"You don't have to hold on so tightly," Link told the girl. Navi just squeezed tighter in response.
"I've never been on a motorcycle!" she yelled over the roar of the engine. "Only been in an automobile a few times! This is really fun, but it's also kinda scary! Take a left here!"
She squealed in fear and delight as he took the corner, and he shook his head in response. "Do you ever stop talking?" he asked.
"Sometimes! Next turn is in a few blocks!"
He finally slowed the cycle in front of a large building, somewhat resembling a tower. Though it looked like an old style, it was painted in very bright shades that made it stand out quite a bit, even at night. A giant, red balloon was attached to the top.
"How have I never seen this place before?" he muttered to himself.
"Okay," Navi said, holding out her hands and walking backwards, "he tends to work late, so I'm sure he's up, but I'm going to have to apologize in advance again. He's kind of a strange man, and—"
"I know how to deal with strange, Navi," he chuckled, knocking on the door. Navi bent down and waved as a slot opened, a pair of eyes peering out. The slot was only about halfway up Link's torso.
"Navi!" a tiny voice squeaked. "It's been a while! Just a moment!"
"He's a midget?" Link said, glancing over at Navi. "Why are you apologizing for that? I'm not that insensitive."
Navi looked off to the side, absently pressing her index fingers together. "Well, it's more than that…."
The door opened with a "Welcome!" from the small man. Link looked down at him. The man was dressed like a—well, Link wasn't entirely sure what exactly he was dressed like. He wore green spandex, red underwear on the outside, that gradually came to a point above his head. Around his neck was a clock, and his rosy cheekbones and nose would have been notable had the rest of his face not consisted of a goatee, thin mustache, thick eyebrows and buck teeth.
Link shot a glance at Navi. She shrugged sheepishly.
"Navi! It is so good to see you again after all this time! Tingle has been working twice as hard on all his maps, now that his assistant is gone!"
"It's good to see you again, too, Tingle," she said, though the statement sounded a bit strained to Link. "This is Link. We need your help with something."
Tingle looked up at Link, as if noticing him for the first time, and gasped. "Green clothes!" he squealed. "Are you, sir, by any chance, a fairy?"
Link blinked. "Pardon? Oh, you mean the magical beings, right!"
The man giggled. "The same! Now, keep this quiet, but..." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Tingle believes he is the very reincarnation of a fairy! Isn't that wonderful, Mr. Fairy?"
"You know," he said, arms crossed, "somehow I'm not all that surprised."
"Yes, it is very obvious, isn't it? Now, Mr. Fairy, how can I help you?"
"Tingle," Navi said, we're looking for something called the Master Sword. I'm sure you've heard of it. Do you have any maps that could help us out?"
The small man nodded. "Follow me!" He led them into a very large room—obviously the tower part of the building Link had seen from outside. The entire room was round, filled floor to ceiling with old books, charts, and other random documents. In the room sat a desk, to which a large red balloon was floating, and at the desk sat a green-haired, bespectacled man.
"Dr. Left," Tingle said, "the Master Sword, please?"
The man nodded, thought a bit, and then jotted down a few notes on a piece of paper before handing it to Tingle. Tingle took the paper, then tied the balloon around his waist, floating around the tower to the various shelves.
Link craned his neck back to watch the little man. "How exactly does he get the balloon to do that?"
"You know," Navi responded, "I never quite figured that out." She shrugged. "Maybe he really is the reincarnation of a fairy."
"Oh, yeah, what's up with that? I don't look anything like a fairy, do I?"
"Don't worry, you don't. Just a little feminine. Besides," she continued before he could protest, "I'm pretty sure fairies don't really wear green."
"Excuse me," said the man behind the desk, "but as much as I'm enjoying this gossip about the strange little floating man, time is of the essence, and you won't find the Master Sword with just that map."
Link and Navi looked at the man, his presence registering for the first time. "My name is Dr. Left," the green-haired man said. "I'm certainly no cartographer, but I do (naturally, as my title would suggest) hold a few doctorates. You'll need directions, I'm sure, but I'm the man you're really here to see."
"Thanks, Doc," Navi said, "But I already know all about the Master Sword."
Dr. Left chuckled. "I find that hard to believe. Do you know where it is?"
"Yeah, some sort of Temple or something…look, Tingle's giving us the map there, what more do we need?"
The man shook his head. "You don't even know about the three pendants, do you?"
The girl blinked. "The what-now?"
"The pendants. Magical artifacts from the day of the Master Sword. I'm not sure the sword is sentient, exactly, but records indicate that it was at one point, and it will not lend its power to one unworthy—one without the pendants.
"And where do I find these pendants," Link asked.
"Well, they're not particularly hard to find or obtain, really. The goddesses have entrusted them to the Gorons, the Zoras, and the Deku Tree. Or so the histories say, at least. No problem. Of course, if the histories are correct, there's a good chance that you'll encounter some form of resistance. After all, they're not going to just give artifacts from the goddesses to just anybody, are they?" He laughed. "It'll probably be some sort of task you'll have to do for them, to prove you're worthy. If they still have the pendants, that is. It's possible they've been lost to history."
"And Tingle is finding us information on that, too?"
"Indeed." He glanced up. "And it looks like he's just about finished, too."
"So how exactly did you start working for him?" Navi asked. "I don't remember seeing you around when I worked here."
Dr. Left burst into laughter. "Oh, dear child! Oh, goodness, I would never dream of working for him! No, I simply work with him, temporarily. As eccentric as he is, and as much as I absolutely cannot stand him, the man has a vast collection of information. That's what I'm here for. I help the customers, and he lets me study. It's just a mutually beneficial relationship." He looked at Navi, honest sympathy on his face. "And I am terribly sorry you had to work for him, miss. You truly are a brave soul."
The balloon floated back down to the floor. "Here you are, Mr. Fairy!" Tingle told Link, handing him the map. "Thank you for the business! But that map is very rare, you know. Tingle only has two extra copies. So, with Mr. Write's help—" The green-haired man rolled his eyes in disgust at the mangling of his name. "—and the maps, together that comes to…398 rupees."
"Three hu—what? That's an insane price!"
"Don't worry, I'll pay it for you," Dr. Left said. "Consider it a gift. If you're going after the Master Sword, you'll need all the help you can get. And besides, prestigious professor I am, I easily have enough."
"Oh, well, um…thank you. I'll find a way to pay you back someday."
After the transaction was taken care of, Link and Navi headed back outside. "So," Navi said, bounding down the steps, "back to Kokiri Park?"
Link nodded. "Back to Kokiri Park."
"Listen, Ganondorf," came the voice through the receiver, "I don't know what you're up to, but I will find out. And when I do, I will use every resource available to stop you."
The Gerudo chuckled. "Thank you for your call, Senator Zelda. I'll keep that in mind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have important matters to attend to." He placed the receiver back on the telephone, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the two in his office over his folded, gloved hands.
"Senator Zelda is becoming…a nuisance," he said. "Which is why I've called you two here." The two who sat before him were the two senators most loyal to him. They were the only two he trusted with his plans. Fortunately, they were also exactly the two that he needed.
The men were polar opposites in almost every way. The one to the left, dressed in his purple senatorial robes, was tall and wore a bored, blasé expression as he stared, uninterested, at his hand. His hair was a pale gray shade, almost white, and rolled down past his shoulders. The other man, dressed in green, was short and aggressive, an eager, menacing grin on his face. Bits of red hair poked out from beneath his top hat, which looked rather small compared to his oversized head.
"Now, I don't believe the two of your are acquainted," he said. He turned to the short man. "Senator Vaati here is the head of a large spy network. And Senator Cole," he said to Vaati, "has a fair number of assassins at his disposal. The two of you will be working together for me from now on. Now, while it is evident that the two of you probably will not see eye-to-eye—metaphorically speaking, of course," he added with a glance at Cole, "—you both have one important thing in common: you got to where you are today through a combination of my influence and your aforementioned networks."
"And you expect me to work with this pretty boy?" Cole demanded.
"Of course he does, dunce," Vaati answered. "He told us so himself. And trust me, thrilled as I am to be working with an imbecile like yourself, I trust Mr. Ganondorf here to make the right judgement."
Ganondorf shook his head. "Gentlemen, please. I need you both to listen for just a moment. Senator Zelda has become nosy and inquisitive, and I can't afford for her to find out what's happening. She's in the way. And what's worse, she's sent someone called Link to stop me. Vaati, I need you to track down this man, find out anything you can about him."
Vaati nodded. "Understood."
"And Cole, I need you to take care of both of them. I'm sure you have a few men up to the job."
"Eheeheehee," Cole cackled. "Do I ever! I've already got a man in mind for the senator."
Ganondorf nodded towards the telephone on his desk. "Well, call him up."
Cole dialed the number, looking indignant when the Gerudo plucked the receiver out of his hand. "Yes?" asked a cheerful man's voice on the other end.
"Hello," Ganondorf said. "You've been recommended to me by your employer, but I thought I'd talk to you in person. I have a job for you."
"Anything, sir," the man said. "Sakon the Assassin at your service, as long as you have enough rupees."
Ganondorf glanced over at Cole, who flashed him a smug grin. "Tell me, Sakon," he said, "have you ever killed a senator?"