Link watched in horror as the moon began to fall above Termina, his recently Deku Scrub cursed form shaking slightly, whether from fear or the fact that the ground began to tremble the closer the celestial body got to crushing Clock Town, he wasn't sure.
He didn't know what to do. Skull Kid had proven himself too powerful to confront directly in his current state, and even if he could beat him, there was simply no time.
Time. That brought to mind a memory of Zelda reteaching him the Song of Time. Looking down at the Ocarina of Time, which he had managed to knock from the Skull Kid's hands, he knew that it was his only chance. He had no time to try anything else, now able to hear the screams of the residents of Clock Town as they scrambled to get away from the imminent destruction.
He was surprised when the Ocarina magically changed into a set of Deku Pipes when he tried to play it, but he pushed that aside in order to begin the Song of Time, somehow knowing instinctively the proper way to get the notes he wanted out of the unfamiliar instrument.
He played, and as the last note of the song faded away, he waited for something to happen to stop this calamity, to whisk him to safety.
But nothing did.
Link felt a crushing despair enter his heart as he realized the Song had done nothing, that he had failed and was going to die. He looked up again, feeling the heat and force of the falling moon press down on him, the sense of malevolent glee of the Skull Kid suffusing everything as the masked boy cackled madly.
Link felt his wooden body catch fire, his limbs alight. He saw the two fairies, Tael and Tatl, drop from the sky, dead before they hit the ground, as the only thing he could hear over the crashing sound of the falling moon was Skull Kid's insane laughter.
He couldn't help it. As he felt his body turn to ash, Link cried out for the only being that had always given him comfort since he left the forest.
"NAAAAAAVIIIIII!"
Link's eyes opened, the distant call of a cucco breaking the calm of the morning as sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains of the window. He brought a hand to his sweat slick face, the covers on his bed pushed to the side, exposing his bare torso to the chill morning air.
A nightmare. He sighed as he felt himself relax. They weren't uncommon. Dreaming of the past, with a dark twist, was something he'd learned to deal with after many years of adventuring. Things that happened. Things that could have happened. They all haunted him.
He turned his head, finding Navi sound asleep in the small bed on the bedside table that had apparently been delivered from the palace the night before while he had been at the banquet.
The banquet… Link let out another sigh, this one of irritation. He hadn't intended on revealing his titles and status when he'd gone there. He'd been content to simply be a humble warrior and adventurer. He didn't really need much more than that. Otherwise he would have stayed in Atolla and taken over his duties as Exarch.
That wasn't the life he wanted, however. He was a simple man, raised in the forest where the children only traded rupees out of amusement rather than any true desire for wealth. Everybody there knew that If they truly needed something it would be freely given.
However, the nobles at the banquet had irritated him. He could handle them casting aspersions as to his character. As far as they knew he was a commoner, after all. But when they had insulted Zelda in saying she had been foolishly tricked he had felt the need to act. The princess was a dear friend, after all, even if his feelings about her were somewhat complicated. Sometimes he loved her, sometimes he resented her. But considering her place in his life, that wasn't surprising.
At least the nobles' faces at his revelation had been immensely amusing.
Link got up and out of bed with a groan and a yawn, opening the curtains and letting the sunlight stream into his room. He heard Navi let out a groan of discomfort as the light hit her and couldn't keep a smile from appearing on his face at the reminder of her presence. Then he moved into the middle of the room and began performing his morning exercises.
"Mmm? Link?" Navi asked sleepily, peering blearily over the side of her bed at the floor where he was performing some pushups.
"Morning, Navi." He grunted as he exercised, not seeming to have any real trouble with what he was doing.
The fairy was silent for a few moments before she spoke softly. "I wasn't dreaming, then? You're really back?"
Link smiled up at her as he turned onto his back to begin doing sit ups. "I'm here, Navi."
Navi jumped out of her bed and launched herself at the young warrior, holding onto him tightly as he sat on the floor. "I'm… I'm so glad…" She sobbed lightly.
Link gently reached up and ran his finger along her back, soothing her as he let her cry in relief. Once she'd recovered and released him he gave her a smile before resuming his exercise.
Navi watched her partner work out, observing his form in the morning light. She took in the many scars and marks of combat, feeling an ache in her chest at the evidence of the many dangerous situations he'd been through without her to watch his back like she should have. Still, she shook the melancholy off, promising herself that she would make up for the time they'd been separated.
Instead she put a teasing smirk on her face. "Looking good, Link. You must have had girls falling over themselves at the sight of you." She said with a small giggle, enjoying the sight of his extremely attractive form becoming covered in sweat as he kept working out.
Link rolled his eyes. "Not really."
"So you didn't meet anybody special?" She asked with interest.
His reps slowed at the question. "One or two…" He admitted slowly.
Navi leaned forward with interest, a large grin on her face. "Ooh, really? Tell me about them."
He quickly shook his head. "Maybe later."
Navi pouted. "You're no fun. I wanted to find out about the girls that caught your eye. You always seemed mostly immune to girls while we were travelling. I'd swear you were interested in men if it weren't for that time I caught you masturbating to Nabooru."
Link was pushing himself up off of the floor when she said that, and his hand slipped in surprise at her words, sending him crashing him back to the floor. "Navi!" He shouted, face red.
Said fairy burst out laughing, falling back onto her bed as her legs kicked the air in glee. "Hahahaha! Your face! That was perfect! I knew keeping that to myself till the perfect moment was a good idea!"
Link grumbled as he got to his feet, though a small smile kept trying to lift the corners of his mouth. He moved over to the wash basin full of clean water and grabbed a washcloth to clean himself while he waited for his fairy to get over her amusement at his expense.
A knock at the door followed by Malon's voice interrupted the laughing fairy. "You alright, Fairy Boy? I heard a crash and a shout."
"I'm fine." He called. "You can come in."
The door opened and the redhead peered in, her face lighting up with a blush when she caught sight of Link's strong, muscular back facing her. "You could at least be decent if you're going to invite a girl into your room, you know." She chided, though she didn't avert her gaze, simply enjoying the show.
Navi grinned, amused. "I agree. You should be more considerate, Link, even if the view is nice."
Malon blinked at the unexpected voice, turning her gaze to the small bed with the fairy on it. "Oh, hello. Sorry, didn't see you there."
Navi waved it off. "It's fine." She took the girl in. "You've grown up, Malon. Last time I we met you were still a kid."
Malon's look of confusion was replaced by realization. "Oh, you're Fairy Boy's fairy." She blushed then, embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot your name."
"It's alright. It's been about seven years since you last saw me, after all. I'm Navi." The fairy said brightly.
Malon smiled. "Nice to meet you again." She then turned to Link, who was beginning to put his clothes on. "Anyway, me and dad were about to have breakfast and I came to ask if you wanted to join us."
Link nodded agreeably. "I'll be right down."
Malon smiled happily. "Great. See you in a bit, then." She closed the door and headed back downstairs.
Navi turned to look at her partner, who was lacing up his boots. "I'm pretty sure she has a thing for you."
Link blushed lightly. "You're imagining things."
Navi giggled. "Well, she was definitely enjoying the view."
Link sighed before standing up, shifting to make sure all his clothes and armor fit comfortably. Navi quickly flew up to sit on his shoulder, kicking her feet lightly as they headed down to the inn's common room, which was nearly packed with people enjoying breakfast and excitedly looking forward to the next round of the tournament.
Making his way among the people, which included a few zoras, a goron, and a couple of gerudo that were being fawned over by some hylian youths, he finally reached Malon and Talon, who had some bread, jams, bacon and eggs on the table in front of them.
Talon smiled at him as he took a seat. "Good morning, my boy. Rest well?"
Link nodded as he served himself. "Well enough.." He said as Navi floated down onto the table, beginning to eat as well from the small pieces of food that Link set to the side of his plate for her.
Talon raised an eyebrow at the fairy sharing their table. "And this is?"
Navi blushed as she realized she'd just gone straight for the food. "Sorry. I'm Navi. I'm Link's fairy companion."
Recognition lit up in Talon's eyes. "Ah, now I remember. You were with him when he first came to the ranch as a kid." He smiled. "Well, it's good to see you again, little miss."
"Same here, Talon." Navi said with a smile.
"How was dinner at the castle, Fairy Boy?" Malon suddenly asked, leaning forward eagerly, obviously having been wanting to know for a while now.
Link chewed on his bread thoughtfully before answering. "...Irritating."
Malon blinked, surprised. "Irritating?"
Navi elaborated. "The nobles didn't take a commoner sitting at the same table as them well. Especially when he was seated closer to the royals than they were." She was about to brag about the fact that he was actually the ruler of a foreign kingdom when she caught his warning look and changed tack. "The royals and the leaders of the other peoples of Hyrule were nice to him, at least."
"It was nice to catch up." He said with a small smile.
Malon frowned and let out a small huff. "I'm not surprised the nobles were rude to you, Fairy Boy. Whenever one comes over to the ranch for a horse they are always conceited and mean."
"In any case…" Talon said before his daughter could go on about the nobles' lack of manners. "Are you ready for the next round of the tournament, Link?"
Link gave a small, confident smile. "Yes."
"Excellent! I've got four hundred rupees riding on you to win the entire thing, so I look forward to seeing you reach the end." The portly man said with a chuckle.
Malon's head whipped around to stare at her father, surprised to hear he'd been gambling. "Dad!?"
"What are my odds?" Link asked, curious.
"A hundred and thirty-seven to one when I placed my bet." Talon said with a smile. "Your status as an unknown really worked in my favor."
"Since when do you gamble?" Malon asked, confused.
Talon shrugged. "Since now. It's not that great a bet. Our shipment for the festival will cover it. And do you really expect Link to lose?"
"Of course not." Malon retorted. "But I don't want you getting any more bad habits."
"I won't." Her father assured her before blinking. "Wait, what do you mean 'any more'?"
The redhead turned away, ignoring her father's indignation with ease. "Well, I think we should get to the stadium. You need to get ready to fight, and we need to find good seats." She said with a smile.
Link chuckled at the byplay and nodded as he swallowed a last bit of bacon, getting up and heading to his room to grab his gear.
"Sweetheart, what did you mean by 'any more'?" He heard Talon ask in a wounded tone as he left, which made Navi giggle on his shoulder.
Zelda smiled as Navi flew over to her as a gerudo raised her fist in triumph to the cheering of the crowd as a man from a mercenary group called the Red Fangs was dragged away after being soundly defeated. "Good morning, Navi. I'm surprised to see you already."
"Good morning, Zelda. Link's getting ready for his fight, and I can't exactly join him in the arena."
"How is he?" Ruto asked as Nabooru finally sat down after displaying her pride.
"He's good." Navi said brightly. "He's staying at one of the inns in town with Talon and Malon from Lon Lon Ranch."
"I'm looking forward to seeing the young man's skills." Nohansen said with interest coloring his tone. "He overwhelmed his opponent rather handily in his first fight, so I'm interested in seeing how he fares against someone more skilled and with a different style."
"We'll find out in a moment, father. His fight is next." Zelda said as the announcer stepped up and called out the names of the next combatants.
"Link of the Kokiri will now face Isali of Ordon Field!" He called as the combatants walked out into the arena. Link's stride was confident and unhurried, his blue scarf flapping lightly in the morning breeze.
His opponent was a woman in her early twenties with long brown hair and chocolate eyes, a few freckles on the bridge of her nose. She wore a blue robe with long, flaring sleeves which was cut short around her thighs and cinched tightly around her slim waist, exposing black tights and knee length boots meant to protect her legs from attack. In her hand she held a staff of gnarled oak wood, a crystal secured at the top.
"A mage then." Navi murmured as she watched the two face each other, Isali with a confident smirk on her face while Link studied her cautiously.
When the match was called to begin Isali immediately jumped back, pointing her staff forward to ward off an attack. Link, however, was playing defensively and simply held his shield in front of him, alert for a magical attack.
Seeing that her opponent wasn't going to make the first move, Isali aimed her staff at him and murmured something under her breath, a ball of flame launching itself at Link, who promptly moved, running with surprising swiftness to the side, strafing around with his shield still up in case of any surprises. His caution served him well, as a large spear of ice was launched at him, impacting against the shield with a loud clanging sound, arresting his momentum and prompting a burst of cheering from the crowds. She quickly launched another fireball at him, but he once again avoided it, though it was a much closer run thing this time.
This went on for another few minutes, Link trying to approach and Isali keeping him at bay with elemental attacks that didn't actually cause any damage. It appeared to be a stalemate.
Then Link apparently had enough and fell back, moving away from his opponent. Isali eyed him warily, staff at the ready in case of attack. She and the rest of the audience was confused when he sheathed his sword and slung his shield back over his back. He faced her empty handed, but right when she was about to launch another spell at him he moved his arms in a slightly complicated manner, and suddenly his hands were no longer empty, a bow now in his hands with a quiver of arrows strapped to the small of his back.
The bow was a beautiful piece of work, made of some sort of dark wood and carved with images of warriors and beasts such as wolves and eagles. It made more than one of the craftsmen watching feel envious of the skill required to create it.
Isali's eyes widened when Link drew and nocked an arrow with practiced ease, aiming at her in less than a second. She barely got a magical shield up in time to protect herself, the barrier visibly cracking from the impact of the arrow, which she was relieved to see was blunt, though it would still be likely to take her out of the fight if it hurt considering the force it had hit her shield with.
"Well then, I guess we know what Sir Link's chosen enchanted item is for this match." The King said as he watched Link pepper the mage with blunt arrows.
"No." Navi said as she watched intently. "The bow isn't enchanted. You can have it checked by your mages after the match if you want. Link is just a really good bowman. He's good enough to score very well on the gerudo's horseback archery range. Making items appear like he did the bow is a piece of magic that all kokiri learn. It helps them carry a lot of stuff around without being weighed down. Link doesn't look it, but he's a walking arsenal, always making sure to have a tool or weapon for any situation."
"Indeed?" Nohansen asked with raised eyebrows. "Would this be something he'd be willing to teach? It would be immensely useful for soldiers or others who may need to travel large distances with many supplies or pieces of equipment.."
The fairy tilted her head to the side. "Maybe. I'll discuss it with him. We might need to consult with Saria and the Great Deku Tree, since it's primarily a kokiri skill."
The King nodded agreeably. "Very well. I look forward to the answer then."
Down in the arena Isali appeared to finally have enough. With an incantation she was surrounded by a plume of wind which deflected Link's latest arrow. He paused in his assault, eyes narrowed, when she jumped up into the air, beginning to rise till she was high above and well out of reach of his physical attacks, the wind surrounding her negating his arrows as well.
Nabooru leaned forward, fingers interlaced as she looked on in interest. "Well now, how is Link going to get out of this one?"
Link's eyes narrowed and his bow disappeared from his hands before he armed himself once again with his sword and shield. Before he could do anything more, however, Isali raised her hands above her head and began to chant. Crackling yellow energy appeared between her hands and began to coalesce, becoming brighter and brighter.
Zelda gasped, quickly grabbing a few sheets of paper she kept close at hand. "I recognize that spell! I thought it was on the banned list!" She quickly went through the list of banned spells in her hand before her eyes narrowed.
"Zelda?" Ruto asked, concerned.
"It's not on the banned list." Zelda seethed as the energy between Isali's hands reached a fever pitch, her chanting loud and forceful. "I could have sworn…"
"What does it do?" Darunia asked seriously.
He got his answer when Isali let out a final, shouted word and thrust her hands towards Link, who stood with his shield at the ready. A mass of lightning burst from between the mage's hands, the bolts flowing non-stop for several seconds, blinding everyone and making them turn their heads, meaning they couldn't see what happened to Link.
Blinking spots out of their eyes along with the rest of the crowd, the King and the Sages turned to look at where Link had been standing, all of them worried about what had happened to the young warrior.
There was more than one sigh of relief when they saw that he was fine, a barrier of energy shaped like a crystal surrounding his body. The ground was scorched around him, showing the destructive power of the spell he'd managed to protect himself from.
"Oh thank the Goddesses…" Ruto said, slumping with relief.
"I'd completely forgotten that he knew that spell…" Navi murmured, relief in her own voice as well.
The crowd had begun to cheer when it became apparent that Link had managed to survive such a devastating attack. Isali still floated up above, breathing heavily after the exertion of using that spell, but her eyes were wide with disbelief.
As the barrier around Link disappeared he crouched down, weapons at the ready, and jumped. All the spectators were confused by what he was attempting to do, as there was no way he'd be able to reach Isali by simply jumping.
However, everybody was surprised when his scarf unfurled and lengthened, becoming a great blue cloak which was split halfway up the middle to make it look like wings. The comparison became more apt when the cloak floated slightly and flapped, adding height to Link's jump till it looked like he was flying.
Isali was caught completely by surprise, and that added to her exhaustion meant she was unable to react in time to prevent Link from bashing his shield into her face, breaking her nose, her wind barrier not being enough to deflect him. She lost her concentration as her head rang like a struck bell, and her wind spell dissipated, making her begin dropping to the ground head first.
The crowd gasped, thinking Isali was going to break her neck when she hit the ground, but another flap of Link's 'wings' drove him towards his opponent, his weapons now sheathed. He managed to grab Isali out of the air just in time and rolled with the impact as they hit the ground, keeping them from getting injured.
The crowd cheered as Isali looked up at Link in surprise at his chivalry as he held her before she sighed. With her nose pouring blood and her body still weak with exhaustion she knew what her only option was."I yield." She said as loudly as she could, prompting more cheers from the audience.
Zelda clapped with a smile as her fellow sages showed their own approval for Link's win in their own ways. As the healers came out onto the field to take Isali from Link's arms she turned to one of her attendants. "Get me the tournament organizer in charge of the rules, now. I want to know why that spell was allowed when I specifically stated it was to be banned."
The attendant shivered at the cold voice her princess spoke with, and she nodded quickly before rushing to do as told.
Satisfied, Zelda turned back to the arena as Link left back to the fighters' waiting station, Navi quickly heading after him after waving goodbye to the princess.
"That was impressive." Nohansen said as he stroked his beard. "Young Sir Link is quite resourceful, and full of surprises. He has considerable weapons skill, has at least one enchanted item that is very useful, and even knows some highly effective magic of his own." He chuckled lightly. "And something tells me we've only seen a fraction of what there is to see."
"Yes." Darunia said as he sat back in his seat. "He has been that way since he was a child. He defeated a beast even the gorons feared to face using his wits and bravery."
"Never, ever, underestimate him." Nabooru said with a grin, though her tone was rather serious. "He will always surprise you." He shrugged and she crossed her legs and relaxed.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what other new tricks he's learned." Ruto said before turning to Zelda. "What do you think?"
Zelda considered it briefly as a sweating man in officious clothing approached with the attendant she'd sent off before, looking terrified. "I think… Link is going to shock all of us before this is all over."
Hello all! Welcome to another chapter of No Good Deed!
This story won the Patron poll, which is why it's been updated sooner than it usually would on its own. I was surprised it beat Survival of the Fittest?, but I'm not complaining. It's nice to work on something different.
As a reminder, if you become patrons, you get a vote equal to the dollar amount you donated for whatever story you want to see updated next on my poll. It's Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis.
As for the story itself, the tournament continues! I hope the fight was entertaining. I've stated before in other fics that fight scenes aren't my specialty, character interaction is. Still, I hope it was up to par.
I had a couple of people ask why I used OCs for villains rather than use someone like Vaati or Bellum. There is actually a reason why I needed OCs rather than established villains. It all relates to the fic's title (which I'm actually surprised no one's asked me about. I wouldn't answer, but I still expected a question or two). You'll understand eventually.
I think that's it for now. See you all next time.