Well, this is part seven. I'm plotting (okay, okay. Planning. Planning,) one or two other parts until this ends. Most likely two. For sure, the next part will be entitled... Oh, heck. You know what? I won't even tell you. It would take out all the fun.

Anyway.

Warning: Language, probably. And I think that's all. Oh. And Link uber-coolness and sexiness. Just so you can prepare the smelling salts, ladies.

Nighttime Activities
Part 7: Equals To…
By CM

"I suppose," Link breathed with difficulty, "that this is your idea of a funny joke."

"Actually," Nabooru smirked, tightening the knot around Link's neck, "I think this is amongst the best ideas I've ever had."

"You would think that." He brushed her hands away and fixed his tie himself, giving him some space to breathe. "So, now I guess you're going to tell me we have to also pretend that we're celebrating our future marriage?"

"No," Nabooru said. "We're not. We're celebrating our actual marriage."

He stopped adjusting his tie to look at her blankly. "I beg your what-the-fuck?"

Nabooru sighed, taking a step back to admire Link's suit, an elegant tux, which seemed to enhance his square shoulders, the ones he always kept hidden in a t-shirt. He was quite handsome; she had to admit it. But he had this annoying tendency to second-doubt her.

"I'm assuming by that none-too-polite expression that you're wondering what I've got in mind?" She grinned, pulling him by the tie towards her. He glared at the jerky movement. "I'll tell you." She ran a finger down his navy blue collar. He wore black and navy. Nabooru didn't know why, but she didn't want him to wear black and white. Too James-Bond-ish for her mind. "We're going to throw a party, tonight, in the Latte. In the confusion and drunken stupor, you steal away your lady, and then you go home."

"And you? And the party goers?"

"While it's none of your business," Nabooru sighed, running a thick brush through her silky hair, looking into the bathroom mirror and away from the door, where he was leaning, "I will stay a bit longer, get Masklee to admit she is part of a junk commerce, and once everything is recorded, I settle in for the arrest. As for the party-goers," she smirked, "trust me. They know how to defend themselves."

"And Ganondorf?"

This time, Nabooru went silent. She paused in her careful work. "… Once the drugs are exposed… We'll get a hand on him. Leave it to us."

Link furrowed a brow, but said nothing.

"Ready?" She asked. Link looked down at himself. All he was missing were shoes. But that wasn't a problem. The hotel staff had given him a neat pair. In his pockets, his new wallet and ID, some money, and hidden in the sole of his shoes, two knives. He looked up.

"Why can't I just get a gun?"

"Is that a whine I hear?" Nabooru asked. "Give me a break. They security test important guests, but they won't test every single one of them. Once everyone is inside, you'll be handed a gun by Cremia. So stop complaining."

"Fine." Link frowned. "Will this turn into a full-blown brawl or something?"

"If need be. But you won't be there anymore, since you'll have left with your princess a long time before. Got it?" She shot him a severe look.

"Yeah. Got it," Link said, unpleasantly.

"You've been awfully quiet as of late," Ganondorf smirked. Across the table, between Mariah and Sakon, Zelda barely looked up.

"My father," she said weakly, playing the part of a failing girl, "will come for me."

Ganondorf chuckled, taking a long swill of his wine. Around them, other patrons didn't question anything, not even the evident misery on Zelda's face.

"Six thirty," Mariah said. "Perhaps my darling is hungry?" Her honeyed voice cooed for Ganon's attention. He ignored her, instead fascinated by Zelda.

"All this," he thoughtfully said, "for the ownership of a company you don't even want. I'll let you buy the shares, if you want them so badly, but why struggle for the whole thing?" He shook his head, smirking. "Do you have any idea wh—"

"I'm struggling for my father's company," she spat suddenly, without permission, "because I'll die before letting it in the hands of a shark like you!"

Ganondorf's previously pleasant face melted away to reveal true, livid rage. "You'd die," he growled. "Well, I suppose you'll be pleased to hear that I'm tired of waiting for your father." He stood, making the table quake. "And have nothing better on my agenda than insure that your preferences are abided by."

She paled, and her eyes widened. Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, Mariah said, in a cold voice, "Ganon, cool it. She's only been with us for two days. Give it a break."

Ganondorf glared at his bedmate, then sat back down, compliant, but angry. Zelda looked from one to the other. And she realized. The two of them were like the heads of the same hydra. All she had to do was turn them against each other and escape while they fought. It left the issue of Sakon, but he seemed like the kind to go buckle-kneed if kicked in the right spot.

She smiled. "Thank you, Miss Masklee. I really don't know how you manage to put up with him."

She coldly grinned back at her. "None of your business, brat face." She then glanced at Ganondorf. "Though it's true he isn't always the most pleasant person."

"Quiet, Mariah," he ordered, and she scowled, shutting it. "If you don't want to regret it." He glared at Zelda. "And don't try that. I'm not a fool."

Zelda sighed. Back to the drawing board.

"Miss Masklee?" The table's occupants' eyes flew up to look at Cremia. She was shyly smiling. Ganondorf's face turned to satisfaction, and Mariah looked annoyed.

"What?" She barked.

Cremia looked uncomfortable. "I have a couple, friends of mine, who have cancelled their wedding reservation because of the unexpected costs of the reception. They were hoping you'd let them throw it here, tonight."

"Do we looked decked out for a wedding?" Mariah asked, tone frosty, but Ganondorf put a hand to her arm. He smiled charmingly at Cremia, and Zelda remembered the way he had kidnapped her, that day in the restaurant. It seemed so far away now.

"Mariah," he smoothly said, "I'm sure this couple of hers does not care for appearances. They want a nice place to cool off in and celebrate."

Instantly melting, Mariah smiled. "We'll let them in."

Zelda watched as Cremia looked giddy with joy, and she thought of the unfortunate couple. They would never know about her attempts to escape.

"That was easier than I thought," Nabooru breathed into Link's ear as they stepped into the Latte bar. Already, a crowd had gathered, and, to Link's discomfort, began to cheer at them.

His attention switched to finding Zelda. He didn't realize that he was playing the game along with Nabooru. He didn't even think twice when the audience asked for a kiss of the newlyweds. All he could think of was finding Zelda.

Two days had passed already in a blur, the afternoon where Zelda had been kidnapped, the day where he'd been harassed by the hotelkeeper, and all of today where Nabooru had appeared out of nowhere.

It was late now, and his watch counted nineteen hours before the end of Ganondorf's three day allocation. He knew that handing the company over was not an option. He was left with only one possibility. Finding Zelda and getting out before ten o'clock tonight, which was the time where Nabooru intended to act.

"Snap out of it," Nabooru hissed when she was sure no one looked, "keep up the show."

Link smiled back at her as fondly as he could. Deep inside, he just wanted to strangle the woman.

"Will you give me this dance?" He asked, looking for an occasion to spot people around the room. She nodded curtly, smiling delightedly, but her eyes were sharper than ever. He supposed this was what she looked like on a mission. Unpleasant and effective.

And a wonderful actress.

They chose a slow song on purpose, moving round to make sure that Link got eye contact with Zelda, and so Nabooru could spot Mariah.

Nabooru found her target first. She breathed into Link's ear, "Got it. You?"

"She's nowhere in sight," Link said, pretending to nuzzle Nabooru's ear. There were sighs and smiles in the assembly—he didn't care. "After this dance I'll check out the backrooms. Maybe Dragmire didn't want her to attempt an escape during the party."

Nabooru's eyes darted to the clock over the bar. "It's nine thirty-five. You have an twenty-five minutes to get out." She smiled softly as though she was in the clouds. "And then I move in. I won't be checking for you."

"No need," Link breathed, spotting the door to the back buildings. "Do I report back?"

"Only if you don't find her. Alright, end of song. Good luck."

"Nice working with you," Link said, though he didn't really think so.

"Same to you. You're a good guy."

"Tomorrow at three," Ganondorf snickered to Zelda, "I'll be forced to take your life. If your father doesn't obey me, that is."

"Tomorrow at three," Zelda smiled back, eyes glaring, "I'll be laughing at you as you get arrested. And there's no if. I will be laughing at you and you will get arrested."

Ganondorf shook his head. "Delusions," he mumbled. "They feed you in your late hour."

Zelda smiled softly, averting her eyes. She folded her hands in her lap, staring at the floor. They were in a little side-room, one that did not completely block out the party noises. Ganondorf paced slowly, going past her and then turning back.

"Interesting. You don't seem to want to attend this wedding ceremony they are celebrating in the main room."

"You wouldn't let me attend," Zelda whispered softly, flatly. "It's a waste of my energy."

"Ah," Ganon smirked. "Perhaps your time with me has enlightened you, at last." He gripped her chin between two fingers, forcing her to stare up at him. He snickered in her face. "A pity," he mumbled, "to be without choice but to kill you."

"You have no back-up plan, Ganon?" Zelda sweetly asked. "What if I escape?"

"I have news for you." Ganondorf moved towards the door, leaning against it. "At this very instant, a few acquaintances of mine have just finished placing bombs in every single one of your father's properties. Your cozy home, his busy workplace, his car, his bodyguards' cars, even his chalet are as we finish speaking," he checked his watch, smiling, "are now rigged with explosives. Plastic, completely undetectable, and perfectly discreet. Also activated by an unknown number of digits' code I will input myself in the next five minutes and which no other man on this planet knows of.

"Let me explain," he breathed as Zelda's face grew horrified, "if all else fails, even if you escape unscathed, should I not obtain the company, it all blows up, and you won't have a daddy left to go home to. And the disastrous accident will result in me buying the company from stunned administrators. Do you understand, finally, Miss Harkinian, why it was so imperative for your father to give in?"

The struggle didn't last long. As soon as Link had managed to pull the guard named Sakon into the men's room, he had hit him violently at the base of the spine, and the man had crumbled to the ground.

Link wondered why Ganondorf hadn't bothered to safeguard the not-so-hidden room. He shrugged the tux jacket off his shoulders, throwing it into a nearby garbage bin. Leaning down to slip his shoe soles open, he retrieved the two knives, slipping one into the double layer of his sleeve and the other at the back of his belt. Both covered with protective slips, they kept him from getting hurt when he moved.

Cremia had, indeed, provided him with a gun, and it wasn't small talk. A semi-automatic pistol with all the usual components, a piece Link was, unfortunately, quite familiar with. He shoved it into his waistband, near the front, ensuring that the safety was indeed secured.

He slipped his jacket back on, took a deep, steadying breath and, not even glancing down at Sakon, walked back out of the men's room.

He knew where the room was. It seemed ordinary enough, but he also saw the tiny laser beam at the foot of the wall, the one part people underestimated. It wasn't a burning ray, but rather a simple optical device. The visible part was near the floor, but it was an active grid up to the ceiling. He would have to put it out in order to work the door.

Not a problem.

Link spat out the gum he'd been chewing and securely applied it to the ventilation slits on the laser box. It was a slim, silver thing that looked like a power outlet, but Link knew that the machine powering such a strong laser, right beyond the wall, needed fresh air.

And he was choking it. He could feel heat emanating from the outlet, but not once did the laser flicker. Link glanced at his watch, a few more seconds ticked by, and he saw the time. Nine forty-two. No rush. Yet.

Suddenly, the discreet hum of the outlet faded, coughing slightly, and he smelled burnt circuits. He stood. The laser was dead. Now, he could access the door.

By the door, a simple alarm system allowed him to get rid of the lock. He glanced at the safety camera out of the corner of his eye, but chose not to acknowledge it. At worse he'd just shoot it and make a run for it. Besides, he was already conspicuous.

Terminal. A completely indigenous company of the country and one of the sole suppliers of security devices in Termina.

"A shame," Link breathed under his breath. "You almost made me sweat there, Ganon."

He knew the code.

He pressed in eight digits, despite how the instructions said to only punch in six. Kafei had taught him that any lock engineer built its machines so it recognized the mechanic. Kafei knew the codes and had passed them onto Link.

Enter.

Processing…

Access granted.

"Well, of course," Link smirked, speaking as though to a difficult diva.

The lock hissed open, snapping to the risk mode. A tiny red light blinked on over on the keypad, but he ignored it. He already knew that the room may have a risk of being infiltrated. In fact, he was the one doing the infiltrating.

The door slid sideways, revealing beyond the one person he had been dreaming of seeing. He stepped inside, and behind him, the door hissed shut.

She stared at him, stunned. He stood in the door, awkward. Then, smiling, he asked, "Miss me?"

"You moron," she breathed, standing suddenly to practically knock him over in her embrace. "What took you so long?"

Link grinned down at the young woman. "I did my best. Unexpected things happened. Harassment. ID cards. Weddings. The usual."

She stared at him for a moment, then, slowly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Then, gasping, she brought his face close to hers. "Link! Ganondorf! He said he'd put bombs into my dad's stuff!"

"What?"

"Link!" Her eyes were beginning to tear up. "Ganondorf left, ten minutes ago! By now he'll have programmed the bombs to set off the moment he wants them to! What are we going to do?" She cried.

Link's grin had turned to a glum look. He fingered a lock of her golden hair. "Right now, we're going to get out. I've only got coverage for a few more minutes—" He looked at his watch. "Actually, for only eight more minutes. So let's get a move on."

"But if I escape, he'll kill my dad!"

"Zelda." He moved towards the door. "Right now, if we stay here, we might get killed. If you stay here, you will get killed. If you leave, you'll be alright. That's all you ought to be worried about this very instant, okay?" He added, with confidence, "If you want, I'll even take care of Ganondorf for you. But only once you're safe. Got it?"

"Got it," she breathed.

"Let's go."

He typed the skeleton code with a dexterous hand, and the door hissed open.

Unfortunately, the chewing gum had been taken off the laser outlet. Link froze in his tracks, staring through the invisible grid at Ganondorf, even as the man wiped his hands off on a handkerchief.

"Link Kokirin, I presume," Ganondorf flatly muttered. "Perhaps next time, you'll learn to use something other than a dirty, saliva sticky chewing gum to get about your business?"

"Perhaps there won't be a next time if you get arrested soon."

"Perhaps there won't be a next time if you die tonight."

Only a few minutes left before Nabooru gave her party a 'new purpose'. He felt Zelda hold onto his arm. He glared at Ganondorf.

"I had hoped to be able to leave without dealing with you."

"You had hoped wrong. But then again, you seem to stick with people who think just like you." He glanced at Zelda. "In any case," Ganondorf sighed, producing from one of his suit pockets a tiny cell phone, "I thought Miss Harkinian would have made herself clear. Any attempts to escape…" He grinned, and punched in a number in his cell.

Zelda's eyes widened. She screamed, lunging forward, but Link held her back.

"Don't, it'll call others over!"

"But the explosives, he'll set them off!"

"Allow me to make myself understandable," Ganondorf said. "The few minutes during which the laser overheated caused it to become, temporarily, a heat ray. The grid between us as well. Trying to cross this grid will not only cause the alarm to go off. It will also leave scars on your bodies. Not fatal ones, I'm sure, but certainly painful ones. I'm not suggesting that you use that gun either, Mister Kokirin. The lasers are quite sensitive, and I know for a fact that your little friends in the party wouldn't want you to set off Mariah's guards. That is, if you find a way to deactivate this set of lasers, you will still be too late."

He pressed a single, final button. Zelda's eyes welled with tears.

"Oh no… Daddy…" she breathed, and Link took out the gun from his belt in fury. Ganondorf raised a brow, not once looking like he cared.

"Too late. Harkinian is dead."

"And you will be as well, once I'm through with you."

Link fired the pistol.

Oh. How dramatic. Zellie's daddy is dead. Ganny is, well, most likely, also dead. Link probably set off the alarms, making him and Zellie dead. But I haven't confirmed any of these statements. Not even in my brain. Well, okay, I've decided which of the statements are true or not already. Come on. Gimme a break.

Review!

Love,

CM

PS: No, seriously. You don't have any idea how much I love you guys. ANY. In fact, come the last chapter, I will tell you exactly how come I love you guys so much. So stay tuned, you won't want to miss me breaking down. I've been bottling this up for like, a year now? Anyway. Review.