Over the course of five days, Shad and Ashei had uncovered four more statues, and yet there was still no clue left behind by Link. With just two statues remaining, one on the Bridge of Eldin and the other, in the Gerudo Desert, things were coming close to being done.
One day was spent wastefully as Shad and Ashei went to Lake Hylia to see how they were to get the statue in Gerudo Desert. Though Shad had never been there personally, he had read in a book that a statue was located there. They found that a cannon could shoot them to the desert, owned by a man named Fyer, but he refused to let them use the cannon for undisclosed reasons.
Shad and Ashei had also examined the Sky Cannon that was there. Shad had no idea how Link managed to bring it there, but when he tried to get it to work, he noticed that the hatch to get inside it was locked tightly shut.
As Shad pondered the situation, he was becoming more anxious, and Ashei could see it.
"Just think," Shad began, "Finally meeting the Sky Beings! We're getting so close I can just see it now!" The rising sun shone down upon Shad, glinting off his glasses and uplifting his smile. The sky was painted in vibrant hues of blue and pink, the morning dew was still on the plants.
Ashei rolled her dark eyes, "Isn't that the eighth time this morning you've said that?"
"Yes, but I just can't stop talking about it..." Shad said, his voice faltering as he looked down. "Sorry..."
"Its fine." Ashei replied swiftly, then pointed. "Look, there's Eldin bridge. The next statue shouldn't be too far from here."
Shad hurried ahead of her, which surprized Ashei. She had never seen him act so abrupt, for he was bound and determined to get to the next clue.
"Shad, wait up!" Ashei ran after him, surprized and amused at Shad's own speed. When she caught up with him, however, there was an orcish battle cry from across the bridge. Ashei squinted, and saw that a Bulblin archer was standing atop a ledge at the bridge, and he was weilding a bow, notching a fire arrow to it. Before Ashei could respond, the Bulblin released the tension of the arrow, and milliseconds later, it collided with Ashei's arm, settting a small fire to her clothes. She yelped with the sudden pain, tore the arrow out of her shoulder, then dropped to the ground and rolled to put out the flame.
This was the first time Shad ever saw Ashei bleeding in combat, and it surprized him.
"Shad, watch out!" She called despite the horrible injury, protective of Shad.
Another arrow was zooming torwards Shad, but he was prepared. He jumped backwards, the arrow narrowly missing his foot.
Shad grabbed Ashei, who was still on the ground, losing too much blood from the injury she sustained to stay in combat. He dragged her across the bridge, dodging fire arrows as he went. Two narrowly missed Ashei, who he was dragging as swiftly as he could, but in all her armor, she was heavier than he was, and it made it hard for him to drag her across the uneven stones. He was soon out of the range of the creature's weapon and sight.
"Are you alright?" Shad asked.
"I'll be fine, I just need some bandages..." Ashei breathed. "Thanks... you really stuck you neck out for me back there... I'm impressed."
Shad blushed. "Well, I... you know, it was the smartest thing to do in that situation..." He hesitated. "How are we going to defeat those archers from afar? We have no bows..."
"We'll just have to run fast..." Ashei said. "If you'll exuse me, I'm going behind that stone over there to change and get some bandages... if you look, I'll kill you." She said, then left, grasping her shoulder tightly.
Shad didn't have any intention to look. He instead looked off at the bridge, where the Bulblin's short-sighted eyes couldn't catch him, and he was safe. Shad paced nervously, thinking about how they were to rush at the Bulblin.
Maybe Ashei could charge at it and leave me time to reveal the next peice of the puzzle... he thought, or we both could catch it by surprize and... oh, how dreadful that would be... I would surely be hurt...
He glanced up, wondering what the Bulblin's plan was should they approach it at speed. Could it just shoot them easier that way? It had the advantage, being on an elevation.
Soon, Ashei had returned, her arm bandaged, but bloodstains still were on her armor.
"Have any plans?" She asked Shad, standing behind him and gazing torwards the creature.
Shad shook his head in distaste. "No... the only thing I've concluded is that it may be more dangerous to approach it at such a speed... we could run while it notches an arrow, then back up as it shoots it, then run again as it readies another arrow... but how are we to reach it at its position?"
Ashei noted the creature's location. The bridge had a stair-like group of rocks leading to a higher point that the archer was stationed on. They could climb the rocks, but they would be dangerously close to the archer, and they could only hope to dodge it's deadly aim from such close quarters.
"We'll have to climb really fast..." Ashei said. "Maybe what you just suggested is a plan. Do you think we should try it?"
"Go for it... I believe I'll stay back here until you dispatch it..." Shad breathed.
Ashei shrugged, then began running down the bridge, following Shad's battle strategy. It worked, but when Ashei approached its perch, she had to get serious about dodging arrows. Shad was amazed at her agility as she swiftly climbed up a series of rocks, and swiftly decapitated the creature. Shad closed his eyes when he saw what she was about to do, and shivered. He would dread having to see the body as he made his way up to her. He peeled his eyes open, then dashed across the bridge to the statue the creature was guarding, trying his best not to look at the creature's corpse.
"So, if this statue doesn't have another clue, then the one in the desert will... but oh, I heard that getting to the desert meant being shot from a cannon, and that sounds positivly dreadful..." Shad said as he examined the next owl statue, readying his rod.
"It'll be a good opertunity to ready yourself for being shot into the sky, because a cannon is used then to, yeah?" Ashei said. "You'll have to get used to it somehow..."
"Oh, I know..." Shad said as the rod began to hum as he gathered energy to it. He then flung the rod, releasing the orb of energy into the air, and it collided with the statue. Shad moved it swiflty aside by stepping backwards, then released the hold on the statue and ran over to the spot it was guarding.
He leaned down, examining the inside of the green area revealed before him. and picked up the next book it was hiding. He flipped through it, and smiled when he saw a document carefully placed between two pages in the middle.
Shad opened it, for it was folded, his face contorting with thought as he examined it. "Hm... it appears to be a memo written by Auru... its adressed to a man named Fyer... oh, were have I heard that name before?"
"Lake Hylia!" Ashei shouted before Shad did. "He's the man that runs the cannon there, remember? It was just yesterday, wasn't it?"
"Yes... that visit was dissapointing... look, it says here that Fyer will open up the Oasis Shot cannon for us if we show this to him. We can get to the desert now... but oh, I'm not looking forward to being shot from a cannon... how dangerous would it be?"
"Link survived," Ashei said. "It must be safer than we think."
The two left the bridge, headed back to Lake Hylia. It was going to be a long walk.
- - -
"That's the document that the young swordsman showed me, alright..." The odd man said as he examined the memo Shad held before him. "Well, I'll open up the cannon, free of charge... do you want to try it now?"
Shad hesitated at the question, then turned to Ashei, his knees shaking slightly.
"I can't do this, Ashei..." he groaned. "Its a cannon... I mean... it's dangerous... I mean, it may be dangerous... I mean..." He stammered, then looked down. "I..."
"Come on, Link did it. Its peftectly safe, isn't it, Fyer?" Ashei asked the man.
"Yeah, its safe alright..." The man mumbled. "Climb on in if you're ready. It can shoot more than one person at a time..."
"Come on, Shad! It'll be fun!"
Shad looked slightly pale, and a little sick. "No, I can't..." He breathed.
"Open it up, Fyer." Ashei commanded, then swiftly whriled around and grabbed Shad's wrists. Shad cried out with distaste, trying to pull away from her, but Fyer had opened the door that led inside the cannon room, and Ashei pushed Shad inside, then jumped in herself.
Inside the cannon was very dark, and Shad couldn't see which way was up. The only thing he could acomplish was lie on the cold metal of the inner cannon, shivering with fear. Suddenly, strange music from outside began to play, and the cannon reared, teetering forward as it was quite unbalanced, and aimed unsteadily at the sky.
"I feel... nasueous..." Shad warned, his teeth rattling as the cannon began to shake. "This may not end up as pleasing as we may have hoped..."
"Get over it!" Ashei said, her voice trembling with excitement. "We're about to fly! Don't you like the Sky Beings?"
"Yes, and I'm not afraid of flying... its hitting the ground that worries me..."
Suddenly, an explosion from behind them caused the cannon to fire, and Shad fainted from the fear and sudden jagged motion.
- - -
Ashei landed safely as she predected, in the middle of the Gerudo desert. She had to find a way to grab Shad on the way down though, and holding him was a pain as they made their decent. Ashei's joints didn't seem damaged from the landing, but Shad still hadn't snapped himself back into consciousness.
Ashei laid Shad down on the platform they landed on, examining him under the burning afternoon sun. The desert sky was devoid of clouds, and the sand and clay which covered the new world was empty from all visable life, including plants. The rugged landscape was teeming with crevices and canyons, rocks and ledges. It was a lot diffrent than the rest of Hyrule.
"Hey!" Ashei slapped Shad gently across the cheek, attempting to rouse him. "Wake up!"
Shad groaned, blinking as he sat up. He rubbed his cheek where Ashei had slapped him. "...Is this heaven...?" He mumbled, then his eyes met Ashei's. "Oh. I assume its not because you're here..."
"What did you say?!" Ashei yelled, her voice cracking.
"Oh, nothing... it was a joke... I meant nothing by it, really..." Shad held his hands up in defence, then swiftly changed the subject. "Are we in the desert? Did we land safely?"
Ashei lifted her head and laughed. "Oh, you should've been awake! It was amazing, flying through the sky... and the landing was fine. If only you hadn't blacked out."
"I was sure I would be dead..." Shad stood up shakily. "My, is it hot out here..."
"Well, duh!" Ashei exclaimed. "Its the desert! Did you leave your brains in the cannon or something? I thought you were smart!"
Shad blushed. "I was just making a comment... its not like I didn't know it would be hot... I mean, of course I knew."
"Whatever," Ashei said, and pointed. "Its going to be a long, hot journey, but we have plenty of water, right?"
Shad checked his backpack, and nodded. "Mine's all here. You?"
"Yeah."
The two began walking through the scorching heat and desert sand, unaware of the danger lurking below them. As time passed, Ashei started to feel something crawl underneath them under the sand, and she was brought to a halt.
"Do you feel that?" She asked.
"What?"
As if to reply, something jumped out of the sand as suddenly as Ashei sensed it, and it grabbed her leg.
"Agh!" Ashei shouted, wrenching her sword from its sheath and slashing the creature across the head. It looked like some sort of scorpian, with a very strange shaped mouth. It looked almost like a hand.
Shad yelped, falling backwards as another of the same breed jumped out of the sand and torwards him. He fumbled with his dagger, holding it awkwardly in a trembling hand as he pointed it at the swiftly approaching sand monster.
Ashei had killed the one who attacked her, then dashed to save Shad. When the monster was defeated, the two of them were left panting and digging for a bottle of water in their backpacks.
"What was that?"
"I don't know the name of it, but we best be careful, now that we know what attacked us and where it'll come from."
Shad did not reply and kept walking, this time he was more wary of the creatures lurking under the sand.
After a few hours of stumbling through the searing heat, Shad had located the next statue, standing atop a mountain of desert ruins. He scrambled up on top of a pillar, then shot the statue and dragged it off of the pillar by moving backwards, for the statues always followed their masters' movements.
Shad's hands began to tremble. This was the last statue... and the key to the sky was definatly going to be hidden inside. Both he and Ashei found their way atop the statue, then they gathered the book into their hands.
"There's a key in it. It must unlock that sky cannon!" Shad said. "I... I don't think I could live out through another cannon shot, especially one aimed at the direct sky..."
"You fainted through the last one." Ashei said. "How bad could this one be?"
"Oh, I don't know..." Shad scracted the back of his head, examining the key that had fallen out of the book. He jumped down from the statue, then looked around. The sun was setting, and Shad was beginning to feel very cold. He was aware that deserts normally got below freezing at night.
"I suggest we leave as soon as possible..." He breathed. "Wait a minute..."
He looked around. "There isn't another cannon here, is there?" A deep silence gripped their hearts as they exchanged glances, their eyes both wide with terror.
"Are we trapped here...?" Ashei breathed.
"I'm afraid so..."
"Well, there has to be another way out!" Ashei exclaimed. "There just has to be!"
Shad began to panic. "Oh no, we're going to die! We're going to run out of supplies and we're going to starve, or we'll be eaten by those horrid sand monsters! Oh, we're going to become a buzzard's meal... we're going to be chewed to smitherines, tormented in the sun... oh, we're going to be roasted, we're-"
"Shut up, Shad, and concentrate!" Ashei yelled over his frantic rambling. "Let's think for a minute. How did Link get back?"
Shad forced himself to calm down by taking a deep breath, coughed from the grains of sand that floated in the air, then said, "Well... I guess we'll just have to explore for a while and find a way... Look over there." He pointed to the horison, where a large camp stood proudly over the land.
"I believe that is a monster's camp of some sort. Whatever they're guarding has to be our ticket out of here, wouldn't you say so?"
"Well, I guess that's our only option." Ashei sighed. "Come on, Shad. No time to lose."
"But the sun is setting, and I'm rather hungry..."
Ashei hesitated, knowing that Shad only ate meager portions of food, he was probably worrying to much to eat well. Ashei sighed, reached into her sack, and pulled out a few fruits.
"Here," she tossed him an apple and orange, "they'll go bad soon anyway. I won't miss them."
Shad looked up at Ashei. "I didn't think you had fruit with you..."
"Well, I did. I'm giving it to you, so be thankful."
"Oh, I'm very thankful! I just didn't think you'd consider packing fruit."
"Well, I did. Enjoy." Ashei said simply, then headed off torwards the camp. Shad munched on the apple, tossing away the core when it was done. He pocketed the orange, though. He didn't know how much longer they had, and if their supplies were wasted unnecissarily, their death would come swifter.
- - -
The two were surprized to find the interior of the camp deserted. There were a few reeking corpses of some boars, roasted in the sun, and decomposed halfway. Shad looked away with a grimace, but Ashei wasn't bothered by it.
"Look, a dead Bulblin." She pointed to a corpse in the sand. "Looks like someone beat us here. Do you think Link did this?"
"I suppose so..." Shad murmured.
They continued through the camp stealthily, avoiding the source any sounds when there was the occasional squack or rustle, until they came face-to-face with an unnaturally large palace.
"The Arbiter's Grounds..." Shad breathed. "Its a tomb of great peril... oh, let's find some other possible way to leave... I don't want to venture into that zone, it would be nothing more than a suicide mission..."
Ashei ignored him and walked up a great flight of stairs leading to the catacomb's front doors. She turned to look at Shad. "Well, come on. I'm not heading back and I'm sure you don't want to be left alone out here. You'll be killed."
"I'll be killed either way!" Shad yelled, then his face softened. "But I guess my chances of survival are stronger with you..." He ran up the stairs, caught up with Ashei, and they entered the weathered, yellow-bricked tomb.
The first room was filled with quicksand. Shad shivered, walking through the room with caution, but Ashei hurried ahead.
"We have to find a way around this quicksand," she said, looking around. On the walls were grated iron spots on the wall, behind them was a flickering candle. Ashei assumed Link had used these to get around. "Link wouldn't have any trouble with his tools, but we're going to have to be strategic and think of a diffrent way than what he took."
She pointed to a few stones that were located in the sand. "We could hop across those, maybe..."
She took the first leap, jumping across the sand and onto a stone. She was relieved to find it quite sturdy. She jumped up and down on it a few times, making sure it was planted fimrly, then she jumped across to the next one.
"Come on, Shad. Its safe."
"Safe for you, maybe..." Shad muttered, then hesitated before jumping across. He scrambled a bit, afraid he was to trip.
"You're really off-balance, Shad. You need to find a good center of balance and concentrate on your footing. You can do this."
Shad gulped, looking into the quicksand. In the middle of the room, the quicksand was converging into a vortex which sank into the unseen depths. He then made another jump across to the stone Ashei was on.
"Just two more stones." She said, "Then we can make it to that door over there."
"I'm... hesitant..." Shad murmured. "Ashei, this is a tomb! And you know how I get with bodies... oh, the sickening mass of rotting flesh..." he shivered at his own words.
"I'm sure no one's been rotting in here for a long time. If we're going to see anything, its bones." Ashei said. "Unless of course there was the occasional living being that Link killed when he explored this place..."
Shad found her words not so reassuring.
Ashei leapt to tne next stone, then safely onto the platform near the door. Shad did his best to mimick her movements, and they entered to a very dimly lit room. It was too dark for them to see very clearly.
"I'm not liking this..." Shad said. "I feel there's something in the dark corners, waiting to leap out and-"
As he spoke, something jabbed him in the back, and he grunted with the sudden pain, and fell forward, stumbling into Ashei.
"Shad!" Ashei spun around, catching the surprized but conscious Shad, then gasped. A skeleton warrior stood in Shad's place, a rod in its hands. The rod seemed as if it should've had a blade at the end, but the blade had fallen off.
Shad stumbled and regained his footing, then yelled with fear. Something lit a torch nearby, and when the room was lit, they found it filled with walking skeletons.
Shad screamed, dropping to the sandy ground and throwing his hands over his head. If anything scared him enough to cause him to lose all hope for courage, it was this. The undead. "Shad, get up! Where's your courage?! Oh, wait! You never had any!" Ashei yelled, and drew her sword. She ran over to Shad to defend him as the skeletons made their way closer to her.
She closed her eyes.
Concentrate. You've seen Link fight before... how did he spin his sword? She asked herself, then, with a shout, she spun around, holding the sword out firmly. She was surprized at how similar it looked to Link's move, but it lacked the whirl Link had with it. The attack manadged to send the entire group of skeletons breaking into peices and clattering onto the ground in a pile of bones.
"Its alright Shad. They're gone. You're okay, yeah?" Ashei asked.
Shad looked up, shivered, then said, "Yes, I'm fine... I truly don't know what I'd do without you..." He grinned, then stood up. "Well, let's continue, shall we? I'm not liking this place..."
The two entered through the door the skeletons were guarding to find themselves in a huge room with extremly high ceilings and chandelier. On the floor in the middle of the room lie a hooded cloak, and rising from it was a purple vapor. Up a flight of stairs in the room were lit four tall torches with a blue flame.
"This place is very eerie..." Shad commented as he walked across the stone floor, his shoes clicking on the ground. He then noticed the cloak and grimaced. "Ugh, I wondered where that horrible reek was coming from... what could that be?" Shad walked over to the cloak, and saw a tiny skull on the neck of it just over the hood. Whatever it was, it was quite dead.
Shad began looking up, and Ashei followed his eyes as they met at the torches, each lit, and a great door was hanging open in front of them. He looked up with bated breath, contemplating the layout of the room and how all the attention was being drawn to the door.
"Let's waste no time- I bet that door shall lead us out, wouldn't you say?" Shad said, then dashed up the stairs. Ashei noted that when he was slightly afraid, he had more adrenelene and determination to leave, but if he was extremly afraid, he would lose all hope and would fall to the ground in self defence, but also self sacrifice to the enemy.
Ashei followed him closely behind, and they ran through the door. The next room was brighter and less eerie, and a few tiles were missing, showing gears in the floor. Across from the gears was a large room filled with shifting sand, and a long ramp sloped upwards across the tower-like room. Both Ashei and Shad were drawn to this one.
"Look at these spirals," Shad noted, "they appear to be some sort of track for a tool or something, but we may be able to climb up it..." He looked up, and noticed that the room ended at the very top and led into another chamber. "Oh, but I'm not so sure about climbing this..."
"Well, whatever tool was used, I doubt its here." Ashei said. "There just has to be another way up there..."
Shad examined the walls, running his fingers over the uneven surphace, then a look of thought came across him. "Do you think we could scale the wall with our weapons? The rocks are quite old, and if we place our blades between the rocks, we could get a firm handhold."
"You mean to scale the wall with our only tools of survival? What if the blade breaks?"
"Well I don't know any other way of getting up there."
"How about we check the other rooms first?"
"The other rooms appear to be headed downwards, and I doubt the way out would be down. This palace is large, and I'm sure if we want to get out, we go up."
Ashei decided not to argue with Shad's judgement, then looked up the wall. "It would be a long climb..." She said. "Oh, I don't know, Shad..."
"Well, I'm hesitant as well, but I really want to get out of here!" Shad said, then drew his dagger. "You don't like this old thing anyway, do you?" He asked, guesturing to the dagger, then dug it into the wall, between two rocks. Dust sprayed from the impact, and the dagger held firmly. Shad then put his feet onto the wall, gripped the dagger firmly with one hand, found another handhold with the other, and then wiggled the dagger free before digging it into another stone.
Ashei was amazed at his efforts. Though there was strain in his voice from climbing a wall with his hands and dagger, his progress was exceptionally fast, for Shad. Ashei decided it was best to join him, and took out her sword. She hesistated, examining it, then frowned.
The sword is too long for this task. Maybe I can climb the wall with my bare hands...
She tested her thought, and found it possible, yet extremly difficult. She followed after Shad, looking down occasionally not out of fear, but of wonder to see how much progress she made. However, she found it even more difficult to climb after Shad as time went on.
She suddenly hit a handhold with her fingers, and accidentally wrenched the brick free from the wall, causing her to lose balance. She was halfway up, and a fall from such a height would be fatal.
"Shad!" She yelled by a reflex, hanging freely by one hand.
"Ashei!" Shad looked down, for he could see her at the angle they were at. "Hang on!"
From loosing grip, she couldn't regain it from such the position, and was slipping fast. Rapidly, her companion began to climb downwards, reversing his movements until he was at her side, just in time. The other brick she was holding onto began to give way.
"Grab my hand!" He yelled, and she reached for him, grasping his wrist tightly. He almost fell with her weight, but once she had balanced herself, they were left breathing hard.
"Thanks, Shad..." Ashei breathed. "That was without doubt the bravest thing you've done..."
"Oh, I've done braver... before..." Shad said with a noticable blush.
"Oh, what's your bravest feat, pray tell?"
Shad ignored the question and continued to climb. "Its a rather awkward place to discuss that..." Shad muttered. "Perhaps later."
"Okay..." Ashei said, and climbed up after him, soon finding herself standing at a level ledge which led to a door. Finding it the only visable one, Shad and Ashei entered it together, and found themselves in a massive chamber with a large podium-like platform in the center, and the same strange tracks running up the walls that they had seen earlier. Across a bridge which led to the platform was another door.
Shad and Ashei examined the room for a bit, but not thuroughly. "I have a hunch that that door leads us outside..." Shad said. "Oh, come on, it shouldn't be far now!"
The two scrambled across the pale-bricked walkway, and opened the door, and were unprepared at what they saw.
They were at the very top of the Arbiter's Grounds, on the outside, gazing down at the desert which was exposed before them. Inside, Shad and Ashei had gotten used to being cool, away from the sun, but now, the huge, blazing monster had returned, and they were closer to it than they were on the ground, and it felt hotter.
There was a staircase winding up which led to the unknown, and finding it the only way to travel, they ascended the stairs, and found another large area, an unclosed space, in-between massive pillars.
In the middle of the room were shards of glass, and a strange platform. Near the platform was a gigantic rock-like object, almost rectangular in shape, gazing down at them with mysteriousness.
Shad muttered something under his breath that Ashei couldn't interpret, and walked forward slowly, gazing around the area with intrest.
"It appears I haven't found a way out of this desert, but this is just remarkable... the architecture is fascinating, and... that stone, oh, it makes me feel almost like it wants to eat me or something... it scares me dearly!"
"Yeah, what is that stone, anyway? It kind of, dare I say it, gives me the creeps as well..."
Shad approached the stone, but kept considerable distance. "We may have to note this and ask Link later, that is, if we find a way to get out of this desert..."
There was a conversational pause, and quite a lengthy one as well.
"It was amazing, quite a journey, to get this far... but somehow, it feels underaccomplished... we failed to find a way out of this desert..."
Shad sat down on a large stone, and buried his head in his hands, hunching his shoulders. "We're dead." He moaned.
Ashei walked over to him slowly, then sat next to him. "You know, my father always taught me never to give up hope, even in such a circumstance. He also told me to always have faith, no matter what the circumstances are."
Shad breathed heavily. "I suppose you're right. We should explore this room and find any clues."
The two of them stood up, and began exploring the room. Ashei had only just started when she had heard a faint squeaking sound from near her, and she gasped. "I heard something!"
Shad came running over to her, his expression showing intrest. "What is it?"
The squeak occurred again, and the two followed the noise until they found a large pot which appeared to be shaking, as if something were inside it. Shad was hesitant, so Ashei approached the pot, and overturned it, shaking out its contents.
What hit the ground caused both Ashei and Shad to gasp. A tiny creature, the size of a cucco and the body of one as well, with yellow feathers, but with an almost humanlike head and very long neck with strange markings running down it, rolled from the pot and collapsed in the floor.
It turned around, then looked up at Ashei. "Gracious!" It exclaimed in a feminine voice. "I've been stuck in that pot for days! Thank you for helping me, I am forever in your debt! You are just about as kind as that wonderful boy in green clothes who helped me the other day."
"Who are you? What are you? You know Link?" Ashei asked."My name is Ooccoo, and I am an Oocca from the Sky. I've just been exploring Hyrule lately, and I keep finding myself accidentally warping into pots. If Link is your friend, you are quite lucky! He's such a helpful young man!"
Shad's jaw dropped. "Its an Oocca! Oh, its an Oocca!" He jumped up and down, so excited he could barely stand still. He was too intrested in actually finding one to consider the last part of her statement. She could warp. Shad fumbled in his backpack, taking out a journal and hastily sketching a picture of Ooccoo, and then scribbled down a short account of how and where he found her.
Ashei caught this, and exclaimed, "You can warp?! Wow, we've been stuck in this desert for a while, and if you want to repay us, could you warp us out of here?"
"Gracious, I could!" Ooccoo said. "My son will certainly do the honors for you, his name is Junior. Say hi, Junior!"
The baby Oocca seemed to pop up out of nowhere. He looked like the head of an Oocca, but with little wings on the sides of his head, replacing ears. He hovered around, examining Shad and Ashei. Shad drew him into his journal with a wide smile as Junior hovered around them like a hummingbird. Shad had so many questions to ask that he just couldn't pick the right one to ask first.
"Hi!" He squeaked in his tiny voice. "My momma taught me to warp! I can get you out of here."
"Oh, but wait, please!" Shad pleaded. "I've been studying your race for years, I've been dying to meet one! I want to know about you!"
Junior, however, was so excited to test his warping skills to heed Shad's frantic pleading, and Junior had already begun warping them away. He hovered around them in zigzag patterns, and as his flight speed increased, they began to dematerialize into thin air, as if they've never been there.
- - -
Shad opened his eyes, finding himself standing in Lake Hylia, right next to the locked cannon. He remembered he had gathered the key to unlock it earlier.
Junior hovered around them, then he hovered torwards the cannon. "I brought you here! I think Momma knows you awesome kids want to go to my city! This is the way to get there."
"What about Ooccoo?" Shad asked. "Will she be alright? She can warp without you, can't she?"
"Momma will be fine." Junior said, "I'll just go back to her."
"Oh, please don't leave! I want to speak to you about your kind!"
"If you want to learn about us, you can go meet us in the City in the Sky!" Junior said, then dissappeared from sight.
Shad frowned, his mood had turned sullen. There was so much he wanted to ask, and now, his oppertunity was gone. He didn't blame the child, though. Junior didn't understand how badly Shad wanted to study the Sky Beings.
"Shad, we're at the cannon now!" Ashei exclaimed. "This is it, the moment we've been waiting for! A chance to get to the Sky City! What are you waiting for?"
"This cannon is diffrent than the oasis one..." Shad said. "Ashei, this one shoots clear into the sky, with no indication that it won't miss its destination."
"Link used it." Ashei used the same excuse she did last time, then pointed. "Go unlock it, Shad! Remember that you've been waiting for this moment all your life! This time, stay awake through it!"
Shad gulped, then approached the cannon slowly, with bated breath. Ashei was right- this was the highlight of his life. Why was he so hesitant? He then narrowed his eyes, drew back his shoulders confidently, then took the key from his pocket, jabbing it into the keyhole which opened the door to the hatch of the cannon.
"I'm ready." He said, then climbed inside with renewed confidence. "Well, Ashei, come on then! It can support the two of us, I'm sure."
"How does it set off?" Ashei asked as she climbed inside herself.
"There's a large red button here..." Shad said, then without hesitating, pressed it in.
Just milliseconds afterwards, the cannon reared and fired, taking the two of them by surprise. It was much less jagged than the other cannon.
Flying through the sky was like nothing Shad had ever dreamed, and he found it more fascinating than scary, though he was afraid of what was to become of them when their angle changed directions. However, the flight was so fast he couldn't see, and his eyes were already closed from fear of looking down.
Only five minutes have passed when he and Ashei suddenly felt the force of hitting a pool of water.
The impact dragged Shad to his senses, then he looked around, and found that he was in a gigantic city, hovering in the sky.
There was a thick collection of clouds in the area, however, and Shad couldn't see much of what the city looked like. He only knew they were here. The realization that the cannon had been faithful in bringing them to the City in the Sky in one peice caused him to almost scream with delight. "Ah! We're here!" He announced. "I can't wait to begin exploring, and to get back home and tell my father!"
"Ashei, check this out!" He said.
There came no reply from his companion.
"Ashei?"
He turned around and found that Ashei had sunk to the bottom of the pool Shad's delight turned to fear. "Oh, no!" He cried, then dived under the ten-foot deep pool torwards her. He noticed her eyes were closed, and she was lying limply at the bottom. Shad quickly grabbed her arms and kicked off the ground while holding on to her. They surfaced, Shad coughing harshly as he dragged her onto shore.
"Ashei...?" He breathed, but she did not respond. He knealt near her, then bent over her to hear for her breathing, but he did not hear any indication that she was breathing.
"Oh, no..." Panic rose in his heart. In Hyrule, CPR was known among most travelers, including Shad. It was a recently discovered medical procedure, involving mouth-to-mouth, a method of breathing life into the victim's lungs. Shad knew that it was the needed procedure, but it would embarass him dearly.
"Alright, Shad... Concentrate..." He calmed himself, then in a swift, jagged movement, locked his lips with hers, giving her a hard breath down her windpipe.
She woke with a sudden jolt, breaking away from Shad and coughing up a bit of water. When she caught her breath, a look of surprise and embarrassment came across her face. She looked over her shoulder at Shad, and thought she had never seen a more embarrassed man- let alone, anyone- in her life.
"Shad...?" She hesitated. "You..."
"Please don't mention this again... to me... to anyone..."
Ashei blushed slightly, turning away quickly. "I... I can't swim." She said very quickly and quietly. "I guess you figured that out anyway..."
"Are you alright?" Shad ignored the fact that he knew one of Ashei's weak points. He didn't want to embarrass her further by talking about it.
"I'm fine, thanks..." She squeezed some water out of her hair, then looked around. "Are we in the Sky City?"
"I believe so..." Shad stood up, then walked to the edge of a protective railing. Excitement and a little fear gripped his heart as he looked over the edge, and saw clouds blanketing the sky below. "Yes, we are!" He confirmed confidently, spinning around and pointing to a walkway which led into a large, egg-shaped building. "Let's go!" He began, but was cut off by a sudden movement.
Without warning, from nearby, a shape began to take form, taking Shad and Ashei aback. They gasped as they saw the shape of Ooccoo, who they met earlier, materialize near them, with Junior hovering near her.
"Oh, gracious! It seems you've beat me here!" She said confidently. "I suppose you're wanting a tour of the place, then?"
Shad and Ashei exchanged glances and grinned.
"We'd love to."
---
Note on the latest update: I must admit this was rather rushed. I'm going to need to go back and flesh out the skeleton of text I have above later, but my life is really crazy lately.
note: "I selfishly request feedback of any variety, blind hatred or blind praise, thousand-word theses or one-word non sequiturs. Please." Tiki