Sutoomu: Well...here's the 13th chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry it took so long but my laptop connection broke again and then I procrastinated trying to fix it until I got a PM from a wonderful reviewer who persuaded me to do something about it so she could have an update and keep breathing so I went out and bought some CD-R's to transfer my fics to another computer and they were bogus so I had to buy some DVD-R's and they wouldn't work so I had to take me laptop into Staples and get them to help me so I could post some more chapters... /BREATHE, BREATHE, BREATHE/
Heero: Duo, you are hereby banned from spending time with Storm for a day.
Duo: What? WHY!
Wufei: Because you're affecting her! She's being Duo-ified! Look at the length of that sentence...
Quatre: It was almost as long as Duo's record.
Duo: It wasn't anywhere near it! She missed it by a million words!
Trowa: You'd suffocate before you ever finished a million words in one breath.
Duo: Technicalities, pish-posh!
Wufei: His insanity is making me lose my sanity!.../wanders off, muttering, hits wall, back up, hits window, backs up, goes out door/
Sutoomu: Well.../stares after Wufei/ That was odd.
Duo: No, that was Wufei.
Sutoomu: Oooooh, riiiight. Anyhoo, here is the chap, I hope you enjoy it.
"'Trust the tunic', he says," Wufei muttered to himself. "'The Gorons made it, it works', he says. They eat rocks for pity's sake."
Wufei sighed as he stood up. He had just climbed vines on a wall to get here, which was annoying, as well as the hike up the mountains, and now he was about to risk his life by walking into a volcano with nothing but a red tunic protecting him. It was insane. Something Duo would likely find fun, which meant it was crazy.
He sighed, knowing there was no way he could avoid this. The pressure on his chest had increased greatly, and the hike had made him breathe very heavily and taxed on his strength. It was better if he just took the risk and walked right in. If he didn't, he'd die. And if he did and he died, well, it was no different, but at least then he would have a chance. So he forced his brain to operate his legs, one step after another, straight into the glowing entrance. It was pitch black for a moment inside the entrance until he came into light. It was red light, a glow caused by the flowing lava or magma or whatever it was called. He didn't care what the technical term was right now. All he knew was that it was flowing in the large crevice before his eyes, bubbling and steaming.
Wufei blinked as he looked at this, and then opened his mouth in slight surprise as he noticed that he didn't feel hot. He felt warm, yes, but like a summer day, not boiling volcanic temperature. The tunic really did work. It was amazing! But now he had another difficult task in front of him. He had to use the longshot to pull himself over the damn bridge no one had ever bothered to fix! He had barely believed the tool when Link had demonstrated it, and now he had to use it. Oh well. The pressure was too damn annoying to skip out on a small risk of being pulled through the air over a pit of immeasurably hot volcanic lava. Magma. Whatever! He pulled out the longshot and aimed it very carefully at the wooden beam at the other side of the bridge, then let the hook fly. It connected with a good thunk, and Wufei was instantly pulled out across the air before he could think or test to see if it was hooked properly. The automatic winch pulled him across quickly, and before he could blink his feet were on solid ground again.
He unhooked the longshot and breathed, then headed quickly for the entrance to the Fire Temple as it had been shown to him. Finding it easily, Wufei swung his legs out over the square hole and quickly climbed down the ladder. His feet touched the ground softly and he looked around. There was a hallway, which he walked down, and it opened into a grand entrance room. Wufei couldn't help but whistle. It was impressive. It was amazing someone had made this. He walked up the short set of stairs and stood in the middle of the higher level in the room. The floor suddenly moved, throwing him off balance, and he was lifted upwards quickly by the stone he stood on. It slipped up through a hole in the roof, and Wufei quickly stepped off, startled by it moving. It hadn't had any supports or ropes. Like the Chamber of Sages. Damn, this world was wierd.
Secretly, he didn't mind that much. It was actually kind of fascinating. He'd never admit that out loud, though, or he'd end up with Duo pestering him about it forever. He wondered how his friends were faring as he opened the only door in the room and stepped into another, larger room. It had numerous platforms floating amongst lava pits, a sight that didn't really help Wufei's uneasiness, but he forced his legs to move and easily leapt the difference between them to the door on the opposite side of the room.
Opening it, he blinked in surprise at the room. This one was not lit by the glow of the red lava, as the others were. It was lit up by a hole in the roof, through which a pure white light came down, illuminating the room. And what it illuminated was a circular floor with a smaller higher floor in the center of it, a pedestal on that. And in the pedestal was a truly friendly sight. It was a sword, sheathed in the rock just like the Sword of Time was for Link when he was a child. Excepting, of course, that this sword was distinctly chinese, Wufei's taste. He admired it, walking around it and thanking the Goddesses that they were so kind. He may have had to leave Nataku behind, but at least he had a replacement, and a rather nice looking one as well. It was shiny and perfectly crafted, a masterpiece.
Wufei set a hand around the hilt and pulled it out, immediately getting the feeling of being buffeted by a wave and then breaking the surface. The pressure in his chest lifted completely, and he smiled and took a breath, entirely filling lungs. A smile graced his face and he looked at the sword created just for him. And he could fully believe that as well. The hilt felt as though it had been molded in his hand, it fit his grip so perfectly. The blade was just the right length for him, absolutely perfect to the millimeter, and he tested the balance, finding it true. It was a work of art, a masterpiece, and Wufei audibly said his praise to whatever higher force had forged this piece of brilliance for him.
He sheathed it, in a sheath that surprisingly just appeared attached at his side, and then left the room, the thought of getting back to the others prominent in his mind. The thought of there being enemies in here wasn't prominent in his mind, no, but the thought of his enemies being walking giant lizards with swords wasn't in his mind at all! Wufei blinked in astonished surprise at the lizards, shrieking their coarse cries on the opposite side of the room. They seemed to be dancing back and forth on their reptilian legs in anticipation and excitement, cocking their slender faces at Wuei and flicking their tongues at the air.
"What the fuck?" Wufei yelled. This just seemed to elicit more cries from the lizards, and one of them jumped forward a platform towards Wufei. "Oh great," Wufei grumbled. "Now I'm going to have to kill off something that looks like it came from Duo's head." With a sigh of acceptance, he jumped across the platforms towards the lizards. He stopped when there was a platform inbetween them and waited for the lizard to approach. It shrieked at him. "Well, c'mon, you damn creature!" he yelled, unsheathing his sword. "I'm waiting!"
The lizard seemed to understand, for it walked forward on legs that looked entirely too short for it and then leapt to Wufei's platform. With another annoying shriek, it lunged at Wufei, leaping forward in a frontal slash. Wufei blocked it, wanting to test this new sword's durability. It held up very well, more than Wufei expected it to under the blow. The lizard jumped back and circled quickly around Wufei, attacking quickly form his side. Wufei pirouetted and blocked the blow, then blocked a few more, enjoying himself immensely. This sword seemed to match him perfectly, maybe too well. For he couldn't help but get an incredible feeling of pleasure as he sidestepped a blow and cleaved right through the lizard, parting the top from the bottom. Wufei's eyes roamed back to the other lizard, and he leapt towards it, grinning. This was fun!
The second lizard seemed to be more talented than the first, if that was possible. Wufei was seriously doubting that they could even think. They were, after all, lizards, for crying out loud! And Wufei didn't know why he enjoyed killing them so much. Well, he couldn't feel any shame if he killed something that wasn't human, now could he? Well, things that weren't human and didn't think.
The creature's shriek as Wufei's sword cut off its arm distracted Wufei from his thoughts. The creature's eyes looked paniced now, but it comtinued at Wufei, even with one of its arms hacked off at the shoudler, bleeding as they moved. It's swings were wild now, and jarred. Wufei blocked them and dodged the lizard's first wave, rolling his eyes at the creature's stubborness, and he stabbed it through. Pulling his sword out of the dead lizard, he sheathed it and walked to the exit happily. He had had to cross a lava pit and take a risk at singeing to death, but he had gotten a really cool sword and been able to vent any fury on two lizard men. This had been an okay trip. But he did want to get home...or, uh, back...
"Wonder what the others got," he mused to himself as he boarded the elevator, which was astonishingly there. It zoomed down, nearly knocking him over at its suddenness.
Wufei stepped off and did a brisk trot to the entrance. He looked up it and frowned. It seemed much shorter when you were going down. Sighing, he grabbed hold of the rungs and began climbing. A good minute later he swung a leg over the edge and made his way back to the broken bridge. He used the hookshot with much more trust this time. He was, of course, more than a little assured by his aim, as he knew it was very good. He was ready for the sudden pull this time, and soon he was out of the volcanic mountain's inside and breathing the cool air again. Wufei smiled out at the site, his eyes seeing the walled town and castle in the distance, and Hyrule Field, and what looked like a ranch a bit father off. His gaze travelled down to the village and he smiled at it, the little village at the base of a giant volcanic mountain.
He suddenly frowned. "Fuck!" he swore, along with the more than equivalent version in chinese. Looking down at the village, he had remembered how big the mountain was. It would be a while still until he was back at the palace. And he felt like having a cool bath and a nice warm meal. It would have to wait, he accepted, since he had to do the long trek down the mountain.
Setting his soldier's instincts even more firmly into place, he set off, starting the journey down the mountain by climbing down the vine wall, then having to go along a bit of a dangerous path, and then basically having to walk on a slope the entire way down. Oh well. At least it would be faster this time, since he was walking downhill.
Sutoomu: That's Wufei!
Link: No, that's short.
Sutoomu: Oh, shut up!
Link: And I wasn't even in it? Where's my part? Isn't this story all about wonderful me?
Sutoomu: It's a crossover...a joint fic...share the storyline...besides, you're in the next chapter.
Link: I better be. I oughtta sue. This is horrid! I'm the Hero of Time! I want the limelight!
Sutoomu: Fine/walks out of room while Link blinks. comes back with some wet clothes and clothespins and starts hanging them on Link's clothes while he looks curiously/
Link: What're you doing?
Sutoomu: Hanging clothes on my soon to be clothesline. This one will be longer, I think. Stretched more...
Link: NOOOOOOOOOO/runs out/
Sutoomu: Heheh. Anyhoo, R & R! I have to go feed my brand new bunny named Duo/winks/
