Whew! This update took forever! Sorry. Between school, illness, and moving my site to a new server (STILL not done!), I haven't had much time left over for writing.







"This is utterly ridiculous!" Sheik shouted to no one in particular. This was the twenty-third time (exactly) that he'd been sent running for cover to avoid falling debris and ashes from the volcano's crater. [I'll never get up the stupid mountain at this rate...] Showing an impressive lack of foresight, again, Sheik had neglected to bring any sort of protection against the searing hot rocks besides the clothes on his back. And searing hot rocks really didn't find cloth to be much of a deterrent; on the contrary, they almost seem to like it: it burns so nicely.

Sheik glowered up at the mountain peak. "Stupid volcano," he muttered. "Now I won't be able to get to the freaking top and Link won't know how to unlock the stupid temple and eventually he'll fall in the stupid lava and die and the stupid world will be freaking doomed because I don't have a stupid shield...Stupid freaking volcano!" With that he gave the boulder beside him an enthusiastic kick followed shortly thereafter by an enthusiastic howl of pain as Sheik was reminded that boulders are hard.

"Hooo, I say, old bean, are you having difficulties?"

Kaepora the Rather Large Owl found himself the recipient of stern glare, as Sheik clutched his injured foot. "Do you take some kind of sick pleasure out of dropping in uninvited like that?"

"Uninvited?" Kaepora said, leaning down and twisting his head about. "My word, I had no idea. I heard a voice, and, as you and I are the only people here, I assumed you were talking to me." He twisted his head in the other direction.

Sheik focused his gaze on an unusually interesting pebble.

The owl took that as a sign to continue. "I heard the name Link mentioned." He clacked his beak, seeing that now he had the sheikah's undivided attention. "A young hylian about your age, wears green, overly fond of pointy metal objects; is that the right Link, I hope? Hooo?"

Sheik brightened considerably. "Yeah, yeah, that's him." He narrowed his eyes warily. "How do you know-"

Kaepora silenced him with a friendly buffet over the head with his wing. "Let it be said that some creatures are more than they seem, eh? I have certain...connections, one could say." He waggled the feathers above his eyes. "Strictly confidential, don't you know, lad. Said too much already, I'm afraid." Ignoring the confused glare that comment won, the owl flipped his head upside down and went on. "And some creatures are more than they seem, it seems. You have some business with the hylian as well, eh? Never would have expected it."

"I did have business," Sheik cut in, slightly offended, "but I can't get up the mountain, and..." he trailed off with a hopeless sort of gesture.

The owl nodded, or moved in such a way that suggested assent. "Ah, I see." He rapped gently on Sheik's skull. "Lack of protection from the elements. Your metal-less state is lamentable. You're lucky I happened by, my featherbrained youngster; I was on my way up to the summit. I'm not as young as I used to be, mind, but I could likely as not manage to give a lift to a scrawny scrap like yourself." He ruffled his feathers and spun his head once more.

"You," Sheik started.

"Yes, me."

"Give me a 'lift?'"

"That's right."

Sheik closed his eyes momentarily. "As in: flying?"

Kaepora clacked his beak. "It's how birds generally travel, yes."

Sheik considered this. [The Goddesses can't make anything easy, can they?] "...How?"

The owl lowered his eyelids, speaking slowly and patiently. "Thermals, dear child, thermals. You do understand the basic physics of flight, do you not? Surely."

Sheik thought long and hard. So hard, in fact, that he got a bit dizzy. "Fisicks?" he muttered to himself, utterly baffled.

Owls can't move their eyes in the sockets, so Kaepora had to make do with rolling his entire head a few times with a weary sigh. "What do you know about mathematics, boy?"

[Even birds are taking shots at me today...] Sheik made himself as tall as he could. He did have a better education that most people, so why look ashamed, right? "I can sort of do long division. Not in my head, of course, but..."

The owl was silent for a long, unnerving minute. "Long division, eh? Well, you'll just have to trust me, then. Would it help if I told you I'm a magic owl from the sacred realm?"

Now Sheik just felt patronized. "Not especially."

"Good," Kaepora said tersely. "You just stand...perhaps a bit farther back. Yes, just there will do. Now, hold your arms up, like so," he lifted his wings parallel to the ground. "Very good. Now, hold still; I'll be coming from behind. Helps to get a moving start, don't you know." With that, he rose into the air and swept past Sheik.

Sheik stood nervously. His arms were falling asleep, and all that talk about fisicks and math had chilled him to the bone. [Fisicks...what does he take me for, an alchemist? Of all the wei-Eek!] Sheik found himself quite neatly plucked off the ground, his arms caught in massive talons. The ground dwindled far, far below and the wind whipped his hair around. Sheik's heart hadn't merely leapt into his throat, it was probably right up his nose. Kakariko looked like a little patchwork quilt, or something equally schmaltzy. "Ah...Shadows..." Sheik stammered weakly. Kaepora chattered away blithely, unperturbed by the impossible height.

"Doesn't know about physics, hmmm? Hoo! Why, when I was an owlet, sheikahs were a sight to see, eh? Knew all about physics and chemistry and what-have-you. A race to be proud of, they were. Not like the saucy, ignorant tarts running about these days, dear me, no! Why, in those days, a young sheikah took proper academics, and he was GLAD for it, and better for it. Back then, there were quite a few very accomplished sheikahs: astronomers, architects, healers, artists. Not like now. All they're interested in teaching you fledglings these days is how to kick folks in the back of the neck and turn innocent harp strings into deadly weapons and so on. Long division! Hoot hoot! Barbaric! When all this deposing is done with, we're going to have to do something about the empty space between your ears, Sheik!"

Sheik bore all this with a bland stoicism. Of course, it pays to be polite to someone who's holding you suspended several hundred feet above the jagged rocks below. [When he was an owlet, Hyrule Field was covered in glacial ice...] A gust of hot air smelling of sulfur assailed him, and he glanced down into the crater of Death Mountain.

"Why, I do believe that's your friend down there now!" Kaepora said cheerfully, his sharper eyesight picking out the familiar silhouette of the crimson-clad champion and his spunky sprite sidekick. "Bombs away, eh?" The owl swooped low over the crater, choosing a pillar of rock about twenty feet from where Link was standing. "Off you go, then! Happy trails!" Without further warning, Kaepora released his hold on Sheik's arms. With a courageous shriek, Sheik dropped down to the pillar, miraculously landing on his feet and very nearly scaring Link right off the suspension bridge he was crossing. The hylian regained his footing, one hand clutching his chest.

"Don't DO that!" Link yelled indignantly, shaking like a leaf. Navi pulsed silently above him.

Sheik made a bleary apology. Apparently the heat didn't bother Link; Sheik was finding it a bit difficult to breathe, and everything shimmered in the intense heat. [Perhaps it would be best to do this quickly.] He launched into his next set of instructions. "It is something that grows over time... a true friendship." [Oi...] "A feeling in the heart that becomes stronger over time..." [Let's see how many times I can say time today...] "The passion of friendship will soon blossom into...something...uh..." Sheik squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force his heat-addled brain cells into cooperation. Link couldn't decide whether to be amused or worried by his guide's mental strain. Eventually, Sheik found his derailed train of thought. [Wow, it's hot up here...] "The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a...into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go..." [What was I thinking when I thought THAT up?] "This song is dedicated to the power of the heart... Listen to the Bolero of Fire..." Fumbling to get his harp out of that...void thing, Sheik was grateful that the bolero was so achingly simple, otherwise he'd have botched it entirely. [Yes, definitely time to go...] Trusting Link to remember such a simple tune, Sheik put his harp away and took out a deku nut. His head was swimming. "Link...I'll see you again..." [Heh, bye-bye silly green man...Oi, I need to get out of here...]

Link jumped forward a step. "Hey, wait!" He threw up an arm to shield his eyes from the deku nut's flash. When he opened his eyes, he was alone. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he gazed up at Navi in exasperation. "Why DOES he do that?"

The fairy hovered lower, fanning Link's face with her wings. "Beats me. Maybe he's shy?" Her charge's expression wasn't encouraging. She made another attempt to mitigate Link's disappointment. "Or he could be an evil, wicked stalker who must away to his secret fortress deep within the bowels of the earth to plot your painful, squishy demise...Muahahahahaha!" Navi's diabolical cackling didn't have quite the effect she'd intended. Link stared at her like a cow stares at...just about everything, really. She made her hands into little claws. "You may not believe me now, but you'd just better sleep with one eye open, Link. He vants your blood! Ooooooh!"

Link sighed and offered a half-hearted smile. "It's okay, Navi. Forget it." He wandered around for a few minutes, trying to get his bearings. Navi fidgeted impatiently.

"That lousy flake didn't tell us where the door is!" She jangled in irritation.



Sheik was aware of the sound of gurgling water and harp music. He was lying on what felt like cool stone. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was next to the edge of a fountain, which was being fed by little trickles of water falling down grooves in the black wall. The water itself seemed to be incandescent. [I wonder if I'd glow in the dark if I drank some of it...]

"I wondered when you would awaken. Didn't your parents ever tell you not to play in active volcanoes?"

Sheik sat up with a start, looking all around him for the source of the voice. It finally dawned on him to look up. Floating above the basin of the fountain, wingless, naked save for an odd-looking pair of boots and the ivy that seemed to grow on her, was a pink-haired woman. [I need to get myself to a doctor...] She reclined in the air, playing on a glassy harp. She smiled down at him in amusement, her hair bobbing in an otherworldly current.

Sheik said the first thing that came to mind. "...What?"

The woman's harp turned to water and fell into the fountain, where the music continued. She floated down nearer to Sheik's face. [Hey, so those feathery pink things are eyelashes. Goddesses, one of her eyes must be as big as my fist!] "Heat stroke, you silly thing!" chortled the woman, reaching out a massive hand to ruffle Sheik's hair. "You're very fortunate one of my nieces was there to call me."

"Heat stroke?" Sheik said, befuddled, "But I wasn't even there a minute!"

The woman floated back a little way, sitting with her legs crossed in midair. "It doesn't matter, considering how hot it is out there. The fumes were beginning to overwhelm you, at any rate. You really ought to think these things through a bit more," she scolded. "And my sisters call me an airhead..."

Sheik stared glumly into the water. He could practically see Rauru's steely glare in the back of his mind. There was likely a lecture to go with it. [This is pathetic. He's not even here and I feel like I'm in trouble.]

All around him, from the water, tiny fairies rose, flicking moisture off of their wings. If Navi was a ball of light, these were only dots. "What sort of fairy is it, Mother?" one of them asked shyly.

The woman floated down near the little fairy. "He's not a fairy, dear. That's a sheikah. You remember the races I told you about, don't you?"

"It's funny-looking..." mused one of the dots, hovering so close to one of Sheik's eyes that he felt obliged to close it.

"Ouch!" Sheik rubbed his ear tip where one of the more adventurous fairies had bitten him.

"It tastes icky," said that particular pixie. "Like salty fish!"

The woman waved the dots away. "Oh, go on now, shoo! Let the poor thing have some space. I'm very sorry," she said, "they're teething."

"I guess so," said Sheik, his ear still smarting. "Jeez..." Gradually, a lantern came on in his brain. "Are they yours?"

The woman beamed proudly. "Why yes, they are. Aren't they lovely? Most of them are in the terrible twos at the moment, though. I honestly don't know how to keep up with them most days, they-"

"And you are?" Sheik blurted out. He had some idea, but it was probably marginally more polite to ask.

The woman stared blankly for a moment. "Didn't I say?" Sheik shook his head. "I could have sworn I'd introduced myself... Well, no matter!" She let out a bubbly laugh and settled more comfortably in the air on her stomach. "I am the Great Fairy of Power."

Sheik nodded. "I had an inkling, but, no offence intended...you seem rather..." he searched for diplomatic words, "sizable for a fairy."

The G. F. of P. hummed softly as she considered this. "Size is immaterial. We're all mostly empty space, anyway. Some more than others."

"O...kay." Sheik didn't quite catch on that time. "Look," he said, "It's been nice meeting you, and you've been really helpful, but I think I'd better be getting back-"

"Oh!" the fairy said, so shrilly that Sheik winced. "I nearly forgot; before you go, I have a gift for you."

"Oh, you really don't need-"

"Nonsense," she interrupted once again, "This will take no time at all. Now, just hold still..." She made a sort of frame out of her spread hands and looked at Sheik through it. For his part, Sheik was very seriously considering running away. This wasn't the first time today that he'd been told to 'just hold still...' He didn't get the chance, however, as tendrils of vapor rose out of the fountains, wrapping around him and lifting him clean off the ground. They continued winding around each other as they rose to the ceiling, making a sort of vortex. [Trippy...] It was actually very pleasant, once Sheik got past the panic of finding himself inexplicably weightless.

After a couple minutes, the vapor cleared, setting Sheik gently on his feet. He felt pretty darn good, too. Even little aches that he hadn't noticed were gone. "That's pretty slick," Sheik said, for lack of a more eloquent expression. "Thanks."

The fairy laughed. "You're very welcome. I've taken the liberty of strengthening your magic as well. I do hope you won't have need of it, but the thief suspects something. He's on the move; it's almost as though he is looking for something."

Sheik memorized that tidbit of information. "Really? That's good to know, I suppose..." [Well, the guy hasn't been lazy; I'll give him that.]

The fairy floated down close to Sheik's face again. "And if you're ever in the neighborhood of the zoras, do check in on my sister, will you? She hasn't spoken with the rest of us for some time; I am growing a bit anxious for her. Though be warned, she is a bit...out there." Sheik nodded dutifully. She grinned. "How sweet of you! All right then, ta ta!"

Sheik thanked her again and teleported back to his home. The fairy watched him go. "What a nice boy," she remarked to one of her children. "About as sharp as a soggy pancake...but nice."



[Cool...] Sheik had never had such an easy time teleporting. Those Great Fairies knew their stuff... He was just about to search the klivingchen for something that would serve as food, when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Sheik spun, ready for a fight, and saw...Rauru sitting in a chair by the fireplace. Sheik lowered his hands. "...Um...Hello, Your Excellency."

"Hello, Sheik. I trust you gave the Hero his instructions?" He raised one eyebrow, as much as to say: Please tell me you're at least semi-competent.

Sheik smiled a bit too cheesily. "Yep! Sure did! He's very instructed!"

Rauru let it go; he was fairly certain he didn't want to know the details, not with his blood pressure the way it was lately. "I'll take your word for it. I suppose you're wondering why I'm in your house?"

"Well," Sheik said nervously, "to be honest...yes."

Rauru stood. "It seems that Ganondorf hasn't been sitting idle these past weeks," he lowered his voice, "He suspects something."

[Just like the Great Fairy said! Whee! I'm in the circle!] "Yes, Your Excellency."

Rauru made a vague gesture to the south. "If you would accompany me to Lake Hylia, you shall see the problem."

Sheik fidgeted. The Light Sage had a distinctly odd way of traveling that Sheik wasn't too fond of. "If it's all the same to you, Sir, could I perhaps meet you there?"

Rauru sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. [Oh, great. I've done it now...] "Sheik," Rauru said, nearly making the name's owner leap out of his skin, "I hate to resort to such measures, I really do, but," he reached into his pocket and removed an oval something wrapped in cloth, letting the scent waft across the room, "I have a meatloaf sandwich." Sheik was all ears. "And you can have it," Rauru went on, mentally rebuking himself for being so underhanded, "if you cooperate and come with me." Rauru plastered on a smile and covered his wince at making himself sound like some deranged kidnapper.

A small war was being fought in Sheik's mind between Hunger and Self-Preservation. [Let's see...Lunch...Safety...Luuunch...Saaafety.........Lunch.] "Okay."

Rauru sighed, tossed the sandwich into Sheik's waiting hands, and the two vanished.