Legends of the Waker: Remnants of Old
Alright. Here's Laturo's chapter. (
Chapter XXXIX: Food
-Link
I stood up angrily. "I can't stay here! I have to leave." The doctors walked away, ignoring me. I cast about for some means of escape, but I couldn't see any way out. On command, the girl began to speak, her lungs heaving as she spoke animatedly, her whitish blond hair whipping around.
"When the Rain came, the city Kakariko was cast into the depths. The Gorons gave us no help. We were divided and scattered. Frightened and cut off. We were cast into two groups when an issue came up. There were. . .things down here with us. Ghosts. They offered us incredible power if we would accept them into our bodies. But it had to happen willingly. The people of this city are those that were willing. The rest were content to scratch and scrape a living together out of bare rock. We soon found ourselves able to swim through lava, command creatures such as the ReDead, grow the mushrooms that protect our city, and more. But all this came with a price. We must have flesh. Not just of cows and cuccos, but flesh once inhabited by a soul."
I'd only been half listening, trying to figure out what to do, but those last words brought me up short. "That's disgusting. I can't stay here! I have to leave." I pressed against the cool glass and stared out at the sea of red. I wished I could see Zelda. I missed her, missed being around people that weren't trying to kill me for some insane reason. Her face popped up in my mind and I smiled. Then Girl responded to what I'd said and brought me back down, wiped the smile off my face. I felt so completely alone.
"You can't leave. We can't allow outsiders to know about us. You would stop burying your dead."
"So what are you going to do with me?"
She stood up, leaned close, and whispered. "You harbor much power. Merge with one of us, and you would be unstoppable. A Poe is being brought as we speak."
A low moan of horror escaped my lips. I looked up at the mushrooms. They had saved me. Brought me in here somehow. I formed a plan.
A sigh of resignation escaped my lips. "I guess if I'm stuck here I should know more about this place. Tell me about those mushrooms."
She smiled broadly and began to explain. "They create a force field that keeps back the magma. We grow them ourselves. Every decade, they have to be replaced. The glass is there to keep children from the edge. They also have teleportation powers. They break you down and pull you in, push you out, or send you to another mushroom."
I tried to remember what I'd done to the mushroom to activate it, but I couldn't remember exactly what I'd done. Girl kept right on talking while I thought. She seemed to have a hard time restraining herself.
". . .and that's how we crossbred octoroks and cuccos. Ah. Good. Your ghost is here."
The three doctors, as well as four well-armed men appeared. The one I'd spoken to before was holding a bottle that contained what looked like a splotchy orange, white and purple face. I let my boomerang fly from my pocket without touching it, and drew my bow as well. I wasn't going down without a fight.
The four jumped me and I fired the bow point blank into the chest of the first. The boomerang knocked the head of the second, and an outward kick with both legs struck the remainder. None of which did any good. Blood poured from chest, forehead, and lips, but obviously not enough to slow down their reaction time. Four crossbows, as the girl had called them once, clicked. I fell back on my last resort yet again and filled the air with the deadly golden light. My legs exploded into pain and I stumbled to my knees. A horrible blow to the back of the head sent me nose first to the street. As everything went dark I found myself infuriated at having been through so much only to lose now. . .
When I woke I was standing in the midst of what I thought was a small arena, a crowd packing every seat, as I could hear cheers from not too far away. It was so dark I could barely see anything. A horrible chuckle cut through, a confident laugh that sent a shiver crawling up my spine. A swishing noise filled the air and I felt a brush of wind.
I tapped into the power of the Triforce for light, and felt nothing. I glanced at my hand. Too dark. Peering out, I saw a faint light, and realized I'd been separated from it somehow. I soared into the air after it and wondered how much the crowd could see. I heard another nasty chuckle and felt another breeze. Just inches from the Triforce, I felt a horrible coldness strike my left hand.
So cold, it went numb instantly. I felt the icy chill crawl up my arm, and realized the Poe had me in its grip. I felt myself shrinking, diminishing. I screamed in raw terror.
"Help! Someone please, Din, Nayru, Farore someone please help me! I forced together my courage to work up a plan but it was no use. I was slipping away, to die in this underground world. Never to see sunlight again, or Zelda's blue eyes, or a thousand other things.
"Aaaaaaargh! I can feel it!" I screamed. "It's devouring me!"
-Zelda
I walked up to the nearest point of entry to the ruinous city. After a few moments thought, I'd decided to begin my search for Link here first.
Two men crossed swords in my path, blocking my way.
"No passage without a toll, eh Trisyrt?"
"Aye, Griman. No passage. Give us your sword, pretty lady, and we'll let you pass."
I grinned in the faint light. "You want my sword? I'd be happy to oblige." Then I saw the detail on the sword Trisyrt carried. There was no other like it. In a clumsy, half moblined grip, he bore the Master Sword. And the other man, I noticed, carried Link's sword.
"What have you done with Link?" I asked, unable to keep more than a hint of anger from lacing my words.
"Who? We don't have a clue what you're talking about," Trisyrt said.
"Are you going to pay or leave, girl?" Griman asked impatiently.
"That's right. You asked for my blade." I let out a battle cry and charged Trisyrt, deflecting his amateur defensive blows and slashing his leg. I heard the –tak- of sandals against stone and leapt against the wall spinning a half circle, and catching Griman's far more skilled strike and pushing it into the worn bricks with a loud clattering.
He swung a blocking parry against my next driving cut and dropped low, trying to put his sword inside my reach. Brown hair flowing out over my shoulder, I swerved backwards and flicked my sword into a two-handed grip, driving forward. Griman steeled his own grip in preparation, but I moved right at the last minute and struck at Trisyrt.
Defeated again, he shrank back, allowing me to concentrate on the smaller but stronger and more skilled of the pair. I snatched the Master Sword from the man and nearly lost my head to a blow from Griman. He darted forward with an ugly leer and caught a lock of hair three inches long. I snarled and spun both swords around in a whirling arc, dashing across the well-worn cobblestone ground.
Griman, one hand occupied by my hair, couldn't block both my swords. The Master Sword found easy purchase deep in his heart, and the battle was over.
No matter how reserved I walked, I couldn't keep from clattering. Link's two swords strapped to my back with the two thieves' belts, I had begun my search once again. Slowly I made my way instinctively to the tallest building in the area, an ancient windmill.
When I reached it, I saw a man walk out, singing softly to himself a cheerful tune and putting on a hat.
"Go around, Go around. . . lalalalala." Plucking at a thin goatee, the man turned in shock when I called out to him. "Can I help you? Did you get burnt somehow?"
Glancing down at sun-darkened skin that was out of place in a world with no sun, my words tumbled out in a rush.
"I'm after a young man, blond hair, medium height, wearing a green tunic and carrying two swords. Have you seen him?"
"I don't think I have, but I'd be happy to-oh dear! I did see a man like that, but he couldn't be the man you seek. He was a murderer and a liar. Dangerous. Griman and Trisyrt took him away."
"He was not a murderer or a liar! I must find him! Save him! I will not let the man I love be lost!" The words came to me as a much greater surprise than they did to the man.
"Ah. I see. You love him. That's worth fighting for." He was quiet for a moment and then added another sentence under his breath. "Never let them slip away."
"I do not love him. The wrong words slipped out. He's my friend, and he's on a very important quest. Where did those thugs take him?"
"I wouldn't tell you where he's been taken, but he's been buried by now so it can't hurt for the woman who loved him to visit his grave. Follow this road for awhile, then turn right and follow it for another while."
I tried to speak but couldn't. Dead? How could that be? I looked up at the man, words still unreachable. My chest felt tight. Ignoring the swords on my back, I turned and ran.
"God see thee well!" He cried out after me. "I hope you find someone else! Lalalala!" That was the last I saw or heard of Mr. Sensitive. I didn't stop running until I reached a battered gate that hung open, untouched by wind. Seemingly endless rows of ancient graves stood before me. As soon as I could, I took off again, scanning for freshly moved dirt.
Eventually I found a man smoothing over a square of dirt with no tombstone. I ran forward and tackled the grave-keeper. "WHERE IS MY LINK? What have you done with him?" I thundered. Before the startled old man could respond, the ground gave way beneath us.
Chapter XL: The Next
-Mako
I looked out happily around me at the much larger island we'd arrived at. Fado assured us we were very close to Gale Isle, our final goal, and that this was just a short stop so he could catch his breath.
"We're very close to Gale. That's our final goal. This is just a short stop while I catch my breath."
Grass crunched beneath our feet as we stepped past the tiny beach. A tiny village clung to a hilltop on the far side, and a forest dominated much of the rest of the area, making all three of us instantly homesick, though I loved to travel more than Fado and Holly.
As one, all three of us rushed to the closest tree and clasped hands. Without a word to each other, we began to dance around it in circles and sing at the top of our lungs.
-Home again, I can see at last
I'll not leave again
All my wonderings are past
Happy to have seen it all
But my home in the fall
Is worth more than mere sights
My home is where I'll spend my nights.-
That song and a dozen others burst out of us as we spent much of the day until we reached exhaustion enjoying the forest.
As Fado sat cross-legged and Holly began combing the beach for potion ingredients, I began to pick up, weigh, and discard various sticks across the island. Finally I found two that made perfect staffs, almost as good as a Deku Stick. I walked back to Fado and tossed one at his feet.
"Teach me how to fight," I said, holding my stick in a fighting pose. Fado grinned up at me and removed his sword belt and cello. In a matter of seconds after that, my hand was stinging and my staff had been flung towards the beach.
"Boys," Holly muttered, dropping the stick at my feet and wondering into the woods, rubbing at a small bruise.
"She must have been intimidated by my good lucks and stunning show of natural talent," I said.
It was somewhat offense when, rather than offering an affirmative, or saying anything at all, Fado threw back his head and laughed. It took him far too long to finally speak, and even then he was still laughing.
"Holly. . .intimi-hahaha-dated. . .by your...heh heh heh. . .good looks...hahaha...and talent. Oh my," he said, wiping away a tear. "Tha-hehe-t is great."
I frowned and picked up my staff. Fado stopped laughing and began to instruct. "Keep a balanced, tight grip, and don't let your guard down. Use your opponent against you. Let him tire-out, over swing. And most importantly, stay calm. Now, come at me.
Hours later, done in once again, we dropped to the ground, tired, hungry, and thirsty.
"Want to see what Holly's up to?" I asked, laying back and staring at the sunny sky.
"She's probably been staring at a leaf or rock for hours." Fado said with a laugh. He lifted up his stick, and challenged me again. I swung at him but he ducked into the air and began to fly away. He swooped down and picked up his cello. I tried to tackle him but missed and hit the grass. I chased after him but he always stayed a few feet above my head. Laughing so hard he almost fell out of the air, he called out "Come, young Mako, use thy sagely power and take flight!"
"I'll show you sagely power when you land!"
"See the sage known as Mako, and despair thou at his inability to make good comebacks." He floated out over the sea, blond hair tossed in every direction as I ran through the village, scattered Hylians stopping to watch the strange sight of a child soaring through the air.
"'Scuse me, pardon, coming through, watch out." I finally reached the rocky shore and could see Fado reach for his cello. Before he could reach it, the huge smile and laughing eyes faded as he fell from the sky. Immediately I jumped in and found myself in a suddenly storm-tossed sea. Before me a ship appeared out of nowhere when I reached the place where my friend had been struck.
I found Fado swimming nearby, rubbing bewilderedly at his head. A rope ladder fell down to us. The shore was far away now, the waves were rough, and I was no great swimmer. With Fado close behind, I began to climb.
Chapter XLI: About a Burning Fire
-Laruto
-Kill her. Kill the sorceress. Kill Gepqa now.-
Whispers from sages past poured over me, far and above softer than the burning fire that pulsed through my veins. I felt grasping hands forging my strength into a sword. And the blade was willing. Gepqa had to die.
My friends lay in a pile on the deck. Even Medli. As I looked closer, I saw a gaping head wound. She was almost certainly dead. I felt a strange reserve. Complete calm. But for a moment, I hesitated. And in that single moment, disaster struck.
The Deku Scrubs attacked.
With odd squeaky battlecries, the four Scrubs that had come with me launched forward, firing arrows and Deku Nuts with no sign of fear. A blast of flame cut down three, who tumbled into the fourth. All stumbled into the pile of dead warriors pressed against the railing. I saw an orange glow coming from it, but focused my attention where it needed to be. Gepqa had to die.
I leapt into the air and stayed there, flying like an arrow into the woman. She staggered back and hit the wide wooden pole that jutted from the edge of the bow hard enough to make the ship tilt. Geqpa pulled herself to her feet slowly, glaring at me.
"Do you honestly think you can win against me? I will crush you and make you wish you'd never interfered."
I was almost relieved. The typical evil person speech. She didn't stand a chance.
I back-flipped away and then flipped again in midair and charged, sending down a rain of blue orbs that made thudding noises as they imbedded themselves in the deck. I hit her again myself but this time she held on. We both went punching and kicking in fast motion over the rail.
Howling wind ripped into both of us, the limitless blue spread before us ever wider. Gepqa sent a wind knocking fist into my chest and I felt a horrible numbness as little green bolts of lightning squiggled over my skin. I rushed closer and closer as Gepqa left me and soared for the ship. I struck the ocean at a speed far faster than when my body had been broken, and felt no pain, sending water high in the air. But still couldn't move, sinking ever deeper.
-Get up there Laruto. Kill the Sorceress. Kill Gepqa.-
Seconds later I struck the deck of the ship and made the decking rattle. I could see a few pirates cowering in one corner, and Gepqa leaning over the heap of dead warriors.
Silently I took to the air.
"Miss Gepqa! Look out!"
Blasts of flame flew my way, sizzling through the air. I stopped, floating, and began deflecting them. Gepqa grinned chillingly and threw a looped chain around my waist. Before I could react, she soared into the air, yanking me with her.
"Come along, my dear. We have much to discuss."
The biting cold air grew even colder as we flew ever higher, straight into a cloud. Then she pulled the chain, sending me into a kick that made my neck snap.
I slipped out of the chain and grabbed onto it, following through the mist when she pulled again. I struck her once and didn't stop. She was barely flying, arms and legs limp. I flew upward, corkscrewing, and finished her with a cannonball into her chest. She fell as fast as one, down to strike the deck and go through into a lower level. Not trusting any such fortune that she was dead, I flew after her.
Not stopping to survey they chaotic state of the ship I flew straight in and landed near the hole, in a room filled with hammocks.
A forest of white cloth swayed around me. No sign of Gepqa. Suddenly a voice cried out, but it wasn't hers.
"Oo's that bangin' abou' ou' there? Can' a mate get 'is sleep?" The incongruous idea of a man sleeping through his ship lifting into the air or the massive battle raging around him was too difficult to grasp. I tensed, expecting an attack at any second. I had no time to spare heavy sleepers.
A heard a crackling and turned to see a line of flame drifting through the simple beds, but no sight of my target. I took off, feet moving in a blur, for the line of flame. I had been heading towards a wall, but when I stopped I was facing the way I'd come.
I saw the flame again towards my right and took off again but only found myself back where I'd started, underneath the hole. She was using illusions to trick me. I lowered my head to think and saw a blue glow beneath my feet in the next deck down, but like so many things, I pushed the thought away. With the whispers in my ear, the burning all through me, and my own heart pounding, it was almost impossible to think. But I came up with a solution.
She was using my sight to trick me. I held out my left hand and used my newfound power to fill the room with mist. Now neither of us could see properly, and the fire would be put out.
The sleeping pirate cursed and yelled out. "Yewer lettin' in a draft, man! We mus' be passin' through a fog. Close th' door!"
Trying to listen for the sorceress, I almost yelled at him to shut up when I heard a footstep behind me. I felt a sword and a fist coming at me and with no time to dodge both, I moved into the fist. I was sent to the floor by a cracking blow to my back that forced a sharp cry from my mouth.
I spun myself with my feet to face her, not hitting the ground, not using my arms, and leapt upward to punch her. She reeled back against a wall, nearly speared by two brackets sticking from the wood, and charged forward. I ran backward, firing orbs point blank.
Her sword struck through the air. The ship dove upward suddenly, throwing off my aim and sending me straight out the gap and into the air again.
I landed easily near the broken mast, legs bending slightly, and Gepqa soon followed. My last attack had found more purchase than I'd realized. Her face was horribly pitted and masked with blood. Her voice was a croak.
"I didn't want to do this. I didn't. Curse you a thousand times for forcing me."
Suddenly she began to blur, the outline of her body swaying and transforming. As she changed and grew into a monster far more sinister than what she already was, I realized just how badly I'd underestimated her.
Alright. Here's Laturo's chapter. (
Chapter XXXIX: Food
-Link
I stood up angrily. "I can't stay here! I have to leave." The doctors walked away, ignoring me. I cast about for some means of escape, but I couldn't see any way out. On command, the girl began to speak, her lungs heaving as she spoke animatedly, her whitish blond hair whipping around.
"When the Rain came, the city Kakariko was cast into the depths. The Gorons gave us no help. We were divided and scattered. Frightened and cut off. We were cast into two groups when an issue came up. There were. . .things down here with us. Ghosts. They offered us incredible power if we would accept them into our bodies. But it had to happen willingly. The people of this city are those that were willing. The rest were content to scratch and scrape a living together out of bare rock. We soon found ourselves able to swim through lava, command creatures such as the ReDead, grow the mushrooms that protect our city, and more. But all this came with a price. We must have flesh. Not just of cows and cuccos, but flesh once inhabited by a soul."
I'd only been half listening, trying to figure out what to do, but those last words brought me up short. "That's disgusting. I can't stay here! I have to leave." I pressed against the cool glass and stared out at the sea of red. I wished I could see Zelda. I missed her, missed being around people that weren't trying to kill me for some insane reason. Her face popped up in my mind and I smiled. Then Girl responded to what I'd said and brought me back down, wiped the smile off my face. I felt so completely alone.
"You can't leave. We can't allow outsiders to know about us. You would stop burying your dead."
"So what are you going to do with me?"
She stood up, leaned close, and whispered. "You harbor much power. Merge with one of us, and you would be unstoppable. A Poe is being brought as we speak."
A low moan of horror escaped my lips. I looked up at the mushrooms. They had saved me. Brought me in here somehow. I formed a plan.
A sigh of resignation escaped my lips. "I guess if I'm stuck here I should know more about this place. Tell me about those mushrooms."
She smiled broadly and began to explain. "They create a force field that keeps back the magma. We grow them ourselves. Every decade, they have to be replaced. The glass is there to keep children from the edge. They also have teleportation powers. They break you down and pull you in, push you out, or send you to another mushroom."
I tried to remember what I'd done to the mushroom to activate it, but I couldn't remember exactly what I'd done. Girl kept right on talking while I thought. She seemed to have a hard time restraining herself.
". . .and that's how we crossbred octoroks and cuccos. Ah. Good. Your ghost is here."
The three doctors, as well as four well-armed men appeared. The one I'd spoken to before was holding a bottle that contained what looked like a splotchy orange, white and purple face. I let my boomerang fly from my pocket without touching it, and drew my bow as well. I wasn't going down without a fight.
The four jumped me and I fired the bow point blank into the chest of the first. The boomerang knocked the head of the second, and an outward kick with both legs struck the remainder. None of which did any good. Blood poured from chest, forehead, and lips, but obviously not enough to slow down their reaction time. Four crossbows, as the girl had called them once, clicked. I fell back on my last resort yet again and filled the air with the deadly golden light. My legs exploded into pain and I stumbled to my knees. A horrible blow to the back of the head sent me nose first to the street. As everything went dark I found myself infuriated at having been through so much only to lose now. . .
When I woke I was standing in the midst of what I thought was a small arena, a crowd packing every seat, as I could hear cheers from not too far away. It was so dark I could barely see anything. A horrible chuckle cut through, a confident laugh that sent a shiver crawling up my spine. A swishing noise filled the air and I felt a brush of wind.
I tapped into the power of the Triforce for light, and felt nothing. I glanced at my hand. Too dark. Peering out, I saw a faint light, and realized I'd been separated from it somehow. I soared into the air after it and wondered how much the crowd could see. I heard another nasty chuckle and felt another breeze. Just inches from the Triforce, I felt a horrible coldness strike my left hand.
So cold, it went numb instantly. I felt the icy chill crawl up my arm, and realized the Poe had me in its grip. I felt myself shrinking, diminishing. I screamed in raw terror.
"Help! Someone please, Din, Nayru, Farore someone please help me! I forced together my courage to work up a plan but it was no use. I was slipping away, to die in this underground world. Never to see sunlight again, or Zelda's blue eyes, or a thousand other things.
"Aaaaaaargh! I can feel it!" I screamed. "It's devouring me!"
-Zelda
I walked up to the nearest point of entry to the ruinous city. After a few moments thought, I'd decided to begin my search for Link here first.
Two men crossed swords in my path, blocking my way.
"No passage without a toll, eh Trisyrt?"
"Aye, Griman. No passage. Give us your sword, pretty lady, and we'll let you pass."
I grinned in the faint light. "You want my sword? I'd be happy to oblige." Then I saw the detail on the sword Trisyrt carried. There was no other like it. In a clumsy, half moblined grip, he bore the Master Sword. And the other man, I noticed, carried Link's sword.
"What have you done with Link?" I asked, unable to keep more than a hint of anger from lacing my words.
"Who? We don't have a clue what you're talking about," Trisyrt said.
"Are you going to pay or leave, girl?" Griman asked impatiently.
"That's right. You asked for my blade." I let out a battle cry and charged Trisyrt, deflecting his amateur defensive blows and slashing his leg. I heard the –tak- of sandals against stone and leapt against the wall spinning a half circle, and catching Griman's far more skilled strike and pushing it into the worn bricks with a loud clattering.
He swung a blocking parry against my next driving cut and dropped low, trying to put his sword inside my reach. Brown hair flowing out over my shoulder, I swerved backwards and flicked my sword into a two-handed grip, driving forward. Griman steeled his own grip in preparation, but I moved right at the last minute and struck at Trisyrt.
Defeated again, he shrank back, allowing me to concentrate on the smaller but stronger and more skilled of the pair. I snatched the Master Sword from the man and nearly lost my head to a blow from Griman. He darted forward with an ugly leer and caught a lock of hair three inches long. I snarled and spun both swords around in a whirling arc, dashing across the well-worn cobblestone ground.
Griman, one hand occupied by my hair, couldn't block both my swords. The Master Sword found easy purchase deep in his heart, and the battle was over.
No matter how reserved I walked, I couldn't keep from clattering. Link's two swords strapped to my back with the two thieves' belts, I had begun my search once again. Slowly I made my way instinctively to the tallest building in the area, an ancient windmill.
When I reached it, I saw a man walk out, singing softly to himself a cheerful tune and putting on a hat.
"Go around, Go around. . . lalalalala." Plucking at a thin goatee, the man turned in shock when I called out to him. "Can I help you? Did you get burnt somehow?"
Glancing down at sun-darkened skin that was out of place in a world with no sun, my words tumbled out in a rush.
"I'm after a young man, blond hair, medium height, wearing a green tunic and carrying two swords. Have you seen him?"
"I don't think I have, but I'd be happy to-oh dear! I did see a man like that, but he couldn't be the man you seek. He was a murderer and a liar. Dangerous. Griman and Trisyrt took him away."
"He was not a murderer or a liar! I must find him! Save him! I will not let the man I love be lost!" The words came to me as a much greater surprise than they did to the man.
"Ah. I see. You love him. That's worth fighting for." He was quiet for a moment and then added another sentence under his breath. "Never let them slip away."
"I do not love him. The wrong words slipped out. He's my friend, and he's on a very important quest. Where did those thugs take him?"
"I wouldn't tell you where he's been taken, but he's been buried by now so it can't hurt for the woman who loved him to visit his grave. Follow this road for awhile, then turn right and follow it for another while."
I tried to speak but couldn't. Dead? How could that be? I looked up at the man, words still unreachable. My chest felt tight. Ignoring the swords on my back, I turned and ran.
"God see thee well!" He cried out after me. "I hope you find someone else! Lalalala!" That was the last I saw or heard of Mr. Sensitive. I didn't stop running until I reached a battered gate that hung open, untouched by wind. Seemingly endless rows of ancient graves stood before me. As soon as I could, I took off again, scanning for freshly moved dirt.
Eventually I found a man smoothing over a square of dirt with no tombstone. I ran forward and tackled the grave-keeper. "WHERE IS MY LINK? What have you done with him?" I thundered. Before the startled old man could respond, the ground gave way beneath us.
Chapter XL: The Next
-Mako
I looked out happily around me at the much larger island we'd arrived at. Fado assured us we were very close to Gale Isle, our final goal, and that this was just a short stop so he could catch his breath.
"We're very close to Gale. That's our final goal. This is just a short stop while I catch my breath."
Grass crunched beneath our feet as we stepped past the tiny beach. A tiny village clung to a hilltop on the far side, and a forest dominated much of the rest of the area, making all three of us instantly homesick, though I loved to travel more than Fado and Holly.
As one, all three of us rushed to the closest tree and clasped hands. Without a word to each other, we began to dance around it in circles and sing at the top of our lungs.
-Home again, I can see at last
I'll not leave again
All my wonderings are past
Happy to have seen it all
But my home in the fall
Is worth more than mere sights
My home is where I'll spend my nights.-
That song and a dozen others burst out of us as we spent much of the day until we reached exhaustion enjoying the forest.
As Fado sat cross-legged and Holly began combing the beach for potion ingredients, I began to pick up, weigh, and discard various sticks across the island. Finally I found two that made perfect staffs, almost as good as a Deku Stick. I walked back to Fado and tossed one at his feet.
"Teach me how to fight," I said, holding my stick in a fighting pose. Fado grinned up at me and removed his sword belt and cello. In a matter of seconds after that, my hand was stinging and my staff had been flung towards the beach.
"Boys," Holly muttered, dropping the stick at my feet and wondering into the woods, rubbing at a small bruise.
"She must have been intimidated by my good lucks and stunning show of natural talent," I said.
It was somewhat offense when, rather than offering an affirmative, or saying anything at all, Fado threw back his head and laughed. It took him far too long to finally speak, and even then he was still laughing.
"Holly. . .intimi-hahaha-dated. . .by your...heh heh heh. . .good looks...hahaha...and talent. Oh my," he said, wiping away a tear. "Tha-hehe-t is great."
I frowned and picked up my staff. Fado stopped laughing and began to instruct. "Keep a balanced, tight grip, and don't let your guard down. Use your opponent against you. Let him tire-out, over swing. And most importantly, stay calm. Now, come at me.
Hours later, done in once again, we dropped to the ground, tired, hungry, and thirsty.
"Want to see what Holly's up to?" I asked, laying back and staring at the sunny sky.
"She's probably been staring at a leaf or rock for hours." Fado said with a laugh. He lifted up his stick, and challenged me again. I swung at him but he ducked into the air and began to fly away. He swooped down and picked up his cello. I tried to tackle him but missed and hit the grass. I chased after him but he always stayed a few feet above my head. Laughing so hard he almost fell out of the air, he called out "Come, young Mako, use thy sagely power and take flight!"
"I'll show you sagely power when you land!"
"See the sage known as Mako, and despair thou at his inability to make good comebacks." He floated out over the sea, blond hair tossed in every direction as I ran through the village, scattered Hylians stopping to watch the strange sight of a child soaring through the air.
"'Scuse me, pardon, coming through, watch out." I finally reached the rocky shore and could see Fado reach for his cello. Before he could reach it, the huge smile and laughing eyes faded as he fell from the sky. Immediately I jumped in and found myself in a suddenly storm-tossed sea. Before me a ship appeared out of nowhere when I reached the place where my friend had been struck.
I found Fado swimming nearby, rubbing bewilderedly at his head. A rope ladder fell down to us. The shore was far away now, the waves were rough, and I was no great swimmer. With Fado close behind, I began to climb.
Chapter XLI: About a Burning Fire
-Laruto
-Kill her. Kill the sorceress. Kill Gepqa now.-
Whispers from sages past poured over me, far and above softer than the burning fire that pulsed through my veins. I felt grasping hands forging my strength into a sword. And the blade was willing. Gepqa had to die.
My friends lay in a pile on the deck. Even Medli. As I looked closer, I saw a gaping head wound. She was almost certainly dead. I felt a strange reserve. Complete calm. But for a moment, I hesitated. And in that single moment, disaster struck.
The Deku Scrubs attacked.
With odd squeaky battlecries, the four Scrubs that had come with me launched forward, firing arrows and Deku Nuts with no sign of fear. A blast of flame cut down three, who tumbled into the fourth. All stumbled into the pile of dead warriors pressed against the railing. I saw an orange glow coming from it, but focused my attention where it needed to be. Gepqa had to die.
I leapt into the air and stayed there, flying like an arrow into the woman. She staggered back and hit the wide wooden pole that jutted from the edge of the bow hard enough to make the ship tilt. Geqpa pulled herself to her feet slowly, glaring at me.
"Do you honestly think you can win against me? I will crush you and make you wish you'd never interfered."
I was almost relieved. The typical evil person speech. She didn't stand a chance.
I back-flipped away and then flipped again in midair and charged, sending down a rain of blue orbs that made thudding noises as they imbedded themselves in the deck. I hit her again myself but this time she held on. We both went punching and kicking in fast motion over the rail.
Howling wind ripped into both of us, the limitless blue spread before us ever wider. Gepqa sent a wind knocking fist into my chest and I felt a horrible numbness as little green bolts of lightning squiggled over my skin. I rushed closer and closer as Gepqa left me and soared for the ship. I struck the ocean at a speed far faster than when my body had been broken, and felt no pain, sending water high in the air. But still couldn't move, sinking ever deeper.
-Get up there Laruto. Kill the Sorceress. Kill Gepqa.-
Seconds later I struck the deck of the ship and made the decking rattle. I could see a few pirates cowering in one corner, and Gepqa leaning over the heap of dead warriors.
Silently I took to the air.
"Miss Gepqa! Look out!"
Blasts of flame flew my way, sizzling through the air. I stopped, floating, and began deflecting them. Gepqa grinned chillingly and threw a looped chain around my waist. Before I could react, she soared into the air, yanking me with her.
"Come along, my dear. We have much to discuss."
The biting cold air grew even colder as we flew ever higher, straight into a cloud. Then she pulled the chain, sending me into a kick that made my neck snap.
I slipped out of the chain and grabbed onto it, following through the mist when she pulled again. I struck her once and didn't stop. She was barely flying, arms and legs limp. I flew upward, corkscrewing, and finished her with a cannonball into her chest. She fell as fast as one, down to strike the deck and go through into a lower level. Not trusting any such fortune that she was dead, I flew after her.
Not stopping to survey they chaotic state of the ship I flew straight in and landed near the hole, in a room filled with hammocks.
A forest of white cloth swayed around me. No sign of Gepqa. Suddenly a voice cried out, but it wasn't hers.
"Oo's that bangin' abou' ou' there? Can' a mate get 'is sleep?" The incongruous idea of a man sleeping through his ship lifting into the air or the massive battle raging around him was too difficult to grasp. I tensed, expecting an attack at any second. I had no time to spare heavy sleepers.
A heard a crackling and turned to see a line of flame drifting through the simple beds, but no sight of my target. I took off, feet moving in a blur, for the line of flame. I had been heading towards a wall, but when I stopped I was facing the way I'd come.
I saw the flame again towards my right and took off again but only found myself back where I'd started, underneath the hole. She was using illusions to trick me. I lowered my head to think and saw a blue glow beneath my feet in the next deck down, but like so many things, I pushed the thought away. With the whispers in my ear, the burning all through me, and my own heart pounding, it was almost impossible to think. But I came up with a solution.
She was using my sight to trick me. I held out my left hand and used my newfound power to fill the room with mist. Now neither of us could see properly, and the fire would be put out.
The sleeping pirate cursed and yelled out. "Yewer lettin' in a draft, man! We mus' be passin' through a fog. Close th' door!"
Trying to listen for the sorceress, I almost yelled at him to shut up when I heard a footstep behind me. I felt a sword and a fist coming at me and with no time to dodge both, I moved into the fist. I was sent to the floor by a cracking blow to my back that forced a sharp cry from my mouth.
I spun myself with my feet to face her, not hitting the ground, not using my arms, and leapt upward to punch her. She reeled back against a wall, nearly speared by two brackets sticking from the wood, and charged forward. I ran backward, firing orbs point blank.
Her sword struck through the air. The ship dove upward suddenly, throwing off my aim and sending me straight out the gap and into the air again.
I landed easily near the broken mast, legs bending slightly, and Gepqa soon followed. My last attack had found more purchase than I'd realized. Her face was horribly pitted and masked with blood. Her voice was a croak.
"I didn't want to do this. I didn't. Curse you a thousand times for forcing me."
Suddenly she began to blur, the outline of her body swaying and transforming. As she changed and grew into a monster far more sinister than what she already was, I realized just how badly I'd underestimated her.