Sorceress: …This being the chapter after the last chapter…

Dark Link: …We thought we'd do something special!

Link: Like have a Disclaimer!

Sorceress: I do not own Zelda. If I did, Hyrule, nay, the world, would succumb to my evil wrath.

Link: How comforting.

o~o0o~o

Termina Fever

Ch. Three: Fairies And Chu-Chu Goo

"So what now?" Saria asked.

The party had been wandering aimlessly for about half an hour, unsure of which ingredient to pursue. Dark Link said that they should go for the Hot Spring water, Ruto wanted to find the Zora Egg, and Saria…

Saria just wanted to stop circling the field.

"I've got it. Let's go for the Chu-Chu Jelly, since we can't decide on anything." Dark Link set off resolutely towards a group of bushes, Saria and Ruto trailing behind.

"They're just bushes. What do you expect to glean from that?" Ruto watched as Dark Link began poking around the thick undergrowth. "There's nothing here."

"Yes there is," Dark Link replied. "A hole. It probably leads to a grotto of some sort." Reaching down and groping the sides of the abyss, he muttered. "We'll fit."

With no further explanation, he wormed his way down, dirt and pebbles getting flung around beside him. As he disappeared, he called back up, "Come down when I yell for you!"

Ruto sighed. She did not understand him, doubted she ever would. From her right, Saria stamped her feet impatiently. Apparently, the urge for Chu-Chu jelly was stronger in some people than in others. "Seriously, Saria. Why are you so eager to reunite with Dark Link?"

Saria shrugged. "I don't know. There's only two of us now, Dark Link's the only who can really fight, and anything could attack us. I'm out of Deku Nuts." She sighed. "And Dark Link is the closest thing I have to Link."

Ruto was about to ask Saria how she could possibly think of Dark Link as anything close to Link when she realized that Saria had been friends with Link for a much longer space of time than Ruto. How long had Saria agonized over where Link was before Ruto had met him? At the time, Ruto had thought of Link as a tool to keep from engaging anyone, but Saria…

There was a deep connection between Saria and Link. Saria was probably longing to see her friend again.

Ruto was shaken out of her thoughts by a shout from Dark Link. Saria jumped down the hole, followed closely by Ruto. Vaguely, Saria thought about the connection to the fall into Termina.

"Oof!" Saria gasped as she hit the bottom of the hole. "That hurt."

"I know," Ruto groaned. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Saria replied. "But do you hear…music?" She began to pursue the sound.

The music was sweet and mournful and spoke of the despairs of existence, Saria decided. The song was definitely being played on an ocarina, though it was lower in pitch than Saria's own. "Lament" fit in the title somewhere; the music made Saria's heart ache with empathy.

Drawing out her own instrument, she produced a harmony; varied, quiet rhythms went into the making. She wondered who the other musician was.

It wasn't until she'd reached the end of the song that she realized that she'd left Ruto behind, that the door had slammed shut, and that she was now in a room of incomparable beauty.

The room was dark, but luminescent crystals cast the room in a silvery-blue glow. And on the other side of the room was…

Dark Link. Sitting on a rock in a halo of silver, playing an ocarina. So he was the other musician!

"Dark…Link?" Saria asked in confusion. "That was you?" She stepped forward awkwardly.

Dark Link looked up. "Well, yeah. Who else would be, excluding you?"

Saria shrugged. "I guess you're right. Oh, I left Ruto behind," she added as an afterthought.

"Good by me. Shall we?" Dark Link gestured towards an entrance to a passageway.

Saria nodded, and the intrepid party continued down the long, winding path, Dark Link taking the lead.

"Which way now?" Saria asked. The trail forked here, one path leading down, one leading up.

"Umm…" Dark Link blew his bangs out of his face deep in thought. "Chu-Chus prefer darkness to light, right?"

"Yeah…" Saria replied, uncertain as to where Dark Link was going.

"So I think we should take the path leading down." Dark Link nodded, venturing into the tunnel. In this room, there were five possible ways to go; in the middle was an engraved stone. Dark Link approached it.

"Music echoes not down the correct corridor?" Dark Link read in deep confusion. "What does that mean?"

Saria sucked on the mouthpiece to her ocarina thoughtfully.

"I've got it!" Dark Link exclaimed, taking out his own ocarina. Stopping at each opening, he made a complete circle around the room, blowing a note into each hole. The one on the far right turned out to be the tunnel that was not a dead end.

Saria slipped down the hole, Dark Link keeping pace beside her. As they exited the passageway, a formerly nonexistent door slammed shut behind them.

In front of the pair was the biggest Chu-Chu either of them had ever seen.

Pale blue and translucent in color, it roared and turned his eyes to the party. Dark Link tossed a bomb at it, more in annoyance than in an attempt to kill the beast. Dark Link succeeded only in getting the beast's attention. Good enough.

Dark Link, having turned the beast on him, drew his sword and tried a head-on attack; this worked, but ended in Dark Link's eventual tossing to the side.

The battle raged in this way for about fifteen minutes, Dark Link stabbing and the Chu-Chu tossing him to the side. That is, until the Chu-Chu decided that Saria was much better prey.

With a snarl, it turned on the Sage of Forest. Saria, completely undefended, raised her arms and gave an earsplitting shriek.

Dark Link didn't know what made him do it, but something did. Time seemed to slow as he sprinted towards the Chu-Chu and executed a Downward Stab.

Dark Link stepped back as the Chu-Chu writhed on the floor and finally dissipated into a blue, thick liquid. Bottling it calmly, Dark Link strode over to Saria and sat down.

Saria scooted closer to Dark Link and threw her arms around him. Tears streamed down her face as she took great shuddering breathes.

Dark Link, unconscious of the movement, wrapped his arms around Saria; Saria buried her head in his chest. Dark Link rested his head on her head briefly.

Once Saria had calmed enough to speak, she withdrew her head. "You got hurt," She stated, touching Dark Link's wrist, where a nasty cut was spurting blood.

"This? It'll heal." Dark Link stood up. "Now let's go find Ruto. I'm starving!"

o~o0o~o

"Oh, and while you were on your adventure, guess what I was doing?" Ruto raged. "I went looking for you and I found this." Ruto took out a blue, pulsing orb, which took the form of a fairy.

The fairy flew aimlessly around for a moment before catching sight of Dark Link.

"You!" She screeched, throwing her tiny body at him.

"Navi?" Saria asked incredulously.

Navi paused and Dark Link sighed in relief.

"Yes," Navi replied. "Where is Link? What is he doing here?" She added, turning to Dark Link.

"Well, some would call it saving Link's life and some would call it saving Hyrule. Whichever you would prefer." Dark Link glared at Navi.

Navi flitted closer to Dark Link. "What do you mean, 'saving Link's life?"

Dark Link examined a hangnail. "Oh, you know. Termina Fever, if you've heard of it. Link got it. Zelda too."

"What?" Navi bobbed up and down anxiously. "What is Termina Fever?"

Ruto stepped up. "See, it's an epidemic, and a deadly one at that. Dark Link, Saria and I are searching for the cure."

"Oh." Navi perched on Saria's shoulder. "In that case, shall I accompany you? I could probably be of some use."

Dark Link groaned. "Fine."

o~o0o~o

"Ow…" Dark Link muttered as Saria tightened the bandage on his wrist. "That hurts."

The party of four had retreated back to the Stock Pot Inn and was currently in a room attending to their personal matters.

"It'll hurt a lot more tomorrow if I don't bandage it properly," Saria replied.

Dark Link glared at her. "I could've taken care of it myself, you know."

"So? I owe you. You saved my life." Saria stared at him with her big sapphire eyes.

"Ssh!" Dark Link grabbed her arm. "Never mention it again."

"Why not?" Saria asked.

"Because." Dark Link glanced around to make sure no one was listening. It makes me feel so…so…emotional."

Saria laughed. "Okay; whatever you want." Saria smiled. "Now sleep. It's been a long day."

o~o0o~o

Link: So…the end of another chapter. When do I come in?

Sorceress: Later! Stop asking!

Dark Link: He's just jealous of my awesome power.

Sorceress: I know. RawkHawk2.0, cookie for reviewing.

Link: Review, so that you can taste the cookies…for they are Sorceress's special recipe.

Sorceress: (Stuffing cookies into mouth) Whose special recipe?