Mask Madness

Chapter 10: Separating in Hyrule

"So how long of a walk is it again?" asked Falco.

Young Link squinted into the sun, looking in the general direction of Gerudo Valley, "I'm guessing at least a day."

Falco's left eye twitched at the corner, "Great..."

Mewtwo looked a bit worried, "What if Ganondorf is at the fortress when you arrive?"

The Smashers looked at Zelda as she looked concerned, "I'm not sure, but it probably wouldn't be good... In fact, if Ganondorf reclaims control, he might hurt Nabooru, and all of the gerudo would be on us." Zelda became silent for a moment, then continued, "Hopefully Nabooru has only detected him in the desert area... Or if not, well, I suppose we could at least warn her, then move on to check another area."

"I could scout the fortress before we try talking to Nabooru." added Young Link.

Zelda nodded, "That would probably be a good idea."

"We'd better hurry then." said Fox, though frowning slightly in worry.

Samus glanced around the group, "We're too slow all together." "And not all of us need to go to Gerudo Valley." added Ness. Roy looked thoughtful, "Is there anything else that needs to be done? We could easily separate."

Zelda looked thoughtful, and glanced around before saying, "We really need horses, but none of you know Malon..." She frowned, then spotted the drawbridge, "I suppose you could still buy some supplies." She looked around the group, then added, "Well, Marth and Roy can anyways."

Zelda pulled out her purse, then handed a bunch of red rupees to Marth. "All right, that should be enough." She pointed at the drawbridge, "You need to cross over the draw bridge, and then you will be in the Market Place. You can buy some supplies there." Roy and Marth nodded, and Mewtwo added, "Then the rest of us will remain here and hopefully out of sight." Zelda nodded, "It's probably for the best. When Link leaves the forest, you will be able to tell him the current situation. Hopefully, though, we'll be back before then."

"So, who is going with you?" asked Fox. "Well," started Zelda, "I think that only Young Link should come along. That way, if there is trouble, he should be able to help get us out. However, if he can't..." She frowned at the sun, "Hopefully Link will be better soon. That way, he can rescue us for sure."

"And if he can't...?" asked Fox. Zelda frowned at Fox, and remained silent. Fox raised an eyebrow, "It is possible."

Mewtwo cut in, "Then, despite our appearances, the rest of us can come and help." "And," added Peach, "Mario will be there to help!" Zelda sighed, ignoring the last comment, and looked away, "Let's get going then."

Young Link nodded at Zelda, then they began to walk toward Gerudo Valley. "When we get closer, I'll try calling Epona again." Zelda nodded, then they continued along their way as Roy and Marth headed toward town and the others found a place to try to relax in.

Hyrule Field

"So..." began Falco, glancing around the enormous field, "Where can a bunch of freaks such as ourselves hide on a huge and open field in the medieval times?"

Mewtwo rolled his eyes, "We can stay out of sight here in front of the entrance to the Kokori Forest." Captain Falcon raised an eyebrow, "But it's an entrance. I think that people will want to be coming back and forth through here."

Mewtwo restrained himself from simply flinging Captain Falcon into the distant river, and replied, "People will not want to use this entrance as very few can enter and leave, remember?" Captain Falcon frowned, "What? How was I supposed to know this?"

As Mewtwo's left eye twitched and he had to work even harder to stop himself from hurling Captain Falcon into the river, BAM! Captain Falcon went soaring into the air, "Aaa--!", though his trip was cut short as he went head first into a nearby tree.

Everyone blinked in surprise as Falco, grinning, said, "Well, I was hoping to get more distance, but at least I managed to get rid of the annoyance."

Captain Falcon held his head as he stumbled around. When he finally regained his senses, he spotted Falco, who waved at him merrily. Captain Falcon's face went red as he narrowed his eyes, "What the hell did you do that for?" Falco shrugged, "I was trying to knock the stupidity out of you." As Captain Falcon yelled in rage and charged Falco, Mewtwo put up a barrier between the two of them. "Okay, that's enough! As amusing as this is, we can't be seen."

Captain Falcon growled, then mumbled something about revenge before heading back to the entrance of Kokori Forest. Kirby sighed, "I'm hungry." Ness glanced around jerkily before announcing, "I have to pee."

Mewtwo groaned as he dreaded the thought of having to be stuck with the simpletons for too long. A twig snapped, and Mewtwo looked up in alert. However, it was only Peach as she sat down against a tree. Mewtwo relaxed a bit, observing the Smashers as they attempted to make themselves comfortable. There was one noise that didn't seem to match up, though.

It was a quick movenment of quietly pounding feet, as if someone was running. Mewtwo frowned around at the Smashers, but no one was running, or doing anything similar. As the footsteps became louder, he became alert, realizing that it had to be someone else.

"Everyone, stop moving!" he whispered harshly.

Everyone froze, looking around for an intruder, but they then could also hear the sound of running feet and remained silent and still. The footsteps became even louder, now almost upon them. Most of them could see around the corner of their hiding place, and stared anxiously out at the field. When the figure finally appeared, everyone had to stop themselves from gasping out loud.

Dark Link stood just outside the long hallway like entrance to the Kokori Forest, glancing around with his blood red eyes. Everyone remained frozen, hoping desperately that the creature would continue its way in the field. Dark Link wandered around on the same spot, as if scenting out something. Finally, after what seemed like ages, it took off into the field, disappearing out of sight.

Everyone let out the breath that they had been unintentionally holding, and looked around at each other. After a few minutes, Fox was the first who dared to talk, "Who was that?" Samus answered, "I don't know, but they didn't seem human." She glanced around the group, then corrected herself, "Or, rather, uh, a truly living organism."

Falco raised an eyebrow, "Right... Well, I think I know what you mean."

Fox frowned, "Why did he look like an evil version of Link?"

Kirby gasped, "What if that was Link, and he had been cursed by that forest!"

"But I thought that Link couldn't be cursed?" asked Ness.

Everyone looked around at each other, "I hope the others return soon." said Kirby.

Zelda and Young Link

'What if Ganondorf is already there?' thought Zelda to herself. 'I can't let him have my triforce piece of wisdom, but I can't let him harm Young Link either. Would Gerudo's Fortress really be his first destination? Hopefully not...'

Zelda let out a loud sigh, and Young Link looked over at her, "What is it?" Zelda came out of her thoughts, and looked down at the boy, "I'm just worried about how our trip is going to turn out. Ganondorf could have regained control of the whole fortress by now." Young Link frowned slightly, "I don't think so. Nabooru can hold her own." Zelda smiled weakly, "Of course, Nabooru is a very strong warrior.

Young Link fumbled with something in his pocket, before finally bringing out his ocarina. "Let me try calling Epona now." Zelda nodded, and he placed the instrument upon his lips. Epona's Song came out smoothly, and not too long after a galloping of hooves could be heard approaching. When Epona reached Young Link, she knickered happily as he stroked her mane. "Hey, girl!"

Meanwhile, Zelda glanced around, "Where's Mario?" Epona snorted while Young Link laughed hesitantly, knowing very well that, most likely, Epona did not treat Mario nicely, as she greatly dislikes having strangers on her back, especially if Link wasn't with them. "Mario's probably fine."

Zelda raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the matter any further as Young Link abruptly hopped onto his horse. He looked down at her, "Well?" Zelda smiled slightly while shaking her head in amusement, then climbed onto Epona's back behind Young Link. "Yah!"

Epona neighed as she took off at full speed, quickly covering the field and reaching the rocky territory of the gerudo. They crossed over the wooden plank, then the bridge that allowed them to walk across the enormous canyon. When they reached the tent on the other side, they both hopped off of Epona.

"All right, you and Epona can stay here while I check out the fortress." said Young Link. Zelda nodded, "Okay, but be careful. When should I start worrying?" Young Link thought for a moment, "Give me four hours." Zelda nodded, "All right, four hours it is then. After that, though, I'm getting help."

Young Link nodded, then took off toward the fortress. Zelda watched him disappear as she stroked Epona's fur, then sighed, "Please let this work out okay."

Young Link peered up at the darkening sky, "Good, this should make it even easier." He glanced around the fortress and took note of the guards' various positions. Once he learned their routines, he swiftly and silently ran along the side of the enormous rock. He ran past the stairs that were halfway down and went up to the right, and only stopped once he caught sight of the guard at the gate. He leveled out his breathing, then quickly headed for the furthest left building of the fortress when the guard turned to talk to another gerudo. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the inside of the building, then continued his way into the room.

There was a jail cell on the left side, but fortunately it was empty. 'Well, nothing suspicious so far.' He continued through the exit, then swiftly entered a different building. He successfully made it to the top level of the fortress, and at one point even spotted Nabooru.

The gerudo leader sat comfortably in her large chair, sipping some water as she enjoyed the cool shade. Although, she was a bit sweaty, possibly having just been outside a little while earlier improving her weaponry skills. Satisfied that everything seemed okay, he began to make his way back toward Zelda.

It would have been nice if he could have just talked to Nabooru himself, but it would have been awkward since he wasn't an adult when he was supposed to be, according to the time period. Now more relaxed, Young Link easily made his way back to the bottom level of the fortress again.

When he reached the kitchen, a large pot boiling with some type of liquid sitting at the front of the room, he heard a sudden cry of "intruder!" When he looked down at the gerudo, his eyes widened that he was being pointed at by one of the guards and stared at by the rest.

With a battlecry, the gerudo charged Young Link, quickly surrounding him and forcing him to jump off of the ramp. He landed solidly on the ground with a loud "thump" and was quickly followed by several "thumps" behind him. He drew his sword and abruptly turned on his heel, using his momentum to smack the gerudo behind him with the blunt side of his sword, successfully knocking her out cold.

Another gerudo, however, swiped her spear at his sword, nearly knocking it loose from his hand. As Young Link had to raise his shield against a second gerudo, a third quickly smacked his loose sword with her spear, causing it to fly to the other side of the room. Cursing, Young Link looked around for another weapon he could use.

The spear of the fallen gerudo lied near an arrangement of kitchen utensils, and he slowly inched his way toward it while keeping the furiously attacking gerudo at bay. In a few seconds, he got near enough to reach for it behind his back, though he ended up grabbing a frying pan instead of a spear.

"Dang it..." Having no time to loose as he was tiring from holding his shield up, though it hadn't been all that long, he risked using his new weapon and aimed at one of the gerudo's heads.

CLANG! The gerudo went down instantly, and the attack left a dent in the pan.

The gerudo stared at Young Link in surprise at first, grasping the fact that a child had managed to knock out one of their warriors with a kitchen utensil, but then recovered and began to attack again. Young Link winced as one of the gerudo's spears slashed through his left calf, but continued to swing around his frying pan until CLANG!

There was only one gerudo left at this point, and she growled before attacking. He quickly knocked her out as well, then stood there sweating and panting as he observed his work. "Nabooru's going to kill me if she finds out--"

"Hurry! In there! I swear I could hear some fighting!"

Young Link's eyes widened, and he took off at a sprint in the opposite direction, picking up his beloved sword in exchange for the frying pan along the way. Fortunately, he managed to make it back to Zelda without any other problems, though he got a "What happened?"

Catching his breath, Young Link answered, "Well, I had a little scrape with the gerudo, but nothing too bad."

Zelda eyed him suspiciously, "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Just had to knock out a couple of the gerudo that saw me..."

"What? Link..." Zelda smacked her forehead and sighed, "Well, we'll have to take care of that later, I suppose... So... What about Ganondorf then...?

Young Link smiled, "He doesn't seem to have shown up at all."

Zelda sighed in relief, "Good. That means we have time."

Some distant shouting could be heard, and Young Link's eyes widened as Zelda frowned at him. "Hurry, hide!" Young Link grabbed Zelda's hand, then dragged her around to the backside of the tent.

A few of the gerudo appeared, glancing around in alert. They then entered the tent to investigate, and Young Link and Zelda quietly moved to hide behind a large boulder instead. They remained silent as the gerudo searched, waiting in anticipation. When the gerudo finally left, they both sighed in relief, then Zelda raised an eyebrow at Young Link while he smiled sheepishly back.

"Um," he began, "Maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning to talk to Nabooru." Zelda groaned, "I wish we could, but we don't have time. Let's get you cleaned up. Did many of the gerudo see you?"

Young Link shook his head, "Only four. But I knocked them out." "Well, let's see if we can get to Nabooru before they wake up." Young Link looked at Zelda in surprise, who merely smiled back.

After cleaning themselves up a bit, they walked as calmly as possible into the fortress, and not long after they were approached by a few of the guards, "Halt! Who goes there?"

Zelda straightened her back, then answered, "I am Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule. And this is Link, my companion. I wish to talk to your leader, Nabooru."

The guard turned to the gerudo on her left, then told her to check with Nabooru if it would be all right for Zelda to see her. When the guard returned a little while later, and claimed that Nabooru approved of the visit, Zelda and Young Link were led inside the fortress.

"So, Zelda, what brings you here?" asked Nabooru. She then spotted Young Link, and raised an eyebrow, "What...?"

"Well," Zelda interrupted, "I was hoping that we could speak in private."

Nabooru gave Zelda a strange look, then nodded at the guards. When the guards left, Nabooru turned on Young Link, "What happened?"

He hesitated, "It's, well, kind of a long story..." Nabooru glanced back and forth between the two of them, then sighed. "Well, take a seat then."

Kokori Forest

As the night came upon the Kokori Forest, Saria sat next to Link, always checking that he was doing okay. She sighed as she stared at his sleeping face, "You're going to make me die from a heart attack one day."

She glanced out the window, then stood up and stretched her legs. She walked outside and stared up at the shimmering stars in the dark blue sky. 'Why can't there be peace for a little while here in Hyrule?'

She continued to stare at the stars, lost in her thoughts. A twig snapped, and Saria gasped in alarm. She glanced around for any sign of movement, but saw nothing. After awhile, she finally shrugged it off and went back to her stargazing. However, not long after she could have sworn she heard a swish of a branch.

She looked for the source of the noise immediately, but again spotted nothing. Glancing around one more time, she finally went back into the house, having the feeling that she better keep an extremely close eye on Link. Saria sighed, "It's going to be a long night."

Off To Town

"Finally, we're almost there!" Marth looked up at the darkening sky, "Good thing too. I don't want to have to sleep out in the field tonight."

Roy nodded in agreement, smiling at the drawbridge. The sky steadily grew darker, until eventually they were only a couple of yards away from the drawbridge.

All of a sudden, two large torches embedded in the rock wall lit up with fire, and there was a creaking of metal and wood as the drawbridge began to be lifted up. Marth and Roy gaped at the bridge, looked at each other, then ran for the drawbridge.

"Hurry, or we'll be locked out!" shouted Roy.

"Hey guard, up there, leave the bridge down for a few more seconds, will you?" yelled Marth.

When they reached the bridge, it was already a quarter of the way up. "Hurry, Marth, jump off of my shoulders!"

Marth did so, and managed to catch the end of the bridge. He slipped a bit, but then caught himself and scrambled onto the bridge. He then quickly turned around and leant over the side to help Roy up. They managed to grab each other's hands, but the drawbridge became even more vertical, and they both ended up dangling on opposite sides.

The bridge came to a stop, and Roy groaned, "Well this is just great!"

"Can you grab the edge?" asked Marth from the other side of the bridge.

Roy yelled back, "I think so!"

Marth let go of one of Roy's hands, and Roy grabbed the edge of the bridge.

"Okay, I'm fine!"

Marth let go completely, and Roy hauled himself onto the bridge. He caught his breath, then looked down at the dangling Marth.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?"

Marth frowned, then let go of the bridge and landed on the ground inside the town. Roy quickly followed, and after landing he spotted Marth fuming at a nearby guard.

"You couldn't have waited just a few more seconds?"

The guard shook his head, "No, the rules are that the drawbridge has to be closed at night, no matter what."

"So," began Marth, clearly irritated, "Even if there are peoples' lives in jeopardy because you happen to lift the drawbridge even when they are on it, it doesn't matter because it's following the rules."

The guard nodded, "I suppose so. We have to keep the monsters out."

Marth simply scowled at the guard, scratched up from his encounter with the drawbridge, and abruptly lashed out his foot and kicked the guard in the shin. "Ouch! Hey! What's the big idea?"

Marth stormed off, and Roy quickly took off after him, not even bothering to apologize to the guard. "So," began Roy, "Want to go relax at a nice inn or something?" Marth sighed, "Yes, that would be nice." "All right, let's try that one." They entered the bar of an inn, and came up to the keeper.

"Excuse me, how much is it for a room and some food?" The inn keeper looked at Marth and Roy, then smiled, "Why, hello there! A room, then? Well, that costs 50 rupees, and you can get a good meal and some nice alcohol for a good price here at the bar."

Marth nodded, pulled out 50 rupees, then handed them to the inn keeper. "All right, here's your key. Have a nice stay." "Thank you."

Roy and Marth took a seat at the bar, "So, what do you think about some alcohol?" asked Roy. Marth raised an eyebrow, "We can't drink right now. Besides, that stuff is foul."

Roy shrugged as he looked around at all of the drunk people dancing on a nearby table. Marth rolled his eyes, "You don't want to end up like them, do you?" "I don't know, it kind of looks like fun." Roy joked. Marth rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Why do they have to be so loud." "They're not that loud." replied Roy. Marth sighed, "I'm going up to the room." "Okay, I'll see you in a bit then."

A little while later, the bartender came up to Roy, "What'll you have?" "Well, what nonalcoholic drinks do you have?" asked Roy. "The bartender snorted, "Milk, juice, and water." Roy smiled embarrassedly, "Oh, well, some juice then please."

The bartender went into the back, and Roy continued to look around the bar. When he received his juice, he took a sip and smacked his lips together, "Strange, but pretty tasty." He continued to drain the glass, then began to hiccup.

One of the drunk women dancing on the table, a tall brunette with brown eyes, saw him staring, then smiled at him as she came over. "Want to dance?" Roy nodded, "Sure, what can it hurt?"

Roy hopped up onto the table, and was one of the drunks soon enough. The bartender smirked at Roy on the table, "Nonalcoholic, ha! Give me a break."

A few hours later, Marth began to worry about Roy, 'What's taking him so long? I guess he could be just having fun.' He went to go to bed, but then decided against it, 'I'll just go check up on him. Those drunks were pretty wild.'

He went downstairs, and looked over at the bar immediately. He frowned when he saw that Roy wasn't there, then scowled at the ridiculously loud drunks who had now pulled together four tables to create a dancing floor. When he saw a shock of red hair, however, his eyes widened in surprise, "Roy!"

Roy, who was currently clumsily dancing with the other drunks, could not hear Marth over the noise. Marth went up to the tables and yelled even louder, "ROY!"

Roy blinked, then finally spotted a furious Marth, "Oh, 'ey Marth!"

"What are you doing?"

Roy hiccuped, then said, "Having fun!"

The drunks cheered, one falling off of the tables, and another passing out.

"It's time to go, Roy."

"Awww, but why?"

Marth grabbed Roy's wrist, then pulled him off of the tables.

"Ouch. Well, bye 'veryone!"

"Bye Roy!"

Marth dragged Roy up the stairs and into the room, then turned on him instantly, "Why did you drink? What if we're attacked?"

"What? I didn't drink! I only had some juice!"

Marth rolled his eyes, "Whatever, you'll pay for it in the morni--" He sighed as Roy had passed out on the floor, snoring loudly. Marth left him that way, and hopped into bed. "Guess I'm going to have to gather all of the supplies myself tomorrow."

A/N: Well, about time, huh? I know this took forever, and I apologize, but I have just been so busy lately, what with finals this Saturday in Cross Country, on top of work, which has been like 6 days a week lately, and school. So, with that, I hope you review. Bye!