This chapter was getting too long so I had to split it in half. Next chapter should be uploaded soon!
As welcoming as the musty tunnel was, Link was eager to reach whatever weapon they were after. It had seemed they'd been walking forever. Bugs scattered across the dirt and along the stony walls. Their shadows were creepy and giant whenever one crawled near the torches lining the walls. Bugs usually didn't bother Link too much, as he was used to the ones crawling over rural Ordon. But the hundreds of spiders and roaches creeping around him was definitely unsettling.
He looked over to Sheik, watching her reactions. At least she wasn't screaming at him to kill them, like Ilia probably would. She looked stiff and her brow was furrowed. Confused, maybe? He could see her eyes darting around, her hand carefully placed on a dagger.
What to make of Sheik? At this point, he believed her. He'd seen proof of the fabled Sheikah magic. But she was very secretive. Even when telling him why they were chasing after this weapon, she seemed to hesitate with what details she revealed. He didn't even have any idea where she came from. All he knew was that she was Sheikah, and she had information he needed. She could fight, too. Link thought his skills weren't half-bad, but she had the aura of a trained warrior. At least that's what he thought after seeing her performance with the shadow monster.
"Link." Her clear voice broke him away from his thoughts. "Which way?"
Link's head snapped up and he saw the tunnel split into two paths. "I have no idea. Shouldn't you know?"
"Unfortunately, I don't. Shall we split up?"
Link peered down both tunnels. It was impossible to tell if one was a dead end or not. "No. You said if something touched this weapon, they could get all corrupted. It's better we stick together."
"Alright." Sheik nodded. She gestured over to the left tunnel. "Shall we?"
Link nodded and they started walking, again, for forever.
"So, where did you hide out before all this?" Link asked, nudging Sheik.
Sheik tensed sharply at his touch. "A village."
"Same. Ordon. The one that's right next to Faron Woods."
"How nice."
"What's your village? Maybe we've traded before."
"Mine is hidden away."
Awkward silence filled the air. Sheik didn't seem to be much of a talker.
"... but, I was most recently near Castletown." Sheik said slowly.
Link perked up at the sign of an actual personal detail. "I was supposed to go there not too long ago. Before the attacks."
"Which attacks?"
"Some of my townspeople. Taken into the Twilight realm. Do you know about that?"
Sheik nodded. "Yes, Hyrule's attacker is a Twili. Ordon is not the first to have people forced into the twilight."
"Do you know where else he's attacked?"
"Almost everywhere. I passed through towns to get to you, yet nobody was in them. So many citizens stuck in twilight."
"Really? Completely empty?"
"Like ghost towns." Sheik said softly.
Link let sad silence pass between them for a moment, reflecting on what he had lost. If he and Sheik failed, his friends and the people of Hyrule would be lost to the twilight. The pressure was immense, but so was his motivation.
Sheik cleared her throat. "You said you were going to Castletown, before?"
"I was supposed to deliver a sword."
Sheik turned and looked at him. "For the royal family?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
Sheik clenched her jaw. "I just heard rumors, that's all."
"Really? I would've thought the-"
"Shhh." Sheik stopped. "Do you hear that?"
Link tilted his head and listened carefully. In the distance, he could faintly hear something. Something… familiar. He nodded at Sheik and they slowly continued, stepping silently.
"Do you know what it is?" Sheik whispered.
Link nodded. "I've heard it before, but I don't know what it is yet."
They walked closer in the direction of the sound before coming to a small room. The sound was loudest here. It was coming from a corner. Sheik and Link made eye contact, each ready to strike.
They jumped from the tunnel, each wielding their weapons.
A small, helpless, scared, trapped in a cage monkey shrieked back at them.
Link felt stupid for like, the third or fourth time that day.
He could feel Sheik's irritated eyes burning into his soul. He could feel the anger coming off of her.
She must think I am the dumbest fucking person she's ever met, and I'm the one who is supposed to save Hyrule.
Link cleared his throat. "Ha! It's just a monkey."
Sheik rolled her eyes and put her dagger away. "You said you recognized the sound?"
"...Yes."
"And we were tip-toeing around for the last ten minutes?"
"...Yes."
"All… for a monkey."
Link's face rivaled a cherry's redness. "I know what you're saying, and I honestly don't have an excuse for myself."
Sheik sat down on the dirt and sighed.
Link awkwardly scratched his head. Ilia had yelled at him plenty of times. He was used to Ilia's cursing and angry tears, but he had a feeling he could never mentally prepare enough for Sheik's anger. She held so much authority and power in that stiff stance of hers.
But instead of cursing or yelling, a laugh came from Sheik. Link looked up at her in surprise.
"We sneaked around for a monkey." A smile crossed her face beneath her mask.
Link laughed, too, although cautiously. "I'm an idiot."
"You definitely have your moments." Sheik said carefully, still giggling.
They both exchanged smiles for a second. Link walked over and sat nearby her, now that he knew he wasn't in danger.
"I thought you were going to yell at me." He said sheepishly.
"I don't yell often."
"I feel like you're pretty scary when you yell."
"I don't yell when I'm angry. I become cold and quiet."
"Do you think I would be scary if I yelled?"
Sheik turned and stared at him, analyzing. "I believe so. Although I think it would be difficult to make you angry enough for it."
"I don't know, either. I haven't been super angry much before. I've got no idea if I'd yell or go all dark."
"How fortunate. I hope you never have to find out."
The monkey began banging against the bars keeping it trapped. It didn't like being trapped while Link and Sheik just sat there, and it was making sure they knew it. The noise was deafening and made both of them wince. Link stood and drew his sword, slicing the wooden bars.
Sheik jumped up as the monkey began running around. It screeched and circled the room, grabbing at Link's tunic.
"You don't like monkeys?" Link asked.
Sheik shook her head. "I've never had to interact with one before."
Link peered down at the monkey, which was now insistent on grabbing the tunic. "I think I've seen this one before."
Sheik raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"One kid was stupid and ran into the forest. Some bokoblins caught him and a monkey and shoved them in a cage. It was wooden, like this one. It looks like the same monkey."
"It does seem to recognize you."
The monkey yanked hard enough to make him stumble. Curiously, it seemed to be pulling towards the exit.
Link gnawed at his lip. "Call me crazy, but I think we should follow it."
"You're crazy." Sheik sighed, reluctantly getting up. She dusted the dirt off her suit and walked over. "It probably wants to leave, find the exit."
Link shrugged. "Maybe. I just have this feeling."
"Alright, Hero." Sheik said haughtily. "Either way, we have to go back into the tunnel. There's no other paths here. We chose the wrong way."
Link kept staring at the monkey. "I think it's a 'she'."
"What?"
"The monkey. It seems like a girl."
Sheik tilted her head at him. "...Does it matter?"
"I mean, I guess not." Link mumbled, starting to walk back into the tunnel. Sheik followed closely behind. The monkey let out a high screech and danced around a moment before running in front of him.
Link smiled to himself. The monkey sure sounded happy. Maybe his gut was right. His gut was also telling him to name the monkey. Mandy? No. Maybe… Peach? No, not that either. Belinda. Your name is Belinda. He nodded at the monkey.
The monkey did not nod back. Instead, it seemed much more intent on quickening their past. Belinda would race up ahead, pause, and then screech at them until they caught up. Then she would repeat this lovely and deafening cycle.
Link broke into a small jog to save his precious ears. He heard Sheik huff behind him, but she began jogging with him.
Eventually they reached the original crossroads. Instead of going towards the exit, like Sheik predicted, the monkey sped into the unexplored tunnel.
Link immediately turned to Sheik. "I told you."
Sheik paused and slowly turned her head. He couldn't tell if it was amusement or bitter hatred in her eyes. The red really threw him off. He decided it was probably a mixture of both, honestly.
The right tunnel was much shorter than the left tunnel they had chosen. After only a minute or two of following the monkey, Link pointed out a light in the distance.
"That doesn't look like a dead end." He said through heavy breath.
Sheik gave him a nod in agreement. It looked close enough, but a pang in her stomach gave her the impression that they'd have to stop before reaching it. Looking around, she didn't notice any imminent danger, but looking up made her stop in her tracks and yank Link back by his tunic.
"What? Come on-" Link protested.
Sheik shushed him and pointed up above the entrance into the light-filled room. A gigantic spider hung above.
Red and purple marks etched around the body, circling around the legs and abdomen. A large red hourglass blazed across the underside. An ordinary black widow, now enhanced with dark power.
"Holy shit." Link echoed her thoughts.
"It touched the weapon." Sheik said gravely.
The monkey was blissfully unaware of the danger above. It circled around them, cooing and trying to pull Link toward the light.
"I'm going to try to make this as easy as possible. Be prepared to fight, in case I miss." Sheik pulled a dagger from her sheath, searching the spider's body for its dark eyes. If she could throw the dagger exactly right, she could stab it through the eye and it would drop dead, completely avoiding a fight.
She scanned over for the shiny eyes, finally finding her target. Its hungry eyes darted back and forth, watching something. What was it watching?
The monkey. The monk-
A horrid screech rang in the air as the spider leapt down, landing right in front of the monkey, it's sharp fangs dripping with venom, half a foot away from crushing and killing its prey.
Sheik let out a yell and threw her dagger right at its jaws. The spider's ugly mouth roared and eight angry eyes now turned on her and Link.
Its legs were so heavy that the ground shook as it scurried across the room. Sheik dodged and raced towards the stone walls.
"GO!" She screamed at Link. He was trying to pull out his sword but the shaking ground was making him stumble. The spider ran toward him and clicked its fangs together, preparing for its meal.
Sheik slipped out another dagger and landed it, this time in its abdomen. The spider roared again and turned to her. She had managed to distract it from Link, which was the goal, but now she had to think of a way to not get hurt.
It came thundering toward her, the venom staining the dirt below it. Sheik let it charge and dodged at the last second. A crash sounded behind her as the spider directly hit the stone wall. She turned, hoping it had done some damage, but she could see no injury. Instead, it seemed even more enraged.
New plan. She waited for it to charge again, this time jumping and kicking off the wall. She threw herself high enough to land on the spider's back. The spider protested and roared, trying to turn and bite at her. She managed to pull a knife and slash at its eyes before being thrown off and landing painfully on the ground.
Blood dripped from the spider's new injury. It stumbled back, clicking and spitting venom. At least its eyesight was damaged, but she hadn't pierced deeply enough to kill. She groaned and ran toward it, dropping and sliding through its legs and slicing under the abdomen.
Another roar. She cursed mentally. Unless she could get through an eye, she would have to keep stabbing or dodging until it bled out. Her daggers couldn't pierce deep enough. Magic might help, but still not kill. But it would buy her the time she needed.
She was best with water. With quick focus and precision, she yelled and cast down a short burst of rain, drenching the poor creature. It's legs collapsed but the fangs clicked away furiously.
The sound of deep, stabbing flesh echoed across the tunnel. The clicking stopped and the spider's body twitched for a moment more before all movement ceased. Sheik darted her head toward the sound to see Link and his sword fully embedded in the spider's abdomen.
His gaze was different than she had ever seen before. His face was hardened, with something powerful and brave beneath it. Jaw clenched, eyes focused, muscles tense, no emotion. She could almost hear the hum of the triforce of courage in the air. Sheik felt it in that moment. The gods had chosen a warrior, even if Link didn't know it yet.