"The Destiny Stone"

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda or any characters, places, or events thereof, so there! Of the original characters, I came up with Timbre, Kat, Aka, Benz, Vulcan and some various bit characters here and there. Sond owns the rest. Thanks Sond! Rej is © FogFrontier!

*****

More chapters! I'm working on it! Really!! *looks guilty* OK, maybe I wasn'tbut it's not because I have a block or anythingit's justwell, you try an' find time to type with a ton of work due. And I was helping a friend of mine with an uber Photoshop project, and that took up a lot of time. Enough with the excuses, though. More story. Oh, and this chapter took a bit of research involving the general process of forging a swordif I've gotten it grossly wrong somehow, I would absolutely love to hear about it so I can, y'know, fix any glaring errors. I never claimed myself to be an expert on metal work, but the process is a darn neat one.

*****

"The Destiny Stone" — Chapter 25: A Bit of Advice

*****

"What do you see? Did you find him?"

"I see sands. The Desert. An endless sandstorm that forms a prison less substantial than the weakest of walls, yet binds stronger than a mountain. A prison of both the mind and the body, to try and penetrate its barrier is a test of both will and strength."

"Very poetic, Milady. But what does it mean?"

"It was made to be a place where one cannot escape from."

"A prison, then?"

"Yes. Though his situation has allowed him to penetrate the bindings, and reach the area and prisoners within. He is not aware of their situation, yet. But he will be, in time. I only hope that he will be able — no, willing — to aid them."

"But how?"

"It will all become clear in the end."

"Will he escape?"

"Yes, that prison was not meant for him. But to do so-"

"You paused just then. What did you see?"

"Somethingsomething will happen. Something terrible. I see sorrow. There will be much lost, before it is again regained."

"And then what?"

"It becomes too difficult to see."

"Is it that you cannot, or will not?"

"Thisis a burden."

"It is your burdenif you do not, then nobody will. You must try to see."

"But-"

"Try."

"I-II see the stars falling, though they are radiant as they fell - brighter than the sun."

"is that all you see?"

"Yes! Pleasebelieve me."

"I do. I apologize. It is true that your burden is a difficult one."

"Do you think it is possible?"

"What?"

"For the stars to drown out the sun, do you think it is possible?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe that is when our prison will be opened. When the stars drown out the sun."

"Is that another vision? Or just a wish?"

"Maybe it was. Or maybe just an old regret. I tire."

"Perhaps then we should both rest."

"Yes, perhaps that would be for the better."

"Rest well, Princess."

*****

There were two figures sitting alongside each other on one of the many rooftop of Kakariko Village, despite the late hour. Below them glowed the candle-soft luminescence of windows, polygonal shapes of stark warm color washing through an otherwise blue-black landscape. Smoke rose in an even dark cloud from many of the chimneys, though they were all put to shame by the stark column emanating from the village's forge. Vulcan was still hard at work. Behind the observers, the windmill creaked and groaned as a late night chill wind blew through its canvassed blades.

That same wind rustled the spiky hair of one of the figures, and he let a breath out and turned to his companion.

"So," Timbre said finally, "How'd I do today?"

Kat stared downwards, as though she was deep in thought. "Pretty well," she said vaguely. "ThoughI didn't know you could cook."

Timbre just shrugged. After his timely rescue' from being fed old vegetables by a group of enthusiastic children, Sond had wisely offered a better alternative — soup.

And while they were at it - Impa had put in cannily — why not make soup enough for the entire village? To this idea, the children had reacted with unnatural enthusiasm and scattered to their respective houses. But before Timbre had time to protest the fact he didn't care for vegetables in soup anymore than he did raw, Sond had given him a silencing reproach.

"This'll help the village resources," she had hissed in his ear, and suddenly Timbre realized that by pooling resources, Kakariko's precious small amount of edible supply might last that much longer.

Feeling slightly reproached, Timbre had decided to help. Returning to his human self, he'd taken charge of cooking the actual soup, much to the surprise of the villagers. Timbre still wasn't sure which had startled them more: the wolf suddenly changing form, or the fact that said lupine ended up being the chef.

"Well," Timbre suddenly said, coming back into the dark night from his train of thought, "it was either me doing it or Sond. And you know how Sond and cooking missions go"

Kat flinched. "Butvegetables?"

"Hey, I don't like to eat them," Timbre protested, leaning back slightly. "But that doesn't mean I don't know how to cook them. Besides, I was hungry, and those kids would've been disappointed if I didn't eat any."

"Wellyou did really well, at least until Sond brought Epona in for the night."

Timbre flinched. As soon as the horse had arrived in the vicinity, he'd quickly made an excuse to leave, before either he or the horse did something that the village would later regret. Epona had still noticed his presence though, and cast a baleful glance in the direction of his retreat. "I swear she has it in for me."

"Who? Sond, or the horse?"

"The horseshe knows better, y'know. They can smell things. Probably thinks I'm a dangerous predator, out to eat younglings."

Kat bit her lip. "So why're you scared of her? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Timbre turned and looked at Kat with a half smirk. "Not if the horse is bigger than you."

Kat chuckled a little, though it faded quickly. "Mmm."

"Yeah." Timbre mumbled, feeling a bit awkward.

"It was good soup, though."

"I try."

Kat nodded, and noticed Timbre's head turned slightly upward, his eyes closing. "You ok?"

"Yeahjust wondering if the villagers are ever going to get over meI think I saw some of them count their children before they went near the soup."

"Really?"

Timbre just shrugged. "Prolly just my imagination, right?"

"I hope soI'd hate to think people would think that badly of someone — even-" Her voice trailed off as if she wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

Kat sighed heavily, and her chin turned upwards like her friend's. She felt fortunate it wasn't their duty to keep watch tonight — tonight that was Aka and Aref's job — but she knew this solace was only temporary. It was her turn again tomorrow night.

Reflecting slightly from the glow of the village below, Timbre suddenly noticed a worried crease running along Kat's brow. His face twisted slightly into a frown. "Something on your mind?"

Shrugging, Kat turned her attention back to the roof. "I was thinkingeven though its great that some of us are back togetherit just doesn't seem the same. I meanwe're all a lot different now."

"I don't think I am," Timbre said, feeling slightly stubborn.

At this, Kat looked up. "Just what happened to you, anyway? Sond mentioned it briefly, but I'm still confused."

Timbre looped the Destiny Stone around one finger, and watched it dangle, reflecting the light from below. It had returned to its inert and clear form, and hadn't changed since the last rhyme. "See this? That night of the stormLink and I were caught by itor protected, or whatever you want to call it. Whatever it was, we were completely frozen in stasis from the moment Link touched it."

"That's weird."

"Tell me about itone minute you're a really confused kid trying to find yourself out of a cavethen the next heartbeat, you're twenty and nobody remembers who you are." Timbre frowned a little. "I can deal with the agingbut losing everyone and everything like that was kind of a shock."

Kat chewed her lip, trying to think about that. "I dunno what's worsebut then againyou completely lost ten years of your life, doesn't that upset you at all?"

"Hmm? What'd you mean?"

"I mean, ten years is a lot of time, especially for a kid. I mean, don't you feel like you've missed a lot? It's like you never had the chance to grow up, y'know?"

"I did grow up, though. Remember how I used to be shorter than you? Now I'm taller."

Kat coughed. "Well, sure you grew, but there's a difference between growing and maturing, too. Doesn't the fact you lost a lot of time bother you? I meanit's like you're still ten, only you look twenty."

"Well, I suppose-"

"Tim, look at me for a second."

Though he had to willfully do it, Timbre turned and locked eyes with his friend. A serious glint flickered past her eye, then she broke the gaze. "It's true. You grew bigger, but you're still just a kid behind it all."

Is she calling me immature? Though a spark of annoyance flickered through his spine for an instant, Timbre knew deep down what Kat was really trying to get across. For all that I look olderI'm still just that confused kid who followed another boy into the Lost Woods. In the end, Timbre just shrugged. "I guesspart of me still believes I'll just wake up one day, with everything back to the way it wasbut then I remember that dreams don't really hurtand I've been hurt " He rubbed his shoulder, which twinged very slightly.

Kat looked up sharply as her friend closed his eyes again.

"I dunnowe all get older. I guess that's just something we all have to deal with. I'll catch up on things-"

"But that's stuff we should've been able to do all together, and since now all of us have grown up and apartwill it be the same as it always was, even if eventually everyone's found? That is, if everyone's still al-" Kat stopped in mid sentence, and her brow creased further.

"So far," Timbre murmured vaguely.

Kat suddenly snapped up. "That's the other thing I was thinking aboutwhat did you mean when I asked you about Kafei?"

Timbre swallowed. He'd been hoping she wouldn't bring that up. How was he supposed to explain Kafei's situation to her, especially when it wouldn't soothe her worry? When he himself didn't seem to know what was going on? "I-"

Kat looked hopefully expectant.

Timbre's voice failed, unable to say anything for fear of spoiling that instant of expectant wonder. I hate having to do things like thisCrestfallen, Timbre finally stammered, "I-I stand by my previous statement. He is still very much a part of this world."

A wave of disappointment (anger, even?) flashed across her expression, then Kat turned her head away. He'd said the wrong thing.

"Kat-"

No answer.

Turning his head away, Timbre chewed his lip, half-considering just leaving her be. He was just starting to get up when-

"You're cruel," Kat accused with a slightly shaky voice. "You know more than you say you do, and you won't tell me, even though I'm worried sick. What's happened to him?"

Still unable to find a suitable answer to her plea, Timbre shook his head. "I'll let him explain that to you himself. It's not my place."

Silence reigned for a good five minutes, before Kat's voice rang out again. "Y'know, I might be wrongthere might be a lot more to growing up than just being there when it happens..."

"I wasn't," Timbre murmured. "You were right, I missed it all."

Turning her head back towards him, she sighed, realizing she'd offended him. "Oh Timm'sorry, I just worry a lot sometimes, and say things. Funny thing, that"

He looked her in the eye again, and managed a rare half-smile. "Things'll come out alright in the end," Timbre murmured. "I promise."

To that statement, the Destiny Stone glowed briefly green, and Timbre realized that he had better make good on that promise.

*****

Below them both rang the sounds of change.

Benz stared in mute admiration from his perch across the forge, watching the smith's sledge rise and fall with the rhythm of a drumbeat. He'd been fascinated by the metalwork, and had been quietly observing for hours, watching the former knight's face set in a expression of quiet determination as he worked.

Initially, the Deku had rushed down here in the morning, after his scare with that — Benz shivered — canine, which somehow disguised itself in human form. He'd only come down here as it was the first bolt-hole he'd found, but as soon as he found out where he was, he'd decided to stay. Benz himself of course hadn't chanced going near the furnace itself — open flames weren't good for him — but even as it was, the heat in the surrounding area was quite intense. The Deku shuddered a little, wondering how the Hylian could stand so close to the open furnace like that, with all that — ugh! — open flame. The forge was dark save for the fire. It had to be, so that the smith could judge the heat of his work by its glow. And right now Vulcan's face was lit up by his fire, and Benz saw that his face was creased with soot marks, subtended by small wet trails where beaded sweat had washed it away.

Vulcan knew he couldn't waste any more time. The blacksmith had spent days just studying his work, muttering himself all sorts of small inaudible instructions to himself. This was understandable — it was one thing to forge a sword. It was a completely different matter altogether to do it to a Master Sword with a forge that wasn't his own.

He'd had to experiment with furnace temperature, first, and the whoosh of the bellows had for a time echoed his own chest, as if it were a giant representation of his lungs. And after his initial tests, he'd finally achieved his first task: heating the metal shards until they'd become soft enough to reform, and, after that was accomplished, retrieving the remolded pieces from the flame, hammering them together one by one and drawing the remolded metal slowly out, and folding it over and over the anvil for renewed strength. It had just recently formed into a shape that someone, with imagination, might imagine to be a weapon. Vulcan was now hammering and refining that shape, something that Benz could now recognize.

Vulcan had come a long way from that initial blade-shaped lump of metal. He'd traded off his larger sledge for one that was smaller, less noisy, and more delicate, at least as delicate as an unsubtle tool such as that could be. His task since Benz had been observing had been spot-heating the metal, making it soft enough for the hammer blows to take effect. However, the length of metal now looked darker, though it had appeared red-hot when Vulcan had withdrawn it some time before. It had cooled tremendously since then, and the smith's work was clearly not yet done.

Benz shuffled uncomfortably. The forge smelled of burning things, something that had never been a pleasure of his. That means another period into the lit furnace, pumping the bellows, then more hammering. Although he wasn't an expert on swordsmithing (or blacksmithing at all for that matter), and the process itself seemed awfully dangerous, Benz had for some reason shown a slight interest in the craft. Or if anything, the process.

Dunno, it's justinteresting, I supposehow you can take something that was so dead and cold and broken, and throw it into heat and almost make it alive.

Hugging his knees from his seat far away, Benz suddenly wondered where Aka had gotten to. Probably off on that lame-brained scheme about becoming a salesman again. Hopefully he hadn't gotten into any trouble. What was wrong with archaeology,' anyway? Not that he was worried what the Skull Kid was up to, it was just — well, if the wolf got him, that was his own problem.

Vulcan let out a huge sign, Benz let out a small squeak of surprise as the sound snapped him back to reality. The heat and smells from the forge seemed to smack back into him all at once.

Breathing out, Vulcan murmured quietly, audible for the first time that day. "There is still much work to be done."

"How long?" Benz squeaked, still a little startled. It had been many days of work already; how much longer could the smith do this?

The smith's eyes turned towards the lump of metal. Retrieving a pair of tongs, he lifted the pseudo-sword easily within its grasp, hobbled over to the forge, and replaced the metal back into it. He'd called the process normalizing.' "I don't knowI've never had to work with this kind of metal before."

Benz became curious. "What *squeak* kind is it?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what it is at all," Vulcan admitted, reaching over towards the side of the furnace, where the enormous bellows were propped. The smith began pumping the ponderous device, and as it wheezed, the fires within the furnace slowly began to glow again.

The effort on the smith's face was taxed, and Benz wondered how the smith still had strength after standing all day. Especially if he can't walk

"He'll collapse soon, if he isn't careful."

"EEP!" Benz topped snout-first onto the floor, causing the three fairies behind him to giggle slightly. Dink, who had spoken, clucked reprovingly.

"How long have you just been sitting here, watching?" Cyrus accused.

"Um," Benz stammered, picking himself and his tangled cape up out of an undignified heap. "What's it t'you?" he finally hissed so that the smith wouldn't overhear.

Tael and Cyrus shook their heads. "Haven't you been helping?" Cyrus finally asked.

Benz shook his head. "I"

All four turned their head towards the wheezing bellows and the smith. Vulcan's eyes were shut and his visage wore a calm expression, almost as if he were in a trance.

"He's keeping a rhythm to it," Dink murmured. "But he is tired, too."

Cyrus continued the thought. "He would've been the same way yesterday, if that Skull Kid hadn't been helping out-"

"Whaa?" Benz turned a confused gaze towards the fairies. "Aka was *squeak* here?!"

"Last night," Tael clarified, and the violet fairy hovered lower with a small jingle. "He pumped th' bellows for th' old man, kept the fires hot for im."

"Trouble is," Cyrus took over again, "th' Skull Kid's not here tonight-"

Benz remembered vaguely that Aka had volunteered for watch that night. "A-and now he's tiring himself out at his own bellows?"

All three fairies nodded. "Basically."

Feeling suddenly very guilty (why, he wondered), Benz looked back over at the smith. "An' *squeak* I've been just sitting here in a sniveling heap all day."

"Basically."

"Maybe you should offer to help?" Tael's voice said.

"Y'seeth' other villagers kind of kept their distance from Vulcan," Dink murmured. "Cause he's a newcomer too, see."

"An' one of the reasons this village is under siege-"

"-is because he's here, reforging that sword. So th' villagers give im a wide berth, cause they don' understand him."

Tael had alighted himself of Benz's left shoulder. "That's no ordinary blacksmith. No ordinary sword, either."

"I thought it *squeak* looked important," Benz mused. "I-I never knew, thoughthat it was hard work t'just make any sword-"

"Cause you just stole em, right?" Dink's voice came from his right shoulder.

"Er" Benz stared at the ground.

"Yeah, fairies get t'know a lot bout the people they're around," Dink remarked airily. "We're sposed to look after people, y'knowsome fairies do it by healing-"

"Some get appointed to a Kokiri-" Tael added.

"And th' rest of us just give out a little hint now and again," Cyrus added from above. "And our hint to you is to offer your help."

Benz blinked rapidly. "B-but th' fire-"

"You'll be fine. Trust us on this one."

Not too long after the fairies had left, Vulcan's eyes opened again to a small timid squeak.

"E-excuse me."

The tired smith breathed, and glanced down at the floor where the small Deku Scrub was peering shyly up at him from behind leafy bangs, two glowing eyes reflecting the heated state of his forge.

"Did you say something?"

"Um," Benz stammered again. "Thought I *squeak* could, y'knowhelp out."

*****

Clang.

Link grunted as the sound of hammer against metal sheared through his head like a stray arrow. Where is that coming from? Looking about him, he could only see darkness, yet he could see his own hands in front of him. It was like he was floating in a void. A void of nothing.

Nothing, save that ringing.

CLANG!

Link clapped his hands over his sizable ears, crying out as the sound practically deafened him. Wincing, he sunk to one knee. "What is that?!"

CLANG!

It was even louder now, and it tore through his head until he was sure he would be dizzy forever. Thunderbolts of flashing lights danced in front of his vision, and he morbidly wondered how long before his ears began to bleed.

"Whatis-"

CLANGCLANG!

Link woke up in a haze of confusion.

And alone.

For one brief moment, he thought he'd gone blind, until he realized his eyes were practically glued shut. Forcing them open, he was greeted with such a massive blur that he instantly closed them again with a groan.

Coughing, he realized that he wasn't dead, at least. Somehow, this didn't seem as comforting or relieving as it should have been. A massive dry stripe ran down his throat, and when he tried to instinctively swallow, it felt like sandpaper had been forced in his mouth and then twisted several times.

"Ugh," he gurgled quietly, opening his eyes again.

He just let his eyes be for a few moments, and slowly the blur of vision became less of a blur, and more of a somewhere. Somewhere indoors.

He was lying on his back, on something relatively soft. Echoes from his cough rang about, making him wonder what kind of house he was in. Turning his head, his vision cleared enough to view most of the room. A line of blocky cots stretched out before him, the heads of which were leaning against a sandy-colored stone wall. He slowly realized that the cot he was in stood at the very end of this row.

Aninfirmary? He sat up, confused, hoping his body would allow for it. It did, but he heard and felt enough joints groan and pop and flare to make him wince.

"You're awake at last?" A female voice called out.

Link froze, and suddenly remembered the last few minutes he'd been conscious. Gerudos! A woman in Gerudo cloths sat at the far end of the row of cots. Noting him, she quietly stood and began walking towards him.

Wild-eyed, Link leapt and landed on the stone floor in a fighter's crouch. His left hand instinctively grabbed at his right shoulder, and for the second time in a row, found no sword there. "Don't come any closer!" Link half-shouted in panic. "I'm warning you!"

The Gerudo just smirked, and continued to approach. "Are you always this rude to your rescuers? Seeing the amount of foolishness you possess, this must happen to you quite often."

Stung by the insult, Link backed away, brow furrowed. "I never asked for any help," he grunted sullenly.

"You followed the wolf, did you not?" The woman pursed her lips and stared back at him, and he was forced to look her in the eye. They were a very light golden-hazel, nearly yellow, and they were set in a olive-skinned face much older than his. Though he'd never known a mother, Link suddenly felt rather childish when faced with that glare.

"I-I didn't know" he mumbled, his voice trailing off. "How did yo-"

"She lives here with the Gerudo," the woman replied, her gaze becoming more calculating. "And in accepting her help, you have also accepted ours."

Chagrined, Link stared down at his torn and dirty clothes. "Sorry" he intoned. "I've- justnever mind."

"I am Nabooru," the woman intoned, and Link's mind jumped, clearing out half a dozen cobwebs. He instinctively snapped to attention in recognition of the name. She raised an eyebrow. "You know of me?"

The spellshe doesn't rememberheard of you beforebut weren't you in with-"

Nabooru shook her head. "We may speak of these things later. First, we must tend to your wounds, and get you cleaned up."

We?! Link swallowed hastily.

She gestured down towards the floor, and Link noted a few things he hadn't before. There was a large stone basin attached to the end of the wall, in easy reach of his' cot. A similar basin was attached at intervals down the wall, to coincide with the complete row of cots. But while those basins were currently empty, and their cots unused, the basin at his feet was filled with water, and floating in the top of it was some dried bits of something dark and flaky. A rough burlap cloth was folded at the edge of the basin as well.

"Wash up," Nabooru ordered, as Link looked back up at her. She stood and began to walk away.

Still unsure whether he could trust her or not, Link stood up as well in protest. "Bu-"

The Gerudo spun on her heel, looking him directly in the eye again. "One of two things will occur: one- I will leave, and you will wash yourself up. Or two- I will have you restrained and do it myself." The eyes narrowed viciously.

Wide-eyed, Link quickly sat down again.

"I thought you would see it more favorably now," Nabooru smiled. "Despite what you may think of us, that basin does not contain acid, or poison or any other harmful substance. We aren't that dishonorable, I hope." She started away again, and this time Link watched her go. The door to the infirmary closed with a small bang, which made him flinch.

Staring down at the water, Link let his bated breath out in one big whoosh.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

*****

"Boo."

"GYAH!" Whirling, Kotake kicked the Stalfos full in the face, throwing a blast of chill wind after it, for good measure. The hapless skeleton flew apart, its skull bouncing with hollow tok noises as it rolled down the incline of the cave floor.

Koume's echoing voice reached her sister's ear. "Another one?"

"Yessss," Kotake hissed in annoyance, regaining her balance on her hovering broom. "If it isn't a rotting Goriya corpses, it's boneheads. They don't ssssseem to ssstop, ever."

"And I thought we had the monopoly on Stalfos-control," the Fire Witch muttered. "Or are these ones out of our jurisdiction?"

"Ssstallchildren, maybebut not the intelligent undead"

Picking up the Stalfos's skull, Koume shook it, and peered in its eye sockets, which had gone dull for the moment. "Intelligent? These boneheads? They don't have the brains for intelligence?"

"Ssssometimessss, it doesssn't need a brain to think, dearesssst." Kotake shook her head. "Though I could offer the thought that thosssse with brainssss don't alwayssss fare any better. We're losssssst, aren't we?"

"No." Koume pinched her ugly hag face into a stubborn puss. "Why d'you say that?"

"Becaussse, you look assss disssoriented assss I feel."

"Shaddup. Ugh, icky wet dank placewhy can't the undead make their city lessleaky?" A drop of water scored right on the top of Koume's head, causing her flame hair to hiss and sputter angrily.

"Maybe if we divinated-"

"Gak!" Koume dropped the skull as it suddenly rattled to life, biting down sharply on one gnarled finger. Pinched, the Fire Witch did a small dance of agony, shaking her injured hand until the offending skull detached, clattering to the floor.

"Stupid! How bout I roast you, now?" howled Koume.

The baleful eyesockets' glow seemed to sneer at her. "What you sseek iss no longer here."

The skull had a hissing voice not unlike Kotake's. Offended, the Ice Witch loomed in.

"Only I may lissssp around here. What do you mean, no longer here?"

"What he meanss," another even more sibilant voice answered her, "Iss that you have no busssinesss dissturbing the ssleep of the non-living." A gaunt, skeletal figure emerged, seemingly from the wall itself.

Kotake backpedaled, colliding with her sister. "Yeah, what do you know?" She finally said.

This skeleton was different from the ones that had been tormenting them earlier. He was taller, more wide-shouldered, and clothed in a kind of ruined splendor that spoke of an ancient fallen ruler. "I am Igos du Ikana," the skeleton intoned, his sibilance fading almost as he became more animated. "I was once king here."

"Heh, not anymore, it seems," Koume shot back. "Look, yer Majesty or whatever in the Evil Realm you want to be called, we're here after a personal object, and we aren't leaving until we find it, or its whereabouts."

"My man spoke the truth," Igos stated bluntly. "What you seek is no longer here." The skeleton glanced about himself, looking slightly depressed as he assessed the degraded nature of the tunnel. "You've disturbed the rest of all who dwell in the Eternal City."

"Ssso?" Kotake hissed.

"First you drowned the toplands in a blizzard, driving many of the living to take refuge down here. Then, not finished, you insisted on destroying my ancient empire's most sacred catacombs, defiling it with the corpses of your minions!" Here, the skeleton kicked aside a few fallen stones, revealing a severed Goriya arm. "What have you say for this intrusion?"

"We just came what we were looking for," Koume stated with closed eyes. "If you don't like it, well, tough. We're under the orders of King Ganondorf-"

"I pledge no allegiance to your King. Why have you disturbed my kingdom's rest? There is nothing for you here."

"Listen! Stop playing stupid, and just tell us where it is?"

"Where what is?" Igos would have been smirking, had he been able.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't play dumb."

"Humor me."

Kotake rubbed her temples. She'd heard that the intelligent undead had a twisted sense of humor, but even this was beginning to grate on her. "Get on with it, ssssissster."

"Fine!" Koume's hair poofed. "Where is the Triforce?"

"Triforce?"

"The Triforce."

"That is a Hyrulian artifact," the skeleton King snapped. "I possess no such thing."

"I didn't say you had it!" Koume growled. "Someone we werehad it. He took refuse- I mean refuge, in this dum- I mean, your Eternal City."

"So you decided to collapse the entire area on him in order to detain your target."

Koume smirked, spreading her hands wide. "Yep."

Kotake smacked her forehead, bruising her hand on her head jewel in the process. "Nice going."

Igos would have been scowling had he been able. "I hardly approve of your methods," he remarked dryly. "But what you seek is no longer here."

"What?"

"The Triforce."

"The Triforce?"

Igos sighed. "Yes."

Koume and Kotake looked at each other, then back at the skeleton. "Then where is it?"

"Not here."

"I can see that!" Koume roared. "Where is it now, specifically?!"

"Do I look like one of you hags' divination tools? I do not know, other than that it is gone from here. Now begone, both of you."

Koume's voice lowered dangerously. "Now look here, bonehead. Don't go ordering us aroundwe're the Twinrova sisters!"

"And at the moment, you are gravely outnumbered," Igos observed quietly.

Kotake's eyes rolled around in their bulbous sockets. Soundlessly, apparently during their exchange with the King, skeletons had emerged from the side tunnels and cracks in the walls. They packed shoulder to shoulder, grim and motionless save for the glowing eye sockets, which glimmered like twin opals set into the face of every deathless soldier.

And that was a lot of glowing eyes.

Koume and Kotake both swallowed, despite their safe' position, hovering on broomstick.

King Igos du Ikana stared down his nonexistent nose at the both of them. "Get out."

Kotake and Koume both whirled on their brooms. "We'll go," Koume snapped, "but only because the Triforce we thought was here isn't. Not because your measly army is here, you got that?"

Someone's femur flew through the air like a javelin, swatting the Fire Witch soundly across the backside. With a screech, she shot down the tunnel, her sister Kotake close behind her..

Igos watched them go, and would have smiled if he could.

"Sleep safe, Eternal City. Your deathless army still fulfils its oath."

The moment they were outside, Kotake let loose with a string of curses.

"I told you there wassss nothing down there!"

Koume was rubbing her bottom, and turned a look of pure venom upon her other half. Opening her mouth, an even less reputable string of curses flung themselves into the night.

"Heh, I wassssn't aware that one could do that, considering the sssize of Death Mountain."

"Idiot!"

"Idiot yourssself. Well, now what do we do?"

The response was sullen. "Divinate."

"Ahh, for once we ssshow sssome sssenssse. Very well. We divinate."

*****

Well, here it is. Call it an early Christmas/winter holiday present, if you will. And again, I apologize for my workload. While I was writing this, though, this fanfic turned one year old. Happy Birthday to it, I guess. Some more bit trivia for you: the day I completed this chapter, I finally beat Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, after attempting the feat for nearly a decade. Must've been the Lord of the Rings movie or something. I'll admit, the Igos du Ikana scene was very slightly influenced by that movie, even though I had the idea before I saw the movie. I might have to alter this chapter a bit, if things didn't quite end up the way I felt they should. The forge scene being a big offender. Well, that's all for now!