Criminy, readers! Over 500 hits? Thank you! I've been so caught up in moving, that I forgot to update the story. Oops.

Moriko: You're an idiot.

Me: That's what Taiki said a while ago.

Moriko: Whatever...The Wing Alchemist doesn't own anyone except for myself, Taiki, Tanner (the possessive boy in denial, and Lekki12 put it), and the random characters you've never heard of, such as the ones mentioned in this chapter!

Me: Thank you. Enjoy!

Chapter 13: The Clown Family

Moriko had ridden Meryl south, occasionally taking directions from travelers, and had turned west until she'd spotted the greatness that was Lake Hylia. She'd heard the travelers speak of it as if it were nothing much, but Moriko was absolutely amazed. The lake itself was at least half a mile long, its waters glistening in the morning sunlight. There was a shack on the east side of it, with a sign saying something about fishing. She saw a cave on the far side of the lake, but there was one small problem.

There was no way down to the lake. No walkways, no trails, not even footholds. The wall of rock surrounding the lakebed area was smooth.

Moriko followed the fenced cliff until she found a house resting precariously on the cliff edge. It looked extremely unstable there. It had a net above it, facing the lake. She was having second thoughts about going inside when a girl of about eight opened the door and stalked out, slamming it behind her. She wore a sort of clown-like outfit, and her red hair was pulled up in two pigtails with pompoms.

As she stomped away, a man wearing polka dots emerged from the house, looking frantic. He ran up to Moriko in the blink of an eye.

"Have you seen my sister pass by here? She had red hair and green eyes and a…"

Moriko pointed to the girl's retreating figure, which was currently crossing the bridge. The man thanked Moriko and followed the girl, calling out, "Mai! Mai, come back!"

Moriko stared after them for a bit, then turned to the house. There was an older man standing in the doorway. He was large with muscular arms, and had an outfit like the other guy. They were a family of clowns. Creepy.

"Things never change…," the man said with a shake of his head. He looked at Moriko with a grim look. "You looking to get down to the lake?"

"Uh, no…I'm just looking to get to Zora's Domain. Do you know how to get there?" Moriko asked, getting off Meryl.

The man looked stunned for a second, then threw back his head and laughed. Moriko stared at him until he finally got the idea that she wasn't kidding.

"You got something lodged in your head, girl?" he asked, walking over to her and knocking her on the head. "Haven't you heard about them Zoras? Travelers are saying they've gone berserk over something they lost. Every non-resident in the area was kicked out around noon yesterday. Anyone found near the area was nearly killed." The man looked down at the lake and shook his head. "Ever since their young heir went missing, the Zoras have been on a rampage. Too bad the light spirit can't do anything."

"The light spirit?! Where is it?!" Moriko demanded. The man was taken aback by her sudden determination, and pointed to a cave in the lower cliff wall.

"It's down there, but it won't appear for anyone anymore. Wha- OI!"

Moriko had begun to climb over the fence when the man grabbed her arms and pulled her back.

"Girl, if you jump from here, you're dead. Can you even swim?"

Moriko paused, then looked over the cliff. The water almost seemed to rise up at her, and she was thrown off balance. She leaned on the man as her vision swirled, making her nauseous.

"There we go. That always happens with travelers. One look down and they get vertigo. Come on in, you should sit down."

He led her inside, tying Meryl's reins to the fence by the door, and got her a seat by the back door. The house was nearly empty, save for a couch near the back wall and a bed and dresser in the upper loft. There was another couch up there as well. The whole place didn't exactly feel like a clown's home, let alone a family of them.

"I'm Damon, by the way," the man said, walking over to a sink built into the wall. "The other two were Hiroshi and Mai. They're such a handful sometimes." He came back with a glass of water. She took it gratefully and sipped it.

"I'm Moriko," she said after a bit.

"Nice to meet you, Moriko. Where are you from?"

"Well, I'm from the forest to the south."

"Ah, that explains the extreme vertigo you experienced. Have you ever seen such a drop before?"

"Never," Moriko said with a laugh. "This is my first time outside the forest."

"Well, that's got to be fun. How do you like Hyrule so far?"

Moriko paused, remembering everything that had happened before this.

"I've had a lot of fun. The Gorons were especially nice."

Damon was surprised, though he didn't show it. This little girl had climbed Death Mountain and met the Gorons, then traveled all the way across the fields to see the Zoras. She was tougher than she looked, with her vibrant blue eyes and slender frame.

"So how do you get down to the lake?" she asked. Damon followed her gaze to the cave far below, and smiled.

"You really want to go see the light spirit?" he asked her. She nodded and stood, straightening her green tunic. He smiled and led her out the front door, pointing towards a pen cuccos. "Pick out the one you like, then wait for me, I need to find my kids."

Damon left Moriko there and ran off towards the huge bridge, leaving her alone with the multicolored cuccos. She shrugged and looked over them, choosing a medium sized gray one as hers. She memorized its coloring and looked over at the bridge. She saw Damon arguing with Hiroshi, who was completely frantic. She looked for Mai, only to see the girl a ways down the bridge, near the middle. Moriko's blood ran cold.

Mai was hanging onto a gargoyle for dear life, probably too afraid to scream or get a better hold. Moriko saw her slipping, so she did what she had to. She dropped her bag, startling her fairies friends awake, and ran for the bridge. Taiki got out first, saw Moriko, and chased after her, flying directly at her. Navi, on the other hand, yawned and went back to sleep.

When Damon and Hiroshi saw Moriko running, they assumed she'd found Mai. They'd been looking, but they hadn't found her.

"Help me get up on the railing!" Moriko shouted. The man watched as she searched the other side of the railing, looking for something. She shouted at them and pulled herself onto the railing. "Get moving, boys! I found her!"

The men paled as Moriko reached over the railing, stretching her arm as far as it would go.

"Mai, please grab my hand!" she said. Mai, who was extremely afraid of heights, reached for her hand, gripping the new girl's fingers tightly.

"Who are you?" Mai asked as the girl pulled her up onto the railing.

"Moriko," she said, grinning. Mai was abruptly swept off the railing by Damon and Hiroshi, who were acting like frightened mothers.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Damon said sternly.

"I was so worried!" Hiroshi said repeatedly, hugging his sister dearly.

"I didn't mean to fall there! The lake monster tried to get me!" Mai cried. Hiroshi and Damon looked at each other, agreeing that Mai had probably just been clumsy.

Moriko sat on the railing, a sheepish smile on her face. She saw Taiki floating towards her and held out her hand for him to land in. He did so with a great sigh.

"Next time, Moriko, let me know before you drop the bag with such carelessness."

"Sorry, Taiki," she said, scratching her head. She'd forgotten her fairies were still in there.

"Wow! A fairy!" Mai said, her eyes trained on Taiki. He floated over to her and rested on her head. He liked amazing people like this. The kids loved him.

Moriko followed the group of clowns back to their house, joining them for dinner. She offered to pay them for letting her stay, but they wouldn't hear of if. They know that letting her stay for free would never equal saving Mai's life, so they fixed a huge dinner in celebration. Moriko ate as much as she could before it disappeared. After that, they sat and talked, Navi included, about Moriko's adventure so far. Mai was absolutely in awe of how well Moriko described the giant Dodongo, and the men were amazed to see Moriko's sword fighting skills were so good for a girl.

"So how friendly are the Gorons?" Mai asked. "Are they cute?"

Moriko opened her mouth to answer when she saw a large shadow outside the window. She started at it, open mouthed, until everyone looked. By then the shadow had disappeared over the side of the cliff. The family looked at Moriko as if she'd gone crazy. Moriko blinked and shook her head, her eyelids drooping.

"I'm sorry. I must be more tired than I thought."

Damon nodded, though his face was grim. "You're probably right. It's time to hit the hay." Everyone agreed, though Mai moaned it, and went off to their own corners of the house. Mai and Hiroshi climbed up to the loft while Damon slid the back door open and looked over the railing. Moriko followed him and looked down, careful not to fall.

"Is there a lake monster, Damon?"

"You know, Moriko, I'm not really sure. Mai's been saying something about a lake monster, but she still walks around outside."

"If you're thinking about keeping her locked up inside, think again. My caretaker did that because he didn't want to deal with me. But I still managed to get out sometimes. That girl's resourceful. She'll find a way out."

"Yeah, you're right, but I still worry about her. I at least want her to stay off the bridge."

"Just tell her that. If you give her the real reason behind it, then she'll understand."

Damon looked at Moriko, a smile tugging at his lips. "You're pretty understanding for a girl your age. Usually you all rebel and start something, but you…you're different."

"I don't mind different. Different doesn't necessarily mean better. Well, I bid you good night, Damon. See you in the morning."

"Yeah…," he whispered, watching her head back inside. He turned his gaze back towards the dark waters, looking for the lake monster. "Sleep well, Moriko."

Suzume and Takeshi made good time that night, reaching the oasis in a few short hours. They took a break and surveyed the sky. The sandstorm was going to hit them that night, so they'd have to forgo sleep until they were safely out of the desert.

"So what made you decide to leave, my lady?" Takeshi asked, handing her half a loaf of bread.

"I got sick of my brother blowing off my questions about the new woman in his life. By the way, no more of that 'My Lady' stuff, okay, Takeshi? We're out of their reach."

"Of course, Suzume, but who is this new woman? Do you know her name?"

Suzume sighed, taking a large bite out of her bread. "All I know is that her name is Moriko and she's something special to him." She stared at the water in the oasis. She wanted her brother to notice her and be proud of her. She didn't want to be a burden to him, like their parents had been. She didn't want to be killed.

"Takeshi, what should I do?"

"I know not what you mean, Suzume."

"I mean, should I go and capture Moriko for him, or should I just leave her alone?"

Takeshi was silent. He saw how much Suzume wanted to be recognized by her brother, no matter how well she hid it from herself and others. It put her in pain, and this decision would only tear her apart even more.

Suzume sighed and looked at the sand that blew across the desert, creating images in the back of her mind. She saw too many things in the sands, and her nightmares were the worst during sandstorms, when sand blocked the sky from view. Her dreams were equally awful when her brother spoke to that fowl power he'd obtained from the lowest room of the fortress. She'd avoided him for weeks after he'd first obtained that power because she felt utterly disgusted by it. It was pure, brute strength, and he'd had plenty of that to begin with. It had driven him away from her, and that made her sad.

Takeshi stood and mounted his horse, Miguel, a sandy white stallion.

"Suzume, it's time to go. We have at least an hour or two until the storm hits.

Suzume snapped out of her thoughts and mounted her horse, Torrent, a red and brown stallion. She gripped her necklace, a piece of gold shaped like a crown, and snapped Torrent's reins, spurring him towards the only way out of Gerudo Desert, a thin canyon about a mile long. Takeshi followed her, afraid for his only friend's life.

Whoo! Chapter 13, done! How'd you all like it? Was it good? It was kind fillerish because I had writers block and I was too busy fiddling with the soundtrack on Imeem to get anythign done. Forgive me! Here's a late "Happy 4th of July!", and have a good night! Or day, depending on where you are! XD