Side-quest: Starting all over.
We all rejoiced when the calamity came to an end, the monsters retreated and the strange purple malus vaporized into nothing.
For the first time in a long time we felt hope.
It was not to last. When princess Zelda fell into the abyss at an archaeological dig site, it was only the first of many horrors to come.
Soon after, many parts of the earth started to float in the sky. An unnatural, and evil occurrence that forever changed the face of our world...
xxx
Link stood in front of the ruins of a town. There was nothing left of it.
It looked like half of the town was lifted up by one of the floating islands, slid of the side and fell on top of the other half.
A fate more cruel seemed hard to imagine.
He walked along what remained of the path leading up to it. Large chunks of the path had slipped down in the lake below.
It was hazardous to walk along it now.
Link could feel a lump forming in his throat. What had happened to the people?
He shook his head and was about to turn around when he spotted a figure sitting on what used to be the goddess statue.
As Link got closer he recognized him immediately.
It was Hudson. He was looking over the lake with a thousand yard stare.
Link waved at him but Hudson didn't respond. Link walked closer and put his hand on his shoulder.
He gasped, but soon continued his staring out on the lake.
"Oh, it's you."
He took a swig of something foul smelling.
"Welcome to Tarrey Town, I guess."
Link wanted to ask what happened to the people but the words wouldn't come out right.
They never came out right.
He could think the words, no problem. He could understand them when people spoke to him. But when he had to speak them it just never worked out.
People often thought he was simple. In his youth he vowed that he would prove them all wrong and become the greatest knight the world had ever seen.
He supposed he failed, considering the state of the world.
If he concentrated really hard he could sometimes make a word or two but...
"They're all gone." Hudson suddenly said.
Link continued to rub his shoulder.
"I found Hunnie..." He swallowed. "...Boy, that girl sure loved cake, didn't she?" He laughed awkwardly and took another sip from his booze. "I suppose it's for the best her parents are gone as well. No pa,-"
He dropped the bottle.
"... No parent should,-"
He put his hands over his face and started crying quietly.
Link had no words to console him and even if he did they wouldn't come out right anyway.
He just held Hudson tightly and hoped it would be enough. It was disconcerting to see the once jovial and strong man looking so utterly broken.
xxx
Later, when Hudson had sobered up, he told Link who had died.
Grante, Hagie, Hunnie, Moggs, Monari, Ruli and Kapson were all killed during the event.
The remaining people moved away.
Rhondson, Hudson's wife, returned to the Gerudo. She was pregnant, and for her health had to move to a place where she could have her baby in peace. The Gerudo desert, her old home, was the only realistic option.
It was a place where Hudson, could not follow.
And so here he sat with his grief, looking over the lake that was once so beautiful, but now seemed like an empty hole to him.
He wanted to wile away in his misery but he couldn't.
Mostly because of the sounds of explosions blowing from the other side of the lake.
It annoyed him to no end. Can't a man just wallow in peace?
Hours later, Link returned.
He dropped ten bundles of wood at Hudson's feet. He grunted, pointed at Hudson, pointed at the wood and then at the rubble.
It was obvious what he wanted. Hudson looked at the wood in disgust.
"Is that what you've been doing?"
Link nodded his head.
"You've wasted your time. Even if I wanted to rebuild. The foundations aren't strong enough anymore."
Link grunted, pointed at the wood and towards a hill in the distance.
Hudson knew there was a beautiful flowery pond near there. It would make a nice place for a town. Quiet, hills all around, lots of wildlife. Good place to raise a kid.
"Dammit, Link! Can't you see? It failed! Tarrey Town failed. And it took too many good people with it. I'm done!"
Hudson sighed. "... Just leave me in peace."
xxx
Link felt quite embarrassed in his women's clothing as he always did when he went to the Gerudo.
Why did everybody so easily accept him as a woman? Did nobody even suspect him?
Ugh, it was all very emasculating. Oh well, needs must.
...Seriously though. Did no one think he might be a guy?
He found himself inside the secretive mens clothing store at the edge of town. He knew that the owner of the store Greta, was Rhondson's mother, so Rhondson was probably there.
She was found easily enough. Her belly was a little bigger then he remembered. Though, she looked not nearly ready to pop.
Link waved to her and she smiled.
xxx
Idly, Link wondered what it was that made people talk to him so much. It was not like he was a great conversationalist. Or maybe it was because they knew he couldn't share their secrets.
"-and it's not like I don't love him anymore. Please don't think that! It's just... I couldn't bear to see him like that. So lifeless...When he used to have such a spark."
She moved her hand to her belly.
"I had to choose, and the baby came first."
Link nodded his understanding.
Thoughtfully, Rhondson moved towards the window. "Still maybe... maybe there's someone out there that could give him an inspirational pep talk or something? I know that might get him out of his funk. He always liked those."
xxx
Bolson construction company located in Hateno village. The best bunch of builders this side of the ocean.
Link stepped inside.
Bolson himself didn't seem to be doing so well. Apparently he fell down a ladder and broke his hip a while back.
Didn't seem to reduce is zeal any.
Karson was hard put to keep the old guy resting.
"Stop harassing me Karson. I'm not a damn invalid." Bolson yelled as he waved his hobbling stick in Karson's face. "I can still hold a hammer just fine."
Karson just sighed and shrugged in Link's direction in a 'what are you gonna do.' way.
Link used doodles to explain the situation to the two men. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do. Karson had his hands full keeping the business afloat with local projects, and Bolson simply couldn't make the trip.
Link made a picture of a cart being pulled by a horse but there simply wasn't enough time to build one.
Link sighed.
xxx
Hudson was staring at an irate Link, bouncing up and down, pointing at five bundles of wood, a drawing of a cart, and then back to him.
"Fine! I'll build your damn cart, you mute bastard. If it can get me a moment of peace it'll be worth it."
Link couldn't help but laugh at Hudson's creative expression of anger and patted him on his back as if to say 'Good man, good man.'
Together, they started work on the cart.
xxx
"Huh!"
"Ha!"
"Tsuuya!"
"Ha"
"Che!"
"Whoooaaaa!"
"Ha!"
xxx
His name was Bubbles. He knew this because the humans keep saying it in his direction. Bubbles was smart.
Bubbles liked pulling the cart. He got loads of carrots and apples. It was a good life.
He pulled the cart all the way to a human village. It smelled like rice and goats.
Goats were alright. A bit slow.
The moved up the hill and stopped in front of a human stable. His pet human unhitched the cart and gave him an apple.
Good human.
A brightly colored human with a shiny head, like an apple, came out of the building and started making noises.
His human also started making noises. He also poked the dirt with a stick.
Humans sure make a lot of noise.
The next day, we returned to the sad place with the shiny human in the cart.
This was good. He gave plenty of apples.
xxx
"Hey there, Hudson."
"Hi Bolson."
"This place has seen better days."
"It has."
"I know I didn't raise no slacker. Why aren't you rebuilding?"
"No one left to build for."
Bolson smacked Hudson on his head with his hobbling stick.
"You dipstick! You're a builder. When you build things the people will come! You know this. Why aren't you building?"
"...They died because of me."
Bolson lowered his hobbling stick and softened his features.
"Now, I definitely know I didn't raise you to cut corners, so why would you say such a fool thing?"
"Didn't think this could happen."
Bolson expression changed in an instant.
"You idiot! No one thought this could happen. There are giant landmasses floating in the sky! Have you been blaming yourself, because of some crazy, whack-a-doodle, flying island, freak occurrence?"
"If the houses were stronger, more would've lived."
"And if my ass was on fire, I'd be a Dodongo! You couldn't predict this!"
"... Still."
"Still nothin'. Now go build me a town worthy of the name 'Bolson Construction Company!' Self-pity is not a good look for you."
xxx
It felt like the bundles of wood were staring accusingly at Hudson. He didn't want to use them. From what he'd learned, he didn't think the wood was strong enough to build a house with.
Link kept looking at the wood and then back at him, like a puppy waiting for someone to throw the ball.
Then an idea hit.
"I'll use these to make a foundation near that pretty pond."
The words wouldn't come out right again. Link wanted to warn him that there actually was a giant fairy living in that pond.
He was sure that she wouldn't mind, all the great faeries he'd seen all seemed a little... lonely. A small town with people around her pond wouldn't hurt.
Still, Hudson would be in for a shock. Oh well, better to ask for forgiveness then permission and all that.
"I don't wanna use wood for houses anymore."
Link tilted his head as if to ask 'why.'
"Not strong enough."
Link narrowed his eyes a little as if to ask 'What else do you want to use?'
"I'm thinking rock would do the trick."
A sigh meaning 'what sort of rock.'
"Flint, luminous rocks...maybe opal. Ground 'm up into some sort of cement."
Link started tapping his foot impatiently. 'How much?'
"Maybe... 10 pieces of flint, 5 pieces of luminous rock and... 5 pieces of opal?"
When Hudson looked up from his musings, Link had already left.
xxx
Link returned and dropped the resources in front of Hudson.
He had, in the time that Link was away, laid down the foundations of their new town. There was a problem though.
Hudson pointed at poles that seemed to be sticking out of the ground at the places where houses should be.
"Can't get these poles deep enough in the ground."
"Hiyaat!"
"I don't know. Guess a good smack would do it but I'm not strong enough."
Link climbed up the pole and started jumping on it, making quite a clamor as he was doing so.
Suddenly the sound very similar to that of a waterfall came barreling over them from the area of the pond.
"What's all this racket?! It's very early in the morning, I'll have you know!"
Hudson wasn't a man who was easily surprised but what he saw now did the trick. A giant woman with purple hair, had risen out of the beautiful little pond.
She was wearing a pretty dress but also a sleeping hat and a big teddy bear. It seemed their construction work had woken her up.
He wanted to apologize for the noise but her anger seemed to evaporate when she spotted Link.
"Oh, hey honey!" She quickly removed the hat and bear and hid them in her pond. "What can I do for you today?"
Link started jumping on the pole again.
"You want them in the ground?"
He nodded.
"Move aside honey."
The great fairy started smacking all the poles into the ground as if she was playing whack-a-mole.
"Ha! This is really good fun!"
Working the poles had certainly heightened her mood.
Hudson looked on in amazement. She had saved him hours worth of work.
"Now please continue your construction a bit later in the day from now on. A girl needs her beauty sleep after all." Mija, the great fairy, winked and a splash echoing through the site marked her retreat back in her pond.
Hudson turned towards Link with an eyebrow raised.
Link shrugged.
Feeling bad about the situation, Hudson walked towards the pond and dropped a couple of red rupees in it.
It was about the same amount he would give an employee for a hard days work. He hoped she would appreciate the gesture and the gratitude that came with it.
xxx
"I have a problem."
Eyebrow raised, Link looked at Hudson.
"I need to build a cave to keep our supplies in."
Link rubbed his eyes. He was pretty tired. He got up early as well.
Hudson continued on as if Link said something profound. "Well, if you need a cave built, look no further then the Gorons right?"
Nodding his head Link was on his way again.
xxx
Wearing his heat-protective gear was always a pain. Both literally and figuratively. It was incredibly heavy and don't get started about putting it on and off again. It was a tremendous effort.
The Gorons made the effort worth it. They were always friendly and downright familial towards him.
Link wondered how Greyson and Pelison were doing. It would be great if they could make it back towards the building site.
As he was walking around the Goron city he noticed that they had expanded their mining operations a little bit. Recent events didn't seem to have slowed them down any.
There were more mine carts lying around and they seemed to be building a new statue.
Link asked around looking for Greyson but all he got were somber faces.
Eventually he found Pelison.
Pelison had grown somewhat. He looked like he finally achieved what might be the equivalent of Goron puberty.
He was hacking away at a boulder with a pickax. Maybe to make it into smaller rocks? Link had no idea.
He tapped Pelison on his back.
"Hi brother, It's been a while." Pelison said as he returned to his... pickaxing.
Now Link got a little annoyed. He couldn't well communicate if someone didn't look at him.
He tapped his shoulder again and gave Pelison a hard stare.
"Oh right, I forgot. Uhh... Maybe come back later? I'm kinda working right now."
Link rolled his eyes and sighed. It was just going to be one of those days.
xxx
Pelison was cooking up some rock roast. To Link, he seemed a little lonely and lost, sitting away from the rest of the village like that.
He sat next to him and joined him staring into the fire.
"..."
"Greyson's hurt." Pelison removed his yellow hardhat to scratch his scalp. "The hotspring couldn't patch up his back after a house fell on it."
"..."
Now Link fell like a real tool. How could he ask them to return, after all this misery?
"We sure miss Tarrey Town though..."
Link grabbed his charcoal and started doodling.
xxx
Bubbles was a smart horse. He knew he couldn't go up the fire-mountain. It smelled like when eggs go bad.
So he stayed with the other horses in the horse house.
His favorite human exploded himself off of the mountain and landed in front of Bubbles.
The other horses got scared but not Bubbles. Bubbles was a smart horse.
Bubbles got an apple and got hitched to the cart again. They rode all the way to the foot of the mountain.
Rock people carried down another rock person and put him on his cart. There was also a small rock person coming with us.
He was good. He gave juicy carrots.
xxx
Pelison was hacking away, working on the cave. He was doing a good job but it was clear that without assistance from Greyson it was going to take awhile.
It appeared that construction had stalled.
Hudson was resting after doing his share of clearing out the rocks. He was talking to Greyson about the cave and the best way to proceed. Maybe Link could do something with those weird blue bombs of his, but it was very risky.
Suddenly the sound of running water interrupted their discussion.
"Hiii, Handsome! You working hard?" Said the great fairy, eager for some conversation.
"Not right now. I'm trying to figure out how to deal with this cave."
Mija looked at the progress they've already made. When she noticed the new Goron laying on his stomach close by.
"What's with him?"
"Back injury."
"Oh my, the poor dear. Think I could help with anything?"
Hudson shrugged.
xxx
The sun was nice on Greyson's back. The warmth seemed to ease the pain somewhat. Maybe it was a mistake to leave the hotsprings of his home. He idly wondered.
But no, it was better to be helping people again, even if it was just with giving advise.
He could suddenly feel shade on his back. He turned his head around with difficulty and found himself face to face with a giant woman.
"Hiya."
"Hello. I was wondering if I could help?"
"Can you swing a pickax?"
"I'm sure I can figure it out."
"Well... alright then." Greyson crawled himself closer to the cave. "Yo Pelison! I've got a lady here, wants to do construction!"
A rumbling sound announced the rolling shape of Pelison as he emerged from the cave.
"Oh wow, you're big." He handed her a large pickax to play around with.
She gave it a few experimental swings and found the weight quite enjoyable.
Giggling she lifted Pelison on her shoulder and together they moved towards the cave .
"Oi, Sister!" Greyson shouted. "You forgot your hardhat!" He was waving a yellow hardhat in the air.
They quickly came running back.
"It's my old one. Don't lose it now, I really like it."
"Thanks, Greyson." Mija plopped the hat right on top of her big hair making her look slightly ridiculous.
Pelison guffawed at the look but Mija smiled. "Let's go smack some rocks!"
xxx
Link was staring at Hudson who was staring back at Link.
"I need someone who can get things quick. Food, soap, that sort of thing."
Link kept staring at him.
"There's no need to get snippy. This was all your idea remember?"
Crossing his arms, Link huffed.
"And while you're at it, could you also find me another 15 pieces of flint, 10 pieces of luminous rock and... 5 pieces of topaz?"
"..."
Link dropped the stones at Hudson's feet.
"Sweet, thanks."
xxx
Rito village was looking as beautiful as ever. The sun was rising in the east, casting the tall spire in a golden glow. The air was crisp and Link inhaled it deeply.
He hoped he could find Fyson somewhere.
The climb up, was refreshing and the view was stellar, as it always was up here.
His first place of visit was the platform Link knew Fyson liked to hang out.
The only thing that greeted him there were a few Rito chicks playing. They must've hatched recently because Link didn't recognize them.
The general store had expanded. Their supplies were a lot more varied then last time Link was here.
It was easy to see why.
Fyson tried to duck away behind the bed, before Link could see him, but well... Link saw him.
There was an awkward pause as Link stared at Fyson, and he slowly came back up.
"...Oh hi, Link. Funny meeting you here. " Fyson said awkwardly, holding his wing shyly.
"..."
"I was just... Inspecting the wood... Yeah. Woodlice, very dangerous here." He tapped the wooden beam.
"..."
"So, how can I help you?"
Link squinted his eyes, and slowly got his charcoal and parchment out. He doodled Tarrey Town with a birdy stick figure returning to it.
"I- I can't go back."
Raising an eyebrow, Link wanted to know why.
Fyson slapped his wings in front of his eyes. "I left! When the earthquakes happened, and the islands started floating... I flew away. I-I'm a coward... A big stupid chicken! That's what I am."
Fyson started crying. Truth was, Link knew exactly how Fyson felt. There were moments in his journey, when Link really wanted to run away.
He never did, but he understood. Not to mention Fyson was a shopkeeper, not a trained knight.
Link put his arm on Fyson's back, when a Pink Rito entered the shop carrying supplies.
"Oh sweetpea, What's wrong?"
"...'m a chicken, ma."
"Who said you were a chicken?"
For the first time, Fyson told his mother what had happened.
"Oh peanut, you're not a coward, but... I do feel you should go with Link."
Fyson shook his head no.
"Peanut... It's obvious this is eating you up inside. You need to go. Be brave."
Startled, Fyson looked up at his mother, who smiled gently in return. "You'll be fine."
xxx
Hudson saw two characters approaching on the horizon. It looked like Link had done it again.
Maybe he should do something nice for the little mute fire-cracker.
An idea slowly started to take shape...
xxx
To Fyson's bewilderment, Hudson showed happy surprise on his face, not derision and anger like he expected.
He got an awkward hug from the big man, when the surprise died down, he quickly returned it.
"Where have you been?" Hudson asked with his usual way of getting to the point.
"I was working at my mothers shop."
"Good, It's good to have a place to fall back on."
Hudson turned around.
"Yo Pelison, Greyson. Look who's here!"
Out of respect for Greyson's disability, they walked towards him.
Greyson and Pelison were just as enthusiastic in their greeting as Hudson was. Greyson felt a shock of pain running through his back, but he didn't care. It was just nice to see Fyson again.
With a stunned expression, Fyson exclaimed: "Wait, you're not mad?"
"Mad? Why would we be mad?" Greyson said.
"Because I flew away?"
Greyson scratched the back of his head. "Well of course you flew away. You're a bird guy, aren't you? I would've flown away too."
Hudson put his arm around Fyson. "Didn't you get help? I remember people coming pretty quick to find us."
"...Yeah, I found people at the nearby stables."
"See?... I think you've been over-thinking things." Hudson said.
Fyson smiled. He couldn't believed that, not only was he forgiven, but more importantly, as far as his friends were concerned, there was nothing to forgive.
Relief flooded the poor Rito from the tips of his toes, to the point of his beak. He burst out in tears again, but this time they were tears of happiness.
It was time for a group hug.
xxx
"Hey, do you think Rhondson would like to come back?"
It was Pelison that asked the question. He remembered the fun they used to have when he was younger. She taught him fun rhymes, and things you could do with cloth.
Hudson swallowed, and walked away from the fire.
"Nice going, shortstack." Fyson teased. "Maybe you should ask him about his unborn child next."
Embarrassed guilt filled Pelison.
As Mija inquired who Rhondson was, Link started thinking.
The town was coming along nicely. It had a few comfortable buildings. It had a nice cool cave for storing things. People were coming and going to trade. It was starting to come alive.
Link casually finished his thoughts as Mija cried out in agony when she found out that Hudson was already taken.
That lady seemed to have poor luck in finding men. He noticed Greyson comforting her and knew she would be alright.
Link got up from the campfire to pack his things. He left 20 pieces of flint, 15 pieces of luminous rock and 5 pieces of sapphire in the cave for Hudson to find.
xxx
Oh, she was definitely starting to show, Link observed. She was around that stage where, if you didn't know if someone was preggers or not, it was best not to comment.
Rhondson was surprised to find Link back in her mother's shop. He was gesturing wildly. She guessed that he wanted to know how far along she was.
"I've got three month still to go."
Link made it clear if she might reconsider going back now that Hudson got his mojo back and the town was starting to come alive again.
"Oh Link, I'm sorry. I can't go back now. I would need a doctor or a healer or something to deliver this baby."
She sighed and looked outside the small window. It seemed that she really wanted to go back.
"I miss him a lot you know..."
Because Link was pondering about healers, he missed what she said. Instead of trying to gesture for her to repeat herself.
He instead tried to find a way to leave the shop without getting caught in a long conversation.
He didn't succeed.
xxx
Feeling rather exhausted, Link found his way back to Hudson and the crew.
"A healer?" Hudson said. "Well I guess the Zora would know about that won't they."
Link nodded in an 'Oh yeah, I totally forgot about them.' sort of way.
He was about to leave again when Hudson stopped him. "Can I ask for one more favor?"
With an eye twitch he couldn't control, Link crossed his arms.
"You wouldn't happen to have one of those nice shiny star thingies would you?"
With an audible 'pock' Link threw one on Hudson's forehead.
xxx
Zora's domain's waterfalls had rearranged somewhat when the islands started floating. Big water streams seemed to fall right out of the sky. Because they did.
Alison couldn't care less about any of that. She was an accomplished healer. An accomplished healer with nothing to do.
"Stupid long lived fish-people. Why can't someone break a fin or something?"
Derogating her fellow Zora brought her no satisfaction. She slumped in her seat behind the desk. Despairingly she started throwing a ball against the wall.
When she decided to become a healer, she did so with visions of excitement.
Mipha swimming into battle, fighting monsters with her spear in one hand, while healing her comrades with the other.
Alison was no spear fighter, but she at least hoped for an emergency every now and again. A heart attack, a broken bone, geez... She'd take a kid with skinned knees.
Her lollipop supply was fit to bursting. Sullenly she took one.
Interests got peaked when a Hylian started waving his hands around outside her office.
That looked like commotion. Commotion could be trouble.
Oh, joyous of days!
xxx
After much gesturing, Link finally got across that he needed a healer. The Zora pointed him towards a new building, well integrated in the already existing Zora architecture.
Link entered the building and found a female Zora looking at him with a creepy smile.
"Did you ingest poison?" She asked full of excitement and standing up. "Are you about to bleed from every orifice?!"
Link slowly backed away and shook his head.
She sank back down in her seat. "Bummer..."
Link gave her a look.
"I mean... yay, you're not dying. I guess... Waddaya want?"
Doubts flooded Links mind as he observed the girl. She was young for a Zora she'd probably still have a spot or two. Which still made her old compared to the other races.
Would it really be alright to have a healer around that was this desperate?
Who was he kidding, she'd fit right in.
He started explaining, as well as he could, the situation at their new developing town.
"... Hmm." Alison pondered. "Patient seems to be suffering from some sort of neurological speech impediment."
Link bonked her on the head.
"Ouch!" Alison grabbed her head in agony. "Alright already! I'll go to your stupid town! Just stop hitting me."
xxx
Bubbles liked the fish lady. She fixed his knee that went crick a lot.
xxx
The small town was starting to bustle quite a bit. Link decided to let the adventuring be, and took a day of to just relax.
He decided to take a dip in the lake when he found a strange sight.
Greyson was wearing some sort of bright red flotation device and Alison was monitoring him.
"Hey Link! Look at this! Apparently it's called 'fishy-o therapy,' and it's going to totally fix my back, brother!"
He looked absolutely ecstatic. "I can feel it working already!"
Alison admonished him for losing concentration during his exercises.
Meanwhile, Link stripped down to his shorts and jumped in himself. The water was brisk and refreshing. It was nice to just relax every once in a while.
He let himself float around on his back, relaxing all his muscles, just looking at the sky, listening in on the idle chatter of Greyson and Alison.
Man, he could fall asleep right here in the lake, it was so nice. He closed his eyes and started thinking about all the crazy people he's met along the way.
Suddenly, Link opened his eyes. Bolson!... Crap.
He had to go get him. Alison could fix his knee in a heartbeat... Crap, crap, crap.
Grumbling he left the lake to go and get Bubbles.
Why did he have to go back to Hateno?
Stupid construction people never staying in the place where you need 'em.
xxx
The journey to get Bolson was a boring one. Although he protested at first, saying that Karlson needed him.
Karlson told him that he bloody well knew how to hold a hammer himself thank you very much, and besides. Bolson's hip wasn't getting any better and a Zora healer wouldn't go amiss.
xxx
Bubbles was glad to get the shiny man back in the cart. The apples were juicy and big. The new human stable didn't seem so sad anymore.
xxx
Alison was quite content in her new job. She had a daily task in supporting Greyson. Not to mention the heavy handed construction was causing all sorts of bumps and scrapes to take care of.
Sure, it was a bit weird to put a band-aid on a giant woman with purple hair, but at least it was something different.
Speaking of Mija and Greyson. Were they becoming an item? They were awfully cute together. She supposed time would tell.
A content sigh escaped her lips, when Link came barreling back into town with an old grumpy man in his cart.
"Never a dull moment." She said with a smile.
xxx
Link unhitched his horse with apprehension. He couldn't help but notice that the townspeople were building something in the square. A new goddess statue perhaps?
Yes that was probably it.
Bolson climbed out of the cart and started grumbling.
"Well? Where is this miracle healer? I'm not getting any younger."
The Zora in question heard every word of his grumblings. "Why don't you step into my office."
Bolson gulped. 'Said the spider to the fly.' He watched her creepy smile with apprehension.
Nevertheless, he braced himself and stepped inside. He didn't come all this way for no reason after all, and Hudson was watching.
xxx
A fire was crackling merrily, and everyone had gathered around .
Alison had injected Bolson's hip with something and the swelling looked a lot less angry then it did before.
There was an awkward subject hanging in the air, but no one really wanted to break the silence.
Bolson, never one to leave things that needed saying unsaid. Rolled his eyes and said it. "We need to get that pretty redhead of yours back. You've been moping for too long, Hudson."
Hudson's mustache trembled, he didn't dare hope that he would see his wife again anytime soon but now...
He turned towards Link and tried to put the puppy-eyes on him. It just looked kind of weird. Since his eyebrows were so big he looked more like a sickly bouvier.
Link groaned, and flopped on his back, as the others started to laugh.
Tomorrow was going to be a long ride, back towards the desert.
xxx
Rhondson was sitting on top of the city walls, looking towards the east. She was due in two weeks and she was feeling a little bit restless.
Greta was eying her worriedly, like she could pop at any moment.
Although that was likely true, it still annoyed her quite a bit.
A blue flash, coming from the faraway canyon, caught her attention. Squinting against the sunlight, she could see a small speck flying towards town at a rapid pace.
The speck turned into a figure and turned into Link, as he held onto his glider for dear life.
He smacked against the wall, but seemed unhurt as he climbed his way up.
Gasping and wheezing for breath, Link held up his hand to stall any inquiries.
Rhondson crossed her arms and let him have his moment.
It didn't take long for Link to recover. Through gestures and the occasional word he managed to get across that they've found a healer, and, if she wanted to, she could go back to Hudson.
Her mother tried to talk her out of it, but Rhondson persisted.
"I want to go back."
"But it's incredibly dangerous! Monster populations have started increasing again, and you can't fight in your current state."
"I don't care! I want to go back!"
Now, the Gerudo placed a lot of cultural significance, being an all female warrior society, on pregnancies.
Since they were rare, the Gerudo had a fairly simple unwritten rule when it came to dealing with their heavily pregnant residents.
Pregnant lady wants a thing, pregnant lady gets a thing.
Because it was believed that those who carried life in their bellies were connected to something higher then themselves, their intuition was something best listened to.
Within the hour, the Gerudo had organized a sand-sled, filled to the brim with all the necessities that Rhondson would need in her condition, just to make it towards the stables at the start of the canyon.
Link and her mother would guard her on separate sand-seals.
Riju, the Gerudo chief, had even lend Link Patricia. The fastest seal in the west.
Word was sent towards the stables, to get Bubbles ready for the transfer.
All that was left were the final goodbyes.
Riju told her that she would be missed. She hugged Rhondson tightly.
Rhondson promised that she would bring her daughter back to teach her the ways of the Gerudo, as soon as she could walk.
That was acceptable.
Tears were shed as it will won't do during goodbyes, and then it was time to go.
Operation Desert Pram was about to begin...
xxx
Sand was blasting as they raced towards the bazaar. The ride was surprisingly smooth Rhondson thought, considering the speed they were going.
After they restocked their water supply at the oasis, and continued on, things started to get worse.
Strange, lizard like monsters had laid in ambush. They were lying in wait between two sand dunes as they were traveling up the road.
The lizards started throwing vicious looking boomerangs but Link didn't hesitate.
He urged the seals pulling the sled on, showing the world how just how fast they could go.
Rhondson managed to get an arrow off before she disappeared over the horizon.
The projectile found it's mark on the eyeball of one of the creatures, and it poofed in a purple fog.
Link and Greta meanwhile made short work of the rest with zeal.
No resource management here, Link went all out with the bomb arrows, firing three at once on every target.
He didn't have a sense of humor anymore with these monsters. Not after Zelda.
They chased the remainder off and hurried after Rhondson. She made it towards the canyon first.
Quickly, she unhitched the sled from the seals. The seals went back to the city. They knew their way home.
Rhondson looked up, found the others coming along without pursuers and allowed herself to breathe. She felt her legs turn into jelly, they weren't very stable anyway, being pregnant and all.
She waddled towards the horse that was waiting to take them along. He sniffed her hand enthusiastically and waved his ears.
xxx
Bubbles was a smart horse, he liked the redhead lady. She smelled like sand and mom. She was really fat but that's okay because she smelled like mom.
Bubbles got hitched to a bigger cart filled with loads of stuff by his human. His human smelled like fear which was not good.
But bubbles was brave and licked him in the ear to reassure him. Bubbles is a good horse.
Bubbles always knew that his human did strange. But now he did really strange.
He magicked another horse. Very pretty horse, brown with pretty white mane.
His human jumped on her back and brought mommy's mom with him on her back. Sharp stick thrower at the ready.
Maybe he was expecting troubles. Bubbles is ready for troubles. Bubbles is a strong horse.
xxx
Link could see that Bubbles was flicking his ears to and fro, so he led the group along. He kept a strong and steady pace through the canyon.
The wind echoed through the valley, carrying with it an eerie sense of anticipation.
Rhondson had her bow at the ready. As did her mother.
They encountered wooden structures running parallel along the road all over the mountainous walls.
Suddenly Link held his fist aloft, ordering them to stop.
Climbing of his horse he gestured them to silence. Sneakily and agonizingly slowly, he climbed his way up the mountainous terrain.
For the longest time, the women had no idea what was going on, until they heard it.
An explosion of monstrous proportions thundered in the distance. Followed by the hysterical shouts of bokoblins trying to figure out what was wrong.
They could see some bokoblins trying to flee in their direction, but they were afraid and unorganized.
Rhondson and her mother picked them off easily.
Another explosion followed and Link came soaring back on his glider. Landing perfectly on Epona.
He waved them on ahead.
The road was clear.
xxx
The next three legs of their journey were relatively uneventful. Hardly any monster encounters and the road's were well maintained.
Rhondson had the luxury of taking it easy. She slowly drifted off as the cart was gently rocking back and forth along the path.
Greta couldn't help but marvel at the spectacular views Hyrule provided. It had been a long time since she saw them.
Rolling green hills, meandering little rivers and ponds. Cute little bridges for them to cross.
'It wouldn't be long now.' she thought. 'We're almost there.'
Suddenly, a scream of surprise came from the cart. Link and Rhondson's mother came hurrying back from scouting ahead.
"Guys? I think my water broke."
A small puddle had indeed formed within the cart without a cloud in site.
Link felt the signs of a panic attack setting in. He wasn't trained for this. How was he going to deliver a baby?! Luckily Greta took charge.
She commanded Link to get a couple of towels and to make a comfortable seat.
Thank goodness. He didn't actually have to do the actual delivering.
When in doubt, trust in a superior officer. He did as was instructed. A comfortable seat was made.
It would still be a while before labor started but they were still quite a way of from the town. That worried Link quite a bit. This really wasn't his forte. Truth was he couldn't wait to get her back to town so it would be out of his hands.
Absentmindedly he gave Bubbles an apple and patted him on top of his snout. He could hear Rhondson and her mother discussing the upcoming events.
They contained unpleasant words like 'dilation' and 'contractions'. Bubbles whinnied and couldn't help but agree. Some things are just too brutal for a man's mind to contemplate.
With a thwip-thunk an arrow suddenly embedded itself in the cart. A small group of bokoblins had gathered themselves behind the nearby shrubbery and chose this moment to attack.
Link didn't hesitate and smacked Bubbles on his hindquarters.
The horse reared on his hind legs and stormed of at a quick gallop, Rhondson and her mother screaming in the back from the sudden jolt.
Another arrow flew in Link's direction. He batted it away with his bow and returned fire.
His arrow struck the bokoblin right between the eyes and it poofed into non-existence.
The other bokoblins didn't approve of that, not one bit. They fired arrows of their own.
But Link was no longer there. He had run away when they had looked away for a second. He whistled for Epona and through the weird magiteck of the sheika she appeared.
The sound of hooves on dirt was all that remained for the monsters to enjoy as he jumped on Epona's back and rode to catch up with the cart.
Bokoblins looked at each other in consternation. How could they have ruined such a perfectly good ambush? Luckily, they had horses as well.
The poor beasts looked haggard and ill, but they were still quick. They galloped after the cart with the speed of the desperate. Fear for the whip and fear of the cooking pot.
Link heard the sound of hooves and instinctively knew they were in trouble.
Rhondson had started to breath heavily. The shock of the bokoblin attack must have accelerated her labor... or something. Link was no expert.
An arrow whizzed by and impacted scarily close to Rhondson's belly.
The sight infuriated Link beyond any reason. What sort of despicable creature attacks a woman in labor?!
He turned Epona around and drew his bow. From his quiver he pulled a bunch of yellow-tipped arrows. He put one in his teeth and held the rest between each finger.
Four arrows flew in rapid succession and four bokoblins fell of their horses in electrified agony.
The horses that had seated the bokoblins immediately fled towards freedom. They held no love for their former masters.
It gave them a moment of respite but nothing more.
Link urged Bubbles to keep running. He could see far meaner looking bokoblins already closing in from the nearby hills. They were coming from both sides in a pincer formation.
He would have to be quick if he wanted them to survive. They were almost within arrow range.
Epona galloped up the hill to try and intercept one of the bokoblins. It had a mean smirk on his face. This one looked a lot meaner then the others. What with his creepy silver coloring.
With eager bloodlust it nocked one of it's arrows. As it did so, the arrow started to make an ominous hissing noise.
Bomb arrows.
Link was to slow and to low on the hill to reach his enemy with arrows. An overwhelming sense of panic settled over him as he realized the seriousness of his situation.
Time seemed to slow down had the bokoblin pulled on his drawstring to take aim.
Wait... Time!
With speed he hitherto didn't know he had. He grabbed his Sheika slate from his belt and used its stasis function.
The bokoblin hovered in mid-air, still holding his bow menacingly. His horse fled into the nearby bush to escape all this madness.
And Link pulled some bomb-arrows of his own.
He fired them, three at a time, right into the bokoblin's stupid face. He wouldn't be a happy camper when time resumed for him.
Link didn't waste a moment to admire the spectacle. He had another one of those monsters to deal with.
Hooves thundered as Epona sped down the hill and towards the cart, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time. Link's throat closed up in fear. The bokoblin had a clear shot.
But Link hadn't been paying attention to the cart. Rhondson, who was still breathing heavily, saw the bokoblin coming as well and had, in an act of desperation, thrown the closest thing she could grasp.
Turns out it was her mothers favorite sword.
The blade flew in a lazy arc and stuck itself in the ground.
Right in front of the charging bokoblin.
The poor horse tripped over the blade and somersaulted right with the monster on his back.
A puff of purple smoke was all that remained of the bokoblin. The horse got up and galloped away with the joy of freedom.
Link looked around and closed back in on the cart. The enemies attack seemed to have stopped but he didn't drop his guard. They were nearing the ruins of the Akkala citadel.
That place had seen better days.
Bubbles slowed the cart down. He was frothing at the mouth, clearly exhausted. A good scratch behind the ear from Link reassured him that things were okay.
They stopped completely to catch their breath for a moment and drink some water. Link gave Bubbles a whole bushel of apples. When he was done he let his horse drink from his hand.
Epona stole an apple or two from him but Bubbles didn't seem to mind.
The situation in the cart was much more grim.
Rhondson was in full on labor. Her mom was doing... things between her legs. There was a lot of heavy breathing going on.
Despite the situation, Link didn't want to stay here, in the shadow of those ruins. There was still evil there. A lot of it.
Fortunately his friends agreed. Unfortunately it was for a different reason.
"Rhondson needs a healer... she's bleeding a lot."
Link looked over and saw a disconcerting number of red towels. Rhondson was starting to look very pale.
Fine! They'd just go to the town in one night! Whatever.
xxx
Bubbles was tired. He was really fast for a long time. Bubbles was a good horse. He liked the apples. They would help him be fast again.
Bubbles' human came up to Bubbles. He looked very serious. Redhair lady was hurting a lot. Bubbles knew, Bubbles was a smart horse.
Human dropped all sorts of fancy carrots in front of Bubbles.
Bubbles ate them all. They made Bubbles feel fast and strong!
xxx
They needed to move. Link could feel something stirring in the dark depths. A look was shared between everybody. They knew it couldn't get any worse.
Of course that was the moment it started to rain followed by an ominous rumbling.
The ground started to shake and Link almost lost his footing.
Suddenly the entire mountain that housed the citadel exploded.
Bubbles didn't need any further prompting and bolted. Rhondson and her mother jerked in the cart but managed to hold on.
Link whistled and summoned Epona once more. He made to follow his companions but was stopped in his tracks by what he saw.
It looked like a giant divine beast had erupted from the mountain. Although this thing looked anything but divine. It almost looked organic in places.
Big glowing purple veins ran through what looked like a giant misshapen horse.
Link never jumped on Epona's back quicker. She didn't need much coaxing to flee that thing.
Together they caught up to the cart easily.
Bubbles was doing his best but it was clear that they were just too slow. The beast had shrugged of the mountain and was coming for them now. It roared towards the heavens with an unholy and oddly mechanical shout.
Suddenly it jumped and landed in front of them.
Link's bomb arrows wouldn't work in this torrent, but his shock arrows might. He fired as many of them as he could in rapid succession.
xxx
Bubbles was a smart horse, he knew that forward was the only way to safety. So he ran in between the big bad horse legs as his human fired yellow sticks at at the big bad horse.
Bubbles was happy that the big bad horse didn't know what to do about that and stood still for a moment.
He knew that the humans in the cart were not feeling good so he ran really fast. It was good Bubbles' knee wouldn't go crick anymore. Now he was really fast.
He hoped that girl horse would notice Bubbles.
xxx
They went over the West Sokkala Bridge. The waterfalls seemed to confuse the divine beast in it's tracks for a moment. It didn't know how to deal with it's footing but then it decided to just jump over to the others side instead.
In desperation Link continued to fire his arrows.
The beast had since wizened up to that though. It roared again and the shockwave of it deflected the arrows.
Even though it didn't do any damage the beast was distracted long enough for the cart to make it passed the second bridge.
Now there was only one bridge remaining. Bubbles ran like he never did before. The cart was jostling to and fro. Rhondson and her mother were holding on tightly.
They looked scared at Link as he crested the hill with that giant monster right on his heels. A red light was tracking him from in between the monsters deformed eyes. Ominous beeping began to sound as it prepared to attack.
Suddenly the beeping sound stopped and a bright light shot out from the giant horses mouth. They feared for Links life. But with lightning quick reflexes he spun around on his horse and batted the light away with his shield.
The attack reflected back at the beast and struck it in it's face with a loud explosion. It stumbled backwards as a large chunk of it's face fell off. Ground fell away as the giant creature slid into the river below, screeching as it went.
It wouldn't be firing any more lights anytime soon.
They crossed the last bridge. From here on it would be a strait shot to town. Link hoped that that last attack had done it in.
His hopes were dashed when a horrified wail came from the cart.
Rhondson was pointing behind them as they saw the beast clawing itself out of the river, it's face maimed to reveal it's horrendous skull.
All of a sudden it launched itself out of the crevice. Link could see that it's fall had done some damage to it. Large chunks of it's outer shell were hanging loosely and breaking away.
It only made the beast more determined to hunt them down.
Crawling and screeching it came at them. It was slower this time but Bubbles was tiring as well.
Link kept firing his shock arrows at it. It's fall had revealed more of it's weak spots and he could tell that they were hurting the thing. He didn't know if he was doing actual damage though.
Without warning, a hatch opened on the beasts back followed by a shwoop sound. It had fired something and it was flying towards the cart add a rapid pace.
It was too fast to fire at it with a bow but Links Sheika slate had since recharged. He halted the object in mid-air and fired a multitude of arrows at it.
His supply was started to become distressingly low so it was very satisfying when he saw the projectile fly back into the giant horse's face.
An even bigger explosion rocked everyone through their core and it's shockwave almost knocked the cart over. Bubbles didn't pause for a second and just kept on galloping.
Meanwhile the divine beast started to crumple in on itself. It's face and skull were blown completely away, leaving only some dangling wires behind.
It started to ooze purple goop from where it's head should have been when abruptly, it jerked its legs.
An ominous sigh filled the air. As if the creature was trying to scream but couldn't anymore.
It didn't stop.
The lack of a head did not seem to stop it's relentless pursuit. They were still running and the divine beast was still following them.
Link was worried. If they continued on like this then the beast would reach the townsfolk.
That simply wouldn't do. He looked at Bubbles and whistled, pointed towards the town and hoped that the horse would understand.
xxx
Bubbles was a scared horse, but also smart. He wanted to be safe in the horse house, but the big bad horse was still following Bubbles. If Bubbles ran towards the humans then the humans would be scared too.
His human whistled to Bubbles and pointed to the human town, so Bubbles knew it was okay to go to the human town.
Bubbles was very tired.
xxx
Hudson stood atop the hill looking towards the southwest. He heard strange noises all throughout the night and couldn't sleep. Something wasn't right. In fact something felt very very wrong.
The occasional flash of light in the distance worried him. Whatever it was it certainly wasn't thunder and it was headed this way.
He was discussing with himself whether or not he should alert the rest of town when an eerie screeching, carried on the wind, did it for him.
A soft landing noise alerted Hudson that Fyson had arrived.
"This is bad. Can you check it out?" He asked.
He never got a response. Fyson had already gone up, flying towards the lights.
xxx
The rain pelted down across his back. It was hard to fly in these gusty winds. Through the haze he could clearly see some sort of chase going on.
Luckily his eyes were sharp. A red beam of light was tracking a fast moving cart, going in the direction of the town.
Abruptly the creature fired a beam of light that was reflected back.
It was short, but in that moment Fyson could clearly see two mops of red hair and Link with his big shield.
He sped back to Hudson at once.
xxx
With a grim expression, Hudson listened to Fyson's description of the situation. The townspeople had gathered around, huddled together in a tense silence.
Hudson took a moment to think. "Pelison, do we still have those depth charges we used to blast the cave?"
"Yes. We buried them up the hill so that we could bring them to the Gorons later."
Greyson, who was a lot more fit due to Alison's treatment, quickly rolled towards the dig site.
Pelison threw a shovel to him. Time was of the essence. The sounds were becoming louder and louder.
Luckily Greyson was a Goron and he was able to dig up the red barrel full of explosives with one big swoop. He threw it at Hudson who caught it in both arms.
He turned towards Fyson. "Can you carry this in flight?"
The townspeople were starting to panic. Fyson was starting to feel the fear as well. "No! I can't grip it with just my hind talons! I-"
"Can you carry me?"
"I-I-I, Yes I can try to carry you by you shirt!"
"Then let's go."
With tremendous effort, Fyson was able to lift Hudson and the barrel both. Thank goodness he didn't have to carry them far. He could see the cart and the divine beast just over the hill.
Luckily the aerodynamic shape of Hudson's head and the lift generating properties of his mustache helped Fyson to generate some speed mid flight.
xxx
The last shock arrow flew fast and true to no avail. The divine beast was still coming, Rhondson had passed out, and even Epona was getting tired.
Bubbles swerved in the direction of the town, hoping that it would provide safety.
The divine beast followed them. Whatever possessed it do to so was relentlessly malevolent in it's dogged pursuit.
Link couldn't allow that thing to reach the town. Not after they'd just rebuild. Not after all that suffering. He wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't allow it!
He yanked the master sword from it's scabbard, and with an incomprehensible yell, he stormed the foul thing.
Hooves thundered through the mud. Time seemed to slow down.
Link fired a beam from his sword right into the hole where the creature's face used to be.
A small sliver of purple ooze erupted from the cut. Compared to the injuries it had already endured it seemed paltry. The shear waves of hatred emanating from the thing though, were anything but.
Slowly it turned towards Link, threateningly.
But Link was well done with this thing at this point. He fired another beam for good measure, then turned Epona around and ran away.
Well, he got what he wanted. The beast was following him now.
xxx
A horse-drawn cart came barreling into the towns square.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Alison made her way through the crowds that had gathered, carrying her medical bag.
"Get out of the way man!" Rhondson's mother pushed a gawking Hylian to let Alison on the cart.
"Well, well, well, what seems to be the problem?"
"My daughter is having a baby! She's lost a lot of blood and she passed out!"
Alison had put her fingers on Rhondson throat to check her pulse. "Wow! How exciting!" Alison pulled a bag with a clear fluid out of her medical bag and in the arms of the Gerudo. "Here, hold this bag."
Without aplomb Alison stabbed a needle in Rhondson's arm.
"Squeeze that bag." Alison said, has she put her hands where no one should put their hands in polite company. "Oh silly goose, you're not supposed lay that way 'round."
Rhondson was starting to wake. The fluid had increased her blood pressure enough to make her conscious. "Huz- wha?- Mother?... What's going on... I'm so tired."
"You're having a-"
"Push!" Alison could feel two little legs. Could practically count the toes.
"Hm...So...tired."
"You can sleep after you PUSH!"
Rhondson pushed.
xxx
Hudson felt the wind pelting all over his head. He couldn't see a thing in this rain. He had no idea how Fyson did it.
Still he held on to his barrel. Some voice inside of him telling him to fight. To keep his little new town safe.
Fyson was flapping his wings frantically.
"I'm not a chicken, ma!" He shouted in the rain. "I'M NOT A CHICKEN! Whoooah!"
Suddenly Hudson could feel the violent descend and held on for dear life.
"We're getting close now." Fyson shouted over the rainstorm. "Prepare to drop the charges!"
Hudson trusted in his friend to know what to do.
xxx
Link couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wanted to rub is eyes, though of course, there was no time.
He swore he saw Fyson carrying Hudson through the storm, shouting something about chickens.
He also saw something red and barrel shaped.
In a flash he knew what they were planning. He also knew that it would fail. No way that the barrel would ignite in this type of weather.
He needed an ignition source and he needed it fast. But what could he use? He was completely out of arrows.
Then he heard an ominous sound. It looked like the shield on his back was starting to emit green sparks.
The divine beast had progressively come closer when Link had made a run for it. He was now almost close enough to try and swipe at him.
It was now or never.
Fyson shouted, "Loose!" as Hudson dropped the barrel. They turned back towards the sky immediately, not wanting to get even remotely near the divine beast.
Link could see the barrel rolling in the air. Time slowed, he grabbed the shield from his back and awkwardly nocked it on his bow... and fired.
The shield was gliding like Frisbee through the air, sparking angrily as it flew, towards the barrel and the divine beast.
They actually touched in mid-air.
...
Nothing happened.
Both objects fell on the divine beast.
...
And still nothing happened.
The divine beast lifted it's front-hooves.
...
Something happened.
xxx
Fyson was flapping away wildly trying to gain altitude. "Where is the kaboom?! There should be an earth shattering ka-"
It felt like the sun had come up.
Even when he wasn't looking at it he could feel the heat. Then a powerful force from behind blew him and Hudson away.
Fyson had lost his grip on Hudson as they both flew with high speed at a group of trees.
Branches broke and snapped off. Leaves blew away in the wind.
They were finally stopped by a group of thick branches, dangling precariously of the ground.
"Ugh..."
"Ow..."
Fyson looked at Hudson and Hudson looked at Fyson. They were completely scratched up. Fyson had leaves poking out of his wings and Hudson had a long thin stick growing out of his mustache. One cheeky little bird landed on it with a confused look on it's face.
They couldn't help themselves, they both started laughing as the little bird flew away. All the fear of the moment leaving in a loud bouldering laugh.
Even the rain had stopped as if a shroud had lifted and life could resume. It was a beautiful moment.
Still, reality had to set in at some point.
"I'm in really quite a bit of pain here." Fayson said, still giggling a little bit.
Hudson started looking for a way down. "Me too. I hope I haven't cracked a rib."
With much care, manly grunting and not at all painful whimpers, they made their way down to the ground. They knew there would be a path nearby that would take them up back into the town.
xxx
They were slowly shuffling along the road when they came across another figure doing pretty much the same thing.
Link was walking alongside Epona. The horse seemed to favor one of it's legs and Link was petting her as they hobbled along.
Link himself didn't look particularly fresh either. He was covered in soot from head to toe. A small patch of his hair was still smoldering.
Hudson casually pinched his hair. It made a 'tsss' noise as it was extinguished.
No words were exchanged. Just looks of exhaustion as they shuffeled back up the hill.
xxx
The sun was starting to rise and three men and a horse finally arrived to their destination.
Horror struck one of them through his very core, for he'd never seen a sight so hideous, so absolutely soul crushingly awful.
He now knew why Hudson wanted that star fragment.
One could call it a statue, he supposed, or maybe a gaudy streetlight.
It looked like Link, holding a glowing blue orb over his head.
He supposed that wasn't unusual. Exploding oneself of a rock was a perfectly legitimate form of transport and of course most people would recognize him for that.
But it seemed that the townsfolk couldn't quite agree on what outfit he should be wearing and decided mix and mash a few of his more popular ones.
Including the Gerudo one.
Link groaned to the amusement of Fyson and Hudson. He had to admit though that the statue as a whole made for a rather fun looking town.
The gemstones that were used to make the buildings started to glitter in the sunlight. Though never so much that you had to squint your eyes.
Mija's little pond was the center of a small eclectic looking park. Tradition dictated that you would throw a few rupees in for good fortune.
Most of the shops were now inside buildings, though most of them had stalls and seating area's outside as well.
When Link approached his own statue he noticed that there was an elaborate stone plate underneath it. It had a list of names he recognized as the deceased.
'In loving memory of all those who lost their lives during the fall of Tarrey Town and to honor those who never gave up hope.'
'Welcome to Twinkle Town.'
Link swallowed a lump and stared at the plate for a while.
xxx
Hudson entered Alison's office to have his ribs checked out when something completely different took his breath away.
Big blubbery tears formed underneath those massive eyebrows of his.
He'd never seen anything so beautiful.
They were sleeping, and he didn't want to disturb them as they were laying there so peacefully.
He must've stood there for a long time taking in every little detail. His daughter was looking a little grumpy in her sleep. Moving about this way and that.
She was about to wake up he knew.
On tippy-toes he entered the room and put his daughter in his arms for the very first time.
He held her when she woke up and he could tell she was hungry. This was the moment that he found out that she had a powerful set of lungs as well.
It was a strange time to realize that he'd never been more happy.
The crying woke Rhondson up of course. Rhondson and Hudson looked at each other.
Rhondson swore that she fell in love all over again in that moment. She married a sweet man.
"I think she's hungry, mom."
"Better bring her over here then." Rhondson said, feeling a pleasant lethargy. Alison had given her something for the pain.
Hudson sat onto the bed and watched his daughter drink for the very first time. He couldn't help but marvel at her bright blue eyes, those tiny little hands and those tine little feet.
With a finger he tried to introduce himself and his daughter grabbed the finger strongly with one hand.
"Hello little Madison, I'm Hudson. I'm your dad."
xxx
Bubbles was a smart horse. He waited till the fish lady left. She didn't know Bubbles knew how to open the turny thing.
Bubbles sat down next to the girl horse. He hoped she wouldn't mind. She was very pretty.
She woke up. Bubbles flapped his ears a bit. The girl horse leaned into Bubbles to feel warm.
Bubbles was a happy horse.
xxx