A.N.: For those of you wondering what Opal looks like, check out my homepage; I'm a dA member now. It's not amazing, seeing I only had MacPaint to work with and didn't have a tablet...but oh well. I'm planning to do Vaati and Link next, and maybe some scenes. Maybe. Check it out if you're curious, but I warn you. It's MacPaint without a tablet, so don't expect much.
The descriptions for Opal are sparse in this story, so you might have imagined something different. Imagine what you want! This story is as much yours as it is mine. :D (But I own it. Please don't steal/use without permission.)
Chapter 6: Fugitives
After panicking for several minutes, Link noticed something hitting his leg every time he took a step. He looked down, and noticed it was the Master Sword. Vaati smirked.
"Ironic, isn't it? They left you with your most important weapon. It's probably because they couldn't touch it without hurting themselves, it being a holy sword."
Link twirled it. "This is the part where I use the only weapon that's conveniently left to escape from near impossible situations, right?" He stepped back, and then lunged as he swung it at one of the bars.
Clankkkkk!
The moblins momentarily looked up at Link who was shaking his hands from the impact, and then went back to examining the hero's inventory as they grunted in amusement.
The mage put his chin on his hands. "Overconfidence," he muttered, "it's made you incredibly stupid."
Link sheathed his sword and gripped the bars as he saw a boomerang go flying across the room. He glanced at the mage who appeared relaxed and unfazed. "Ok Vaati, you must have an idea to get us out if you don't even look worried."
Vaati yawned. "No, I don't. I've just accepted the fact that we can't do much except wait and see what happens."
"Ha ha, that was funny. Ok, so what's the idea?"
"I've already told you, I don't have one."
"Of course you do. Tell me."
Vaati's eyes were intense and furious as he stood up to face Link. "How can I make it any clearer? You've seen what the cell was like; no hidden escape routes. Unless you're strong enough to rip the iron bars apart we're not going to be able to escape."
One of the moblins picked up the Wind Waker and scrutinized it. The mage tensed. "You! Don't touch that. That's mine," he hissed.
The moblin grinned, waved it in front of Vaati, and began to pick his teeth with it. Vaati trembled in rage. He decided to vent his frustrations on Link.
"See that? Do you think I would let that fool do that if I had an idea of getting us out of here? NO."
Link stared at Vaati's white knuckles on the collar of his tunic. "Um…got it."
"Useless," the mage spat, and punched him in the mouth before letting him go. It hadn't hurt much, but Link fell to the floor stunned and shocked by the fact that Vaati had hit him. Vaati noticed Link's surprise and scowled in disgust. "What, so now the child is going to cry because a mean bully hit him?"
Link slumped to the floor. "So we're really just going to sit and wait…." His eyes turned to Vaati, searching for some sort of hope for getting out.
"I suppose I have to go pat your hand now and tell you everything will be all right," said the mage, his voice thick with sarcasm. Link looked down at the floor, letting the reality sink in. He wasn't used to 'waiting and seeing,' and he felt fidgety. Vaati snorted.
"At least there was one good thing about your barrel idea. Apparently, the monsters thought the idea was so ridiculous they didn't bother killing us or even tying us up. Indeed, such idiots like us do not require special attention."
The moblin with the Wind Waker continued to pick its teeth with it while watching the commotion the other two were making. They scuffled a bit over a bag of All Purpose Bait until one of them managed to get a hold of it. The other one sulked over to see the Power Bracelets in defeat.
Link tapped the side of his sword, biting his lip. "There has to be something…"
"If you want, I can cut you in little pieces so you'll fit through the bars."
The two moblins were now looking at the skull hammer in interest. Bait moblin grabbed it and shook it in the air; apparently telling Bracelet moblin it was his. Bracelet moblin gritted its teeth and lunged at Bait.
"Are you even thinking of a way to get out?"
"No. It's pointless."
Link suddenly stood up and made for Vaati. "Can you at least look like you're trying?!"
Vaati was about to answer when a sickening crack and the sound of iron snapping interrupted him. Heads turned towards Bracelet who had thrown Bait towards the jail, causing the bars to break. Bracelet was as surprised as everyone else with his strength; he hadn't understood the potential of the Power Bracelets when he had put them on. Bait lay dead from the impact.
Vaati grinned. "Good work. We'll be taking our leave."
Link dashed out of the prison and felled the remaining moblins who were too stunned to fight back. After the slaughter, Vaati picked up the Wind Waker and ran it through a torch until it was glowing red.
"I'm disinfecting it," he stated simply after seeing Link's questioning face.
Link shrugged and gathered the weapons and items that had scattered around. He unhooked his shield from the wall, and then took one last look around to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Vaati's ears pricked up as he heard sounds of footsteps approaching.
"The entire fortress is going to be looking for us now…"
Link noticed them as well, and quickly took out a coil of sturdy rope with claws on the end: the grappling hook. He swung it around and tossed it to the bars running across the ceiling, climbed it, and urged the mage to follow. "Come on!"
Vaati's lips flattened into a straight line.
"Oh…you can't climb…." The footsteps were closer. Link took out his hookshot and gazed at the pointed end uncertainly. He couldn't aim and shoot it at the mage without stabbing him.
Vaati tapped his foot. "Hurry up and get me up there. Why are you always so slow?"
Hmmm…tempting. The footsteps were by the door. Oh well, maybe later.
"Vaati! Catch the hookshot when I shoot it next to you, ok?" Link let the hookshot fly. Vaati caught it and was jerked up to the ceiling. They held their breath as eight moblins came barging into the room, attracted by the noise of breaking bars earlier. Link still had his hookshot on his arm with Vaati hanging precariously off the edge as they hadn't the time to properly climb up onto the wooden beams. Vaati didn't struggle to get away from Link even though he was inches away from him, so close he was able to feel the boy's breath on his face. He was too occupied with being as still as possible to avoid catching the attention of the monsters below.
After what seemed like hours, the moblins went out of the room and let the alarms scream through the fortress. Vaati climbed onto the beam and the two intruders sighed in relief. Link took a drink of water from his bottle and passed it to the mage who didn't complain about it this time.
"Ready?"
Vaati wiped his face with his sleeve and nodded, looking towards a small door across the beams. "Ready."
XXXXXXXXXX
The door led them outside in a narrow walkway. The fortress had sprung to life in chaotic disorder with sirens blaring and the searchlights moving much more vigorously than before. The Helmaroc King was no longer settled relaxed in its nest; it's head twisted and snapped from side to side as it scanned the fortress for the escapees, neck bent downwards in the position of a predator. Vaati signaled Link to run with his back ducked behind the walls to avoid the bird's gaze.
"We don't want it to catch us here. We'll get the Helmaroc on that tower where we'll have more room to maneuver."
They ran through the next door and they found themselves looking down on a room from above. Miniblins and moblins were running and shouting in turmoil as each monster tried to get itself together to find the fugitives. A line of moblins marched out of the room with lanterns and spears.
"Come on, we have to hurry before this place gets filled with monsters," Vaati whispered as he pointed to the next door across the fall. A lantern swung from the middle of the room.
Link nodded, jumped onto the lantern, and swung to the other side. Vaati wasn't athletically competent enough to repeat the technique, so they resorted to using the hookshot again. Unfortunately, the noise of Vaati scratching the ledge on his way across to the other side caused some miniblins to look up. They began to squeak and point upwards.
"Damn," Vaati growled as some monsters quickly ran out the door to cut them off from a different route. A pitchfork flew past him as a miniblin tried to skewer him. The mage scrambled up and grabbed Link's arm. "Link, we're running."
The next door led outside again, and this time, it appeared word had gotten around that they were going to appear through there. Almost all the searchlights were focused on the place they were standing, and a line of moblins were steadily making their way up a stairwell from the main court.
Link and Vaati ran as fast as they could up the narrow, twisted ramp that led in the direction they were planning to fight the Helmaroc King. There weren't many monsters on their way up, but the alarms reminded them there were way too many closing the distance behind them.
Link skidded to a halt as he came across a gap that was too wide to jump across. He noticed a thin ledge he could carefully slide across to make it to the other side. Here goes, he thought as he took a step onto the ledge.
"You fool! Watch out!" Vaati barked as he sent a gust towards wind blowing him across the ledge. An explosion rocked the tower they were on as a cannon blasted its way into the wall that Link had been standing against. They were now in line of cannon fire, and whoever was shooting was confident the fortress walls could handle a few explosions.
Vaati used the Wind Waker to blow himself across as another canon whistled past where he had been. He sent a cyclone swirling around him and Link. "I'm going to take us to the top." The mage hesitated as he heard the familiar screech of his old pet. "Dammit, Helmaroc," he hissed as he stopped the cyclone and yanked Link, to get him to run.
The monstrous bird grazed the ledge behind them and screeched again as it extended its talons. Vaati waved the Wind Waker and sent the bird careening off course. Link made it to the end of the ramp and wrenched open the doors leading inside the tower. "Vaati!"
The mage dashed in and they both slammed the door close. They heard something smash against the door, followed by angry screeching.
They gasped and tried to steady their breathing. Vaati couldn't remember the last time he had run so much. Link leaned against the door, equally exhausted. He froze when he heard a door swing open somewhere in the room they were in.
A blue mass of moblins came pouring out of the door on the far side of the chamber, and some of them fell down the chasm in the middle as they were pushed off the side of the wooden platform.
Vaati laughed bitterly. "They're good this time, aren't they?"
OXXXXXXXXO
Diablo1123: Link - Welcome! Careful...don't burn yourself out.
H-bomber: Link - (sigh) What faith the readers have in me. They don't seem to recognize my puzzle solving abilities.
Vaati - Link, face it. Everyone here knows I'm better than you.
Link - And you didn't even help trying to think of a way out this time...it's not fair.
Reily96: Vaati - Oh. A fan. Ok, I forgive.
Link - What? Just like that? And what's with the smile? ...Hey Vaati, I'm your fan too. Now stop being a jerk...Ow! (stupid mage)...Anyway. Nah, probably not a good idea, but it doesn't matter. He's probably forgotten by now. Vaati! Say something.
Vaati - I'm going to kill you, fool.
Link - See? He forgot.
Peka the Corsair: Vaati - But the playing is half the fun.
Link - Yeah! We like it this way. We want me to go get all the heart containers so I don't die with the first hit. (shh shh, don't make him change his mind!)
Vaati - The monsters can improve though. Then I won't have to lift a finger to see Link dead.
Link - (changing subject) A dream? About this, huh? That must've been crazy, I wish I had cool dreams like that.
Vaati - You really need to know when to stay quiet.
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