Umi: Hello! First I would just like to say sorry for the long wait on this chapter! It was really my fault, as I procrastinated forever in editing chapter two. (And chapter three, actually.) But I've also been busy, so it wasn't total procrastination…
Snarky: Howdy. Um… I'm sorry for the wait, too. And, it's also partially not Umi's fault, but, rather, the fault of my hard drive, which died. Thus, I was without internet for a while, which delayed the updating a few weeks. So, my humblest apologies, as well.
First, before anything else, We'd like to thank our wonderful reviewers!
Greki – Umi:Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like the storyline and such. I'm glad you liked it so much! Snaky: Yah, thanks for reviewing. Um.. Ditto to what Umi said. But, looks like you had to wait. Sorry!
Hawk Chic – Umi: Sorry for the wait. I didn't mean to slack off for so long, I just did… Anyway, thanks for your review! I'm really glad you liked it! Snarky: -pokes Umi- Slacker! Hehe.. Well, Sorry for the wait, too. I didn't mean for my hard drive to DIE. It just did. –sigh- Stupid hard drive. –stabs it with a spork- Glad you didn't mind the chapter length, because methinks they'll ALL be that long.
Tenshi no Shinzo – Umi: Hey! Glad you liked it, even if you were a bit confused. Well, it won't be too confusing in this chapter, I shouldn't think… Umm… You can go to any Zelda website to look up pictures of the monsters if you need to. Or at least a description of them. XD Thanks for your review! Snark: Thanks for th'review! S'ok to read stuff even if you don't know much about it. I mean, if you read stuff, then often it can help you to understand the stuff better… or hopefully it will. Like Umi said, if you can find a decent Zelda site, then you can learn a lot. Um… Hey, even reading the manga (though it doesn't help for most monsters and things) could help you if you want to know the characters a little better…
Lycanthropy – Umi: Glad you liked it. And yes, that would be helpful to you. There's also numerous Zelda websites you can find on google. A good one is Anyway, thanks for your review! Snark: You can also search for "Legend of Zelda manga", too. It can help you to get the gist of the games' plot-lines, although the manga and the games differ in details and things and 'side quests'.
Umi: I've said this a thousand times, and I'll say it again; reviews help keep the story alive, and make it better. Because if you don't tell us what we need to improve, then we can't improve it. And then our story sucks. So, keep reviewing!
Snark: O.o -twitches- Must have caffeine, reviews and internet…
Link: -steps out from behind the scenes- Um… -blink- Sorry about Snarky… She's been without internet for over a month, she's addicted to reviews, and she really wants some coffee right now… So… Please ignore any inane babbling, as it is probably her fault.
Disclaimer (by Navi): Hey! Look! Me, an' all the other Legend of Zelda characters and sundry, belong to Nintendo and stuff. Oh, and I think some of the Shuriken belong to Naturo's creators….
Chapter 2: The Forest Temple
A moment or two spent in an in between state passed, and then they appeared in the center of the Triforce-marked platform outside the Forest Temple.
Home... Well, as close to home as anyplace, Link supposed. He'd grown up in these woods, and knew them like the back of his hand. Better, even, considering that he truly knew very little about the true powers of the Triforce, whose mark rested upon the back of said hand. Anyway, he slipped his ocarina into his pouch.
His cerulean eyes roved about the foliage, to the stump upon which Saria usually sat. She wasn't there. A sigh escaped Link's lips. She must have been back at Kokori village then. He turned to Karin and opened his mouth to speak, but he never got a chance.
"Aiyaaa!" came a female cry (not Saria's voice, Link was sure), followed by the ring of metal upon metal and a few snarls.
Link spun to face the entrance to the clearing from the Forest Meadow, hand upon hilt, ready to draw. Suddenly, a grunt and a growl sounded, accompanied by another, softer shout, and a Moblin careened out of the entryway, stumbling and falling upon the ground with a crash. After him leapt a nimble, willowy figure trailing both a long yellow scarf (wound loosely about her neck many times, masking half of the face) and a pony-tail of silver hair. Two scimitars (similar to, though not the exact same style as the Gerudo's and bearing the symbol of the Sheikah, instead) flashed in her hands as she landed on the creature's back. It stirred and, snarling, made as if to rise quickly, but a quick slice across the back of his neck, severing its spinal chord ended any more movements.
The girl, who appeared roughly fifteen or sixteen, was clothed in supple leather boots - light ones, mind, that were made for stealth - black leggings with silvery grey twining design traced up the sides, a black vest-ish tunic, (with a skirt reaching to mid-thigh, but with slits up to just below her belt) with blue trim and silver designwork to match the leggings, and a black undershirt that had sleeves reaching a few inches above the elbows. And just about to the elbows, the girl had a long grey bandage-like cloth wrapped, a fingerless black glove reaching like a gauntlet above her wrist over the cloth. Two curved sheathes made an X upon her back, and two pouches hung from a blue sash.
Still standing upon the back of the giant moblin, and not returning her swords to their holders, the girl snapped her head up to look at Link, Karin and her hawk with narrowed eyes. To Link's surprise, the eyes were golden. The metallic irises glinted in the sunlight.
Karin had never seen anything close to a monster that size before, so as soon as she did see it she had put her hand to her dagger as a safety precaution. She then looked up to the girl to find that she was staring at her; the eyes were the same color as her own, and yet something was different. As already said, it wasn't the color, for the shade of the newcomer's eyes was the same chrome-like, metallic, sparkly eyes that Karin had. But something in them betrayed a deeper wisdom, or power. It was the same look that the princess had held in her eyes. Atreyu, of course, was staring back, too. Karin didn't look at him, nor did she reveal what she was feeling, but she knew that if this newcomer wanted to try a staring contest, she was picking the wrong one. Nobody could beat Atreyu, because his normal stare looked like a glare; therefore, eventually, the hawk would win. Might be a blow to your pride -- losing to a bird, that is -- but it was the truth all the same.
"Who are you?" Karin asked, folding her arms. Her question didn't have a mean tone, but was rather just questioning the girl in front of her.
The girl ignored her. Although she gave Karin and her hawk once-overs, she gazed thoughtfully at Link, recognition in her eyes. Link stared back. There was just something uncannily familiar about the girl. And then it hit him; She was Gerudo, or at least partially so. He had only ever seen that bone structure in the Hylian desert, and the Terminian sea; the high cheekbones, pointed chin, and highly defined nose couldn't possibly be from any other blood. But... if she was part Gerudo, why did she have silver hair rather than flaming red? And why was she bearing the Sheikah emblem on her tunic and her blades rather than nothing at all, like the typical Gerudo scimitars?
The girl, after a moment, turned her eyes to the entrance to the Forest Temple, cocked her head as if listening to something, and then nodded. She bent down and wiped the blackish blood off of her scimitars and on to the Moblin's already filthy tunic. Wrinkling her nose, slightly, she hopped off of the Moblin, sheathing her blades as she moved towards Karin, her hawk, and Link.
Standing in a way that reminded Link very much of Sheik, the girl finally spoke: "My name is Ausranila. But, you can just call me Nila, I suppose." Her golden eyes rested upon Link. "You are Link," then the eyes traveled to Karin and her hawk, "But you two... I do not know..."
"I'm Karin," She replied, giving a wave. "And this is..."
"Atreyu," The hawk replied, nodding his head once to Nila. Then, stretching out his wings, he let go of Karin's shoulder and took the sky, for he was tired of staying in one spot for so long.
Nila returned Atreyu's nod, meeting his gaze before he took off into the air. Then, her golden gaze returned to Link.
The Hero of Time studied Nila closely, and with wary interest. He had a feeling there was a lot more to this girl than appearances suggested. "What are you doing here? Who are you really?"
"I am who I say I am," she replied simply. "And my reasons are my own. I was killing Moblins... you'll find their bodies all over the meadow" - she wrinkled her nose again - "Filthy things..."
"But how came you to this place? The Lost Woods is no easy journey."
"I followed the voices of the forest, and the call of the Temple."
Okay... Karin thought in Nila's response. She still didn't understand why the girl was there -- even if it was to kill those moblins -- but she didn't feel like holding up an interrogation at the moment. Plus, Link seemed to be handling that part on his own.
Instead, she just glanced around the meadow a moment, taking in the ruined steps that led up to the Forest Temple. Well, that certainly impaired any normal routes to reaching the Temple. Oh, that's just great, Karin thought. Just go and destroy the steps. Hell, we don't need those, we can just fly! Next thing the person who destroyed the steps will say is that we don't need legs, we can just learned to walk on our hands and hold our weapons in our mouths.
She turned back to Nila before asking, "So, if you were killing the moblins, then why do you keep staring at us? You'd think you'd go off hunting more of those... Though, given their size, they can't be that hard to find..."
Nila rolled her eyes and was about to reply, but stiffened, turning swiftly to face the Temple. Karin folded her arms and scoffed inwardly as Nila rolled her eyes. Atreyu soon came back down from the sky, perching on her shoulder and whispering something in her ear. Nodding once -- and whispering something in reply -- Atreyu took off once more.
Well, his news was certainly welcome. She hadn't been nervous, per se, but at least now she wasn't as tense. At least it removed some of the 'pressure'.
Anyway, at the Temple entrance, nothing could he heard or seen, but Link felt something dark stir within it. Nila's golden eyes narrowed, and she shook her head, murmuring something to herself in the Sheikah tongue.
Then, in the common Hylian speech, she murmured, "The Darkness returns... Where is Saria? She can't have gone in already..."
"Saria went into the Forest Temple?" asked Link.
"I... am not sure. I don't sense her, but that doesn't mean anything."
What was up with this girl? How could she sense the Sages? Once more, Link wondered who she really was. "You must have passed through the Kokiri village, though. Surely you saw whether she was there or not?"
She frowned, so Link asked, "Didn't you come through the village to get to the Lost Woods?"
"No. I used a Lost Door. They are a great many scattered throughout this place... Have you tried to reach your friend through her song?"
Link blinked in surprise. He shook his head, stunned for a moment, before demanding, "How the hell do you know about... about Saria's song?"
Nila gave a cheshire smile. "Because I know Saria..."
"But she only teaches that song to her closest friends... How could you be her friend? I've never seen you in this forest before..."
"That's easily explained. I met her while you were gone."
Link gave Nila an odd look, then fished his ocarina out of that lovely endless pouch. He lifted it to his lips and was about to play the first note of Saria's song, when a sudden movement from Nila caught his eye. He glanced up at her in time to see the girl scrabbling up the bottom remaining steps of the temple (she must have jumped, though how she jumped high enough, he didn't know). She remained crouched at the entrance, staring into the dark opening with a troubled look on her face. Then, she glanced down at Karin and Link, as if calculating something. She then stood up.
"Link," she said. "Please try to contact Saria..."
"Why?"
Nila shook her head. "... I fear I... No... Nevermind.. Just contact her!"
Pressed by the urgency of her voice, Link played Saria's lively little song, trying to reach her. For a long moment, there was no connection; he could not feel her presence through a thick darkness. Then, as if clawing his way through something... Link felt a tenuous mental connection with Saria.
Link? Link!
- Saria! Where are you? -
The Temple... Broken seal... came with Navi to ... mend... I ...
The connecting broke for a moment, in which Link frantically called out to his friend.
The con.. ... can't... hold.. long time... Darkness... too strong... Link!
And the connection completely severed with a painful jerk. Link opened his eyes, not realizing he had just shouted Saria's name aloud; Shouted her name a couple of times, actually. The Hero of Time had been -- at least, as far as Karin could see -- completely out of it. Connections she could grasp; a Hero who was shouting someone's name two or three times -- therefore likely to draw attention -- she couldn't. Besides, for all she knew he could have been in some sort of trance or something.
"Link!" Karin snapped, and snapped her fingers in front of his face a few times. "Snap out of it!"
Seeing him come back to grips with reality, she sighed. "Better?" She asked, looking at him before stealing a glance to Nila once more... Just in time to see Nila disappearing into the Temple.
Link blinked at Karin and arched an eyebrow; he didn't realize he'd been shouting. Looking up at Nila as she entered the temple, he said, "Saria went in to try and fix the seal..."
Ausranila's voice echoed out of the entrance, saying, "I heard... I'd hurry if I were you..."
Then a clicking sound and Nila's hiss of, "Damn it... I hate Skulltulas.."
Link grabbed Karin around the waist and fired his hookshot up at a tree branch over the platform. With a bit of a jerk, they were pulled up and then dropped neatly upon said platform. Link released Karin with a murmured apology and put his hookshot away, instead drawing the Master Sword and his shield.
Karin drew her weapons as the scritch-scratching sound got louder, and looked around for the "skulltulas". Upon seeing one of the spiders, she rushed forward to attack it... And her sword struck armor. The Skulltula spun quickly, but only managed to hit her arm as she raised her dagger to deflect most of the attack.
"...And I hate spiders," She agreed, backing up a little bit. She was pretty afraid of them; her fear of spiders bordered on arachnophobia. She rushed forward again, ducking under one of the eight legs and slashing her sword at the stomach of the creature. It fell to the ground... And brushed up against her leg.
Karin emitted a short shriek and jumped back where Link was, her grip on her weapons tightening as the scratching increased in number. "Uh... Link?" She asked. "You mind taking care of them? I could... Uh... Go check on Nila..."
Nila, leaving a trail of dead Skulltullas (which were quickly replaced by more from the nest), disappeared into the temple proper, swiftly by-passing the traps just because she wasn't Link, so the temples didn't spite her.
Link, meanwhile, smirked at Karin, not making any comments, mind, but just laughing silently at her. Then, he moved past her, quickly stunning skulltulas with an initial blow to send them rocking, then finishing them with a quick slice across the back. Man, he wished all monsters were this easy. Skultullas finished for now, he slipped through the other door and waited for Karin.
Karin followed him through the door, coming face to face with the room with the four torches. Nothing seemed to be there... At first. She quickly descended the steps and headed towards the door (and the elevator), when the elevator dropped and the four Poe Sisters formed.
Now Karin -- who was scared of spiders -- commented, "Woah, ghosts! Kick ass!"
They laughed at her and disappeared, causing her to frown.
"Damn ghosts. They never stick around long, do they?" She turned to Link, asking, "So, do you have any idea where they might've gone?"
She would have normally asked Atreyu, but her hawk -- much as he loved to hang out with her -- hated to be confined in a building. So he was just circling outside, not daring to fly into the Forest Temple -- even if it was large. Besides, she was going to be helping Link out, so she might as well find out where the sisters decided to disappear to.
Link, meanwhile, rolled his eyes slightly at Karin's... umm... reactions, and she glared in return, although the glare was more of a taunt, what with the smirk splayed upon her lips. However, he ignored her and thought for a moment, trying to recall the first time he went through the insane asylums for deranged monsters and labyrinth makers that were the temples.
"If I remember rightly, two of them are in staircases, one is in a large hall and the other one... I can't remember exactly where she was. Here, I think, but she only appeared once the other four had been taken care of." He sighed. "Shall we split up, or take them down one at a time? Given the traps and annoying puzzles... "
"Well, we can split up," She told him loftily. "Though I don't know. You seem to be reacting a bit slow today... Sure you won't get lost?"
Not that she knew how he reacted like. She had only just met the guy. But currently, he was coming off as a real jerk. Maybe it was the stress, or maybe it was something else, but he seemed to be a bit...off, to Karin anyway. So a bit of taunting and provoking on her part should get him to wake up a bit.
Link was indeed distracted by... something. It was as though there was something or several somethings he should know stuck nagging at the back of his mind, but try as he might to remember it, it just refused to make itself clear. Very odd sensation.
Anyway, Link blinked at Karin and sighed. "No. I won't get lost." A sardonic grin curved his lips. "I've been going through weird dungeons and temples designed by a room full of sadistic drunk bastards since I was eleven. Besides, this one isn't nearly as bad as the Goddess-damned Water Temple (he spat those four words out with distaste). See you at the door to the central chamber."
And with that, he was off, down one or other corridor towards the staircase, which held one of the Poe sisters, if he remembered rightly.
Anyway, Karin herself wasn't worried. Though she hated spiders, she could kill them if need be; and if she got lost... She'd figure it out. Where she came from, she was a "warrior"; that was a lose term for someone who had been trained in the art of combat and even a few magical spells -- though she was horrible at magic. She was supposed to be a Healer, but her older brother had been her role model, and as such she had decided to follow in his footsteps rather than abiding by her parents wishes... Besides, she wasn't that bad at it. With a bit of special training from her brother, she had become a natural. At least, he said so.
Of course, she hadn't graduated from school yet -- not that she had a choice. After what had happened... Well, it didn't matter to Karin. Though she hadn't graduated and received her own guardian spirit, she had Atreyu -- and even though he was the guardian spirit of her older brother, he still helped her. She was wearing her brother's pendant, after all. Folding her arms, she kept her taunting smirk and loosened her glare a bit; her golden eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint
She headed straight towards the staircase in front of her, jogging up and pulling open the door. And what should she meet besides another skulltula? Cursing quietly to herself, she stabbed it in the back with her sword when it turned around, causing it to fall and die in front of her.
"Dumb ass..." She muttered, stepping over the fallen spider to continue through to the other side.
Now she was in a courtyard, complete with a well and a lake of water. In the lake she saw something that looked like an octopus, save for the fact that it was trying to shoot her with rocks. And directly in front of her...
"Since when did plants have teeth?" She asked no one in particular, jumping to the side as the huge deku baba tried to snap her head off. Swinging her sword, she sliced the plant a couple times -- getting bit in the process, no less -- and defeated it.
"Hyrule is even weirder than I originally thought," She commented, sheathing her sword. "And I used to think Westaria was weird..."
Glancing around, she noticed more of the Skulltula's on a vine covered wall. She grimaced, noticing that she had no way to get them down.
"That's just peachy..." She thought to herself, and then yelled, "Yeah! Just infest the wall, why don'tcha ya? Stupid spiders..."
Of course, she wasn't completely helpless. Picking some rocks up from the ground, she threw them up at the spiders. The first two went down easily, but the third one was beyond her range. Knowing that she ran the risk of being mobbed by the eight legged freak, she began to climb up the vines.
And she was right. As soon as she got close enough, a bright purple light shone from the insect and it rushed towards her, knocking her off.
"Son of a bi-aaaaah!" She screamed, and landed flat on her back on the grass. Cursing, she rolled onto her stomach and lay there for a moment, wincing from the pain that was shooting through her back. Once she was able to stand again, she put her dagger in her left hand and started climbing once more.
It took four tries before she finally got it right -- and four painful meetings with the ground. Finally, on her fifth try, she managed to stab the skulltula with her dagger when it got too close. She turned her head to watch it fall, smirking. "Yeah, how does it feel to fall to the ground?" She yelled down, and then climbed the rest of the way up.
She walked into the next room, got cursed for a little while by floating heads with blue smoke around them, but eventually managed to slay them and made her way through.
"A treasure chest? Hell yeah!" She cheered, and opened it up. Reaching in she pulled out... A Dungeon Map.
"A map." She muttered, staring at it. Shrugging, she rolled it up and put it in her pocket. "You know, I think this place thinks that I'll be the one getting lost..."
Meanwhile...
Link stepped into a familiar room, not even bothering to look behind him as a metal grate slid over the door with a thud. Shifting his grip upon his sword only slightly, he dropped into a fighting stance, then whirled around as a Stalfos leapt out of nowhere at him. With the practiced ease that comes only with fighting a million Stalfos, Link dispatched the first one, the second one, the third one and the fourth one with little effort.
The bars slid back up into the doorway, and a small chest became visible in the center of the room. Within it was a key. With a sigh, he picked it up and headed towards the door to the next room.
And Back to Karin...
"If I never, ever see another one of those stupid Skulltula's again..." Karin muttered, wiping a few specks of blood away from her new bite marks. Apparently she was attracting the insects, for they kept chasing after her and biting her. She was now in a room that had arrow markings on the floor. Shrugging, she followed them... And reached a giant red block.
"Let me guess. I'm supposed to somehow walk through this block, or blow it up, or something else. Well you know what? I'm not going to! Link can do it!" She said once more to no one in particular. Walking around, she found a ladder and ascended it, reaching the second floor...
And a green block.
"I already said I'm not doing it," She muttered, "You spirits or whatever can just listen."
Walking around the maze once more, she jumped a couple times, pressing her feet off the wall as she did so. Reaching up, she grabbed onto a ledge (that the blocks were supposed to help her reach -- and grabbed it, heaving herself up once more.
Reaching into the pocket of her trenchcoat - turned - cape, she pulled out a small, silver key that she had gotten earlier from a chest. She pushed it into the lock, turned, and the chains fell away.
"Okay..." She muttered, staring at the chains on the ground. "That was odd..." She opened the door and found herself in a twisted, weird corridor. "And this is even weirder."
She walked through the corridor -- not even daring to ask how she was able to walk a straight line through a twisted hallway -- and ended up in a room with different ledges and a locked door.
She was about to jump over to the lock door when she heard a strange whirring noise. Frowning, she looked around, and then noticed that the shadow under her was larger than it was supposed to be.
"Uh-oh..." She muttered, backing up. Without warning, a large hand dropped down and held her tight, starting to drag her.
"Let go of me!" She yelled, struggling to get out of its grasp. The Wallmaster, however, didn't seem to want to listen, and began dragging her down through the floor. Growling, Karin grabbed her sword and shoved it through the hand, forcing the creature to release her.
"That's it," She snarled, "You and me buddy! Right now!" She launched herself towards the Wallmaster, and both of them fell off the ledge and onto the floor. After picking herself up, Karin took a few swipes at it and destroyed it.
"That's what you get for trying to kidnap me..." She muttered. "I don't know if you realized it or not, but I am not a damsel in distress." She climbed back up the ladder and hopped across the ledges, grabbing yet another key and unlocking the next door.
We Now Return To The Regularly Scheduled Link...
And Link was in another room... with Stalfos. Oh joy. Joy upon endless Joy! Just what he'd always wanted! More Stalfos...
Hissing irritably through his teeth, Link sliced and crashed his way through the Stalfos - six of them this time - but did not escape injury this time. No, he had a nasty, jagged cut down his right shoulder. However, he ignored the pain. Chances are, he'd get worse scrapes before he was done with this goddess-damned temple... again.
At the far end of the room sat a rather large treasure chest. Not really expecting to find anything in it - he already had the fairy bow, after all - Link sheathed his sword and pushed the heavy lid open. To his great surprise, however, there was a strange emerald sort of crystal glimmering in the bottom and emitting a faint light. Interesting... and shiny! Navi would have gone nuts if she was here...
Link bent over, reaching in and picking up the crystal. It was cool to the touch, yet warm, and it reminded him strongly of the forest. Of any forest. Of trees, plants, and greenery. His deep blue eyes traveled over the facets for a long moment, and he thought he saw a faint gold glimmer of a Triforce shape deep within, but he wasn't entirely sure. The crystal was a bit smaller than his palm.
He had just slipped it into his pocket of endless space when something felt wrong. A low rumbling snarl reverberated through the air. Link drew his sword and shield just in time for something sharp and strong to slam into his back - no.. three or four somethings. Claws, probably - shredding through tunic, undershirt and flesh on his left shoulder. At the same time, another three or four somethings scored his lower back, right side. Needless to say, he was sent flying to the ground with a pained cry. Groaning and grimacing - Farore, did that hurt! - he rolled onto his back as the thing leapt again, long black talons screeching upon the stone where Link had been. Staggering to his feet, Link brought up his sword just in time to block yet another lunge. Damn, that thing was fast!
Link only got a good look at it for the brief second in which it was still, but that was enough. It was a creepy dragon thing. Its body shape was an odd cross between a cat's and a rabbit's, with long hind legs possessing large, leapable feet (complete with their own long black talons). It's front limbs were structured like a cat's, with four long curved claws, formerly black, but now dripping the crimson liquid that was Link's blood. Stiff tannish green bristles stood out and back in a mane on the head, semi-long neck, and in a thin column down it's back to the lashing tail. At the end of the tail, a tuft of the stiff hair formed a point kind of like a paintbrush.
The snout of the creature was not terribly long - more like a dog's than a cat's or a rabbit's - but it had large nostrils and long, pointy teeth that were a poisonous looking green. With Link's luck, they probably held venom... deadly venom... or at least venom that caused extreme pain or was sure to infect your wounds. Or all of the above. Its lips were pulled back in a rather scary snarl. Its glowing ruby eyes contrasted sharply with the obsidian slit pupils, and they held a spark of intelligence normally not found in the average temple monster. Maybe in the bosses, but not the random Lizafos or whatever. They also held a sadistic sort of look that most evil things seemed to have. Link was sure this would be fun... not!
The freaky dragon thing was covered in scales, as any creepy dragon thing ought to be, but they were rather pretty scales. Probably harder than steel, but pretty nonetheless. They were a dark foresty emerald color, but they had a lighter opalescent sheen that made them seem to shift shades with any movement. One of them there scales might fetch a pretty penny in Castle Town... or might hold Navi's attention for an eternity.
But Link was not thinking about the scales. He was thinking about how the hell he could kill this thing before it ripped any more bits of flesh from him. Now that he was more ready for the thing, it paused, licking the blood and whatnot off of its claws. Then, with the same insane speed as before, it leapt into the air, aiming for Link's head, but changed directions mid-leap and wound up diving for his legs. Well, Link hadn't expected that, and he didn't adjust quite fast enough to avoid a nasty swipe across one shin. Lucky him...
Five more leaps, and two more wounds (one almost perpendicular to the Stalfos-inflicted one, and yet another on his other shin ) later... Link wondered how the hell he could beat this thing... The Master Sword didn't even scratch the scales, and the one Light arrow he'd managed to fire off did no good, either. The creature had been temporarily stunned, but otherwise was fine.
Karin entered the room just in enough time to see Link facing off against the huge dragon thing. For a moment, she didn't do anything, but then watched as his sword bounced harmlessly off of the scales. Now, she knew she should be helping. It'd only be right to help out her friend when he was in the middle of getting owned by a gigantic, scale-covered, talon using, bird thing. However... She only had a sword and dagger herself, and if Link's sword wasn't doing any good...
She watched the fight from the doorway for a moment before trying something of her own. She laced her fingers together in a moment in a sign, before switching their positions rapidly. Finally placing her hands down on the floor she yelled, "Rai!"
Lightning came down from the ceiling, aiming directly for the bird... thing..., but didn't do a single bit of good. Instead it was reflected, and hit a wall. "Okay..." Karin muttered. Her magick was always weak anyway; she was never really any good with it. "Maybe some other elementals will work... Hey, Link! Have any ice on you?"
"Urlg... Gee thanks. That really helps..." snapped Link, at the epitome of sarcasm as one of the lightening bolts that bounced off struck him in the chest and sent him flying into the wall.
She knew that her chances of getting fire were pretty slim, but she had lit that candle that one time... Maybe this time she could just get a little more than a spark? Forming more hand seals, she concentrated her energy, "Katon!"
It didn't work. Regaining her focus, she tried three more times before she finally got it. Fire erupted beneath the bird, and its scales flashed red for a moment before fading. Frowning, she looked back to see if Link had heard her.
Though it didn't seem to care about the fire, the freaky dragon thing was distracted by this newcomer... with magick. Its eyes flicked between Link as he staggered to his feet, pulling out bow and arrow again, and Karin, as if deciding which was a bigger threat. It decided upon Link for no other reason than that Link was closer and already wounded. The creature's eyes blazed with bloodlust. (After all, Hero of Time blood is among the most tasty bloods.)
At the same time, leaning sort of against the wall for support, Link held his arrow cocked and drawn. A tingling sort of feeling washed through him, accompanied by the thrill of magic. He didn't know why, but magic that came from inside always had this feeling... A strange exhilaration... Anyway, due to this being ice magic, the feeling was chilly, and a bluish, crackling light blossomed upon the arrow point.
The creature opened its mouth to attempt to grab Link by the throat or something, and that happened to be its big mistake. Link released the arrow and it went straight into the throat and down it's gullet a few inches, piercing the trachea and possibly an artery, for some greenish looking blood dribbled out of its mouth, sizzling upon the floor. Anyway, it's eyes widened in surprise and pain as the blue fire spread through its body, turning it to ice. The last part to turn to ice was its lashing tail. And then it slammed into the floor a few feet in front of Link, shattering and skidding at the same time. And guess who it skidded into due to the laws of inertia? That's right. Link. Or at least it would have if he hadn't rolled out of the way. As it was, several small shards of ice struck him, though only one did any harm as it left a thin scratch across his cheek.
He remained in a crouch, breathing in ragged gasps. "Nayru, Din and Farore..." he breathed alongside a rather colorful stream of expletives used to describe the creature.
Then, he sank back against the wall with a soft groan. His right hand - the left arm and shoulder aching too much and bleeding too much to be of much good - reached into his endless space pouch, fishing around for a bottle. He doubted he had any healing potions, pink fairy spirits or even a glass of milk. He pulled each bottle out, glanced at the lack of contents, and sighed.
"Of all the times not to have a bloody potion or damn fairy..." he muttered, then looked up at Karin. "You wouldn't happen to have a fairy spirit or a healing potion, would you? Or even be able to heal wounds? 'Cause, you know, I'm kind of in pain and I think that thing tore up some ligaments in my shoulder that really ought to have been left in tact. Oh, and there are some other places that are torn up, too... And I really don't like having all my clothing stained blotchily red that'll just turn brown in a day or two. Blood just isn't a high quality dye, you know..." He flashed her a grin.
"Really? I would have never guessed," Karin retorted, rolling her eyes at his dye remark. She walked over and began making more hand seals, commenting, "This won't be very strong. I suck at magic, and even though I was supposed to be a Healer, I completely ignored my parents and became a fighter instead... Zenkai!"
She placed his hands over his wounds, and a brief white light came from them, healing the wounds mostly. It wasn't a complete fix, but at least the ones that were almost fatal were healed. She repeated the gesture a few times, finally healing the small scrape on his cheek. "There," She stated. "I can't heal clothing, and as for the blood, you're going to have to try getting that out whenever we get out of here." She stood up, brushing herself off.
"Thank you very much," said Link, the twisted expression on his face relaxing as things stopped hurting. He could tell things weren't quite ship-shape, but they'd finish healing on their own soon enough. That was one blessing... He did heal quickly.
He pushed himself to his feet and looked down at his somewhat tattered clothing. Then he sighed. "Eh... I swear I've gone through more tunics," he muttered.
Glancing to the creature, Karin asked, "What was that thing, anyway?"
Link picked up his bow and slung it on his back before looking at the icy carcass of the creature. Shrugging he replied, "Something new. Probably a really well bred or hybrid Lizafo... or something. Navi might know... I'll ask her when and if we find her... Find anything interesting, like the ghosts, maybe?"
"Well, I found pictures of one," She pointed to the door, which she had came through. "But no actual ghosts. I did manage to find a spider nest, though," She scowled, pointing to numerous bites. "And this hand tried to kidnap me... Not to mention a plant with fangs, and an octopus thing that kept trying to shoot me. Oh, and did I mention the spiders on the wall and that kept knocking me off and sending me to meetings with the ground? Other than that, I didn't find anything except for a few keys." She folded her arms. "You know, this Temple is infested with freaks."
True, that it was. Between Poe Sisters, Deku Babas, Skulltulas, Wallmasters, Octorocs, and the Big-Bird-Cat-Rabbit-Dragon-Thing-Of-Doom, it was well beyond anything Karin had ever run into before. Problem for the pair of them was, it was almost certainly going to get worse. It nearly always seemed to.
"Pictures of one? Oh. You have to shoot one of the pictures and the ghost'll come out, I think. If it's the room I'm thinking of, anyway," said Link with a sigh. "And get used to it. There are weird monsters in every temple. Oh, and the octopi are called Octorocs, the plant with fangs is a Deku Baba, and the hand thing was either a Floormaster or a Wallmaster, although if it tried to kidnap you rather than just suck some of your energy, then it was probably a Wallmaster. You can tell when one is about to drop by the fact that your shadow suddenly becomes larger and rounder than it ought... Or by the fact that there's a giant hand shadow overlaying yours... Oh, I can't recall how many times I've had those things land on my head and drag me back to the entrance to the temple, but Floormasters are worse."
He sighed again, then cracked another grin. "I think I should write a book about them. Sure to be a best seller... A title could be '1000 Freaky Things to Scare Your Children.' "
And then he pushed open the door Karin went through and waited for her to follow.
She did so. "Or you could title it, 'Annoying Beasts and How To Kill Them', you know, one of those how-to books. And it was probably a Wallmaster... Damned hand..." She looked up, and a picture of the Red Poe Sister (Joelle) was in front of her. However, the ghost promptly disappeared. "Yeah, that's the one," She commented, shaking her head. "You'd think that she'd want to come out, but no. No, instead, she has to keep switching from picture to picture. Idiot."
She climbed up the stairs, and Joelle disappeared from yet another portrait. Turning back to Link, she gave a small grin. "But hey, this is nothing new for you, right? So, what do we do, Ocarina boy?"
Link sighed. Well, she was just as bad as Navi could be, except that Navi occasionally offered helpful advice. And if Navi wouldn't shut up, Link could always stuff her in a bottle or in his hat. He quirked an eyebrow at the 'ocarina boy' title. "Now that's one I've never been called before," he said. "Anyway, you can start by standing still and NOT walking towards the paintings. That's what triggers her to leave. Just be ready to hit her with something, preferably something that will 'kill' the poe."
"Alright, alright," She remarked, standing still.
He then lifted his bow, a regular arrow nocked and ready for firing. And then he released it smack into the picture in which the Poe had just appeared again. With that weird little chitter she popped out of the painting looking irked and swinging her lantern. Link swiftly nocked another arrow and sent it flying into the ghost.
When the ghost came out, Karin wondered aloud, "And here I thought you couldn't kill things that weren't already dead."
She grabbed her sword and dagger and jumped at it, putting up her dagger so that its flat edge was facing the ghost. The lantern hit it, making a slight clanging noise, and she kept her stance firm to allow the lantern to hit it a few a more times.
As soon as the ghost decided to stop swinging -- and in the seconds before it could disappear -- Karin lashed out with her sword and caught it once. Joelle put her arms up for a second before disappearing, leaving only the lantern visible.
Karin waited for a few seconds before they went into the same routine, only able to get a few hits in at a time. She also made sure to keep the corners of her golden eyes on Link, just in case one of his arrows decided to go away from the target and aim for her instead.
Link waited for the ghost to reappear, and for Karin to move out of the way. Then, he shot the ghost with a Light Arrow, grinning as it shrieked and melted into a little reddish flame. "Now why couldn't I have gotten the Light arrows BEFORE going through all the temples?" he muttered to himself as he put his bow away and hopped down the stairs to where the flame thing sizzled and looked annoyed.
It stared up at him with a mixture of malevolence and fear. Link crouched next to it, reached out, and poked it. It chittered, and then vanished with the whispered words, "So easy not my sisters be..."
Link sighed and stood up again. "One down, three to go..."
"'So easy not my sisters be?'" Karin repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like these ghosts need to learn how to talk."
Link shrugged. "They're ghosts. They're too busy being really annoying to be bothered with making sense."
Karin went back through the door to the dragon room, crossing over to the next side. She knew Link would follow anyway, and besides, she was impatient. Three ghosts left meant that they probably still had three quarters of the Temple to explore, and she didn't want to spend any more time in it; pretty as it was, she kept hearing a song whispered to her, and kept getting chills as if spirits were brushing up against her. It wasn't a nice feeling.
Link followed Karin; she was going where he was headed anyway. As a note, he heard a faint tune as well, but he'd gotten used to the faint songs of temples and dungeons a long time ago. Even in the hot and sticky innards of Jabbu-Jabbu, there'd been the gentle background thrumming of the fish's large vocal chords. It had never really freaked him out much (except in the Shadow Temple where it wasn't music so much as voices. Tormented voices of the dead... The perfect accompaniment to the skeletons, mutilated corpses and all manner of other unsavory things dragged into the Shadow Temple by the creatures which had invaded it, not to mention the dark and unpleasant dreams which prevented him from catching even an hour of sleep during the two or three days he was wandering that labyrinth.)
So, it never really freaked him out much, probably because there'd always been the distant singing of the fairies or the other Kokiri during his childhood, and in the Lost Woods, there were the constant melodies of the Skull Kids, sometimes the Kokiri, and fairies, too...
The moment she opened the door on the opposite side, she saw more ghost pictures -- this time of a blue one. "Link!" She called, standing in the doorway. "Come over here, we have another ghost!"
Link followed Karin into the room and gazed up at the portrait. Thankfully, this wasn't the one where he'd had to push all the stupid blocks together to form the picture. He shot an arrow into Beth's picture and out she came with an irritated chitter. Wow. Just sooo much different than the first ghost... So, he fired a Light arrow at her, too.
Karin just watched as he hit the ghost with the Light Arrow, which quickly vanquished it. "Alright," She said after Link had successfully dealt with Beth. "There are two left, right? If I remember, they were purple and green... Well, since I never really liked purple, I'll take that one. Besides, you're wearing green. That automatically assigns you that color." She grinned at him and started up the stairs. "They should have pictures like these two, right?"
"Umm... Sort of," said Link. "One of them appears outside the elevator once you've killed the other three and splits into four copies, but you can tell the real copy because it will spin around once before attacking you. So, shoot it with an arrow, or thwack it with something. The other ghost requires the solving of a puzzle before you can fight it. There'll be a bunch of blocks on the floor and on the tops are pieces of a picture of the ghost. You push the blocks together correctly and you can see the picture of the ghost on top. The blocks then disappear and you're left with the ghost."
He grinned suddenly. "By the way, the block one is purple. Have fun... I'll be waiting at the elevator..."
"W-What? Hey! Wait!" Karin shouted, running after him. "I didn't do the blocks in that other room, and I'm not doing those either."
And that was true. The green and red block that she was supposed to have fixed into place so that Link could freely get around before were still in their places.
"So I'll go to the elevator, and you can go find the purple ghost! See you then!" She ran off before he could say another word.
Going back the way she had come, she eventually reached the center room, where two of the four torches were lit. She also came face to face with Meg.
"Hey... Aren't you supposed to be in the block room?" She asked, tilting her head.
"No... Amy sister in block room, she is." Meg replied in a raspy tone. Karin nodded.
"So he was trying to trick me? Oh, he'll get it for that." She hopped to sit by one of the unlit torches. "So, why are you haunting this place?"
"My sisters and I died, we did," Meg replied. Her way of speaking was slightly better than Joelle's, but not by much. "We died here,"
"How?"
"We came in here so late one night, on a trip were we," Meg began, "And then my sisters and I died, did we."
"Uh-huh..." Karin trailed. "How?"
"There was a monster, and it killed us, it did."
"I see. So, where did you live before you died?"
"Kakariko."
"Really? Was it nice there?"
"Except in the winter, it was. We used to have cuccos, we did."
"Really?" Karin grinned. "How many?"
And thus began their conversation...
Meanwhile...
Link grit his teeth in annoyance, then trudged into the block room, cursing blocks, puzzles, ghosts and temples. Still grumbling, he delt with the blocks Karin had left, then moved into the room with the puzzle. It wasn't hard, and the blocks weren't too heavy, thankfully.
The puzzle now completed, Link stepped back as a ghost appeared. It regarded him for a moment, then swung it's lantern to attack. Link dodged the whirling object of light and pegged the ghost with a light arrow. Really, Light arrows were wonderful!
After poking the small colored flame, and hearing it hiss something - he didn't really pay attention to what it said - Link made his way back to the elevator, where three torches now burnt. Coming out of a doorway, he spied Karin... talking with the ghost..?
Gazing warily at Meg, Link walked towards them. His sword was sheathed, and his bow looped on his back. Looking first from the ghost to Karin, he interrupted, "Um... might I ask what's going on here? How come she" -he pointed at the ghost - "Talks to you, whereas me the ghosts just attack?"
Karin looked up with an expression that suggested it should be obvious. "Have you ever tried talking to them?" She asked. "They're actually really nice."
"I think we are supposed to fight now," Meg suggested. Karin frowned and hopped off the ledge.
"Fine, but I expect you to tell me the rest of that story first."
"Tell you the story, I will,"
"Great! You were at the part where you put the cuccos on Anju's bed..."
"Oh, yes," Meg split into different copies and began circling around Karin, who watched warily. "Put them in her bed, we did. It upset her allergies, and made red dots appear on her skin,"
"Really? For how long?" Karin asked, stabbing the real Meg with her sword. After a few moments, Meg replied,
"Three weeks, it lasted."
"Three weeks?" Karin started laughing, stabbing Meg with her sword again. "I bet she was pissed off,"
"She likes her cuccos, angry she was not." Meg replied easily. "She was just wondering who put them there,"
"So, which one of you was it?"
"Beth, it was,"
"Hmm... Beth did seem like she liked to cause trouble. But isn't she always with Joelle?"
"Yes,"
"Yeah, I kinda figured that. Their picture rooms are pretty much right next to each other." She stabbed Meg once more and then added, "Well, one more hit probably, right?"
"One more hit, yes,"
"Well, don't worry. I'll come back and visit sometime, Meg!"
"Visit, you will."
"Alright then," Karin stabbed Meg with the sword again, then put her weapons away. Returning to the flame on the torch, Karin added, "See you around, Meg! Tell your sisters I said hi!"
She moved off where Link was standing as the elevator rose. "They're really not that bad, once you get to know them." She told him. "They're just lonely,"
Link just stared at Karin and the ghost. Then, he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. And he sighed, walking towards Karin and the elevator.
"I did ask them questions on occasion, but they never answered. Most of the temple monsters wouldn't... Granted, when you have dangerous creatures hell-bent on doing any number of painful things to you, you really aren't in the mood to talk, especially not to the creatures hell-bent on killing you," said Link, explaining his rational. "Now then, shall we go find Saria and Nila?"
Karin nodded. "I see your point. I don't know why they were bent on destroying you, though. Meg seemed nice enough to me. Of course," She scowled, "the other monsters in here weren't. They were freaking jerks."
"Because I'm the Hero of Time," explained Link, irritably. "And because I'm Link, and apparently I taste good, too."
Karin nodded and entered the elevator with him, adding, "Anyway, we should hurry up with finding them. Let's just hope that there aren't more spiders involved..."
Ah, yes. That'd be just what Karin needed: more spiders. As the elevator touched down on the floor, she hopped off and glanced around the room, asking,
"Let me guess. This is going to be another one of those puzzles that you have to work at, tiring yourself out just enough so that a monster can come down and attempt to destroy you. Am I right?"
Link, too, hopped off, scanning the room with his deep blue eyes. To Karin's question, he nodded. "Yeah. Something like that. This actually shouldn't be too bad..."
He stepped off of the platform and into a space between two large pillar things. Positioning himself carefully, Link began to push, and the thing turned fairly easily after the first heave.
Karin watched as the pillars spun, revealing numerous indents in the walls. One of them held another Skulltula (to her distaste), another held a switch, and yet another held a Gold Skulltula (again, to her distaste). Walking over, she stepped on the switch, and completely ignored the two spiders.
"Here, I'll get it..." She muttered, and pushed against another one of the sides. It took her a bit longer than Link, but it did start moving once more. They ended up alternating turns, and finally revealed a large ornate door with a giant keyhole on it.
Karin reached into the pocket of her trench coat and pulled out a golden key Link had found, but she had stolen. (She felt that since it matched her eyes, she should get to carry it. It wasn't like he had cared, anyway.) She pushed it into the lock, turned it, and the chains fell away. As the door opened, she turned to Link and stated, "Well, something tells me we're going to find them in this room," before walking up the stairs and into the next room.
The stairs led to a large circular room with pictures lining the walls. All of the pictures held the same thing; a picture of a seemingly haunted mansion with a twisting road. She walked to the center of the room, glancing at them all, before turning to Link.
"...I don't see another door. Shouldn't Saria and Nila be here?"
"No... They wouldn't be because they'd be in the inner sanctum, which you can get to only through this room... Instead of going there, we'll have to fight something... Whether it's the same monster as before remains to be seen."
Link's eyes slid from one portrait to the other, seeking the phantom, which had lurked here before. He held his shield and sword ready, though the sword would be the primary tool in this fray... unless, of course, he used a light arrow. He nearly grinned at the thought. With a light arrow, he wouldn't have to go through the ping pong game with the phantom... If the phantom was here, that is. As he stepped out of the entryway, a row of metal spikes shot upwards with lightening speed. Then, dark phantasmagoric laughter filtered through the air.
It then occurred to him, as a dark figure appeared in a couple of the paintings, that, since the phantom had a horse, maybe a bow and arrow would be better. Ergo, he sheathed his sword and hooked his shield in its place, then took out his bow and cocked an arrow. A light arrow. Might as well make this quick, no?
A dark horse and rider suddenly came flying out of one of the paintings, swinging a spear around, ready to skewer Link or Karin. However, Link was pretty accurate, and pretty speedy. Therefore, the creature shrieked in fury and pain as an arrow of light pegged it right in the chest, knocking it off of the horse, which disappeared.
During the time it took the phantom to recover, Link had put his bow away and drawn his sword. He leapt forward to slash at the phantom, but the creature managed to gain its wits again and leap out of the way, floating around the chamber, glaring down at them. Link thought to himself that Ganondorf was entirely too large, as was his phantom. Sheesh, both were nearly twice as tall as Link, and he wasn't that short...
Anyway, the phantom gathered two orbs of dark energy in his hands, then flung them at Link and Karin.
Link thwacked the one aimed at himself back at the phantom...
And thus commences the tennis match.
Love : Love
Karin watched as the phantom summoned other energy ball, preparing to hurl it at Link. Then -- being the rash and not-really-stupid-just-not-thinking-before-acting person that she was, she jumped in front of the way and put up her dagger.
The energy ball did reflect off of it, but since her dagger was smaller, it sent her back against the ground. And unfortunately for her, Phantom Ganon hit it back, striking her dagger again -- this time, she only just managed to hit it in time.
It seemed that Phantom Ganon had probably hired a personal trainer, for he was better. He hit it back again, this time striking her in the chest and sending electrical surges through her body. She grit her teeth against it, starting to get irritated by his laughter.
"Yeah, yeah!" She yelled back at him. "I know, it's so hilarious!" She got up and started towards him again, jumping to the side just as he threw another energy ball at her. Jumping towards the wall, she put her feet against one of the paintings and then pushed off, pointing her sword towards his arm.
He dodged, but to her satisfaction, it was narrow. She landed back on the ground, spinning to put her dagger up to her chest.
"Link," She told him quickly. "I think I have a plan to get this over quickly. You play tennis with him, and then if you hit him and he's stunned, I'll attack. That way we won't waste any time. Okay? Good. Go." She then moved to the side as Ganon focused another attack and sent it straight at Link. Apparently, he either had hearing problems or he just wasn't smart.
15 : Love
Link rolled his eyes, proclaiming to Karin, as she leapt right in front of him a the phantom, "Din, you are an idiot..."
However, his pity for her lack of common sense did not keep him from deriving some amusement from her attempts to combat the Phantom. He rolled his eyes again when she announced her 'plan.'
"You know," he remarked as he thwacked an orb of dark magic right back at the Phantom. "That was what I originally intended to do."
The Phantom sent it hurling back at Link, who smacked it with his sword again Another few exchanges later, the Phantom swung to block it too late and his own dark energy careened into his chest, black lightening racing along his frame. He sank towards the ground, twitching... but only for a few moments: A brief time in which Karin could strike.
15 : 15
And strike she did, but not before performing another one of her spells. Lightning lit up around her blade -- bright enough, in fact, to give off quite a strong blow. She got in six quick strikes, creating a rather large hole in the phantom.
She dispelled the lightning as the phantom rose shakily into the air, summoning a rather weak energy ball and tossing it at Link.
"Oh yeah, sorry for not knowing about things that I've never even seen before!" She snapped at Link, infuriated at his comment. "Where I come from, we don't have huge monster things inside of "Temples". All we have are statues. We also don't have monstrous spiders, or hands that are severed from bodies that try to kidnap you! So I'm terribly sorry that I've been such a bother to you, Link," She then turned back to Phantom Ganon, who was just now managing to get the ball to reach Link. (The others kept losing their power before they reached him, thanks to the electricity stunning him for a bit.)
15 : 30
Link sighed, again rolling his eyes. What Karin said was exactly his point: She didn't know what the heck she was supposed to do. "Well, use your brain next time and don't jump into situations where you don't have a clue as to what you're doing! That's my job..."
Upon hearing his ending comment, Karin rolled her eyes and muttered scathingly, "Hypocrite…"
He swung his sword, hitting the ball of darkness hard, and sending it flying back to the Phantom, who did not have enough energy to block it fast enough. Again, it crumpled to the ground, crackling with dark energy.
Since the Phantom didn't look quite like he's be getting up any time soon, Link moved closer to it, though he waited for Karin to leap in and attack.
Karin lit her blade up with lightning once more, still scowling as numerous angry thoughts interrupted her concentration. However, she did manage to get it lit, and this time it only took two swings before the Phantom was destroyed. .
15 : 40... Game, Set and Match.
This time, however, Ganondorf's voice didn't echo menacingly and mockingly. A blue light did appear though.
"And besides," Karin said out of nowhere, still replying to his earlier comment, "it's not like it matters if I get hurt. It'll heal. And if I don't jump in, how will I learn? I'll only learn from experience, and I can't get experience if I'm too afraid to jump in," She added, getting into the blue light. "Now come on, Ocarina boy. We have to find your friends."
"And there," said Link, ignoring her comments, "is the entrance to the inner sanctum..." He stepped next to Karin.
And then they appeared in the room of Sages…
Umi: Chapter three should be up soon – unlike this chapter. Thanks for reading, and please remember to drop a review in on your way out!
Snarky: Yaaah… Chapter three ought to be up in less than a month. Note that I said 'ought'. –sighs and stares mournfully at her lack of mochas- Please review? If I can't have coffee, then at least let me have my other addiction…. Pwease? Y'don't want me to go into withdrawal….