Sharp gaped. "You…" he whispered, taking a step backwards, gaze fixed on the mystery man. "You're the one who … No," he amended himself, eyes growing wider, "You were there… after I fell from that building."
"A stupid blunder, one which will cost you much before this is all over," said the man in blue, nodding. "But there are other and more pressing matters to worry about. You, girl," he turned suddenly, to address Gwen, who looked baffled by all this, and his eyes became slightly gentler, "your dancing is not merely dancing. You would do well to develop these powers more secretly from now on."
"Powers?" Gwen breathed, uncomprehending.
He nodded, and Sharp realized suddenly that the man's eyes, beneath the blonde tufts of his hair, were a smoldering red. "You have magic, Gwen… There is magic in your steps, as there is in Sharp's cards, and in Meryl's flying spirit. But it's not for your magic that the Ubiquitous are chasing you all now." His gaze shifted to Meryl and Sharp. "They have discovered what you have done. You must flee the city."
"Flee…?" Sharp appeared to be thinking hard. One hand was straying toward his right coat pocket. "But…"
"There is no time - go! Any questions you have can wait. Flee this city and make haste toward Lake Hylia. We will meet again." With a sudden motion the man threw down a small object - there was a blinding flash, and then he was gone, as quickly as he had appeared. Sharp blinked and rubbed his eyes; when he looked up, though, everyone looked as confused as he was.
Shouts began to echo through the alleyways, reaching their ears; Sharp bit his lip, looked at the girls and grinned. "Well, you heard the man," he said cheerfully. "Let's get scurrying."
He and Gwen turned as one; behind them came a second flash of light as Meryl transformed again into a raven. She streaked off toward the city limits over their heads, and the two followed her lead, ducking right behind the Treasure Hunter's Association building as the crowd's tumult drew even closer. Gwen's eyes widened at the sight as they ran. "How does she do that, Sharp?"
Sharp shrugged, leading Gwen through a zigzag behind a souvenir stand. "How do any of us do any of it? If we knew, I guess it wouldn't be so revolting to the Ubiquitous that we can do it."
Gwen shook her head. "I just can't get over it, though. And you, you have it too …?"
"Well, of course," he panted. "What'd you think, all those rounds of Go Fish I cleaned you out on, it was all luck?" He grinned at her, then nearly fell flat on his face as Meryl streaked out of a byroad to the right, soaring past and narrowly avoiding collision with the two. He glanced down the alleyway and cursed - the Hylian Guard, less than two blocks away, were giving chase as well. He dashed past the alley full of pursuers and turned down another route, followed closely by Gwen, who was hardly breathing hard. Clearly the dancer was in far better shape than he.
Of course, the fact that she was floating, her tiny bat-like wings fluttering frantically, probably had something to do with it.
"Gwen… what're you doing?" Sharp gasped. "You'll give yourself away to them! Flying's magic, too!"
She shrugged, looking upwards as Meryl soared over a building, folding her wings and ducking into the front door. They raced through the lobby and a sea of scandalized faces and shouted commands, escaping into a staircase and plunging downwards.
"They already know about you two, right?" she said matter-of-factly, opening a side door and stepping nimbly out as she held the door for him. "I know that guy said not to let them know about what I can do, but there's really no point in keeping it concealed any longer. I've always been scrutinized for my wings, anyway… it's no crime to use them for a change, to do what I want to do." She looked suddenly uncomfortable.
"You want to incriminate yourself with a secret society that encompasses nearly half of the Hyrulian population?" Sharp inquired, shooting her a look of penetrating concern which would have looked much more impressive had he not had such a painful stitch in his side. "Do you even understand what it's like, to be a criminal… to be outlawed? You'd go mad, Gwennie."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cardsharp," she retorted sharply, a blush rising to her cheeks as they rounded a corner. "And yes, this is what I want. What, you think I'd ditch you after not seeing you all this time, just so you could go and have all kinds of adventures without me… and with such interesting company, too?" She chuckled. "You've gotta be kiddin' me."
Sharp would have flushed, but his face was red enough as it was. Another alleyway and they stopped. Their destination had arrived; Meryl stood before them, fully human, facing outward into the sudden expanse which was the Hyrulian suburbs. The uncultivated field which had lay between the Castle City and what had formerly been Kakariko Village had long since been developed, the houses and establishments reaching nearly to Zora's Domain in the north, and extending south and west until Gerudo Valley was a scant afternoon's walk away from the nearest districts. Kakariko Village itself was now the Kakariko District; it was a commercial hub with an impressive amount of suburban sprawl surrounding the central bazaar, managing simultaneously to attract developers looking to build on Kakariko's still-persistent image as a refuge for family values and small-town charm, and, Sharp knew well, to play host to an impressive underground crime network of taverns featuring games of skill and chance. And, far to the south…
"Towards Lake Hylia," Sharp murmured, straightening and putting a hand to his side. The suburbs did not extend quite as far south as they did in all other directions. The other two turned to look at him, but he continued to stare off into the distance, thinking. "Let's see… following the roads would probably be stupid. I guess it's off to Hylia the direct way… no old paths or anything."
"It'll take us at least a day," Gwen observed quietly. "And it's impossible to avoid intersecting some of those roads, you realize that, right? We'll have to cross at Iron Point sometime… if they're serious about catching us, that'll be the place they'll be waiting."
"Well, we'll just have to take the risk, won't we?" Meryl shrugged.
"No other way 'round it," Sharp agreed jovially, smiling down at Gwen as they set out. "Bit of walking would do you good, though, eh? Give you a chance to get rid of those love handles and all?"
He winked, then ducked away, laughing, from her retaliatory slap. "You bum!" Gwen yelped, laughing in spite of herself. "You're as big a… a… poophead as you always were! 'Love handles'… I'm a dancer, for Din's sake!"
Meryl shook her head good-naturedly at their bickering. "I should have known I wasn't the only wench you'd trouble with your flirting, you cad," she said dryly. "Shall I leave you two alone for a bit?"
Sharp was still slapping Gwen's punches away half-heartedly, but he shot a grin over her head. "Not to worry!" he called roguishly. "Old flames just die hard, that's all. Plenty left over for you once we're done."
Meryl treated him to a rare laugh for his pains. "Whatever happened to the man who was too moral to let me get away with earning a living? You certainly haven't let your crimes earlier today get to you." She smiled wickedly at him, leaning closer. "Methinks you're not all you seem, 'Sharp.' Maybe you're a little harder than you like to give out."
Sharp blanched, and slowly lowered his arms. Gwen glanced worriedly at each of them in turn; and now, suddenly, Meryl felt embarrassed. Somehow, by what she had said, the peace of the moment had been ruined, violated. She felt a sudden pang of something – it took her a moment of shock to realize. Shame? Could she truly be ashamed of herself? She had thought herself beyond that, after all this time…
Sharp seemed to pick up on her feelings, though; her need to conceal them quickly, just as quickly as they had come. He attempted a crooked grin at each of them. "It's… not really that I don't feel anything about it," he explained, some of the color coming back to his face. "But I don't really think it's necessary to dwell on it. We have better things to worry about… right?"
Still, enough of the awkward sadness lingered in his eyes that Meryl could not quite meet them. She murmured, "Forgive me. It was stupid of me to ask."
He shrugged, and with the gesture all trace of bitterness left him. "Not that stupid. Don't worry about it." He smiled at her, genuinely smiled. Relieved, she returned it quietly, feeling herself relax a bit.
They walked on in amiable silence for a bit. Gwen and Meryl chatted at length about the hospital incident and Gerudo dancing as they crested the hill leading to Iron Point. From the summit, Sharp could see the plains of Hyrule Field stretching out before him, all the way to the Point, where the three roads – to Kokiri Forest, Lon Lon Ranch, and Lake Hylia – met at an intersection marked, in the olden days, with a huge chunk of iron ore. The giant stone had been cleared away by Link himself on his historic journey to defeat Ganon, but in its place stood an obelisk bearing an inscription of Link's noble deeds. The forbidding finger still stood – but close by loomed two monstrous figures which dwarfed even its hulking shape, spears clutched in their hairy claws. Sharp stopped short, throwing out an arm to warn the others.
"Moblins!" he breathed, and, as one, they dropped to the ground. For a moment, no one spoke. Sharp glanced at Meryl, rubbing his eyes and attempting another grin. "Been a full day, hasn't it?"
"Not full enough, I guess," Gwen whispered.
Meryl frowned down at the scene below, her braids catching the wind as she hunched down. "Those Moblins aren't worried about us, though."
"Maybe because we're nothing to worry about at all, and they know it all too well?" Sharp murmured. He hated to admit it, but he was shaking. Fortunately for him, only Gwen noticed.
"Poor city boy," she chided. "Out of your element?"
"A bit," he admitted, smiling and curling his knees close to his chest.
"They're already fighting something, if you two would care to notice," Meryl whispered acerbically.
"Something?" Gwen lifted herself a little higher.
"Someone, I should say," Meryl corrected. She moved to stand. Sharp caught onto a strap from her bustier and held on tight.
"No! Are you crazy?!"
Meryl snorted. "Get a grip, Cardsharp. How do you get away with passing judgment on my profession's immorality, when you've got your own self to consider? Someone's already down there being ravaged by those beasts, and you'd just sit there and let it happen? It's not like you."
He blinked. "I…Well, when you put it that way…"
Sharp stood, brushing himself off. Meryl nodded grimly. "That's more like it." She turned to Gwen. "You ready, then, Gwenna?"
Gwen nodded bravely, her pompom headband bouncing.
"Let's fly," said Meryl simply, and, with a flash from the Deku Seed she plucked from her bodice, she bounded gracefully into the sky, all black wings and sharp talons.
Watching her, Sharp laughed through his fear. "Bit over-dramatic, isn't she?" He glanced at Gwen. "So what do I do?"
She just smiled. "Hurry up, that's what!"
And so he did. A sheer, easy rush descended as he and Gwen sprang into action, his hand straying toward his pocket as naturally as the drawing-in of a breath. Above them, Meryl circled round, something white and dripping in her talons: a Moblin eyeball, ripped from its socket. The piggish beasts roared their fury, vainly waving their spears in the air.
Above him, Gwen whirled; when she stopped, she was holding two short swords in her hands, her grip light and confident. She charged as Sharp shuffled, waiting for the moment of inner surety – there. He drew the top three cards – the Ace of Spades and two other black cards gleamed at him a moment before another Moblin shout of pain filled the air. One collapsed, clutching its chest, blood streaming from its mouth – but the one-eyed monster remaining fought on, stabbing dangerously close to Gwen, whose whirling blades were striking sparks and spurts of blood.
Meryl let out a raven-shriek above as Gwen dodged another lethal blow, and, again, with the shock of sudden clarity, Sharp somehow knew what to do. He shuffled once, twice, and Gwen sprung back from the Moblin in a graceful pirouette, pursuing some strange new dance. He had just a moment to wonder at how absurd it all was before drawing again, nine cards this time: clubs and diamonds all, in ascending order, formed a whirling circle. Across the formation, Gwen leapt, swords spiraling – the circle glowed with an evanescent light. Meryl dove, and Sharp felt a bolt of triumph strike, like an explosion in his chest. There was a dizzying burst of energy, a great flash of burning white light like a giant bird of prey, zooming at incredible speed straight toward the monster.
Then all was still. The Moblin, a gaping cavity in its bare chest, looked down stupidly, dropping its weapon. And it too fell forward, its body consumed by green fire, there and then simply gone.
Meryl crouched on the ground, human and intact, and raised her head. "You all right?" she called to Sharp.
He nodded numbly. He had no idea what had just happened, but it was like nothing that he had ever seen before. Moved to mute stupefaction, he raised his hand and picked up the cards that dropped, each one zooming back towards him obediently; shuffling them and putting them back in his pocket, he turned to look at Gwen, who hadn't yet sheathed her swords. She looked just as awestruck as he was.
"What did we just do?" she asked in amazement, straightening shakily.
Sharp blinked. A sense of weird triumph crept up his spine.
"We… the three of us just beat two really giant monsters," he said hoarsely. A grin curved across his face. "Damn. That was pretty cool. It all came together, eh?"
"But … what about…?" Gwen looked around, and suddenly Sharp remembered too – the Moblins had been ravaging something, or, more accurately, someone. He looked for Meryl. She had been coming toward the two of them – but she had halted. A man in blue clothes, now ripped and bloodied a bit, was walking towards them. Below the swinging locks of blond hair, Sharp could see his red eyes, shining as though they contained a mystery which was impossible to fathom.
"We meet again, Cardsharp."
Sharp's eyes widened for a moment; then frustration reduced them to narrow slits. "Wait a sec… how… Who are you, anyway?"
The man, as ever, seemed unruffled. "My name is Sheik."