Alright, time for Chapter 8, enjoy!
"No way, so Link dressed up as a lady Gerudo to get away form that assassin?" laughed Togau as Aviel told the story of what happened a few weeks ago to her, "I wish I coulda seen that fer myself!"
The two younger back guards wee giggling like crazy about it themselves while even the head guard was straining herself from laughing.
"Wasn't very funny to me..." grumbled Link.
"You know I was able to save the outfit if you ever want to wear it again Link!" Aviel chirped.
"Never again." Link said annoyed.
"Honestly, of all the stupid plans... it didn't even work by the end." Nemisa said.
"Worked long enough to fool you." Link pointed out with a small smirk, causing Nemisa to turn away scowling.
"Wait, what does that mean?" asked Togau.
"Well you see Nemisa and Link were dan-" Aviel was immediately cut off by a bonk to the head by Nemisa.
"That's not important right now." Nemsia said, "We need to focus on making as much progress as possible before nightfall."
"Meanie..." muttered Aviel with a round bump now on her head.
It was then they heard a strange high-pitched screeching sound, the group came to a stop near a large rock formation that towered over them.
"Did... you guys hear that?" Link asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah, what was that?" Aviel asked, looking around.
"I recognize it," said the head guard, pulling out her sword. "And they're coming quick..."
It was then that leaping out from the rock formation were a large group of lizard-like creatures with horns on their snouts and armored backs, brandishing swords, spears or whatever weapon they could carry. They landed down in front of the group, one of them extending it's tongue out to smell at the Hylian and Gerudos, and let out the high pitched sound again, causing the others to do as well.
"The Lizalfos!" stated Nemisa, going into her martial arts fighting pose.
"Oh man, that's a lot of them..." Aviel said, pulling out her crossbow.
"Don't worry, just let us protect the king Birdbrain." said the left backup guard, pulling out her sword.
"Yeah, and don't get in the way." said the right one, following her companion's suit.
"I can handle things just fine!" shouted Aviel.
Link meanwhile unsheathed his sword and shield, going into a pose, while Togau brandished her handaxe.
"Can you fight alright with that?" Link asked Togau.
"Pretty good, but it's not my only weapon!" Togau grinned.
The two sides stood firm, staring at each other, before the head Lizalfos screeched out and they charged into battle.
The fight was a flurry of power, speed and skill, Link blocked off a spear with his shield before cutting down the Lizalfos wielding it. Aviel carefully aimed and picked off Lizalfos from a distance to whittle down their numbers, while Nemisa sidestepped left and right with dance-like grace, before kicking then punching a Lizalfos away. The backup guards fought bravely with their swords until they were surrounded by a circle of Lizalfos, but they stayed back to back, then lounged forward striking at the circle without allowing any of the lizards to get behind them.
Togau wielding her handaxe, smacked away various ones that came at her, but more showed up after that. She simply grinned and put her fingers to her mouth whistling.
"Alright, now get em Imra!"Togau said, as Imra the Cucco flew up into the air and dive-bombed the Lizalfos, smacking and smashing them away with the raw unmatched power of a Cucco. A bigger Lizalfos came at Togau, but then Oseg the pig came running in, grunting and snorting steam out from it's nostrils, before plowing into the Lizalfos, sending it flying.
"Whoa, Togau's piggy and cucco are strong!" exclaimed Aviel.
"Yeah, that cute Cucco is a lot more useful bird then you!" snickered the left guard, driving back a Lizalfos, only for another Lizalfos to jump out and attack her. She panicked and went into a defensive formation, only to realize it stropped attacking her. The guard opened her eyes to see the Lizalfos convulsing on the ground with an arrow in it's chest before it dropped dead.
The guard paused and looked over to Aviel, holding her crossbow and grinning, and telling her "What was that you said?"
"Uh, t-thank you..." the left guard said, "I guess I got too careless..."
"Don't thank me yet!" Aviel said smiling, "We still got more of them!"
"R-Right!" nodded the guard, as they rushed into battle.
Link was busy fighting off more mobs of Lizalfos, it seemed like no matter how many he fought, more showed up. "Why are there so many of these guys?" he thought, "Are they being drawn here or something...?"
"Link let's take em down together!" shouted Togau, Link turned to see she was riding on the back of Oseg, she had scooted backwards to give Link some room o the pig's back.
"Okay then!" Link nodded, he did a jump and landed onto Oseg's back, and the two charged into the mob of Lizalfos, Link smacking them with his sword and Togau with her handaxe, with the speed and strength of Oseg intensifying their blows.
The battle continued until they ran into one final Lizalfos, a taller one with silver scales.
"Careful King Link!" shouted the head guard, "Silver Lizalfos are among the strongest of them all!"
The silver Lizalfos the head guard described screeched out and was prepared to swing it's sword forward.
"We got it, right Togau?" Link grinned.
"Course reckon!" Togau said, finding herself sporting a light blush at Link's own smile as the two rushed forward on Oseg. Link stepped off the pig and leaped into the air, distracting the Lizalfos long enough for Togau to swing her handaxe and slash it across the chest of the lizard while Oseg plowed into it. Link meanwhile came down and swung his sword, slashing it across the chest.
The Lizalfos stood strong and screeched at the two, only for Nemisa to step up in front of Link and Togau, take a deep breath, then uppercut the Lizalfos into the air.
The three backup guards quickly brandished their swords and slashed at unison across the Lizalfos in midair, while Aviel took off high into the sky, once she was high enough, she changed her arms back to normal and using her crossbow to fire a barrage of arrows into the Lizalfos in midair, before Imra flew up top above the creature and delivered a powerful Cucco beak peck, sending the Lizalfos falling to the ground and impacting. The creature groaned out in pain, before it's body disintegrated, along with the other Lizalfos as they usually did when slain.
"We did it!" squealed out Aviel, only to then quickly realize she was falling after changing her arms back to normal, she tried to change back to her wings, but ended up fumbled around with her crossbow. Thankfully for her, she wound up crashing down on top of the left and right guards, who had jumped out to catch her.
"Ooow... I'm sorry guys..." Aviel groaned.
"D-Don't worry about it Birdbrain," said the left guard cheerfully, despite having been forced to eat dirt."You did great!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, can I borrow those wings sometime?" the other asked as they got up.
"Uh, I would but they're a little too important to me." Aviel said, maybe a little too defensively then she intended.
"Man Link, I didn't peg you as such a great swordfighter, it's no wonder Lady Nabooru had you come!" Togau grinned.
"Well, just had a lot of experience is all." Link rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"No need to inflate his ego." Nemsia said crossly.
"Hmm, what's this?" Avial asked, kneeling down at a strange rubbery and slimy purple-pinkish object.
"Hey, I know that!" exclaimed Togau, picking it up, not even minding how slimy it was, "Someone get me a good thick bag pronto!"
Putting the object in a bag and tying it up she put it into Oseg's travel belt.
"So what is it?" Aviel asked again.
"It's a pheromone gland from a Lizalfos, that big silver one must have been a female." Togau said.
"Ew, gross." said Aviel, "Forget I asked..."
"What makes it worthwhile enough to bring with us?" asked Nemisa.
"Normally it gives off a scent to attract other Lizalfos, but if you break it down just right, it can be used to make a really impressive perfume! It sells for high prices, so these things are really coveted by buyers. I figured the caravan might be interested in it while we're there!"
"Wow, you're pretty well versed on merchant practice." Link said.
"It comes with being a rancher like myself." snickered Togau.
"Sure you just don't want to use it to attract one of the caravan owners into giving you a child?" smirked Nemisa slightly.
"Ahhaha," laughed Togau, "Nah, Lizalfos ain't my type."
Link meanwhile stood silently, thinking about what Togau was set out to do tomorrow.
"Let's just keep going." the head guard said, "The sun is starting to set, so let's try to make as much progress as possible before setting up camp."
By the time night fell down on Gerudo Plains, the group had assembled together a sizable campfire, big enough for the seven travelers and their livestock. The Hylian and the six Gerudo all sat around the campfire, enjoying the warmth.
"Good work today, everyone." Nemisa nodded, "We made good progress and achieved a grand victory over those Lizalfos, we deserved this rest."
"Alright then," Togau said, pulling out her fiddle and bow, "How about some music, yall?"
"Sound a lot better then nothing but crackling fire all night, sure!" one of the guards said.
"Any requests?" Togau asked looking around.
"Actually, I might have one." Link said, "I'll even accompany you on it."
"Huh?"
It then that Link reached into his things and pulled out a wooden orange-colored ocarina, surprising everyone.
"Oh, you play too?" Togau said excitedly.
"A little," Link said, "Want to do a duet?"
"Reckon course, just start off and I'll accompany you!" Togau nodded.
Link put his lips to the ocarina and started playing, the music was a surprisingly upbeat and whimsical tune, like something you'd hear while walking through a magical forest. Togau got a feel for the music Link was playing and started following him on her fiddle, making it into a much more snappier and bouncier tune.
Aviel and the guards took a quick liking to it, clapping their hands in tune to the music. Nemisa herself stood at a distance to watch over the area, but hearing the music was causing her dancing instincts to kick in, and she found she was tapping her foot in sync to it, she was trying her hardest to resist, not wanting to make a scene of herself. It was one thing when she was disguised, but not when she was a bodyguard to the king.
Soon Link and Togau finished their music, and was met with applause by Aviel and the three guards.
"Dang Link! Where'd you learn a cute little ol' tune like that?" Togau asked.
"It's a song I learned from a childhood friend of mine." Link said smiling, "I even got this ocarina from her as a gift.".
"She sounds like a sweetie." Togau said, "I'd love to ta meet her."
"Encore! Encore!" shouted Aviel, waving her wings around, occasionally batting against the head guard, much to her annoyance.
"Yeah, play something else!" shouted the left guard.
"Got any other songs Link?" Togau asked.
"A few." Link grinned.
Some time later, the music had ended, and Aviel and the guards were all asleep. Aviel herself had wound up with her head resting on Link's lap, her bird wings were covering herself and Link's legs.
"Looks like ya got yer hands full with her." Togau said to Link.
"Yeah, but I like having her around.,she was my first new friend when I came here." Link said, patting Aviel on the head, which made her smile and snuggle more against him.
Nemisa meanwhile still stood guard, being used to staying awake for long periods so she could do her other job as well as guard duty. She couldn't help but listen in on Link and Togau's conversation as she did though.
"Hey Togau," Link started, "I didn't say it before but... I wanted to thank you for what you did for Malon all those years ago."
"I-It's nothin'." Togau said with a blush, "I was probably gonna have to go back to the valley soon after anyways, I just figured I'd help her out."
"Still, what you did was a great thing. I kinda wish I could had been there to help you myself." he said.
"Ah don't bellyache 'bout it." Togau said, "Malon's a good girl and deserves ta be there with her Pa, and I hope someday she can find a good man, marry him and have a kid that she can love forever."
"That reminds me," Link decided to bring up, "Are you still going through with that plan tomorrow with the caravan?"
"Y-Yeah..." Togau said, a bit nervously "Hopefully it works out. I'm sure at least one of the caravan men will be looking fer a quick bang, even if it's just with someone like me."
"What do you mean by that?" Link asked.
"Well, I've never been what you'd call a pretty lady." she said, poking at the fire with a stick, "I don't have any ladylike curves or looks... my body's got too much muscle and my skin's got calluses from working on the ranch... I don't really like wearin' makeup or jewelry or junk like that... and with the law in place I don't know how many opportunities I'll have to make a baby..."
She continued, "Ma's past few years have been cruel to her, and Dr. Sarami doesn't know if she has much longer to live... I just know before she goes to join Pa and Sis in the afterlife... I wanna show her a baby that'll make her smile again..."
Link paused, absorbing everything Togau had just said.
"I can really respect that drive," Link said, "But is that really what she wants?"
"Huh? Whadaya mean?" Togau asked crossly getting pretty upset, "How do you know what she wants?!"
"I'm just saying..." Link said defensively, "I may not know your mother personally, but during my travels I've met with all kinds of parents and their children, and ..." his thoughts went to people like Talon and Malon, like Darunia and Link the Goron, like the researcher and his daughter from an odd music box house in a faraway valley...
He then went to say, "...and, at least from my perspective, I think when she smiled all time ago, it wasn't just because of Malon, but also because of Talon, and your sister, all together and happy."
Togau's eyes widened.
"I think what it was that made your mom happy wasn't seeing a baby, but a family, a family that her own daughter had and cared for with all her heart, and loved her back."
"Y-You really mean that...?" Togau asked, surprised to see Link come to this conclusion.
"Well, I'm just guessing." Link rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"No, no.. you may be right..." Togau said, pausing for a short while, and then made a slightly sad smile, "It's funny, you haven't even met my Ma yourself, yet you seem to have figured her out better then I did..."
"Hey, I didn't say that." Link said, "I think you're a little hard on yourself. Like, you said before you're not very feminine but..." he looked her over, "I think you look just fine to me..."
"Huh?" Togau exclaimed..
"I'm sure you'll have a good chance tomorrow." he said firmly, "Frankly I think anyone who doesn't find you pretty is a fool, Togau."
"Ya... think I'm pretty?" Togau paused, her face flushed red.
"Y-Yeah, I... oh! I actually have something for you." Link realized. He reached into his travel pack and pulled out a modest sized white flower.
"A flower? Where'd you find that 'round these parts?" Aviel said in surprise.
"Found it while we were at the oasis. Hold on, let me see your hat for a second.." Link then reached up to Togau's straw hat and after working with it, he stuck the flower into the hat's strap, "There, maybe this will give you a little more confidence about yourself."
"T-Thanks..." she reached up and stroked the flower a little, then looked to Link himself and stared gently into his eyes, "Yer just full of surprises, ya know that?"
"Well..." Link started, a little nervous about the way she looked at him, "If I end up choosing to be king after all I need to think about my people, right?"
"Honestly, I think it's takes a lot more then just being a king to say things like you just did..." Togau smiled warmly. "Hey, how about another duet song, just between us?" she then said, pulling out her fiddle.
"Okay," Link said, "Something for good luck tomorrow, this one's called the Song of Healing."
The two of them started with their instruments, something slow, gentle and soothing, to keep the others from waking up.
Nemisa meanwhile had been keeping her distance to see around the area. She took a look back at Link and Togau playing their instruments again. She could hear the music flowing through her ears, it was a deep, passionate tune, it started to get to her, bringing back some old memories, and made her reach into her pocket and grip a small jewel in her hand.
It was then her foot started to move. Feeling the rhythm of the music, she made sure no one was watching, and started to dance. Her legs moved with the sound of the music, her hips shaking left and right, and her hands swayed into the air and downwards as Link and Togau played their notes. She smiled beautifully from the passion the two were putting into the music.
Soon their song ended, and Nemisa took that opportunity to do a bow to no one in particular, mostly out of habit from her other job.
It was then she was taken out of her trance by some loud clapping. Her eyes widened and she turned around to see Link, Togau, Aviel and the guards all applauding her.
"That was great Nemisa!" Link said proudly, always being one to be captivated by her dancing.
"Yeah, seriously!" exclaimed Togau, "You can dance with the best of em!"
"You could probably rival the great Madame Scarlet!" said one of the guards.
Nemisa's face was flushed bright red from this, before she grew angry and shouted, "Would you all get to bed already?!"
All this did was prompt everyone to share a hearty laugh, while Nemisa went from angry to just annoyed and took a long sigh.
The next morning, the group continued down the trail towards the caravan meeting location. Nothing much of circumstance really happened for what seemed like the longest time.
"Glad we haven't ran into any more Lizalfos around here." Aviel said.
"I still feel a little uncertainty though..." Nemisa muttered.
"I'll just be glad to make it back home." Link sighed, "I still haven't gotten used to the heat in this area."
Aviel casually glanced off to the right, and saw a very faint speck in the distance. Curiosity came over her, and she pulled down her goggles to get a better look at it. She saw what seemed like a gleam of light reflected from the sun. Her mind suddenly went back to when the assassin attacked Link back at the dance club.
"Everyone, get down!" shouted Aviel, pulling out her crossbow and firing it off immediately. The arrow shot out and went whizzing through the air, before it impacted into what turned out to be another arrow, sanding it flying into the air and plunging into the ground.
"What the heck?" exclaimed one of the guards, "That almost hit us!"
"Yeah, someone just tried to shoot at us!" Aviel said.
"Alright, whoever you are, come out!" Link shouted, unsheathing his sword and shield.
"Heh, guess the cat's outta the bag, boys." said a new voice, appearing out from behind a rock formation, along with a sizable group of other men. They were draped in standard traveler's clothes, but with ragged hoods on to protect their heads. From their ears and complexion, it was clear they were Hylians, most of which looked well built even from under the clothing. They were wielding mostly swords, but there were a few with spears as well.
"What do you want with us?" Togau asked, narrowing her eyes. Imra, perched on her shoulder, ruffled her feathers angerly.
"We're just here for the livestock you got back there." said the man in the front, presumably the leader, pulling off his hood and showing off a clean shaven face and shoulder length blonde hair. He gave a smug grin as he added, "You should just make it easy and hand em over. We wouldn't want you ladies getting' hurt now."
"The bandits." The head guard said, pulling out her sword.
"Wait, isn't that a guy there at the front?" asked one of the bandits.
"Yeah, looks like the mighty Gerudo are so weak that they need a big strong man to help them." snickered the leader, "So how much did they have to put out to get you to work for them, buddy?"
"Those bastards..." snarled Nemisa, clenching her fists, looking like she as about to throttle them.
"Come on, calm down Nemisa..." Aviel said, trying to keep her partner under control.
"My name is Link." the young man answered calmly, "We're simply trying to meet with a caravan to exchange these animals for supplies. Let us pass and there won't be trouble."
"Heh, guy doesn't know his place." said the bandit leader, he pulled out his sword and held it out, "Let's teach them, boys."
The bandits all pulled out their weapons and stood ready to battle, forcing Link's side to do the same.
"Aviel, keep an eye on that guy who shot at us earlier." Link said, "We can handle the rest of them."
"Right boss!" Aviel said, gripping her crossbow and wearing her goggles, watching the sniper carefully.
"Kill em all!" shouted the leader, and the two sides charged into battle.
The Gerudo guards ran in clashing against the bandits, while Togau sent Imra and Oseg to attack. Nemisa grinned a bit too eagerly as she ran in and started swinging her fists at a bandit, while Link fought another in sword-to-sword combat.
Aviel meanwhile was taking to the air to get an eye on her sniper opponent. An arrow shot at her, but she flew down to evade it, and then went hiding behind a rock formation.
'I have to keep that guy distracted so he doesn't go after Link and everyone..' she thought to herself, quickly sticking out from behind the rock and firing an arrow at the sniper, who quickly ducked it, before firing another at Aviel, who managed to duck that as well.
Nemisa threw his fists at the bandit she fought, who was blocking her attacks with his spear, He tried to thrust it forward to impale her, but she weaved her body to the side, dodging it completely, before slamming her elbow on the spear, knocking it down and surprising her enemy, before punching him away. However it didn't faze him much, the bandit just came right back for more.
"Strange..." Link said to Togau as they stood back-to-back, clashing with different opponents, "These guys don't seem like normal bandits..."
"How do ya figure?" asked Togau, as Imra swooped by, bashing her opponent across the head before Togau knocked him away.
"They're too fit and nimble, they seem to be well groomed, and their weapons look well maintained. I would had expected a few more unshaven faces and scars, and their equipment be more damaged for how tough they are." he observed, kicking away his own opponent.
One of the backup guards was getting overwhelmed by a bandit with a stronger sword then hers. She tried swinging her blade at his legs, but the bandit jumped over it and knocked her down to the ground. The other backup guard came up from behind him with her own sword, but was knocked away by another bandit.
Link quickly took down his opponent, before running up and bashing the bandit that had knocked down the guard with his shield. He helped up the guard and the two charged in to aide the other guard's situation.
"Oseg, time to go!" shouted Togau, hopping onto her pig comrade and charging into battle, she swung at a bandit, but they countered with their sword. Togau turned and swung again, but the bandit was able to slash at her, making her lose balance and tumble off of Oseg. The pig stopped in it's tracks to see if it's master was okay, only for the bandit to grin and turn to attack Oseg, causing him to squeal in panic.
"Leave him alone!" shouted Togau, charging forward and swinging her handaxe at the bandit, she manage to slash at and rip at the sleeve of the bandit's outfit, cutting his arm and causing him to yelp in pain, while also opening the sleeve of his shirt.
"What th-" exclaimed Togau with wide eyes. There on the bandit's arm, she saw some type of marking; a mark that made her remember something from years ago...
"Y-You bastards! I turned myself in! You can't do that to papa!"
She then thought of a ripping sound, and a mysterious mark on someone's arm.
"T-That..." Togau said, staring at the man's arm, "Where the heck did you get that mark?!"
The man stood silent, scowling at Togau as he clenched his bleeding arm.
Nemisa meanwhile managed to get the upper-hand on her opponent and knocked him to the ground. Taking what she overheard Togau say, she then took his sleeve and pulled it up, seeing the same mark.
"I don't know, what it is,." said Nemisa, " But this one has the same thing."
"So does this one!" said a backup guard, examining the one she and Link took down.
"Just what are these marks?" Link asked. He heard a chuckle as the leader of the bandits came up to them.
"That's... that's the same mark I saw on those Hylian knights back at Lon Lon Ranch!" Togau said.
"Heh, guess there's no point in hiding them boys." said the leader, signaling to his men to pause the battle. He then pulled up his arm and showed off the same mark as the others, "Not like these savages are going to live to tell about this."
"Just who are you?" Link asked, holding up his sword.
"I'll lay it on you, the name is Wallace, a General of the Hylian knights." the leader said with a smug grin, "We all have this tattoo as a mark of our status."
"T-The Hylian knights?!" exclaimed Link. "So that explains it..."
"What are you damn Hylians doing out here?!" shouted Nemisa, "This is Gerudo territory!"
"Well we used to waste our days standing watch over the valley's bridge to keep your lowlifes from crossing into Hyrule, but after you all stopped coming and paying the toll, we did some investigation to find out where you were now going for your supplies. We were going to set up another toll road for you, but figured just swiping your stock would be way easier." Wallace said.
Link simply narrowed his eyes coldly at the knight before him.
"So you're the reason for the last run going bad." Togau said, squeezing the handle of her handaxe, while petting Oseg to calm him.
"Yeah, those weaklings couldn't handle true men, they just died like the weak feral savages they were." Wallace shrugged. "A waste really, they would had been great to have some fun with."
Link gripped his sword, hanging his head down in thought.
"You monsters!" Nemisa shouted, "What gives you the right to do something like that?!"
"Are you deaf as well as weak?" asked Wallace, "We're knights of Hyrule, we're protected by the law! If it can be proven that one of your own slayed one of us, the Parliament will decide it as a declaration of war against the kingdom, and they will show no mercy like last time! We made sure that rule sunk in to the others we fought!"
"Wait a minute..." Togau said, "Yer sayin' the reason the girls from the last trip were taken down was because they didn't want to get our tribe in trouble with the law?"
"Yeah," Wallace laughed, "You should have seen them all beg for us to spare your town. It was so pathetic it was hilarious!"
Link's body was trembling, his teeth clenched.
"We had fun killing them, and we were even generous enough to leave a few alive so they would know what happens to those who mess with us!" Wallace continued to boast.
"They all sobbed, 'Pwease don't huwt them!'" mocked one knight.
"Yeah, and then I gutted her on the spot!" laughed another knight.
The Gerudo warriors all stood coldly, their facial features darkening.
"Tell you what, I'll give the lot of you one chance to save your hides." Wallace said, "Just get on your knees and beg for mercy, and we'll let you go sink back under your rocks!"
"That... just ain't right..." muttered Togau, "Usin' our loved ones against us..."
"Like we'd ever do that." Nemisa said coldly, "What they've done is unforgivable."
"Knight General Wallace, was it?" Link finally said in a cold voice, "Tell me something... You call yourselves knights of Hyrule? Ones that protect it's people and the crown...?"
"Of course." shrugged Wallace, "We're esteemed knights who fight for true justice, and take down the evils of this land. Why we would even be seen as true heroes to the peopl-"
Wallace was then cut off by Link looking up with fierce and angry eyes.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!"
"L-Link?!" exclaimed Nemisa, she saw pure hatred and anger in his eyes, she had never seen Link like this before, enough that she didn't even realize at that moment she had called him by his name.
"You claim to be "knights of justice", hen you murder defenseless people on their knees, and use the law to hide yourselves behind?!" Link asked, walking up to Wallace.
"Hey, watch yourself you bastar-" a knight had tried to confront Link,but he decked him in the face with his shield without even looking at him. He glared with pure anger at Wallace.
"You're all an insult to the king and princess, and everyone in Hyrule." Link said, "And as the King of the Gerudo, I'll show you what happens when you mess with my people!"
"T-The king?!" exclaimed Wallace.
"That's insane! I thought we captured the king!" said one knight.
"Did they get a new one?" asked another.
"So... you're the new king huh?" smirked Wallace, trying to hide that even he was a little shaken at Link and what he said, "The Gerudo truly have fallen if one such as you is their king now. I'll have fun cutting your throat."
"We'll see about that, prepare to fight." Link said, brandishing his sword.
"Even knowing that if you so much as strike down one of us, your sandhole of a tribe will all die?" he asked.
"Heh, you think you can intimidate and control us with that law? Think again." Nemisa said, pounding her fist into her palm, "This isn't about the livestock anymore, this is about avenging the honor of our sisters."
"Yeah, we ain't backin' down!" shouted Togau, alongside her cucco and pig,who were just as battle ready.
"We're not gonna let em get away with what they did to our people, right everyone?!" Aviel asked.
"Right!" shouted the Gerudo guards, raising their weapons.
"Very well," grinned Wallace, "Then die!"
With that, the two sides charged back into the battle, Link and Wallace clashing at each other with their swords.
The other knights came at the Gerudo, but Nemisa went in first and started punching and kicking at them with reckless force. Togau swung her handaxe wildly, knocking away some knights while Imra and Oseg backed her up charging and pecking at the others. Even the backup guards seemed to have gotten their second wind, joining together and using team attacks to overpower each knight that attacked them.
Aviel took off into the air while the sniper knight shot at her wildly with arrows. She swooped up and down and left and right, making it impossible for the sniper to get a lock on her. Aviel landed to the ground and fired off an arrow that hit the knight directly against the top of his helmet, obscuring his view. When the knight readjusted his headgear back into place, he saw she was gone.
"Got ya!" Aviel said from behind the sniper, he gulped a little realizing she got the drop on him, and she bashed him over the head with her crossbow, sending him to the ground unconscious.
Nemisa had her hands full with a particularly large knight, who was wielding a broadsword. He had her outmatched in range, but Nemisa thought fast, and when the knight tried swinging his sword out horizontally, she leaped on top of the large blade itself and kicked the knight in the chin, knocking him down to the ground.
Togau rode in on Oseg and plowed into a few of the knights, trampling them. One particular knight came at her with a spear, but Imra came down and grabbed at it with her talons, holding back the knight's ability to use it, before Togau slashed his spear in half with her handaxe, while Oseg plowed into his stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground out-cold.
Link and Wallace meanwhile struck swords rapidly, neither side letting up for even a second.
"It's a shame you wasted your life on these savages." Wallace said, "You would had made an excellent knight of Hyrule."
"If this is what the knights have become," Link said, "I'd sooner be the royal muckraker."
"Fitting, as these savages are lower then animal droppings!" laughed Wallace, as the two swung their blades.
Wallace then knocked Link away by punching at him with the side of his sword, before running up and swinging it at an angle. Link dodged to the side, then brought his own blade forward, to which Wallace reacted by dodging to the side as well and kicking Link back, making him roll across the ground.
"Now I'll end you!" Wallace shouted, leaping up and coming down on Link with sword pointed down at his chest.
Link however, grinned as he shot up, ducking and rolling out of the way, causing Wallace to impale his sword into the ground.
"W-What?!" he exclaimed as Link took that opportunity to slash Wallace with his sword.
"Graaah!" shouted Wallace, yanking out his sword from the ground, "Die you savage!"
Wallace charged at Link, who simply ran forward and their blades clashed one last time before one of them delivered one final blow across the other's chest..
When it was all over, Wallace stood in shock as his sword fell to the ground/
"I-It can't be..." Wallace muttered, before falling backwards to the ground unconscious.
Link simply sheathed his sword and shield and let out a deep breathe.
"That was rough..." sighed Link, "It's been awhile since I felt that way before..."
He then looked over to see Nemisa, Aviel, Togau and the guards, who had all defeated the rest of the knights.
"Let that be a lesson to you all!" Aviel said grinning, as the rest of the group cheered in victory.
"I never would had thought we could defeat Hylian knights!" exclaimed one of the backup guards.
"Yes, but we wouldn't have if not for the king and those three." said the head guard, looking over at Link, Aviel, Nemisa and Togau.
"They all make a good team." nodded the third guard with a smile.
"Link, you gonna be okay?" Aviel asked with concern, "You got pretty scary back there..."
"Y-Yeah." Link said, "Don't worry girls,I'll be fine."
Togau herself was unsure of what to say, in one way it was indeed kind of odd how angry Link got earlier, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel something else, a strange and unfamiliar excitement from seeing him like that...
"So was it okay for us to just leave them all alive like that?" asked one of the guards as the group continued down the trail to the caravan, "We didn't kill any of them, but they might come back for revenge, or even report this to the kingdom."
"It'll be fine." Nemisa said simply, "Just trust me when I say they're not coming back..."
Back at the location of where the battle had taken place, the knights were all sprawled out on the ground, some out cold, others groaning in pain. Knight General Wallace himself was just as bad off.
"D-Damn Gerudo... they defeat us, then leave us behind?" asked one of the knights.
"Can we even show our faces to the captain of the guard at this point...?" asked another.
"Heh, don't worry boys." Wallace said, "As soon as we're recovered, we're going to bounce back and kill all those savages!"
"Yeah! We'll give them all hell!" shouted a knight.
As the other conscious knights cheered, Wallace smirked wickedly.
'Yeah, keep cheering you morons...' Wallace thought, chuckling to himself, 'I'll recover faster then the lot of you, and when I do, I'll just slaughter you all and claim the Gerudo did it. They'll all be wiped out and I'll be a hero.'
It was then that one of the knights noticed a small purple-pinkish ball on the ground.
"Hey, what's this?" he asked, picking it up and looking at it closely.
"Looks like a Lizalfos pheromone gland to me." said another.
It was then they heard a high-pitched screech somewhere in the distance.
"Huh? What was that?" asked a knight.
"Oh no..." said the other.
"What are you guys going on about?!" Wallace demanded, only to hear the high-pitched screech himself. It took him a moment to realize what it was exactly, and his whole face went white with fear.
"No..." Wallace muttered.
Approaching the fallen knights was a group of Lizalfos, the reminding ones of the pack that had been defeated by Link and the Gerudo the other day, attracted to the scent of the gland. Upon seeing the helpless Hylian knights, they all screeched out and leaped at the knights with their weapons.
The great Hylian Knight General Wallace's screams of terror began and were soon silenced.
"...even if their fellow knights find their remains." Nemiaa continued with a smirk, "They'll see it to just be a monster attack."
"Wow, I don't know whether to be impressed or creeped out, Nemisa." Aviel said.
"Ugh, I know it was to keep the Hylian Parliament out of our hair, but what a waste of that pheromone gland.." whimpered Togau.
"My conscience says I should feel bad for them, and yet after all that I just don't." Link sighed, "Is that normal?"
"It's fine," shrugged Nemisa, "If we let them be, they would had just gone on to hurt others."
"I guess so..." Link said, still looking a bit downcast.
It wasn't long after that the group finally reached the meeting place with the caravan. They were a little later then planned, but the caravan owners took one look at the healthy livestock Togau had raised and they were eager to make a generous trade with the group. Where the animals once were on the Gerudo's side, there was now loads of valuable supplies unobtainable in Gerudo Valley, and enough to sustain the people for a long while.
"So you raised these animals yourself?" asked one of the caravan merchants to Togau, he was a particularly handsome man, who gave the rancher a soft smile. "You keep like quite the capable one, and a lovely one at that."
"Ah-haha, just doin' what I need for my kin." Togau said somewhat nervously.
She and the man were being watched by Link and the Gerudo as they were hauling supplies onto the wagon.
"Do you think she's going to...?" asked one of the guards, trailing off from her question.
"Maybe..." said the other guard.
Link just stared out at Togau, he know it wasn't his place to interject with her plan, but he did still feel a bit of uncertainty about her situation, not to mention a different feeling he couldn't really describe, as he saw her and the man walk off to chat more...
Aviel took a look at Link's worried expression, and nudged him to get his attention.
"It's okay Link." Aviel said with a sweet smile, "I'm sure Togau will do what she really thinks is right."
Link just nodded, but looked out to where Togau went again with concern.
Some time later in the day, the supplies were finally hauled up and the group were ready to leave, but Togau herself wasn't back yet.
"So where's Togau? We need to get going." Nemisa said looking left and right.
"Hey, hold on yall!" shouted Togau, running up to the group, "Ready to take off?"
"Yes, did you do everything you needed to, sister?" the head guard asked.
"Course reckon!" nodded Togau, "Now let's get back to the town!"
As the group headed down the trail to Gerudo Town, they all discussed their business with the caravan.
"So Togau," a guard spoke up, "How did things go with that hot guy we saw you with?"
"Oh him?" Togau asked, "I had a few personal things I brought on the trip to trade with him, took some negotiating, but I made a pretty rupee fer it."
"What about the OTHER thing?" asked the right guard raising an eyebrow with a grin, "You know what I mean."
"Oh that? Nah, nothin'' happened."
"Wait seriously?!" exclaimed both of the guards.
"But what about you wanting a baby?" Aviel asked.
"Eh, I changed my mind, least for now." Togau said, "Got too many responsibilities at the moment to worry 'bout a kid. Besides, I don't think that guy was my type."
"Well, we'll support whatever you decide Togau." Link nodded with a smile. He couldn't help but feel some relief at the same time, though a nagging thought went through his mind at the time, and he wondered to himself if was it just for her sake...?
"Thanks Link." smiled Togau, she paused, then whispered under her breath, 'Who knows? Maybe I don't need to go too far to find someone to help me with what I really want after all...'
"What was that?" Link spoke up.
"Nothin'!" Togau said, she turned around and looked to Link, flashing a big grin, while a gentle breeze flowing across the plains made the flower in her straw hat sway a bit, "Let's just get home."
And so ends the livestock transport arc. I have to say, as nasty as the bad guys in this chapter were, it was a lot of fun writing them as a bunch of total hate sinks.
I still need to plan out the details of the next major arc, so it might be a little while before I get it out. If I get too much writer's block, I might just pump out a little quickie filler chapter or two to keep you guys preoccupied. Until then, see ya!