"How do you know my name!" exclaimed Link surprised as all hell. "And what makes you think that I'm Hero of Time spoken of in the legends!"
"Don't even try it." said the Sheikah. "Both Zelda and Impa have told me all about you. Forgive my attack on you, but I couldn't just go by appearances alone. I knew that only the true Hero of Time would be able to defeat me, so it was the only way to make sure."
"Wait a minute, how do you know Zelda and Impa?"
"Who do you think trained me? Along with Impa, I'm one of the only full-blooded Sheikahs left, so it's only natural that she would train me to the best of my abilities. Of course, as I'm sure you already know, if you know Impa then it's not that hard to know Zelda since they are seldom ever apart. My name is Gerik by the way."
"Forgive me if I don't just take your word on it, but I'm going to need some proof. Ah, I know. If you truly know either Zelda or Impa, then you should know how to play Zelda's Lullaby. If you can play it successfully, then I'll believe you."
"Fine by me, but first you're going to have to get off of me."
"Oh, sorry." Link apologized as he just realized he still had Gerik pinned to the ground with his foot and his sword at his throat. "Just know that if you try anything funny I'll cut you up into so many pieces so quickly you won't know what hit you."
Link cautiously lifted his foot off of Gerik's chest and backed away. He kept his sword trained on Gerik at all times though and was ready to strike at a moments notice, especially as he was getting up off the ground. Once Gerik was up he reached behind him and pulled out a harp. It looked exactly like the one Zelda used in her disguise as Sheik. Gerik held the harp in his left hand, since his left shoulder was still in immense pain, and started playing Zelda's Lullaby note by note with his right hand. Satisfied, Link finally lowered his weapon and put it back into its sheath.
"Okay, I believe you." said Link. "Hey look, I'm sorry about your shoulder."
"Don't worry about it." replied Gerik. "You were only defending yourself. Besides, I'm a fully trained Sheikah warrior. I hardly even feel the pain anymore."
"So why did you come find me? Does Zelda need me or something? If so, this is a new way of summoning me. Usually she just sends a messenger from the castle to come get me."
"Um, actually I haven't been in touch with either Impa or Princess Zelda for the past three years."
"Then why did you go through all this trouble to find me?"
"Well you see, three years ago I completed my training with Impa. I then went off on my own to train myself even harder, to push myself to my limits and beyond. Since there haven't been any monsters in Hyrule for the past seven years, I headed to the Lost Woods to continue my training. I've been there ever since."
"This is all interesting and all," Link interrupted, "but it's not answering my question. Why did you come here in search of me?"
"Because Hyrule is in danger." said Gerik with such a straight face that it would make Impa's facial expressions look like hysterical laughter.
"What do you mean in danger?"
"There is a fleet of ships carrying a very large and very dangerous army to Hyrule. They will land on our shores sometime within the next few hours."
"What the hell are you babbling about? There are no shores in Hyrule. There's not even an ocean, so how can there be a shore?"
"If you would've let me continue my story you'd know what I'm talking about. The ocean lies on the other side of the Lost Woods. If you'll come with me I'll show you."
"Sure, why not. I've got nothing better to do today."
Link picked up the Kokiri sword and placed it back in his boot. Gerik picked up his twin blades and placed them in their sheaths on his back. The two of them then ran across the now floating bridge to get back to the land. As they neared the scientist's house Link whistled. Epona was grazing nearby, so there was no need to use Epona's song to summon her. Epona quickly galloped up to Link and he hopped right up onto her.
"Come on up." Link told Gerik. "There's plenty of room for two people. Zelda and I go for rides all the time."
"Thanks, but no thanks." said Gerik. "I'd prefer to just run if its alright by you."
"If you want, but I'll be at the entrance to the Lost Woods before you're even half way there."
"Don't worry about me. Let's just see how fast this horse of yours can really go."
Link just shrugged his shoulders and gave Epona a little tap signaling for her to begin a gallop. As Epona galloped toward the entrance to Hyrule Field, Gerik took off after them in a sprint. Before long Gerik caught up to and passed Epona. Link, with an expression of surprise on his face, tapped Epona again to make her go faster. As he started gaining on Gerik, he started picking up more speed to stay ahead of them. Link could not believe that someone could actually be that fast. He finally had Epona go full speed just to catch up with Gerik. Gerik didn't go any faster as they approached, so Link figured that he had reached his top speed as well.
"Wow!" exclaimed Gerik when Epona finally caught up. "I've never seen a horse that could match my speed before. I am extremely impressed with your horse."
"How the hell can you possibly be so fast!" asked Link.
"What part of 'fully trained Sheikah warrior' didn't you get? I'm capable of many things that ordinary Hylians, yourself excluded of course, cannot do. I know that you've seen some of Impa's moves, but actually you haven't seen even a fourth of what she's capable of."
"So what makes Sheikahs so different from everybody else?"
"We're a warrior race. Our people have trained for centuries to hone our skills and abilities to their full potential. Before the kingdom of Hyrule was even here, the Sheikah race once had a mighty empire. It's no wonder why when Hyrule was formed the Sheikahs became its main defenders. It's such a shame that there's so few of us left now."
"What are you talking about? Kakariko Village is made up of mostly Sheikahs. That's where Impa was born and lived before becoming Zelda's guardian for heavens sake."
"The people of Kakariko Village are only half Sheikah. Over the years the distinction between Hylians and Sheikahs became nonexistent. Their blood is only half Sheikah now. Like I said before, along with Impa and a few others I am one of the only full blooded Sheikahs left."
"Are you telling me that only a full blooded Sheikah can perform the same feats as you?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Only a full blooded Sheikah will be able to do what I do. Don't get me wrong though; even if someone has even a drop of Sheikah blood they can still perform feats that ordinary Hylians can't. They just can't do what I do is all I'm saying."
"Weird. I never knew Impa, or any Sheikah for that matter, was so powerful. I mean I knew Impa was good, but not that good. Then again, when Zelda disguised as Sheik, she did have some pretty impressive moves which I can only guess came from training with Impa. She didn't have any Sheikah moves since she's Hylian, but still."
"Yeah well, you learn something new everyday. Ah finally, the entrance to Kokiri Forest."
They passed the two trees and entered the short little valley that led to the giant log which was the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. They passed through the log, crossed the bridge, and entered the forest. Without stopping they immediately headed to the entrance to the Lost Woods. Link thought about stopping by his house to pick up the rest of his weapons, but since he still didn't fully believe Gerik that there was a fleet of ships heading to Hyrule he decided against it.
As soon as they entered the Lost Woods Gerik started making his way through the trees. He slowed down so that he wouldn't get too far ahead because he knew that since Link was riding Epona it would be slow going through the numerous trees. Gerik also didn't want to lose them and then have to go back in search of them. Time was of the utmost importance and Gerik didn't have a moment to lose.
"Um, are you sure you know where you're going?" asked Link as he stared around at the unfamiliar surroundings. "I've never been in this deep before."
"Don't worry." said Gerik with the utmost confidence. "Remember, I've trained in these woods for the past three years. Others may get lost in here, but not me. I have these woods completely memorized. I know them like the back of my own hand."
"Okay, I get the idea already. You know where you're going. Any idea how long this will take?"
"Well if I was alone I could reach the end in about half an hour. Since you're with me though, I'd say at least an hour."
"Alright then. Let's get going."
The two of them didn't talk as they made their way through the woods. They hoped that by doing so they could get through faster. The deeper they got into the woods the more Link got confused. Gerik knew exactly where he was going though, or at least that's the way it looked. Link couldn't be sure.
As they got deeper and deeper, the trees got darker and darker. Soon all light from the sun was eclipsed by the dense foliage of the numerous trees. Because of this it was impossible for Link to tell what time of the day it was or even what direction they were traveling in. It was times like these that Link missed Navi the most. Sure she had gotten on his nerves sometimes, but she had been an excellent guide and companion.
As memories of Navi flooded back to him, he remembers how he had entered the Lost Woods in search of her. Even then he had not come in this deep. He still couldn't figure out why Navi had even disappeared in the first place. After returning to his childhood, Navi just up and left without saying a word. Next to Saria Navi had been his best friend, and she just abandoned him.
Link fought back the memories as the nearly complete darkness around them started to subside. The dense foliage above them was still there, but in the distance in front of them Link could see light. They had finally made it to the end of the Lost Woods. All weariness left Link as they approached the end of the woods.
Link had to shield his eyes as they emerged into the bright sunlight. He looked over at Gerik, but Gerik made no show that the sunlight bothered him at all. Once Link's eyes fully adjusted to the light, he removed his hand and looked around. Gerik had told him the truth. They were now standing on a beach. There was white sand all around them and the sounds of seagulls could be heard flying above them. The waves from the ocean crashed against the beach and washed up the shore all the way to their feet. It was one of the most beautiful sights Link had ever seen.
"Damn!" said Gerik as he looked out toward the ocean. "We lost more time than I had thought. They're nearly here."
Link now looked out over the ocean to see what Gerik was talking about. His jaw nearly dropped in disbelief at what he saw. Not too far away were at least a hundred ships. The ships were pure black as were their sails. They were narrow and their bows came to a sharp point. Even though Link had never seen a war vessel before, he knew that these ships were most definitely war vessels. There were no markings to indicate where they came from or who owned them, but as Link stared at them he felt an evil presence about them.
"Oh my god." said Link still in disbelief. "You were right. How long before they land?"
"Judging by their speed I'd say less then an hour." Gerik replied. "Come on, we have to warn the king about this. Once they land they're going to start burning the Lost Woods to the ground until they have a clear path to Hyrule Castle."
"But that means that Kokiri Forest will be burned down as well and all the Kokiri will be killed."
"It is unfortunate yes, but we have to get to the king and warn him about this. The sooner he knows the sooner an army can be raised to defend Hyrule."
"No! I may be a Hylian but I grew up in the Kokiri Forest. That is my home and the Kokiri are my friends and family. I will not abandon them."
"But Link, you have to think of the bigger picture. We don't have the time to waste."
"I'm not abandoning them! Once they are safe, and only once they are safe, will we head to the castle and warn the king. Now let's go." said Link as he turned Epona around and headed back into the Lost Woods
"Stubborn Hylian!" Gerik said to himself.