A HUGE thank you to ultima-owner for reviewing! You keep me motivated with your reviews for every chapter! For a while I was considering stopping this fic, since it wasn't getting a lot of attention, but you kept me going!
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Disclaimer: Don't own, etc etc.
Edit 3-18-15: I altered some dialogue to be less awkward and obviously copied from the game script (sort of... kinda... ish...) and added a bit more to the interaction between the brothers and Telma. Nothing too major.
"Oh my f***ing Goddesses that was terrifying!"
Link, who was leaning heavily against the railing of Falbi's cannon flight landing platform, gulped in deep, steadying breaths as he shook uncontrollably. "Okay. I am never, ever doing that again," he gasped.
Dark snorted and smirked mischievously. "You know, you won't really have a choice if you want to come back here. Oh, and do you know how you get down? You'll just love it."
Link glared at him and straightened up, walking into the house. "Which, of course, means that I'll hate it. Are you guys always this sarcastic?"
"Yeah, pretty much. You'll find that most alley kids are. It's either that or we're snarky and short-tempered," Vaati replied cheerily. "Though, I'll admit, we are in particularly good moods right now."
I snickered, remembering one particularly mean kid that mouthed off a soldier once. Then he snuck into the barracks on a dare and never came back out. Shame. We didn't miss him.
As Link descended the ladder, he looked around at the numerous cuccos that resided in the large room. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion, as he asked, "What are-"
I cut him off. "Oh, those?" I told him with a smirk. "You'll find out later."
Link shuddered.
The ride back to the town was done in silence, my brothers and I flying above while Link rode Epona. For the most part we ignored the monsters that traversed the fields, occasionally trampling one that got underfoot or slashing at the flying kargaroks that dive-bombed us. Or tried to, anyway. One genuine bomb to the face and they all scattered like a flock of crows. Cowards.
Soon, we had arrived at the western gate, crossing the drawbridge at a gallop just as the torches flared to life. Dismounting, the green-clad hylian lead Epona to a public stable and tied her to a hitching post.
"So, um, do you three know the way to that place where Ilia was? Telma's Bar, right? Because, uh, I'm kind of lost. This place is way bigger than Ordon, so..." Link looked uncertain and extremely uncomfortable. Dark laughed and shook his head, clapping the teen that could have passed for his double on the back.
"Goddesses, you really are a country boy, aren't you? Come on, we know the way. But if I were you, I'd hide your wallet first. This town is full of thieves and pickpockets. Since you're with us, you should be pretty safe. But hide it just in case," he said. Link nodded and took the purse from his belt, stowing the bag in one of his magically enhanced pouches.
As Dark led the way towards Telma's Bar, he did end up taking several shortcuts through alleyways to get there faster. As we passed through I saw numerous homeless people, and each one stared at us curiously before shrinking back into the shadows as we passed. It seemed as if our absence had been noted. And I had no doubt that news of our return would spread just as fast.
"Here we go. Telma's Bar, where the residents and visitors of Castle Town get drunk, make complete and utter fools of themselves, and then stagger out with one Goddess-sized headache once they've come to. At least, that's what always seems to happen whenever we're here," Dark announced.
Vaati snorted, no doubt remembering the time we'd had to dump buckets of water on one man who refused to wake up after I'd kicked him in a very painful area. In my defense, he'd thought I was a woman and tried to flirt with me. In his defense, the number of drinks he'd had reached at least fifteen before I stopped counting. Now that was one crazy night...
"Eh, wait, what?" Link asked, looking worried. Vaati grinned widely and pulled open the door, pushing him in before he could protest.
When we went in, the first thing that happened was that we saw Doctor Borville, a mean old curmudgeon who only responded to money, walking towards the door.
"That is a Zora child! That is beyond my expertise! Hmmmph!" he groused sourly before pushing his way past us and exiting the bar. Link's eyes widened slightly at the doctor's large glasses, which magnified his eyes to make his butt-ugly face look even uglier.
"Doctor, wait! If something isn't done, this child will..."
A girl, probably about Link's age or a bit younger, appealed to the doctor. but unfortunately, he was already gone. It was Ilia, that girl we'd seen before. She glanced once at Link, no recognition whatsoever in her eyes, before sighing sadly and going back to sit beside the zora boy.
Telma frowned and huffed angrily. "Well, this isn't good. A human doctor won't do, huh... That old coot reminded me, though. I've heard of a shaman in Kakariko Village, in the Eldin lands, who has tended gorons and zoras."
Ilia shot up eagerly, excitement written across her face. "Is that true? Perhaps if we take him there..." she said quickly.
Then a voice echoed from the back of the room, authoritative and strong. "Inadvisable! Too dangerous! But we can't turn a blind eye to a pretty girl in need, either. Yes, we'd better escort you! Am I right, boys?!" shouted a soldier, standing in front of a line of others that were standing in front of the bar. At his words they all started yelling eagerly and shaking their pikes in the air, creating an obnoxious metallic clamor.
I raised an eyebrow at this behavior. Since when had the soldiers of Hyrule actually grown a backbone? Maybe that time spent as spirits had been good for them, after all.
Telma smiled as she looked at them and turned back to Ilia, who looked overjoyed. "Well, isn't that nice. To reach Kakariko, we've got to cross two plains that are each infested by dangerous beasts. But we'll be safe now!" she told the girl happily. But as she talked, I could see the soldiers dying down and starting to tremble in fear, until the by the time Telma was done speaking, the last of them had just fled out the door.
"Cowards! Don't ever show your faces here again!" she called after their retreating backs upon turning around and seeing that they were all gone. Then she saw Link, my brothers and I having hung back in the shadows around the doorway. It didn't look as if she'd noticed us yet.
"Oh my! Looks like we've got one young swordsman left! And not only that, but it looks like this brave young man will escort us, so get ready to go, honey. Pronto!"
Then she turned to Link and smiled at him, looking a bit sad. "You know that girl, don't you? It's a real shame... She can't even remember her own name right now. Bless her heart... She found this poor boy collapsed in the road, so she did all she could to save him. More courage in that girl than in all the soldiers of Hyrule, for sure! You lend your strength to her, you hear me?" she told him sharply.
Then she eyed him critically up and down, then sighed sadly. "You know, honey, you look a lot like somebody else I know. For a minute I thought it was him, standing in the doorway, but... well, would you happen to be related by any chance? His name's Dark, and he looks like you, but with black hair and red eyes. You know him?" she asked.
Link blinked, momentarily dumbstruck. I couldn't blame him, really. Telma certainly had a… presence, let's call it. And, yeah, she could be a bit overbearing for those unprepared. But that was just how she was, and however much we occasionally wished she wouldn't kidnap people off the street to run her errands, she was always like that and I doubted she would ever change.
After a moment, the swordsman shook himself out of his surprise, glanced at Ilia, nodded, and turned towards us. "Come on, guys," he called. "Telma's asking about you."
(We conveniently ignored the unspoken plea of save-me-please-because-I-think-I-just-got-recruited-and-I-have-no-idea-how-or-even-what-I'm-getting-into with practiced ease. Like I said, Telma was always like that.)
Dark poked his head out from where he'd been examining his fingernails behind the door and grinned, waving at the barkeep. I peered around his shoulder while Vaati walked out from behind Link, and we all waved at the older lady.
She stood there, gaping in shock before rushing forwards and pulling us all into a tight embrace. All the air whooshed out at once as I was squeezed so hard I thought my ribs might crack.
"Telma... can't... breathe..." Vaati wheezed. Telma released us and stepped back, beaming happily in a motherly fashion.
"Oh, where have you all been I've been worried sick and so have Auru and Ashei and Shad and we all thought you might have been taken by that disease going around and-" she started babbling and fussing and oh my Goddesses she was actually trying to fix my hair. What.
I ducked away, smoothing out my hair as her fingers snagged on knots that tugged painfully at my scalp. Telma promptly turned on Vaati instead, but I somehow couldn't find it in me to feel even remotely sympathetic. Hey, better him than me.
"Telma, we're fine! We just... got into a bit of trouble and had to leave town for a bit, but we're back. We're actually traveling with Link here for the moment, so we'll be in and out. But it's good to be back. How's the Group been?" Dark laughed, cutting the lady off. Vaati took the opportunity to escape, bolting out of arm's reach in a gust of wind.
Link and Ilia just looked on in confusion.
"Oh, we've been doing well. Ashei's been investigating something up in the Snowpeak Mountains, Shad is researching the Sky People like always, and Auru's been observing the Gerudo Desert from that watchtower of his. Oh, and we inducted that new member, too! You'll probably meet him soon enough," Telma replied happily. "Now I assume you'll all be escorting us?"
After a brief hesitation, four nods of assent were made.
"Well then, let's get going! This poor boy doesn't have forever. I have a cart out back. Let's go!"
"So you say the bridge to the west has been destroyed, huh? Then our only option is to cross the bridge to the east. You see what that means? You'll have to deal with that thing!" Telma pointed to King Bulblin, who was patrolling back and forth across the bridge. I noted grimly that half of one of his horns was missing, and both bulbo and rider looked murderous.
Then Ilia piped up. "Th-Thank you so much for this. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what are your names?"
We gave them, and for a moment, I thought she would remember when Link said his. But alas, it was not to be.
"...Link?! Dark, Shadow, Vaati?! I will never in all my life forget your kindness, Link, Dark, Shadow, and Vaati," she thanked us softly instead.
Telma looked over at her and smiled slightly. "Little lady, I think you'd best save your thanks until we're safe in Kakariko. These swordsmen of ours have great eyes, honey. They're proud and wild… like feral beasts."
I snorted under my breath. Oh, if only she knew...
"We need beasts right now, to keep the true ones at bay. If we make it to Kakariko safely, we'll just thank them then, okay? You ready to roll, boys? You've got to protect these young ones on the way to Kakariko! Okay, it's your turn, boys! We're counting on you all!"
Link nodded, then spurred on Epona to meet King Bulblin on the bridge. My brothers and I flew alongside, and I readied my sword as we approached.
The monster saw us and flashed a wicked grin, raising his arms to reveal two thick wooden shields, one on each hand. With those things protecting him, Link wouldn't be able to use the same technique as last time. He'd have to attack from either the front or from behind.
"Yah!"
The two riders charged each other, and just as they were about to collide, Link drew his bow and shot an arrow directly at the monster's chest. It made a direct hit, and the two flailed around. Link and Epona galloped to the edge of the bridge and turned around, preparing to go again.
While King Bulblin was off balance, Dark swooped in and came up through the ground directly in front of Lord Bulbo, spooking the giant boar and sending it into a frenzy. Its rider lost all control of its mount and they slammed into the railings, making it an easy target for Link's bow. Then King Bulblin was knocked off the giant blue pig and sent careening into the abyss below.
"Vaati! The carriage is on fire! Put it out!" I called, sending a bomb into the face of a bulblin rider. It promptly exploded, blowing the monster to bits. Vaati nodded and sent a whirlwind, blowing out the flaming carriage.
I cursed and swore heavily as a kargarok dropped a bomb under the hooves of the carriage's horse, sending the animal into yet another round around the field, again. As Telma struggled to get the horse back under control, I went back to work slashing the monsters from their mounts. Great Goddesses, how many freaking bulblins were there?!
As Link unlocked the gate to Kakariko and we galloped in, I think everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Now we were safe, and the zora boy could finally get treatment. Falling to the top of the cart, I lay down and stared up at the stars as Telma brought us to a halt within the village.
Though I'd really only meant to rest my eyes, the canvas was actually quite comfortable, and sleep was tugging at my eyes. We'd all had a long night, and as I heard Vaati settle down on the canvas beside me, I drifted off to sleep.
CRASH!
I was suddenly and rudely brought back to the waking world when my makeshift canvas bedding gave out, depositing the three of us in a heap on the floor of the carriage.
Wait. Three of us?
I looked to my left and saw Dark lying in what was definitely a very uncomfortable position, with one arm pinned under my back and his face to the floor. Judging by the height of the sun and the way all three of us were sprawled in one big heap, I guessed that Dark had joined Vaati and I sometime during the night and we'd all gone to sleep on top of the cart. From there, I deduced that the cloth ceiling could not support our weight and had given out after barely surviving the night.
"Ugh, ow... who's lying on my leg?"
"Dark, get off my chest."
"Shadow, I can't feel my hand. Get off!"
After some cursing and struggling, we all did manage to get untangled and sort of fix the roof. Or rather, since a hole had been torn through it, we just kind of threw a cloth over the hole and figured we'd fix it later. Nobody was gonna notice, right?
"Oh! You're awake! Are you alright?"
I looked around and saw Colin, who was gazing up at us with worry in his eyes.
"Yeah, we're fine," Vaati replied. I yawned and stretched, listening to my joints pop satisfyingly.
Dark's stomach suddenly grumbled loudly, and he turned a shade of light red.
"Hey, is there any food? Because I'm starving," he told the boy, looking over at the only occupied house.
Colin smiled and nodded, replying, "Yeah, come on! I'll show you!"
After we'd eaten, Link explained exactly what he'd been up too while we were asleep. A few raised eyebrows were made at the bit about the dead zora queen's ghost, but honestly, after living with Dark, I wasn't too surprised.
"So, let me get this straight," I said. "First, after the zora boy got taken care of, you talked with Telma about the Resistance. Then you saw the ghost of Rutela, whom we also saw up in Zora's Domain, and she led you to a secret tunnel in the graveyard where you got a new set of clothes that allow you to breathe underwater and swim like a zora. Then she pretty much told you to tell her son, the zora boy who's actually the zora prince, that she's dead and that she loves him."
Link thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. Oh, and Telma said that you guys were also in the Resistance. So what do you guys do?" he asked.
"Well, we're their eyes and ears. We are their primary source of information. After all, as street kids, we can go pretty much anywhere undetected. Add in our unique skill set, and we're the perfect spies," Dark replied. Then something seemed to occur to him. "Wait, if we all have to go and find this underwater temple for the last fused shadow, how're we," here Dark gestured to himself, Vaati, and I, "going to get there? There's only one set of zora armor, and I can't hold my breath for that long."
Link looked surprised for a moment. "Oh... right... good question... um..."
Vaati creased his brow for a second and looked at the floor, thinking hard. Then he looked up and opened his mouth to speak.
"Well, the zora armor was made by zoras, right? So what if you just ask them for more sets, or ask if they have methods for allowing non-zoras to breathe underwater? I mean, they've probably developed something along those lines considering how many hylian visitors they get."
Link considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, actually, that's a good idea. And worst case scenario, you three just sit this one out."
Dark snorted softly. "Yeah, right. As if. You're practically one of us now, and there's no way you leave us behind. One way or another, we'll get down there somehow. Besides, the zoras owe us for saving them. Much longer in that ice and they would've suffocated," he said.
"Well, that's settled, then. But how 'bout we stay here a few days? Y'know, just to make sure that the kid's gonna be okay," Vaati suggested. This was met with much enthusiasm.
A few days later, the zoras had agreed to make three extra sets of armor for us. However, it would take a couple weeks, so until then we had time to kill. This was spent in Castle Town, showing Link the sights and catching up on news. This was actually kind of fun, since apparently most of the town's underworld thought we were dead. The fact that Dark could turn ghostly didn't help.
Then, one day, we heard a very interesting piece of gossip going around town regarding a couple newbies who'd apparently challenged us for the title of "Best Thieves in Town"...
