place where there was a stone statue next to a corpse of this kingly man." (When she said this, the King of Red Lions turned his head to look at her). "I took the sword 'cause it looked useful, and no one was going to use this sword, right?"
Link shook his head. "Bryn, now Ganondorf, the King of Evil, the Gerudo King, is out there, and he controlled the bird that captured my sister! I demand that you join us on this journey, girl, to pay off what you did!"
Bryn nodded, her face red.
"So Ganon really is back?" Yaphet whispered. He had heard his parents speaking about Ganon.
"Thanks to this girl here," Link glared at Bryn as he spoke, "I'm afraid he is."
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Aryll watched the two sleeping boys. She felt like weeping. She had encouraged then to go to Fairy Forest, she had gotten them captured, and it was all her fault...
'No it's not,' she thought to herself. ''Tis not your fault!'
Aryll settled back to sleep.
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Link stopped at Tingle Island to see his old mad friend.
"Mr. Faerie! You have come to play with me! What shall we play? Hmm? You have not come to play? Aw." Tingle looked disappointed.
"Tingle, I have just come to say 'hello'...and good-bye. This may be the last time I see you, mate. You helped me find the Triforce of Courage, and that is the greatest deed, Tingle." Link reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle. "'Tisn't much, but...here! Take this."
Tingle gasped with delight. "Mr. Faerie, you have gotten me a...a faerie!" He looked at the tiny sprite in the bottle happily. "Thank-you, Mr. Faerie, thank-you!"
"Thank-you, chum." Tears glistened in Link's eyes as he looked at the sea.
"Waker of the Wind, you coming or not?" shouted the King of Red Lions.
"Coming," called back Link, and headed to his boat.
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Yaphet looked at the small form of the Forbidden Fortress. Bryn looked in the sky and grunted, "By the time we get there, it'll be nighttime."
Link gave a sly grin. "I doubt that," he chuckled, holding the Wind Waker clutched in one hand. "The Fortress is creepiest in the night, so it will be day when we arrive. I assure you."
Bryn pointed into the water and yelled, "Look!"
Link and Yaphet followed her gaze and saw a limp body floating there. "Is he dead?" asked Yaphet worriedly. Before anyone could reply, there was a soft splash and a form was streaking towards the body. A grey fin arose from the water and the boys gasped.
"A shark?" Yaphet yelled out his guess. "No, no, Gyorgs keep them at Shark Island." Link shook his head. "'Tis a dolphin."
The dolphin got the limp form and dragged it on its fin to the boat.
"Wait a sec," began Yaphet slowly, "where's – "
Suddenly, there was weight on the other end of the boat. Bryn was holding the boy. She was soaking wet.
"I told ye that I can transform into animals." She laid the boy down on the ship. The boy had no clothes on except for a loincloth.
Bryn took her arm and pushed it against the boy's chest, pumping water from his mouth. He croaked one word:
"Fofana?"
"Fo-fofana? What's that?" asked Link. She knelt beside the boy.
"Fofana...'tis my brother. Well, 'TWAS my brother, till the Gerudo King came and slew him!" The boy struggled to sit up. "My name is Fofaiken. Who are you?"
"I am Link, Hero of Wind. This is my boat, the King of Red Lions, or just King, this is – "
"I can introduce myself, Waker of Wind," snapped Bryn. "I am Bryn the Changer."
"I am Yaphet."
Fofaiken coughed and looked at the crew. "I was a prisoner at the Fortress. When Ganondorf found us – Fofana and I – sneaking away, he sent Moblins and Miniblins to capture us and bring us back. We ran away and dove in the water. The Moblins threw their spear and got Fofana. I began to drag him in the water but a spear got me in the back and I blacked out." Fofaiken began to sob openly. "Poor poor Fofana!"
"Shh, don't upset yourself, boyo," whispered Bryn, patting Fofaiken's hand. Bryn took the Master Sword from her belt on her side and dropped it on the boat. The King began to sail towards the Forsaken Fortress.
"Waker of the Wind, may I exchange your sword for the Master Sword?" she asked. Link handed her the sword and she strapped it on her belt. She gave a smile and leaped into the water. Next second, a sea otter's head popped up. Somehow they knew that it was Bryn. Bryn cocked her head to one side and raised a hand –...paw. She waved it and then went out of sight under the water.
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Far, far away on Dragon Roost Island, there came a shuddering roar from the lair of Valoo, the great dragon.
"What could be wrong with him?" yelled the Chieftain. Medli, the Great Valoo's attendant, took no time in spreading her wings to soar up to the dragon's lair.
"Valoo, what's wrong?" asked Medli cautiously.
The Great dragon Valoo turned to look at her, teeth bared, but then realized that it was only Medli, his attendant. He then spoke in Ancient Hylian. "O Medli, Attendant to me, Valoo, I have just had a terrible vision."
"A vision?" Medli asked eagerly. She had never heard of Valoo having a vision, let alone any dragon.
"Yes, dear Rito, yes." The dragon paused briefly to remember the vision. "The Hero of the Wind, who so long ago saved us – and me – from the vile Gohma, who so selflessly went into battle with the Evil One, he who saved the Sword of Evil's Bane, is in trouble."
"What – how – when – WHY did this vision happened?" Medli shook her head as the words came out in a jumble.
"I do not know why, Medli, but I must go and help the Hero. I have a feeling that I know where the Hero of the Wind is." With that, Valoo gave a great flourish of wings and took off. Medli bit her lip, then ran down to the Rito holt.
"What was wrong with our Great Valoo?" asked the Chieftain keenly.
"He has seen a vision. He took off – can't explain." Medli ran into her room and grabbed a haversack, filling it with food. She shouldered the haversack and glared into the Chief's eyes. "No matter what you say, Chieftain, I shall follow Valoo. He is my duty and my friend. I cannot let him go by hisself."
Medli ran through the door and took off after the fading figure of Valoo.
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When they had reached the Forbidden Fortress, Link played the Song of Passing. It did not work.
"I knew it," grunted Bryn, who had been waiting for them. She tried to hide Link's sword, but Yaphet and Link had already seen the blood on it.
"Okay, okay, so I killed the searchlight guards, so what?"
Fofaiken was frozen where he was standing, looking up at the giant building rearing up in front of him. Yaphet noticed the look of horror on his face and asked, "What's wrong, mate?"
"This's where Dragman Ganon tortured Fofana and me." Fofaiken shivered. "I don't want to go back in."
Link angrily turned to Fofaiken. "Fine then! Take the King and ask him to take you to Outset Island. Tell my Grandma that you were too wimpy to aid me." Link put a hand over his mouth and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Fofaiken."
Fofaiken nodded understandingly. "'Tis okay, Hero of the Wind. 'Tis okay." His face was set in determination. "Let's do this."
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Link, wielding the Master Sword, came and gave the Moblin guards something to think about – even though Moblins don't really think. Yaphet, with his dirk, came after Link, slicing down the Moblins. Bryn had changed into a tiger and let Fofaiken use the Hero's Sword.
They ventured out into the courtyard and Link led the way to where the top of the fortress was. Bryn, shaking blood from her striped muzzle (she was still a tiger), turned human again and then turned into something with wings. Before the three boys could see what she had changed into, she was a white blur, streaming towards a window.
"Crazy girl, ain't she?" grunted Yaphet. "Are all girls like that?"
Link gave a half-hearted laugh and began to run. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()
Link came to the place where he had fought a Bokoblin to get into the doors. There was two Darknuts!
Link held the Master Sword tightly. He targeted one and Yaphet and Fofaiken took the other one. Link waited for the chance to parry. He leapt up above the Darknut. Confused, it looked up, and Link knocked off the helmet. The beast was surprised. Link ran to its back and began to hack away the back armor. The armor fell off and Link began hacking at the monster's back. Blood fell forth onto his hands and the sword blade. The Darknut turned around and gave him a large gash across the face. Link dashed blood from his eyes, but the second cost him dearly. The Darknut swung his sword and it hit Link in the stomach. Link gave a cry of surprise and was thrown over the edge of the Fortress.
Something swooped down and caught him. He felt a faerie coming from a bottle to help him. Shaking his head, he found himself in the clutches of a Kargorok! He tried to struggle, but the Kargorok dropped him back in the battle with the Darknut. He had no choice but to battle and forget about the Kargorok.
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Aryll sat down amid several of her beloved seagulls. A new one fluttered in. She heard the sounds of battle outside and wondered if it was Link.
"Zill! Joel!" she breathed. "I hear sounds out there."
Zill and Joel looked up at her and smiled with relief. They ran to the cage bars and waited eagerly for something to happen.
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The Helmaroc King saw that the two Darknut guards had been slain. Giving a loud screech, he flew towards Fofaiken. Link leapt in front of the boy, holding out his Skull Hammer.
"Stay away from them!" yelled Link. The Bird King cocked his head to one side, spread his wings wide, and smashed a claw down onto Link, catching him on the leg. Link gave a moan and a sharp yell.
"LINK!" hollered Bryn's voice. She was standing on the battleground. "I was the Kargorok who saved you!"
Link blinked, and she was not there. Had she really been there?
The Helmaroc King grabbed him in his beak and shook him. Link yelled, blood flying everywhere. Suddenly, something rammed into the Bird King and it squawked, dropping Link. Bryn, in a form that looked like a lion and a tiger, a liger it was (which are real animals), was attacking the Bird King! The Bird King kicked a talon at the liger, which got slammed against the wall. Helmaroc King grabbed Link before he hit the ground. Suddenly, a voice rang out with words that couldn't be understood by any of the children there. But two creatures understood it. Here is what the voice yelled:
"Don't worry, O Waker of the Wind! I shall help you!"
It was Valoo! He rammed into the Helmaroc King. The bird dropped Link with a screech. Medli, being one of the ones who understood Valoo's shout, caught Link. She whispered, "Hero of the Wind, Hero, are you okay?"
Link dashed more blood from his eyes and coughed, "Yes, Medli. Oh, how did you know – " He didn't finish his sentence. He gave a muffled yell and pointed at Valoo and the Helmaroc King. They were falling towards the water! The Bird King was already dead. Valoo's body smashed against the side of the building. His head was lying across the main foyer. Medli carried Link down there. Tears were falling out of Medli's eyes.
"Valoo, Valoo, Great Valoo," wept Medli, gently setting down Link. They ran over to Valoo. The Rito took the dragon's head in her lap and cradled it.
"I'm sorry, Medli, I have failed you," gasped the Great and Powerful Valoo in Ancient Hylian, "For now no Rito can get their wings from my scales."
"No, no," whispered Medli, "you have not failed us. You will not fail us!"
"The wounds of the Bird King are working on me, Rito girl. Please, do me a favor."
"Anything, Milord." Medli stroked the dragon's head.
"Bury me in the room where Gohma was. Lay me in there and take enough scales for each of the young 'uns who need their wings." Valoo paused, his eyes misting over. "Oh, and tell the rest of your tribe 'sorry'. Medli, make my grave. When you write it, do not write 'the Great Valoo'. I am not your Lord, Medli, I am your friend." Valoo paused and then gave his last proclamation, "Komali will be the next Chieftain, Medli. Become his wife, my dear friend."
Medli wept, "Good-bye, my dearest friend. Good-bye, Valoo."
"I'm sorry, Valoo," whispered Link. "'Twas all my fault that you are dying."
These words fell upon deaf ears. Valoo, the Great Valoo, was gone.
() See, this is why it's a tragedy. I think that I write sad death scenes quite well, actually. ()
Aryll stood in the same cage as she had been in before, but this time she was with Zill and Joel, not with the other girls. She saw the Helmaroc King's Master in the shadows and wondered if it really was Ganondorf. She bared her teeth at the outline. She had taken enough of this torture.
"What?" snapped the outline.
"You should have killed me the first time we met, you cheating beast."
The outline laughed. "I decided to let you live so that I could watch ye suffer, girlie."
"Then you are a fool." Joel and Zill gazed up at Aryll, shocked. "And a coward."
"Your brother tried to slay me and he failed! Not even the Hero of Time can kill me!" hollered the outline. It definitely WAS Ganondorf.
"From now on, my goal is one and only one: TO KILL YOU!" Aryll shouted, rattling the bars angrily. The shadow backed away, and Aryll saw the evil Ganondorf. She cringed at the sight of the evil man. He had a large scar going from the top of his head to his chin.
"That's where Link struck you, isn't it!?" shouted Aryll, going crazy. "Isn't it, King of Evil, isn't it? Well, he failed, but what about the Heroine? The Heroine shall not fail, Dragman Ganon! I will not!"
Ganondorf ran from the cage room, shaking. What a warrior! Still, she was going to die by his own sword.
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"You gonna help us gerrout of here?" asked Zill cautiously. Aryll turned around and nodded. "Don't worry boyo. I will not fail us."
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"This is the Master Sword!" yelled Link. "If someone pulls it out of Ganon's head, then his stone casing shatters! How did you do it!"
Bryn looked ashamed as she muttered, "Turned into an otter. Nifty beasts, otters. Anyways, I swam down and found this old place. It was like Atlantis. I found this place where there was a stone statue next to a corpse of this kingly man." (When she said this, the King of Red Lions turned his head to look at her). "I took the sword 'cause it looked useful, and no one was going to use this sword, right?"
Link shook his head. "Bryn, now Ganondorf, the King of Evil, the Gerudo King, is out there, and he controlled the bird that captured my sister! I demand that you join us on this journey, girl, to pay off what you did!"
Bryn nodded, her face red.
"So Ganon really is back?" Yaphet whispered. He had heard his parents speaking about Ganon.
"Thanks to this girl here," Link glared at Bryn as he spoke, "I'm afraid he is."
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Aryll watched the two sleeping boys. She felt like weeping. She had encouraged then to go to Fairy Forest, she had gotten them captured, and it was all her fault...
'No it's not,' she thought to herself. ''Tis not your fault!'
Aryll settled back to sleep.
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Link stopped at Tingle Island to see his old mad friend.
"Mr. Faerie! You have come to play with me! What shall we play? Hmm? You have not come to play? Aw." Tingle looked disappointed.
"Tingle, I have just come to say 'hello'...and good-bye. This may be the last time I see you, mate. You helped me find the Triforce of Courage, and that is the greatest deed, Tingle." Link reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle. "'Tisn't much, but...here! Take this."
Tingle gasped with delight. "Mr. Faerie, you have gotten me a...a faerie!" He looked at the tiny sprite in the bottle happily. "Thank-you, Mr. Faerie, thank-you!"
"Thank-you, chum." Tears glistened in Link's eyes as he looked at the sea.
"Waker of the Wind, you coming or not?" shouted the King of Red Lions.
"Coming," called back Link, and headed to his boat.
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Yaphet looked at the small form of the Forbidden Fortress. Bryn looked in the sky and grunted, "By the time we get there, it'll be nighttime."
Link gave a sly grin. "I doubt that," he chuckled, holding the Wind Waker clutched in one hand. "The Fortress is creepiest in the night, so it will be day when we arrive. I assure you."
Bryn pointed into the water and yelled, "Look!"
Link and Yaphet followed her gaze and saw a limp body floating there. "Is he dead?" asked Yaphet worriedly. Before anyone could reply, there was a soft splash and a form was streaking towards the body. A grey fin arose from the water and the boys gasped.
"A shark?" Yaphet yelled out his guess. "No, no, Gyorgs keep them at Shark Island." Link shook his head. "'Tis a dolphin."
The dolphin got the limp form and dragged it on its fin to the boat.
"Wait a sec," began Yaphet slowly, "where's – "
Suddenly, there was weight on the other end of the boat. Bryn was holding the boy. She was soaking wet.
"I told ye that I can transform into animals." She laid the boy down on the ship. The boy had no clothes on except for a loincloth.
Bryn took her arm and pushed it against the boy's chest, pumping water from his mouth. He croaked one word:
"Fofana?"
"Fo-fofana? What's that?" asked Link. She knelt beside the boy.
"Fofana...'tis my brother. Well, 'TWAS my brother, till the Gerudo King came and slew him!" The boy struggled to sit up. "My name is Fofaiken. Who are you?"
"I am Link, Hero of Wind. This is my boat, the King of Red Lions, or just King, this is – "
"I can introduce myself, Waker of Wind," snapped Bryn. "I am Bryn the Changer."
"I am Yaphet."
Fofaiken coughed and looked at the crew. "I was a prisoner at the Fortress. When Ganondorf found us – Fofana and I – sneaking away, he sent Moblins and Miniblins to capture us and bring us back. We ran away and dove in the water. The Moblins threw their spear and got Fofana. I began to drag him in the water but a spear got me in the back and I blacked out." Fofaiken began to sob openly. "Poor poor Fofana!"
"Shh, don't upset yourself, boyo," whispered Bryn, patting Fofaiken's hand. Bryn took the Master Sword from her belt on her side and dropped it on the boat. The King began to sail towards the Forsaken Fortress.
"Waker of the Wind, may I exchange your sword for the Master Sword?" she asked. Link handed her the sword and she strapped it on her belt. She gave a smile and leaped into the water. Next second, a sea otter's head popped up. Somehow they knew that it was Bryn. Bryn cocked her head to one side and raised a hand –...paw. She waved it and then went out of sight under the water.
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Far, far away on Dragon Roost Island, there came a shuddering roar from the lair of Valoo, the great dragon.
"What could be wrong with him?" yelled the Chieftain. Medli, the Great Valoo's attendant, took no time in spreading her wings to soar up to the dragon's lair.
"Valoo, what's wrong?" asked Medli cautiously.
The Great dragon Valoo turned to look at her, teeth bared, but then realized that it was only Medli, his attendant. He then spoke in Ancient Hylian. "O Medli, Attendant to me, Valoo, I have just had a terrible vision."
"A vision?" Medli asked eagerly. She had never heard of Valoo having a vision, let alone any dragon.
"Yes, dear Rito, yes." The dragon paused briefly to remember the vision. "The Hero of the Wind, who so long ago saved us – and me – from the vile Gohma, who so selflessly went into battle with the Evil One, he who saved the Sword of Evil's Bane, is in trouble."
"What – how – when – WHY did this vision happened?" Medli shook her head as the words came out in a jumble.
"I do not know why, Medli, but I must go and help the Hero. I have a feeling that I know where the Hero of the Wind is." With that, Valoo gave a great flourish of wings and took off. Medli bit her lip, then ran down to the Rito holt.
"What was wrong with our Great Valoo?" asked the Chieftain keenly.
"He has seen a vision. He took off – can't explain." Medli ran into her room and grabbed a haversack, filling it with food. She shouldered the haversack and glared into the Chief's eyes. "No matter what you say, Chieftain, I shall follow Valoo. He is my duty and my friend. I cannot let him go by hisself."
Medli ran through the door and took off after the fading figure of Valoo.
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When they had reached the Forbidden Fortress, Link played the Song of Passing. It did not work.
"I knew it," grunted Bryn, who had been waiting for them. She tried to hide Link's sword, but Yaphet and Link had already seen the blood on it.
"Okay, okay, so I killed the searchlight guards, so what?"
Fofaiken was frozen where he was standing, looking up at the giant building rearing up in front of him. Yaphet noticed the look of horror on his face and asked, "What's wrong, mate?"
"This's where Dragman Ganon tortured Fofana and me." Fofaiken shivered. "I don't want to go back in."
Link angrily turned to Fofaiken. "Fine then! Take the King and ask him to take you to Outset Island. Tell my Grandma that you were too wimpy to aid me." Link put a hand over his mouth and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Fofaiken."
Fofaiken nodded understandingly. "'Tis okay, Hero of the Wind. 'Tis okay." His face was set in determination. "Let's do this."
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Link, wielding the Master Sword, came and gave the Moblin guards something to think about – even though Moblins don't really think. Yaphet, with his dirk, came after Link, slicing down the Moblins. Bryn had changed into a tiger and let Fofaiken use the Hero's Sword.
They ventured out into the courtyard and Link led the way to where the top of the fortress was. Bryn, shaking blood from her striped muzzle (she was still a tiger), turned human again and then turned into something with wings. Before the three boys could see what she had changed into, she was a white blur, streaming towards a window.
"Crazy girl, ain't she?" grunted Yaphet. "Are all girls like that?"
Link gave a half-hearted laugh and began to run. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()
Link came to the place where he had fought a Bokoblin to get into the doors. There was two Darknuts!
Link held the Master Sword tightly. He targeted one and Yaphet and Fofaiken took the other one. Link waited for the chance to parry. He leapt up above the Darknut. Confused, it looked up, and Link knocked off the helmet. The beast was surprised. Link ran to its back and began to hack away the back armor. The armor fell off and Link began hacking at the monster's back. Blood fell forth onto his hands and the sword blade. The Darknut turned around and gave him a large gash across the face. Link dashed blood from his eyes, but the second cost him dearly. The Darknut swung his sword and it hit Link in the stomach. Link gave a cry of surprise and was thrown over the edge of the Fortress.
Something swooped down and caught him. He felt a faerie coming from a bottle to help him. Shaking his head, he found himself in the clutches of a Kargorok! He tried to struggle, but the Kargorok dropped him back in the battle with the Darknut. He had no choice but to battle and forget about the Kargorok.
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Aryll sat down amid several of her beloved seagulls. A new one fluttered in. She heard the sounds of battle outside and wondered if it was Link.
"Zill! Joel!" she breathed. "I hear sounds out there."
Zill and Joel looked up at her and smiled with relief. They ran to the cage bars and waited eagerly for something to happen.
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The Helmaroc King saw that the two Darknut guards had been slain. Giving a loud screech, he flew towards Fofaiken. Link leapt in front of the boy, holding out his Skull Hammer.
"Stay away from them!" yelled Link. The Bird King cocked his head to one side, spread his wings wide, and smashed a claw down onto Link, catching him on the leg. Link gave a moan and a sharp yell.
"LINK!" hollered Bryn's voice. She was standing on the battleground. "I was the Kargorok who saved you!"
Link blinked, and she was not there. Had she really been there?
The Helmaroc King grabbed him in his beak and shook him. Link yelled, blood flying everywhere. Suddenly, something rammed into the Bird King and it squawked, dropping Link. Bryn, in a form that looked like a lion and a tiger, a liger it was (which are real animals), was attacking the Bird King! The Bird King kicked a talon at the liger, which got slammed against the wall. Helmaroc King grabbed Link before he hit the ground. Suddenly, a voice rang out with words that couldn't be understood by any of the children there. But two creatures understood it. Here is what the voice yelled:
"Don't worry, O Waker of the Wind! I shall help you!"
It was Valoo! He rammed into the Helmaroc King. The bird dropped Link with a screech. Medli, being one of the ones who understood Valoo's shout, caught Link. She whispered, "Hero of the Wind, Hero, are you okay?"
Link dashed more blood from his eyes and coughed, "Yes, Medli. Oh, how did you know – " He didn't finish his sentence. He gave a muffled yell and pointed at Valoo and the Helmaroc King. They were falling towards the water! The Bird King was already dead. Valoo's body smashed against the side of the building. His head was lying across the main foyer. Medli carried Link down there. Tears were falling out of Medli's eyes.
"Valoo, Valoo, Great Valoo," wept Medli, gently setting down Link. They ran over to Valoo. The Rito took the dragon's head in her lap and cradled it.
"I'm sorry, Medli, I have failed you," gasped the Great and Powerful Valoo in Ancient Hylian, "For now no Rito can get their wings from my scales."
"No, no," whispered Medli, "you have not failed us. You will not fail us!"
"The wounds of the Bird King are working on me, Rito girl. Please, do me a favor."
"Anything, Milord." Medli stroked the dragon's head.
"Bury me in the room where Gohma was. Lay me in there and take enough scales for each of the young 'uns who need their wings." Valoo paused, his eyes misting over. "Oh, and tell the rest of your tribe 'sorry'. Medli, make my grave. When you write it, do not write 'the Great Valoo'. I am not your Lord, Medli, I am your friend." Valoo paused and then gave his last proclamation, "Komali will be the next Chieftain, Medli. Become his wife, my dear friend."
Medli wept, "Good-bye, my dearest friend. Good-bye, Valoo."
"I'm sorry, Valoo," whispered Link. "'Twas all my fault that you are dying."
These words fell upon deaf ears. Valoo, the Great Valoo, was gone.
() See, this is why it's a tragedy. I think that I write sad death scenes quite well, actually. ()