Sorceress: Rage, scream the goddesses… (Leaves with Navi)
Link: Her story, Azelynn of the Desert was dissed by some "agents in the Mary-Sue department." Apparently they got some details wrong. And said that her author's notes were tasteless.
Dark Link: And they abandoned Azelynn in the Gerudo Desert. Sorceress is probably going to resurrect her.
Link: Sorceress doesn't own Zelda.
o~o0o~o
Termina Fever
Ch. 4: The Great Bay
"Aha!" Dark Link exclaimed, swooping down and trapping a fairy that had been a butterfly until then. ("It pays by the hour to follow the Hero of Time around," Dark Link had said. "You learn some nifty things.")
"Another ingredient down." Ruto stamped her feet impatiently. "Where to next?"
"Interesting question," Dark Link replied. "The Great Bay, I think." He yawned. "But we sleep before then."
"And we train before that!" Saria piped up, sword she'd received from a Termina Fever victim who had begged her to keep it in hand.
Dark Link sighed pulling out his own sword. "Fine. Now don't forget. Parry, block, attack, repeat."
Saria attacked first; Dark Link raised his shield, easily deflecting the blow. Ruto watched with limited interest. She felt homesick and helpless here; she actually agreed with Dark Link (for once) about going to the Great Bay. It wasn't home, but it was better than nothing.
Saria, meanwhile, had somehow managed to pin Dark Link and was preparing to do the finishing move. Suddenly, Dark Link grinned at her, crimson eyes alight with the joy of outsmarting an opponent, and slammed his shield into Saria's stomach, causing her to reel back and lose her breath.
"That…that wasn't fair!" She gasped, clutching her chest.
Dark Link shrugged. "Enemies don't fight fair, so why should I?"
Ruto glared. "Shut up, Dark Link. You know, it's not widely accepted to go around shoving defense mechanisms into people's ribcages."
"She was asking for it! Almost literally!" Dark Link stretched and gave Ruto a withering stare before striding over to help Saria up.
Ruto offered no comment on the scene.
o~o0o~o
Saria woke up to the sensation of something warm nestled in the crook of her arm. What is it? She wondered, looking down.
"Dark…Link?" She asked in disbelief as the source of the heat shot up and scooted away hurriedly.
""You see…" Dark Link began. He couldn't technically blush, but Saria was sure that if he could, he would be. "I'm a restless sleeper."
"So I see. There really isn't enough space in here, is there?" Saria covered up for Dark Link wildly. Getting up, she stretched and yawned. "I guess it's too late to go back to sleep. Let's get going."
Dark Link nodded and poked the sleeping Ruto. "Get up, you lazy bum."
"It's four in the morning. Can't I have any peace?" Ruto groaned, turning over and pulling the blanket over her head.
"No." Dark Link grabbed her ankles and proceeded to drag her out of bed.
Ruto struggled, finally managing to free herself. She got up, sniffing, much insulted. "If we didn't have a time limit, I'd make you carry me."
Dark link shrugged. "Sorry, Your Highness. But life just doesn't work like that, now does it?"
o~o0o~o
"This is the Great Bay?" Ruto exclaimed incredulously. "It looks terrible."
Saria nodded in agreement, surveying the wide, empty, murky water.
"Probably Termina Fever's influenced this place too. Nayru did say it affected all races." Dark Link put a toe in the water cautiously. "But how do we get to where the Zoras are?"
Ruto smirked. "Leave it to me. I'll figure something out." Diving into the water, she called, "Now aren't you glad you brought along me?"
This left Dark Link and Saria to sit idly and contemplate whatever it was that had grown between them. What was it anyway? Friendship? Concern? Something bigger?
Dark Link chewed on a piece of bread, nursing a tingly feeling most resembling the sort of thing he'd felt during the moment when the party had been bantering about missing Hyrule. Strange. Suddenly he turned to Saria. "What is love?"
Saria spun around. "Why? Don't you know?"
Dark Link traced a circle in the sand. "Yeah, I know what it is, but I don't know what it is."
Saria nodded. "I completely understand. It's…" She trailed off, suddenly aware that though she could feel it, she had no idea how to describe it. "Umm…Love is something more than friends but less than enemies. Love is concern, and the feeling that you could spend your whole life with one person." She began to talk faster, realizing that she now knew what it was. "And last…love is comfort."
Dark Link blew his bangs out of his eyes and was silent for the rest of the wait.
o~o0o~o
"Any reason we're going to the crazy old professor's house?" Dark Link panted, struggling to keep up with Ruto's quick pace.
"Because he can tell us more about the Zora Egg!" Ruto replied as they reached the ladder leading up to the Lakeside Professor's house.
The professor greeted them warmly, with many offers of tea and cookies, which Dark Link accepted eagerly.
"So you want to learn more about the Zora Eggs, eh?" The professor asked, one eye bulging and one eye squinted.
"Mm-hm," Dark Link responded, mouth full. Swallowing, he continued. "We were hoping you could give us one.
"Unfortunately, I have none." The professor continued to stare at Dark Link, the difference between his eyes becoming more dramatic. "Wait a second, boy. Just what do you want with an egg?"
"Termina Fever, sir. The egg is part of the cure," Saria put in, hoping to avoid a fight.
"Mm…Termina Fever; I have studied this particular malady extensively. It is, I understand, particularly infectious. The onset of symptoms is rapid and those who frequent the sick are at a particularly high risk." The Lakeside Professor began to pace.
Dark Link rolled his eyes. "I think we would have got it by now if that were true. We've been all over Termina; assisting the healthy, comforting the dying, the works."
Ruto nudged him. "Comforting being used in its loosest sense."
"The risk never goes down, youngsters." The professor sat down again. "But enough of that kind of talk. I believe Mikau has an egg, the last one Laruto produced before her death; Mikau was heartbroken. Termina Fever took her life."
"Great! C'mon guys, let's go!" Dark Link stood up and nodded at the professor. "Thank you."
The Lakeside Professor waved and held out a bottle. "You'll be needing this."
Snatching up another cookie, Dark Link took his leave.
The professor shook his head sadly. "He doesn't know…"
o~o0o~o
"Oof!" Ruto grunted, recoiling. She'd been assigned to do this task, as she was a Zora and would fit in better than Saria or Dark Link. "I'm sorry."
The Zora she'd bumped into turned around and stared at her. "You…are you…Laruto?"
"N-no…" Ruto stammered; it was too late.
"Oi, Mikau! Laruto didn't die after all!" The Zora shouted.
"Oh, really? Send her in." The voice was sweet and somewhat melancholy.
Nervously, Ruto entered the room, where a male Zora (a very handsome one, at that) was sitting at the edge of a bed, intently watching a white pearlescent sphere in a tank.
His attention turned to Ruto. "She's not Laruto…" He murmured, a trace of disappointment lining his voice. "What do you want?"
"I-I need a Zora Egg. It's key to curing Termina Fever." Ruto swallowed hard.
The Zora cast a longing glance at the sphere in the tank. "If it's entirely necessary…then give me a bottle and I'll let you keep the egg."
Ruto handed him the bottle; he took it and scooped up the egg. Returning the bottle to her, he put a hand to his mouth. "I'm sorry! I didn't even introduce myself! I'm Mikau, guitarist in the Indigo-Gos." He stared at her for a moment. "You know, you are a very pretty Zora. What's your name?"
Ruto turned red in the cheeks and looked down. "I'm…Ruto. Princess Ruto."
Mikau nodded. "Come on, I want to show you something."
"This?" Ruto inquired. The two Zoras were standing on a balcony. "What of it?"
Mikau took her hand and asked, quite seriously, "Is that an engagement ring around your neck? How much would I have to pay for it?"
o~o0o~o
"What?" Dark Link choked on a sip of his drink. "You actually engaged him? You barely know him!"
Ruto glared. "He's a nice person, and he needs a women to fill the gap Laruto left."
"Yeah, but is that legal? We're only thirteen!" Dark Link replied.
"No-I'll come back in seven years!" Ruto grinned.
Dark Link stared at her, vaguely wondering what he was missing.
o~o0o~o
Sorceress: What doesn't Dark Link know? What is he missing? All these answers and more in the next chapter!
Dark Link: You're back. What's that piece of paper?
Sorceress: It says: Contact Blazeflower to deal with Mary-Sue agents.
Dark Link: Those poor agents…Anyways, Link will now read the reviewer list!
Link: RawkHawk2.0, cookie…we're going to go mock the Mary-Sue agents now…eVeLyN kNoWs bEsT…cookie (your name is hard to spell! But we did it anyway!)
Dark Link: Why is it we always get two reviewers for every chapter?
Sorceress: We're cursed. Only reviewers can break it.
Link: By reviewing?
Sorceress: Yes.