Link, Hunter of Monsters II: A Whole Other Beast

by Kokiri-Hylian-Hero

Link has a dream which can only prepare him to leave Hyrule, from there it's up to him and his guardian fairy, Navi, to recover the weapons he returned to the various people of Hyrule, but when he tries to recover some weapons from the Gerudo he runs into trouble. Rated T for the violence that will probably take place. There will be more than four characters in this story.

2. Silver and Gold

Link, Hunter of Monsters II: A Whole Other Beast

Silver and Gold

"And then the Barioth, thinking he's the white knight-" a blonde haired noblewoman named Zelda—Princess Zelda to Hyrule, plain Zelda to her small but close circle of friends—raises her hand, the brown haired woman next to her shifted her blue eyes her way, I'm happy because now I'm back home with my friends, "Yes, Princess Zelda?" I ask, for at least the hundredth time. But I won't hold that against her, she's very good at putting pieces of a story together, but she always makes sure she gets every angle until she finally draws a conclusion. That can sometimes unnerve even the most patient of noblemen who try to talk to the princess about royal matters. Namely, the acquirement of the High Royal Hylian Throne of Old Times—when the annoying nobles are present I call it the Old Man's Chair minus the Rocker. That usually puts the ram in—wrong world, never mind. I keep doing that, saying something that brings me back to the days of Moga. I don't want to do that, because, for some reason, that has something to do with maybe a prank curse or something, I tear up when I think about it.

It must be the effects of time travel, the tears I shed in Moga were meant to be, destined by fate to cry over the word that starts with an 'M'. Moga, it's as though some wizard just wants to see me cry, he took the tears of mine which I shed before time travelling, mixed it with a potion and did some hocus-pocus on me with some strange magic. Don't you hate it when wizards get bored? I do, because they usually target me for spell practicing. Oh well, nice to know there are some brash villains who want a crash course on how to get a hero to go Hulk. I think I said that once before, but that's why these two are here, Zelda and "She who must not be named. Miss You Know Who I Am Talking About. My hero." And any other little titles that pop into your head, oh, and she loves the little scales and plates I took from the monsters.

Chronologically speaking, I was only gone for a few minutes, so those days didn't happen, for there's not any proof of the battle with the Ceadeus— except for the Deep Dragon Gem. I still have that, but whether my girlfriend and Zelda are ready to hear this is beyond me, I only have the Triforce of Courage, not Wisdom. But my own personal discretion tells me to keep quiet for a little while longer, but secrets have never been easy for me to keep. So later I'll find Navi, ask her if they're ready to know, for now I'll answer Princess Zelda's question, "Okay, Zelda, what's up?" I ask, wondering what she found out from my story of the fairy who was decidedly spying on me when I told her to buy herself something at the Tanzia Grill, "If I understand correctly, you gave her two thousand zennies, but what are these zennies, they sound interesting, perhaps a monetary form in the land you came back from—but then, you spent how many days there? Yet you came back an hour after you had left for the woods anyways, but that's exactly when you said you'd be back, so Rululonia and I have been wondering if the Ocarina of Time didn't transport you there and back." Rululonia is my girlfriend, by the way, I don't believe I mentioned that the last time I wrote a tale of Moga.

I took the princess's words to heart that night and had strange dreams, that the instrument we were speaking about got up and held out a hand—I don't know how a hand got there, but that's dreams for you—and then shot me with a blue beam of light. The light reminded me of the Ceadeus, and I realized that I would have to speak to the Sages about this, "Navi," I pop my head up from the down position and look around, any sign of blue light would mean she was there. And no blue light, though I was certain that Princess Zelda addressed Navi when I went up to my private castle suite, one of the perks of risking your life for Hyrule, but now that I think about it, Navi was always there, like a shadow, sometimes I woke up to an unexpected nightlight, really weird, to think she would be gone during a time when I would think to speak with her, strange. Then it hits me, that even though she's always been there, nothing was ever easy, so that can only mean something happened to her. Acting on hero instincts and not human emotions such as fear, I calmly leave the king sized—I'm just a knight, but you won't hear me complaining—and enter the closet. As a Kokiri, the closet is huge! It's about the size of my one room tree slash house in the woods! I mean, that thing was big, but this is just the closet! I can tell that the royals who came before were a very extravagant people, which is why Zelda says that the past doesn't predict the future, though knowing history is nice because there are a lot of mistakes that we can learn from, once where this guy—ah, never mind, it'll come up, I'm sure.

Navi is not in the closet, I checked all thirty pairs of spare hats, that's ten greens, ten blues, and ten reds, I'm wearing a sleeping cap because it feels natural that something should be on my head when I wake up, and I lock my room so the maids don't walk in and say something along the lines of, oh, how did she say it? "Link! Wake up! Can Hyrule's future-" blah, blah, blah, cry me a river. But that was a while back and though a rough start we get along much better now. Better enough to actually scare me when she's not hovering—literally—over my nose. Not that I mind, over protectiveness is a part of her nature. But now it's my turn to be paranoid, worrisome, and act like she's a pet cat that left the cage by slipping through bars. Keyhole! Yes, of course, she can fit through small spaces, so that means—she can be anywhere?! Great, time to initiate an all-out fairy hunt. I step quietly out of the room and down the stairs. I have doubts that the opposition would get far with Navi, I mean, to think they got so far with so little noise. And then the scary shade of red she turns when you really get on her nerves. All fairies do that, though, so I'm not too worried that there's something wrong with her. Except that she won't touch a peanut butter and jelly sandwich unless the peanut butter as chunks of the actual—didn't I already say this? I'm sorry if I was thinking that during the several flights of stairs, but that is how I didn't lose my nerve looking for her, to be a hero you must remain calm, to remain calm you must distract your mind, preferably the part in control of thoughts, because thoughts do tend to lead to action. And action has a fifty-fifty chance of making a mistake. So I let my feet think, they think about a lot, about how to step lightly down the stairs as a thief would, but without the lawless breaking in of the castle. This is the castle, so Princess Zelda could be in a pretty pickle right now. And she's found her way into more pickles than I'd like to chew through, more than I thought possible, given the fact that she has the Triforce of Wisdom. But now the Triforce of Power is gone, the Sages had to seal it just to keep the best representative of the Triforce's traits from containing that raw power. I said it was impossible, that no one can contain the Triforce in a seal, even if it's just one of the three parts of the Triforce that's being sealed, especially not the Triforce of Power, I mean, power is practically the keyword here, people, the reason why Ganondorf went after it. They sealed him too. But what if the seals are exactly the same, like nets, if he can break out then he could free it—stop with my tragic thoughts already, back to the mission. Great, now my hands are all shaky, and it's not even chilly. Must be the moo, I hear the tide is influenced by the moon. That thing sure gets around. I can help but gaze at the beautiful, round, perfect disk, blemished, but beautiful, the light makes up for the shadow and in a way, it's kind of human. Okay, that sounded weird, but that's the thought that came to me.

Still looking out something passes over it, I jump back at the sight, but when I mean just I mean that my feet jump, I don't throw myself back of the stairs, but the next thing that happens gets to me. a blue thing hits the window, I almost audibly scream, but I audibly gasp. Some spherical blue thing hit the window. Not just any blue thing, but mine—I—I mean Hyrule's, yes, Hyrule's, of course. This window was designed with Navi in mind, so she finds the gap and squeezes through. I will never know how she got in, but I don't care, "Navi, I had a strange dream! The Ocarina of Time had hands!" she gave me that look that says, "That can wait." And I look at her, mentally telling her that she may talk, "Link, I went to see the Sages! They're-" she stops talking and I fear the worst, "They're dead." It's no question, it's an observation, probably not a false one, "No, they're not dead or there, and that's the scary thing! They need to be there to check on Ganondorf's seal from time to time, and if he's not there, but still not here, then where in Hyrule could he have gone?"

I heard a legend once, a story about a kid who did a lot of strange things using an instrument, magical instrument, and he stopped a moon from hitting Termina, I told you about that place right? Well, the moon was controlled by a mask, they say, and that the mask went dormant afterwards. I believe in the Death Mountain theory, which Zelda the genius came up with. If something was awake, and now it's asleep, it's not dead. And as we see with me, if it sleeps, it can wake. And who knows what happens when it wakes, "I also had a dream that they were there, all the monsters pass level five—at least, I would say all of them, I saw a familiar face, the thing with tusks that I said had yellowed teeth?" she stared at me as though peering through a hole that I didn't know was there, "Duramboros." She says coldly, "Navi, I told you, I don't want to hear about them." She rolls her eyes—or whatever counts as eyes to fairies—at me, "Don't roll your eyes at me, Navi." She does it again, followed by insult, "You had a dream regarding it. May as well get your old weapons again, there's trouble, I smell it." I grin and sniff under my arm, "I sometimes wield a blade in my dreams, often times I lose." I think she was trying to smile, or she was amused, but she looked like she had a smile on, "Let's hope that's not a premonition." She says humorously. And by that I mean with a straight face, unless the smile takes away the possibility for a straight face, but I can't help but frown afterwards, "That's just it, I need to know what I'm up against, and I need the Sages." One thing that has just now occurred to me is that the Sages are called that because of their wisdom. Well, it makes sense for Zelda—the seventh Sage and their leader—to hold the Triforce of Wisdom. And me, I've got the courage of Farore, and the brain deadness of a tree, which makes sense, seeing as how I grew up in and around them, "Well, they're not there, maybe they're at the places where their powers are strongest. Which weapon do you want first?" I look down and decide that this is already the place where we keep that Switch Axe, "I guess we'll talk to Zelda in the morning."I hold up one finger, when I do this I'm telling Navi that she'll know what I was about to say by my next actions, I remember the last time this happened, I had Ganon staring down at me, and held up a finger, he and Navi were so confused that I think time stopped just so the battle wouldn't lose pace, I then used my longshot instead of my arrows, as I had ran slap out of them when I was fighting Ganon in his human—and original form—which was Ganondorf, King of Gerudo Thieves. Anyway, the battle went well, I won, history is done. Now I find myself at a door which smells very nice, the gardenias that are hanging above and around this door are the cause of the smell, very nice, as previously noted.

I knock on the door and almost beg for the door to say something about the occupant—or at least, hoping she's still here to be called occupant. She answers the door herself and I sigh, "What's wrong?" Huh? Oh, I sighed, that was relief—say something! Anything but staring, "Uh, I have to go somewhere tomorrow, look, I know this is your first time staying at the castle, but I promise, Zelda doesn't turn into some werewolf and I have to walk the halls to keep her from making a mess." She smiles and in slow motion slaps my head, a gesture that tells me I need not fear—not that it would do me much good, as Triforce Wielder of Courage, I draw strength from courage, and fear chokes me, metaphorically speaking, "Well, I guess I should try to rest, I'll be back here later to check up on you." Now who's the paranoid hoverer three thousand? Not Navi, "I mean, I have a bad habit of knowing where danger is, and usually that's around someone I care about, and I'm never sure if it's my fear or powers going off when I show up, but I'm hardly mistaken, so, if you hear any loud footsteps and Navi starts complaining, that's us, okay?" she shrugs and I can tell all my babbling is rain on the roof, so I adjust my sleeping cap and reach for my back, scratching it to make the habitual sword checkup seem as though I was just spontaneously itchy, which happens a lot, especially when you're a hero, that's sweaty work. She says goodnight and I reply likewise, Navi hovering silently above me all the time.

She knows that between my hero senses and my emotions towards this particular person, something's off, "Scared to leave Hyrule knowing she's probably in danger, huh?" I give her my best "What?" face, and she clarifies, "Well, face it, you dreamed about Moga, that's not just a coincidence with the sagacious disappearance, is it?" I sigh and try to think of something light hearted to say, "Well," I try, hoping that it'll make breathing easier, "if they're not in danger, then it wasn't too smart of them to disappear." But I realize I must have failed at a shot at humor because what I just said was way too long to be funny, she flutters ahead and stares at me, "You don't usually seem so depressed, and usually you laugh at your jokes until I say, 'Yeah, alright, it's funny, now leave me alone.'" I know she's right, and she knows that I know this, I find my room and turn back to her, "You know, I can't explain it, I didn't see every monster, just that one, but I know that on that top triangle of the Triforce, there were all the high level monsters, it was crowded, but I looked closer and just chanced upon that one." She shakes her head, indistinguishable from the rest of her, and we both breathe out deeply through our nostrils. Or whatever counts as nostrils for a fairy, "Then you'll have to face them all in a gauntlet." Ladies and gentlemen I give you the dream reader. Not only an she read my mind when I don't press the mental off button, but she can also read my dreams, like an open book, "But, Navi," I remembered something more, "if I recall correctly, there was the Triforce, they were on the top triangle—the top triangle of the Triforce! What does that mean?" "No one's going to hold them down. They belong to him—Ganondorf." I could screech and sound as though I were a red caped skeleton in the Arbiter's Grounds I'm so upset, but I keep my composure and take a deep breath, "Scared? That's understandable. They belong to Ganondorf, who wouldn't be scared? But you, where were you on the Triforce? On the courage or wisdom?" I shake my head, "I don't know, but I remember holding the pig mask that butler gave me, I could smell something, something good, but I cannot place it, I know I've smelt it somewhere in the worlds before, which world and where I don't know, but it's on the tip of my tongue." "Nose." She corrects, and aptly so, "Look, Link, you're a huge wreak, you go to bed and I'll watch the halls. Look, I know, you said we'd be checking in on her if we sense something suspicious, I'll wake you if something comes up. Isn't it strange though, sense could be a smell, a thought, a taste, sometimes I taste peanut butter before I even take a bite, isn't that weird?" she wants me to regain confidence, correcting her always makes me feel more confident, if I say something snotty she will very likely retaliate, then I am liable to forget everything that just happened, "The sun and moon." I said, somewhat (that means "very", in most of my cases) absentmindedly, "The sun and moon." She repeats, neither question nor statement, not an exclamation or a contemplation, it's weird, but she seems lost in thought, not thinking, but the thoughts dancing in front of her, probably in similar fashion to the undead monsters in the Ikana Castle, those things were weird. Navi looks back at me from her absentminded position, "You mean like Kafei and Anju, right?" I smile, "If only, but I can't remember the thought that lead to this, maybe it's the upcoming eclipse, tomorrow, right?" she nods enthusiastically, she loves astronomical phenomena, it simply captivates her. Too bad I won't be here tomorrow to see it; instead I'll be fighting the realization of my premonition. Don't you wish that your dreams will come true unless you pinpoint that one in particular, and even then, be careful what you wish for, I want to change the topic of our current conversation, but the thoughts I let fly from my head to Navi is a question of how the two are doing, Kafei and Anju, "Navi, how do you think they've been?" that next silent means she doesn't know, but she smells something fishy.

I find it hard to believe that she's figured out that I'm trying to cover up something else, something that's bothering me, "Link, what's the deal?" I shrug, "Why don't you tell me?" she narrows her eyes, or, at least she would if she could, but if she can and is then I cannot see directly, but I know she is or would if she can or could, "Okay, I'll tell you, you're worried, you smell it, danger, it calls you, but not just you, the monster buried alive, deep down alive, darkness from deep in your heart, it's trying to get out, it wants to be free, doesn't it?" man, right on the nose.

She read me as if I was pressed into paper, "Yeah, that's it." First I was challenging, trying to hide it, then she found it anyways and now I'm depressed, "Hey, Link, do you remember when we were about to face the Ceadeus? I'm still astonished you defeated it without my help, not that you didn't do a spectacular job, but I also didn't doubt you could defeat it." I stopped following when she said "spectacular" she continues speaking, "Well, I can see you didn't understand that part, let me try again, when you singlehandedly undid the Ceadeus I was surprised that you didn't need my help, though I knew you didn't need my help. What I mean is that even when I know you can accomplish something, the fact that you do is a shock all the same, the fact that I know you're unbelievable doesn't help me avoid being surprised when you do something unbelievable, even if it's slightly less than the last thing you did, but that Ceadeus was the most surprising thing ever, but even though I was afraid that it would tear you apart, I let you do it, not because it was your duty, not because it was inevitable, but because I knew you could, am I making much sense now?" I nod slowly, "Good, now, on to what I was going to say, hmm, how do I put this? Usually when you get worried that I'm not going to let you do something, that's usually because you think that if I knew the odds I'd make you back out, but you're never right about, Link, if this is your destiny then I can't stop it, but I do know that you always have a good chance of surviving. And, Link, even if I could make you back down from what you had to do, and if I knew you'd listen I wouldn't tell you to back down, not even to save your life, because I know that you'd regret it later, but if you ever put all your eggs in the same basket, and there's a chance they'll all get ruined, I'm still be betting on you living, no matter what the bet is." How moving, I almost tear up, instead I let out a breath which carries all the sound but none of the pain of what I feel inside, I open the door to what I know is probably the last night's sleep I'll get and wait until she's in. if it hadn't been for my mental assurance that I didn't want her to scram she'd hit the road by the face I am sure I was making, of course, if I didn't welcome her with an open mind she'd probably have started opening the big box of problems and seeing what was on my mind, when she's in I take another breath, then, as though not one second had passed, I answer her last comment, "You really mean that?" great, I think the corner of my right eye twitched with the full power of those words, that probably looks to her as though I'm sick to my stomach by the meaning of her words, but thanks to my mind's eye weeping, she understands that I'm trying my best to be a tough warrior and not Link, the little boy she meet seven years ago in an almost futile attempt to save Hyrule, and quite possibly the world, "Yes, Link, I do mean that, face it, I've faced worse things by your side, nothing a little danger can beat, I'm sure." I almost laugh, "Navi, all that we've faced so far was danger." I step back as she points her finger suddenly my way, "See!?" as though she just proved a mathematical or scientific theory, "See, I never know that it's danger, you went through those ordeals as though there's never been any real danger, it all seems that same to you, it's as if danger has no meaning to you, you're a whole other brand of smash jaw!" both my eyebrows jump, "Smash jaw, eh? I like that, smash jaw." Now I'm the ten-year-old boy that made himself face danger with a fairy of whose age no one knows, impressed with simple words and small compliments, but that is probably just the tough guy ten-year-old, the one who needs only small compliments, but those he receives makes a big deal of themselves, or maybe that's just me. I take what I get and make it stretch until you can't recognize it anymore. Navi couldn't help but laugh at the fact that I was so impressed by her new title for me, "Yep! Link Smash Jaw, that's you." Now I remember the Uragaan, I named him Mister Jaw before I defeated him, and yes, I name all my enemies before I undo them, it's like naming a goldfish Fido and then it dies on you the next week, there's a lot of fish in the ocean of monsters, and I'm not attached to the first one, monsters such as Ceadeus. I think I forgot to name him. Oh well, first time for everything, "Link?" she had turned to leave and turned back, I was about to get in bed to find some sleep, the last of one good night's sleep I'll get for a long time, to be sure, for tomorrow is an eclipse, it just seems likely that I'll go to Moga when the eclipse is there because it's the climatic thing to happen.

I turn around and wait for her to speak, "Link, nothing will happen to her." Registering comment, registering comment, registering comment, could not understand what in the worlds she was talking about, "You know, Rululonia. She isn't going to be in any trouble and if anything even halfway imposing gets within a forty mile radius of her I will take care of it myself—by that I mean warn you and you take care of it, so you don't worry about her, alright?" and cue Rululonia screaming.

I'm already back at the door and slamming the Master Sword straight through the point between the doorknob and the door, and thanks to my muscles which are somehow stronger than they let on—I blame the years I spent in the Kokiri Forest growing up for the fact that no matter how strong I get, my muscles stay the same, sometimes I ask Navi if I look weak, she says yes—and the sharp edge of the never dulling Master Sword, the doorknob falls off and I throw my back against the wall, next to the door, and slam the pommel of my sword into the hole which houses the locking mechanism, pull it out, and duck low, push the door open and stand, she was still there, safe and sound, to my great relief, "Rululonia, I heard a scream." Question and comment, let her know that I heard something, and ask if it was this room, "Yes," she looks behind me as though there's someone behind me, "please, come in." I slowly walk in, hoping that this isn't a colored shadow made to look like Rululonia, because if it is, that means it's probably bait, and as soon as I step next to the door post something stabs at me, not that I'd die instantly, but it would tear up some of my shield, health shield, Navi says heart shield, but I think it was a bar of green instead of a line of red hearts in Moga, and right now I'm trying to say health so I'll be ready for the fated trip to Moga, I don't even know how I'll go, but none of us do, "Link," once she's sure we're not being overheard she begins talking, "it may just be me, but I heard a scream, is that why you're here?" I nod once and look to Navi for an answer, she always finds something in everything that someone says, but not now, "Look, that scream, where did it come from?" she starts looking around points to the wall behind her, "Outside."

I've only heard that scream in one world before, well, make that two, once here, multiple times in the world of Moga, and now this time, the only other time there was a scream here in this world was the Helmarac King, but that bird monster was a one of a kind. The sun and moon—that thought whispers itself to me and I shudder, this time visibly, "What's wrong?" the three women ask at the same time—three? Yeah, the princess has graced us with her presence, thus eavesdropping on me, the other two are Rulu and Navi, but back to that thought, the Helmarac King, then the Rathalos is the King of the Skies, the two names may or may not be coincidental, but that connection gave me pause, "Navi, do you think that the king could have come back?" she looks frightened now, even if only I can see that, or sense it, rather, but there is something about my power to sense fear, I can't put my finger on it, but I will, "I sure hope not, Link." Zelda says, figuring out that by king I mean the Helmarac King, "I sure hope not." The Helmarac King took my little sister, thinking her to be Zelda. For that I whacked it with my hammer. It was love at first smash. But that hammer isn't mine so I gave it back. The Master Sword belongs to the country, and I belong to the Master Sword, thus am I bonded by the blade, but in more ways, as we shall see.

I was back in my room, Navi floating over my head as I tried to rest, this time I was seated, nothing but a blanket from the lobby—usually employed for the furniture that the castle guest sat to—to throw over myself to fight the small chills that somehow found a way into the castle, "Link, you should really try to rest, and I don't think seating up is helping. Stubborn." I have to hand it to her, she sounds very compelling, "But I need to be ready, Navi, ready for anything, besides, I have the Triforce of Courage, Zelda said that it is only for the one who wears green, and she didn't mean the color, she meant the power behind the color, will, Navi, if I want to stay up all night, I can, of course, there are limits, I can't run all day, but I don't need sleep, I'm resting for a luxury." She turned around to the bed and back at me, "The luxury is over there. Forget it, people are too diverse for me to try to figure out, one says twin is best, the other says king, one even goes so far as to say chair is best—oh, but that's not a mattress size, I'm not even going to try to understand you." I can't help but smile, "I didn't want you to, great, I'm still a mystery." There's that scream again, I throw the throw off and step to the door, then I step outside, a Rathalos welcomed me. It was silver. The moon, "Where's the-" sun's behind you, Link, oh, but of course, the Raths are debating over who gets the first slice of pizza. Grinning, I reach for my favorite blade. There's enough of me to go around, don't ever fear. For some reason these guys seem more detached than usual, and it's late, so I can only wonder if that has something to do with it, but then, why the midnight stroll, "What brings you two to our dimension?!" Navi demands, smacking herself against the Gold Rath, that's it, in this dimension they're weaker! Which is why they're done in a couple of minutes, Zelda is behind, standing with a confused expression, "The eclipse." She says, I nod, "It's kind of ironic, don't you think?" I say, hoping she's distracted by the coincidence that the Raths were sun and moon, she looks up at me after she's done inspecting the ground, she doesn't seem too pleased, even with the fact that the ground hasn't fallen out from under us—yet. I sigh and try to think of something semi hilarious, "Ha, first the sky comes down on me, the next thing is the ground will collapse under me!" she gives me a serious "This is no laughing matter" face, but because it's directed at me it has the name "Link" at the end, which usually means that something bad almost happened and I think it's funny that there was enemy failure, but with this time she kind of makes her right eye lower, reminding me of who she is, a Sheikah. Oh, that's not good, the only other time she reminded me of who she was, well, I had to go with Zelda—disguised as Sheik—to meet an army of pirates. They were small fries; I only agreed to take Sheik with me because Zelda needed training. Which means she wanted to practice fighting, those poor Gerudo—almost poor Gerudo.