The Legend of Zelda: Rings of Dualty

by FerreTrip

The Master Sword has -always- been carried by just Link. But when a threat so large, one alone is too little, comes, it's time to initiate a Plan B the goddesses made in three rings. Link must now share the legendary blade with...a lizalfos! This is gonna be different...A tale with dungeons original ones and other game mechanics woven into the plot. Please review if read!

17. You Are Here

As soon as Anjoltvrya fell, the gorons began to hear something.

It took a few seconds for them to realize that a dull, muffled whirring sound no longer came from the Pegbot at the base of the ramp in the second conveyor room. Boroy also ceased to hear a quiet din from the pipes behind the panel. He realized this, putting his ear to the panel, opening it after a second, and then pulling away to venture carefully down the ramp. He slowly approached the Pegbot...closer...then got close enough he knew he would have activated it.

It stayed down.

He put a foot on it and looked at his fellow gorons excitedly.

Soon, all the gorons in the foundry were pouring out into Pouring. All around them, machinery was whirring down. The gears clinked...clanked...clunked...and a few Cirkitts that had come in, probably another wave to try and get past the beamos, suddenly began stopping, falling limp...shutting off.

The factory was closing down for the day.

The gorons cheered and clapped and hollered for joy. Sarbog came out of the door, looked around, and smiled, crossing his arms, nodding.

Boroy high-fived one of the gorons, laughing, then looked at the door to Melting, smiling that smile worn by people who realize their faith was soundly founded.

A beam of light came down through the ceiling to the center of the main part of Pouring. Coming down it, side by side with dominant hands between them, were Link and Samba. They slowed before landing gently. As their weight settled down on the floor once more, the pillar of light faded away. They looked around them in confusion. "Wait, why aren't we outside?" muttered Samba before Link shushed him. He looked at him a moment before asking, "What?"

"You hear that?" Link asked in a hushed voice, looking around.

"...Hear what?" As soon as he had said this, Samba realized what it was, gasping.

"Silence," they said together. Around them, its sweet serenade had settled about, much-needed. The cacophony symphony had at last reached its fine for everyone.

"BROTHERS!" called a voice. They turned around and saw Boroy jogging towards them, waving. "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

They waved at him, smiling a little, as he slowed to a halt by them. "Yeah, but we might well have not been," Link replied.

"But you are alright, and that's what matters," Boroy stated, putting his fists to his hips. He smiled proudly. "I knew I could count on you two, Brothers," he said. "From the moment I saw you, I had a feeling you were both something special." He beckoned back with an arm. "Come on! The others want to thank you, too!" he coaxed.

They walked back to the group of gorons, all of them, and were greeted with shouts and applause and (unintentionally hard) slaps on the back.

"Thank you so much, Brothers!"

"You did great!"

"We can finally go home to our families!"

"Three cheers for Link and Samba!"

As they were given, the two swordsmen blushed. Link held his arms behind his back and did the old dirt kick while Samba put his paw behind his neck, rubbing it while pointing his muzzle down. He held his tail loosely with his other paw. When it was over, they looked up, regaining composure as Sarbog stepped forth. He looked serious at first, arms crossed, before smiling and holding them open, coming forth. Link and Samba squeaked before being embraced by the strongest arms they'd ever felt around them (even for Link, who had been gripped by Ruedekul pretty tight—at least the Leviathan had a slack enough grip that he could worm his arm out to use his boomerang). "Brothers, you have survived the Clamor Plant in its entirety and saved it—and us with it—by defeating that horrible beast. Congratulations and thank you," he said warmly. He parted and held them, smirking impressedly at the two. (They were still a little taken by surprise and were doing their best not to gasp for air rudely.) "I shouldn't have expected any less from the chosen wielders of the Master Sword, though," he chuckled.

Link and Samba stepped back a bit, returning the smile up to him. "It wasn't a problem," Link told him. "I'm glad we could help."

"And I'm just glad that it's over," Samba rumbled a little. "Though, that final fight WAS quite exciting."

'And I enjoyed the puzzles here,' Link added to himself.

Sarbog sighed and clapped his hands together. "Well, that's that, then," he said. "We should be getting back. Thank you again, Brothers. You should come back in a few days—we'll have this place fixed up in no time, and it'll be more comforting and less dangerous, I assure you. Less noisy, as well." He looked around at everyone sternly before speaking to them. "Alright! The doors to the cart back home should be unbarred. There should also be a few carts in the nearby station to Death Mountain Crater. Regardless, getting home should be no problem. So, then, Brothers!"

"SIR!" the gorons turned to him, standing straight and giving total attention.

Sarbog savored the silence a moment, looking around at them, before shouting, "The day is done! DISMISSED!"

"Thank you, sir!" came the reply before they all bustled back to retrieve their possessions.

Boroy was the only one remaining. "Sir, I'll accompany them home," he told the foreman, who nodded before turning again to retrieve his things. Turning to Link and Samba, the mechanic said, "We should take that cart to Goron City before it's filled up." He turned and pointed. "Through the foyer, then the west conveyors room!"

They nodded and set off. "Thank you, Boroy, for taking us here in the first place," Link said as they walked. "We might never have gotten here to help, otherwise."

"We learned and got a great deal here," Samba smiled. "Even if we didn't need to help you guys, it was still worth the pain."

Boroy batted a hand dismissively. "Think nothing of it, Brothers," he told them, looking over his shoulder. "Everyone benefited in the end, and so it all came out well. As you said, it was worth it. I'm just happy that everyone can come home, now."

He pressed the button on the door and led them through to the foyer. "And the best part is, our economy is saved!" he continued, throwing his arms up happily, turning and walking backwards. "This is our only place to at least do blacksmith work. Now, we can work here in relative peace once again. Sure, there've always been a few annoying helmasaurs and bokoblins around, but we enjoy handling them." He turned to the door to the first conveyors room. "I suppose we are going to lay off this place for a little while, though, to calm down," he chuckled, pressing the button. His mirth stopped as he saw what was behind it—in fact, he jumped back a little while his face fell.

Two staring bright green eyes burned holes into the back of his soul.

Link and Samba caught their breath. Daigorno.

Daigorno, fists clenched, came in, ducking and going one shoulder at a time to fit through the door. He was frowning tightly. "Boroy!" he said curtly and loudly. "What is the meaning of this? You were not to return to the factory without my express permission!" He looked up and noticed Link and Samba, then looked back at Boroy, flicking a hand out at them. "And you brought two others with you, too!" he added. "Do you want to be severely punished that badly?"

Boroy stumbled back a bit, stuttering fearfully. (Link noticed something burning behind Daigorno's eyes that he didn't like at all.) "B-B-Big Brother, please, understand," he pleaded, "I-I did this to s-save the f-foundry-"

"But you SHOULD have come to ME first!" shouted Daigorno, waving his arm across the air. He stood and looked around. "Why is it quiet? Why are the machines not running?" He looked back at Boroy scornfully. "It looks like you did little to save the foundry—more like you doomed it!"

"No, Big Brother, the machines are off because the monster's gone!" Boroy tried.

"Really? Just because a monster's gone the machines are off? HAH! I don't believe you!" Daigorno spat. He leaned down and prodded Boroy's chest with his fingertip, which took up quite a bit of space on it. "I bet you turned them all off, thinking that the monsters couldn't get to them otherwise! That'd just make them easier for those foul idjits to break them!"

"B-b-but, Big Brother..." Boroy murmured.

Link opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Samba did the same thing, and then they looked at each other with unsure expressions. This guy was a brick wall—nothing could get through to him and he just wouldn't budge with anything they could think to try and throw at him. They could try showing him the Master Sword, showing that they were more than capable of helping the foundry, but they knew he'd ignore it. They could attempt Zelda's Lullaby, but that might make him madder. They could even give showing him the Rose Hammer a shot, but not only did they not know how to summon it at will, but he might not have even known what it was.

"Maybe we should play that song we just learned and escape," Samba suggested in a whisper.

"I'd rather we didn't," Link whispered back. "But we might need to—maybe she can tell us what to do."

"Right," nodded Samba, reaching behind his back to get his guitar.

Just then, the door to Pouring opened. It was Sarbog, carrying a tough burlap bag in his left hand. He narrowed his eyebrows sharply as he stepped in, crossing his arms. Daigorno was still yelling at Boroy, accusing him and threatening him.

"...And I bet you were the cause of all of this! You botched up a machine repair and sent out some fine, electric signal out that attracted the monsters! Tell me the truth, or you'll be REALLY sorry!" he continued.

Suddenly, Sarbog grabbed Daigorno's head, whipped it up and around to face him and his serious visage, and made his own threat surprisingly calmly, "Stop harassing my mechanic, Big Brother, or I am having this place dismantled right this instant."

Daigorno raised his eyebrows a moment before humphing and standing up straight again. Boroy backed away and got by Link and Samba, breathing a sigh of relief. "Sarbog. You should keep a better hold on your charges," the chief admonished Sarbog. "This one—"

"Led those two gentlemen here to destroy the monster who had taken control of the foundry," finished Sarbog, pointing at Link and Samba. "Without the three of them, Link and Samba doing at least 95% of the work, this foundry would have been lost, I assure you, and me and my workers starved and exhausted to death."

Daigorno raised an eyebrow. "You're not lying to save your worker, are you?" he asked.

Sarbog put his hands on his hips, looking hard at Daigorno. "When have I ever shown mercy to anyone who doesn't deserve it?" he asked.

Daigorno frowned a moment before taking a big breath, letting it out through is nose. "You have a point, there," he admitted. "You're the harshest goron in the city. Not even the princess of Hyrule would escape your wrath if she didn't prove herself to you."

(This reminded Link and Samba of the fact Zelda was missing, and Link asked Samba to remind him to include that in their talk with Daigorno later.)

"Which means that when I say that anyone's done something, it's never a lie. You know better, Big Brother," Sarbog admonished the chief. "So, respect Boroy, Link, and Samba, since they have saved our livelihood and our lives," he told him. "As well, understand that the machines were under the control of the monster—hence why they are currently off. Besides, I say it's time to go home. So we're shutting down and going home."

Daigorno opened his mouth.

"And that's that," Sarbog added firmly.

Daigorno closed his mouth, frowning, for a while. Then, he slowly smirked, then smiled, then grinned. "The factory is safe," he said. He turned to the other three, arms open. "YOU SAVED THE FACTORY!" he cheered heartily, voice resonating throughout the room.

'Oh, no, not another goron hug!' Link and Samba thought, widening their eyes before flinching as the arms came down.

To their relief, Daigorno lowered them only onto their shoulders. They looked up at his face. "You two were the ones who did the dirty work, hm?" he asked. They nodded. "Then thank you. Forgive my rudeness before." He stepped back, looking a bit more serious. "As unhappy as I am that I was disobeyed, I understand that it was for a good cause. Now, my worries about our economy have been lifted. We can soon be back here, working as we always have. Which is good—we have gotten quite a few orders backed up in the time the foundry's been inaccessible, and we should hurry up and fill them. Regardless..." He bowed to them briefly. "Thank you. You are welcome in Goron City any time. Now...you should return. Take the cart directly to the city."

"Big Brother, why are you here, in the first place?" Sarbog asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daigorno turned to him. "I had a feeling," he replied. "I took the cart down here and just a minute ago came off. I found the conveyers and machines all off and was confused and angered, then I ran into Boroy while looking for you. Please, Brother, tell me what happened." He turned to the other three. "In the meantime, head back to the city. I shall rejoin you there."

"Right," nodded Boroy, smiling.

"Now, then," Daigorno said, turning, walking into Pouring again with Sarbog, looking at him, "how did this all begin...?"

As they left, Boroy turned to Link and Samba, breathing a relieved sigh. "That was close!" he mopped his brow. "Big Brother has never been that angry at me before. In fact, this was the first time I have seen him that angry ever."

"I wonder why..." mumbled Samba, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow.

Boroy clapped his hands together. "Well, shall we?" he asked briskly. He turned, and they all advanced on through the second conveyors room. Indeed, all of the machines were off. Samba noticed that the avert circuit puzzle was turned off, probably having done so automatically.

As they went over the belts, Link couldn't help but ask Boroy, "How did you feel when he yelled at you like that?"

Boroy was silent for a moment before replying quietly, not facing them, "To tell you the truth, Brothers, a little scared, but mostly confused, and just as worried. I was scared about what he might do to me, confused about why he was suddenly treating me like slag, and worried about what I should do."

Link frowned at this. "Well, it's over," he said. "He was...just frazzled. He's been under stress, and seeing the factory basically shut down...well, he might have panicked and gotten a little afraid, himself."

Samba chuckled mirthlessly. "That reminds me of a saying: 'Fear makes monsters of us all,'" he quoted, looking away. He quietly, minutely, highlighted the word, "monsters."

They reentered the room the compass was in and saw, directly in front of them, the door was now unbarred. It was also devoid of the organic enemies they encountered before. The Auto Carts were off. Samba experimentally reached down, finding the switch, and flicked it. To his disappointment, it did nothing. He switched it on and off before Boroy said, "Those were linked to the monster you two destroyed, so they're not going to work anymore. The only mechanoids you two had to deal with that still work are the beamos, and those became benign while you were midway through, anyway."

"But these were kind of cute..." Samba frowned softly, rising. Link chuckled.

They entered the last room of the plant they had not entered yet. The map stated simply, "To Goron City," in small letters. An arrow pointed outside the walls of the plant. Before them in reality was a simple room that was stone in the south and west walls and metal everywhere else. Another one of those carts was there, sticking out in the middle of the room and disappearing through the gaping black hole in the west wall. Its door, facing them, was open. They got in as before. Boroy worked some levers and soon, the cart was starting to whirr its way back, carrying them. "This engine is amazing," he commented enthusiastically as they began picking up speed through the dark. "Though it is so small, it is capable of powering heavy beings like ourselves up the steep inclines of our tunnels at impressively high speeds. You'd better hold on, again, Brothers! It'll be less noisy and slower, but still not much less exciting!"

They did as they were told as the track began to climb, tilting them, the cart slowing a moment. It sped back up again, though, and began going faster than when they were level until they were rattling along quite quickly. Not nearly as fast as when it was freely rolling downhill, it still went along at a hazardous rate. Again, they traveled in darkness.

Soon, they were back up at the top. Boroy killed the power as soon as they crested the hill and put on the brakes, making another dazzling display of sparks fly out the back. When they safely bumped against the bracer, he opened the doors, happily announcing, "We're here! Goron City!"

Link got off before Samba and awaited his companion. When Samba came up, he took one look at Link and chuckled, shaking his head. "You're thinking again," he noticed. "This can't be good."

"I'm just wondering...That ride was actually kinda fun," Link said, shrugging. "I was only thinking that it could maybe be a good attraction if it was more accessible to the general public..."

Boroy overheard, looking over his shoulder from closing the door to the cart. "You know, I've been thinking that, too, for a long time," he said. He finished closing the door and turned, standing with an interested expression. "I mean, all of the gorons love the ride. We can't use the tracks used for getting to and from the foundry for fun, but I've always wanted to try and build something more like a mix of the Shooting Gallery that was down in Castle Town and these mine cart rides...not as fast, though." He sighed. "I'm too afraid to ask for serious consideration, though..." he trailed off disappointedly.

Link shook his head, raising his eyebrows. "If you think it's worth the risk," he said, "work up the courage to ask!" He chuckled and smirked wryly. "If you could endure Clamor Plant, I'm sure you can do it. Just build up some good reasons and present your case to whoever is the boss for this, then see what happens." He held a finger up. "Grandfather always says, 'Successful ventures happen only when you venture.'"

Boroy looked at Link, then his face lightened and he banged a fist into his palm, nodding resolutely. "You're right, Brother!" he announced. "I've got enough evidence already, and I'm sure that I can find SOMEthing to add on with this experience. Thank you, Brother!"

Link smiled, nodding. "No problem," he said. "Good luck!"

"Yes, thank you, Brother!" Boroy said again. He raised his eyebrows, remembering why they were there. "Oh, and good luck to you, too, when you talk with Big Brother," he added, smiling sheepishly. "We'd better go into the city and wait for him. He'll probably be back in a little while, since we took the fast way back and made him have to take the slow one." He furrowed his brow in thought as he muttered, "We should really use two tracks for that entrance..." He looked up again and smiled, waving. "I'd better get home, too. Thank you SO much again, Brothers! See you later!" he bade.

Link and Samba welcomed him and bade him goodbye. He walked off down a corridor and they turned to each other. "Well, then, what next?" asked Samba.

"Since we have to wait for him to return, maybe we should try out that song?" Link suggested.

"If it transports us like it sounds like it does, should we try it somewhere people wouldn't see us come and go and freak out?"

Link thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Let's look for somewhere private."

They went down the corridor, too, and soon found themselves on the second-to-last level of the city. They found a pair of goron guards at the entrance, and remembered seeing them before. "Are you the two that mechanic mentioned?" asked one as they came out into the light of the underground city again. Link and Samba nodded, and the guards smiled at them. "Thank you so much, Brothers! Now, hopefully, we don't have to guard this place anymore!"

"That depends whether Big Brother is in a good mood, now, though..." the other guard said.

"Mmm. But until then, we'll just wait here, I guess," the first said, shrugging.

They allowed Link and Samba by, and they looked around. They found a little side tunnel within one of the other main stairwells, and they went down it curiously. It led down to what appeared to be a room occupied by a number of large crates filled with rocks. "Since the gorons eat rocks, this might be a food storage room," Samba guessed when Link looked wonderingly at this.

After poking around curiously, they discovered a little alleyway surrounded in a corner by three crates and normal stone walls on the other sides. There had been a small gap between one of the crates and the wall that no goron could go through, but they could with relative ease. "Maybe they were too lazy in pushing them all the way in, or they started pulling out before realizing their mistake and not fixing it," Link suggested.

They looked around at this good-sized empty space. "Well, looks as good a place as any," Samba said, shrugging. "Don't think anyone's going to be coming in anytime soon. This is pretty far back into the room."

Link was about to bring his instrument out again when he looked down at himself thoughtfully. "...Say, Samba, could you turn around for a bit?" he asked. "I want to change back into my normal clothes, if that's okay."

Samba raised an eyeridge, but shrugged and turned around. In a much shorter time than he thought would pass, he was told he could look again and he turned to see Link putting his hat back on, the rest of his normal, green outfit fully donned. Samba blinked at this, but decided not to look into it.

Link then actually did bring out his ocarina again and Samba his guitar, and together, they just played the melody of the Song of Penitence halfway through. After they did, Link suddenly felt as if he were asked a question double-checking what he wanted to do (but not Samba). He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

As soon as he did and as they put away their instruments, a ring of white light shone on the ground around each of them. Its rays, circling clockwise around Link and counter-clockwise around Samba, reflecting their Spin Attack directions, quickly grew taller and taller until they almost obscured them. Just as they reached the tops of their heads, the rings of light below them shot up, quickly taking them with from the ground up. They stopped in the place the points of their rays had reached, spinning quicker for a second before joining into themselves and launching up towards the ceiling, shrinking into nothing after traveling three feet. A faint spark shone as they blipped out of existence.

( )

The two balls of light flew down from the stormy clouds. They separated and went around what would be the roof for the roofless building and between some of the pillars on either side before coming together again. They slowed down as they approached the ground. When they reached it, they bobbed right back up, tightly spiraling in the directions they had in ring form before, and sprayed a shower of points of light as they went. As they did, Link and Samba reappeared from the feet up, the balls of light petering out to nothing after reaching a good foot above their heads.

They blinked and looked around, then at each other, eyebrows/-ridges raised at the experience. "Flashy," Samba commented.

"Quite," agreed Link.

They looked at where they were. They were back in the place they had been in about fifteen minutes ago, after defeating Anjoltvrya, but this time, they were in the building on the cliff instead of before it. They heard the sea crashing behind and below them and saw marble all around. All the building was, it appeared, was a pillar-surrounded square of aged, raised flooring, with the only real wall being behind them, towards the edge of the cliff. They noticed some statues worked in black, crusty stone, and a scant few in pristine, smooth marble, sitting around the building. These were of what appeared to be creatures, but the black stone statues were little more than lumps of rock with a few chunks taken off to suggest some sort of figure. Whether they were on two legs or more, or if there were things coming from their backs or not, or if they were holding anything, or if they had any other even vaguely distinguishing feature was utterly unclear.

The two swordsmen stood upon a large, foot-high, old, white dais of an unrecognizable stone with a Triforce in it in gold. In the center of each triangle was a colored gem, matching with the Rings of Dualty. In a lowered, half-foot-high outer ring surrounding the dais, they noticed ten different symbols inscribed into circles were engraved an inch deep. The tiled floor around them was interrupted by a long, supremely ragged and holey carpet stretching from the entrance to the dais. They shrugged and walked down to it and went across.

"Hello?" Link called as they exited the building, looking around. Nobody was around, it appeared.

Samba frowned and crossed his arms, pouting. "Well, if there's nobody to talk to, then why would we ever come back to this gloomy place?" he complained.

"It is interesting," Link reasoned, looking at him. "But comforting, not precisely."

They looked out around them harder, this time. It appeared they were actually on a sizable island of sorts; they wondered why all they could see at first was a sea of grass. They were at the top of a little hill. The terrain of the island varied abruptly in a few places, but most of it was boring, uneventful green grass. There was a small outcropping of trees in one place, and they noticed a cliff rising up and bearing a large opening into a cave. Again, they noticed that a hill rose in the distance. They found that there was a small perimeter of grass around the building behind them. (The stones outside only fanned far out from the front; they stopped a few stones out around the other sides.) They went and peeked around it, noticing that there was a red and golden light coming from the horizon in that direction. It turned the purpleish stormclouds more a raspberry-like magenta, like clouds at sunset. It was glorious, inspiring, and beautiful, like a bad day's positive last hurrah before it died. They came around and looked out at it together, standing in wonder at it.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" asked a voice. The crashing of the waves below made the sudden sound not come so sudden that they jumped, letting them simply turn their heads towards it right away. Leaning on the ten-foot-tall foundation of the building was Anjoltvrya, paws in her pockets and looking out at the light. The gentle wind blew her hair away from them. She chuckled and pushed off the wall to walk to them. "Thought I'd wait for you two here, but you took a little longer than I'd thought, so I came here for a bit," she explained when she was close enough to be heard more legibly, smiling a little.

"Sorry, we got a little occupied," Link apologized, looking a little sheepish.

Samba looked out at the sky again. "It is gorgeous," he agreed.

"Yes, it is," Anjoltvrya nodded, looking back at it with Link. "I never tire of looking at it. I'm told that it used to be even better, though." She glanced Link up and down briefly. "Changed clothes, huh..." she muttered.

"Well, it's a sunset, isn't it?" Samba looked at her. "Of course it will reach its best point before it starts to sink beyond the world."

Anjoltvrya shook her head, smile fading. "I'm told that it's not exactly a sun," she said. "It is a source of light of some sort, but of what kind, we are unsure."

"'We?'" repeated Link.

Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling at him. "Yes, we," she confirmed. "You thought I was the only one here?"

"For the last time," growled Samba a mite impatiently upon hearing this, turning his whole body to face her and gesticulating exaggeratedly with one paw, "where IS 'here?'"

Anjoltvrya gave a little giggle. "Here, obviously," she answered. She saw Samba snout-palm, growling in annoyance, and giggled a bit more. "Well, alright, this might help," she said, reaching behind her. She pulled out a piece of paper folded up into a square. She handed it to Link, who took it and unfolded it.

Link raised his eyebrows before taking out the larger map of Hyrule he got from the Forest of Peril. He looked around for wherever it could fit before shrugging and putting away the main map, leaving the map he just got on its own. Samba came and looked at it. "Alright, what is this place?" he asked flatly. "Where are we?" He looked at the title and widened his eyes.

Link couldn't help but chuckle a bit while his partner blinked in disbelief. "You are Here," he replied, pointing to where it appeared they were.

According to the map, they were, indeed, "Here".

Samba snout-palmed again, moving his paw to his eyes. "Grroooooogh...that's just stupid..."

"Well, it's just where we are, so you can deal with it if you don't like it," Anjoltvrya told him, eying and waggling her wrench at him in playful warning.

"Why did you want us to come back?" Link asked, putting the map away after ascertaining that, indeed, they were on a nearly bare island. "To talk?"

"Yes," Anjoltvrya nodded. "We Leviathans can give you some assistance if needed, once we have been defeated. Besides, it can get a little lonely once in a while," she added, looking at them with a cat's version of puppy dog eyes.

"Did you say there are others?" Samba asked, having regained composure.

Anjoltvrya nodded and turned her body, beckoning over her shoulder. "Come on; they really want to talk to you, actually." When Link and Samba began following a little uncertainly, she smiled slightly. "Don't worry," she said gently. "They're like me, now—back to normal. Well..." She trailed off, looking away a little. "At least a fair bit better than they were." She shook her head and jerked it. "Come on, I'll lead you to them! Don't be scared! Besides, it's not like you can't take them," she added wryly, shrugging her paws up. She jogged ahead, running nothing like they thought a girl would move despite her slight hip-swinging walk. (This might have been natural, however, given how cats walk normally.)

Link and Samba gave weak laughs to each other before trotting to follow.

Once they came back out to the front of the building, which Anjoltvrya (and the map) told them was called Entrance Hall, they traveled down the slope towards the miniature forest they had seen before. "We are on your side, now," she assured as they walked along. "Don't worry." She looked Link up and down again for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you look good in green," she commented. Link smiled modestly.

"What's the deal with you guys, anyway?" Samba asked curiously. "I mean, what makes you Leviathans?"

Anjoltvrya looked over her shoulder with her faint smile. "At first, on the outside, we could be no different from you two. Some of us may, in fact, be just like you. We could even be mere animals or other living creatures that are normally unable to communicate with you 'sentient beings'." She put quotes around those words, rolling her eyes. "Actually, to go on a tangent briefly, all animals can communicate with each other; it's just that once a race gains the ability to use tools or whatever the requirements of sentience are, they forget how...mostly."

"Yes, mostly," confirmed Samba, nodding. "Some of the monster races are still able to speak with their relatives. However, all of the 'higher' monsters, as we call those like myself or moblins, are unable to. Moblins are unable to communicate with normal pigs, I've heard, and I can't talk to other reptiles. We do try to learn other monster languages, though."

"Which is why you learned Hylian?" asked Link.

Samba blushed and looked away. "Um...Well, that was because Mom forced me, but we mostly don't consider your language worth learning, frankly," he answered. "But I guess so."

Link raised an eyebrow, smirking. "You can't speak other monster languages, can you?" he asked. Samba only kept blushing, and Link chuckled and looked at Anjoltvrya.

As they reached level ground, she nodded and continued, "According to legend, the three Golden Goddesses—Din, Nayru, and Farore—created the world. The Leviathans of Material owe their existence by disrespecting that which each created." Her smile fell a little as they caught up to walk on either side of her (Link on her right, Samba her left). She looked down at her footpaws, placing them one in front of the other. She looked up again, looking forwards. "I'm sure you've heard the hylian myth of creation, so I don't have to retell it."

"Ummmm...not me, actually," Samba said, raising a paw and feeling a little embarrassed.

Anjoltvrya nodded, looking at him, while Link came to his aid. "Well, Samba, in summary, the myth states that in the beginning, three Golden Goddesses descended upon the land that would become Hyrule. Din shaped the world we walk upon, giving us a place to live. Nayru created the law of the world, making things work and setting down rules that must be followed. Then Farore created us—life—the creatures to follow that law. When they were finished, they departed this world."

"And they left the Triforce, correct?" Samba checked. Link and Anjoltvrya nodded. He smiled, nodding, too. "That's all I know—after the goddesses left, they left behind the golden Triforce, which contains amazing abilities that are granted to whoever touches it. If I'm not mistaken, Din's power, Nayru's wisdom, and Farore's courage."

"Correct," Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling a bit. "But the Triforce isn't what I'm talking about." She looked forwards again, smile fading. "In this world, there are things which are not yours to have. However, people take these things, anyway. Some foolishly claim the gifts of the earth as their own, although they are for everyone. Others claim worldly possessions that are obviously not theirs as their own. A few even go so far as to call other living creatures as their own to do with as they please. There are a few things, though, that are not yours to such an extreme, the goddesses themselves may directly punish you should you try to fully claim them as your own—unless they desire you to have them. Falsely claiming as one's own one of these things is the final and key step in creating a Leviathan."

"But what about-" began Samba before Link waved his arm at him, shushing him.

Anjoltvrya continued, "There are other steps that must be taken, of course. Whether after gaining power from the forbidden object or before, we all have done great misdeeds. We prostitute part of what makes up the physical world, be it natural or created, a part used by civilization in building and other important tasks, using it wrongly to achieve our ends. We defy the law of the world—the basic morals that all living creatures must follow to the best of their abilities—breaking it without regret, committing evil to our fellow creatures and acting abhorrently, defiling that we do not like. We wrong the creatures of the world, using them directly and distantly against their will for our own pleasures and desires, abusing them with pain both physical and non, in ways wickedly quick to tortuously slow, destroying them in body, mind, spirit, soul, inside, out, and entirely."

She looked down, a look of deep guilt on her face. "In short, we sin," she said quietly.

A moment later, she went on, face still down, "When we have filled our hearts with at least the desires to do these things, whether we do some of them or not, and we gain possession of one of those forbidden objects, we are transformed as punishment." She held her paw up, the one holding the wrench, and opened her claws. "While we are enlarged and given terrible powers, we are filled with thoughts of nothing but obsession—we wish nothing more than to satisfy ourselves in whatever twisted ways we desire." She clenched the tool tightly and suddenly. "Yet we know, in the backs of our minds, as soon as we change, that we have done something wrong—we become more afraid than most of us had ever been in our lives." She lowered her fist. "But we are unable to do anything to halt ourselves. We soon forget that we have done something wrong, forget everything, and instead merely have an annoying confusion as to why we would want to stop, a question that nags at us every day."

She raised her head as they entered the stand of trees. "Our disrespect to Din by qualmless abuse of material, our disrespect to Nayru by foolishly defying her law, and our disrespect to Farore by foul actions towards others...and, perhaps, a touch of fate...all combine with that which we obtain, and we become Leviathans of Material," she summarized solemnly. "That is how we come to be."

"...Wow," Samba said quietly after the mountain lioness was silent for a moment, finished. He frowned a bit. "You sound so...sad...I'm sorry I asked."

Anjoltvrya shook her head, smiling faintly again. "No, I'm not sad, exactly," she said, looking at him. "I'm just ashamed. Ashamed at what I did. And don't worry, I wanted to tell you sometime, anyway. The best way to learn of what a Leviathan is is straight from the beast's mouth."

Link looked around. They were now within the miniature forest they had set out towards. Its contents were a little thicker than they had looked at first. "So, who are we seeing?" he asked.

"Ah, speaking of," Anjoltvrya went, holding a claw up and smiling at him a bit. She beckoned and weaved around some trunks. They followed her until she stopped. "Alright, then, he's over there," she said, motioning to a little clearing among the trees. "Well, he'll be there, at least. Go on."

Link frowned at his question being ignored, but went over, Samba following. Anjoltvrya stayed at the edge of the clearing. They saw nothing in the clearing except three relatively small, low stumps and a large, low, pink-and-white flower in the middle. Link thought he recognized it from somewhere, but couldn't recall where. Samba, though, appeared alert; he'd begun walking with his buckler raised. "Hello?" called out Link, looking around. He noticed now that the flower had a few leaves sticking out of a woody lump in the center. No, more than a few leaves...many...

The ground rumbled a bit, making both swordsmen stop a few feet before the flower, before something rose out of the middle of the plant with a great rustling. A light brown, wooden body, shaped like part of an upside-down water drop, with no real head and basic, straight arms and legs revealed itself, back to them. It appeared to have long "hair" of leaves hanging off the ends and lengths of thin vines that reached the small of its back, being tied into a ponytail by a band of brighter-wooded vine. Its back was covered by what seemed to be the back of a tailcoat made of autumn leaves. It stopped rising when it was about the height of an adult human male, and stood still, arms at its sides. Then, it said in a deeper-than-normal voice, "So...we meet again, Link."

Link was confused for only a quarter of a second before realizing who it was. He reached his arm back and gripped his shield by the arm strap, ready to bring it off of the holder on the strap that it shared his sheath with, flip it around and bring it to the front, and shake it onto his arm and grab the handle, all in the same slick movement he'd perfected over the course of his adventure. "Ruedekul," he named, wariness in his tone.

The arboreal being briefly bowed slightly—nodding, since it had no way to actually nod without a neck. "Yes," he confirmed. He turned around on the spot to face them. He revealed himself to be a tall, adult deku scrub. His "hair" was sort of slicked back from his face, though a few bangs came out. His glowing, yellow and red eyes peered at them from their seemingly cut-out shapes of mellow, yet sad, crescents; they still held a sense of slight sternness in them, though. His short tube-like mouth wore a split mustache of moss above it. His article of clothing was confirmed as a long vest of autumn leaves, with large acorn caps forming four buttons. After turning and facing them entirely, he bowed deeply, placing a hand over his breast. (His feet were basic, being of the shoe-shaped single-toe kind.) "I am indeed Ruedekul," he introduced. He stood again, looking at them as he placed his hands behind his back. "As you can see, I am a member of the deku tribe inhabiting the Verdart Swamp region of Hyrule. I am also the Leviathan of Wood, transformed by the power of Farore's Ring of Dualty, which rightfully fits upon your finger, Link, and not around mine, as I had tried." He paused before gesturing with a hand. "Please, gentlemen, at ease; away from your shields, and have a seat. I will not attempt to attack you, you have my word."

Somewhat reluctantly, Link and Samba lowered their shield arms to their sides, then sat down at the two nearer stumps. Ruedekul waited for them to be seated before moving to the third stump, which was nearby his flower, lifting his vest tails, and seating himself. He clasped his hands together on his knees. "So." He looked at Samba. "Well, my colorful lizalfos friend, who might you be?" The tone of his voice was polite, gentlemanly, and nonthreatening, yet it wasn't friendly or exactly kind.

Samba nodded. "I'm Samba," he introduced, paw on chest. He raised an eyeridge interestedly and crossed his arms, chest hidden by his buckler, and smirked a little. "So, you're the Leviathan that Link got to fight using only your own material?" he queried.

Ruedekul "nodded" again. "Yes, I am. By the way, Link, that was quite embarrassing for me," he added, looking over to him with his eyes; there was more red in Samba's side, the yellow part signifying the general area of his vision. Link couldn't help but smile sheepishly at this. "As powerful as wood is, making a sword from one is never exactly effective; felling such a large beast as I was with one is both amazing and quite humorous, and almost shameful for said beast. But I forgive you; you had no other weapons to use."

Link nodded. "I'm just lucky I survived," he said. He paused for a moment, suddenly feeling bad about a memory from the battle, his mouth faltering to the side somewhat. "...Erm...Sorry about tricking you like that," he apologized quietly and slowly. "It...was all I could think of at that moment."

Ruedekul chuckled, eyes dimming as he "closed" them and leaned forwards a bit, "bowing his head". "I am more embarrassed that I fell for such a tactic," he replied, a bit of his laughter in his tone. He sat straight again. "My only defense is that my reasoning was addled in full Leviathan form. But I understand, and you are quite forgiven." He bowed again from his sitting position.

Samba, watching his demeanor, couldn't resist asking facetiously, "When're you going to offer us a cup of tea?" smiling wryly. He grunted and chuckled when Link whapped his forearm against his side (forearm because he expected the buckler block, and I am sure you know just how very pleasant it is to ram your elbow forcefully directly onto a very hard surface).

Ruedekul chuckled back, a bit harder. "As soon as I have hot water ready, of course," he replied. "And preferably when I also have proper dishes; using wooden cups and kettles is, while functional, neither exactly the healthiest nor best. Always gives things too bitter a taste." He added this with a displeased voice, "shaking his head" and a hand to gesticulate.

Samba blinked, wondering if he were really joking now or not. Link cleared the short and slightly awkward silence by asking, "You wished to speak with us, Ruedekul?"

Ruedekul sat straight again before "nodding". "Yes, I did," he confirmed. "First, I suppose you might wish to know just what a fully-grown deku such as myself was doing all the way in the Korken Woods, no?" Link and Samba nodded. "Very well. You see, I am actually formerly of the higher social echelon of deku, or I was...It has been quite some time since I was a deku..." He trailed off, "bowing his head" a little.

Link stayed quiet, but Samba, noticing the air of distress from the moving wood, asked softly, "How long?"

Ruedekul was silent for a couple seconds before quietly, seemingly offhandedly answering, "87 years, by my reckoning."

Samba raised his eyeridges at his age and how long it has been. "Well, I don't know much about the deku," he began slowly, getting to his normal cadence as he continued, "but I'm pretty sure that the only really high-ranking members of their society are royalty and their closer servants." He thought for a moment. "Actually, I think I remember hearing my mother mention a recent rumor about their leader completely forbidding any humans—hylian or gerudo—from entering their section of the swamp..."

Ruedekul sighed and sat straight once more. "If you could discover the fate of my kind so far, then please, tell me," he bade quietly. "Hopefully, all that has happened is what has always happened to our society—we have grown. I pray that our growth has not been stunted...although I would not be surprised if it has a little, given my actions." He "nodded" again and continued his story.

"My sins began by my abuse of the power I was given as the owner of one of the largest estates in the swamp—which I also pray is unharmed, because it was so wonderful and beautiful, and if I could now, I would most definitely allow and encourage tours—by ordering my servants to do so much and being quite harsh when they disobey or fail to meet expectations. I also ordered to have the very flooded forest around the estate cut down and reconstructed into buildings for such purposes as entertainment and relaxation...pure luxury as much as could be attained in a place such as that. Thus, I disrespected all three of the Golden Goddesses in one fell swoop...be it the forest or my servants, all I abused were living things." The deku chuckled mirthlessly, tilting his body; they got the impression he might be smirking wryly. "To be the Leviathan of Wood is easier than one might think..."

Link and Samba, after mulling this over for a few seconds, looked at each other, unsure and concerned frowns on their faces. Both knew that they were each thinking about the very things they've created and come to rely upon that were made out of wood—out of plants, living things. Link, who had used plant material far more than Samba had, turned back to Ruedekul and began, "Um, have we..."

Ruedekul "shook his head". "No," he answered. "You have not abused the material and living thing known as wood. You have used it properly, using it for luxury only sparingly, and using it to live your lives far, far more. Think: Would you rather be killed and have your killer just move on, or would you rather die by being eaten, nourishing your killer and helping them live to see another day?" He looked curiously at them, tilting to a side and cupping his "chin" with his hand.

Link and Samba, somewhat disturbed by this (as evident by their eyebrow/-ridge raises), nevertheless thought a moment. "Well, it depends on how the killer acts, but I'd prefer to be eaten, I guess," Samba answered first, shrugging. "It beats being put on display or killed just for fun..."

"I agree," Link nodded.

Ruedekul "nodded" and returned to position. "Of course, there are only certain parts of animals that look good on display, but that is a tangent I should not follow," he added. "But to be useful in death, and thus at least subconsciously respected, brings more calm to one's soul than to not be. I gander that my initial mansion was alright, since everyone appreciated the unique beauty within and without that the wood had been worked into, and appreciated the furniture, and quite appreciated the wooden stilts that supported the structure above the serene, gently-moving water of the flooded forest. It was a bit more extravagant of a home than normal, but it was my home, and all loved it. And to be a true work of art is one of the highest honors one can realize they have postmortem.

"However, my greed would not be satiated...I wanted more. So much more. And thus I abused two sorts of the very thing I am made of in three ways." He placed a hand to his chest, eyes moved to look down. He stayed like that a moment before getting back to normal. "After my estate was filled, I was content for only a single year before I desired more. In addition to the casino, deku scrub spa, shooting range, and personal houseboat, I wanted my own private concert hall that only the highest of deku society could visit that would make me much money. Since I was forbidden to invade upon the land outside of my estate, and my estate was deforested at this point, I was at a loss until I thought, 'Why not wow everyone with my dedication and bring different wood all the way from the Korken Woods in the south?' So I went with a party of servants down to the woods, telling the servants whom I'd left behind that I'd wanted no one to enter the mansion except for upkeep. I do not know of its fate after then.

"When we reached Korken, we were soon constantly trapped within then foiled by the winding confines of the maze-like forest, wandering in circles for lengths of up to three hours before being spit back out where we came in," he described with a slight hint of bitterness.

Link chuckled, smirking wryly. "That's why the Korken Woods have gained the nickname of the Lost Woods," he said amusedly and sympathetically. "As far as we can tell, they are at least nigh-magical."

Ruedekul "nodded". "Yes, well, as far as we could tell, it wasn't magical, just utterly demonic," he stated sourly. "And it was all my own fault, too. I simply could not find enough suitable lumber—I'd wanted the perfect trees to act as the comfortable bleachers and thick, strong walls. It was overly-ambitious and stupid, but I'd wanted the concert hall's floor to be the underwater floor of the swamp, and thus needed thickly-placed walls to stave the water! Oh, how utterly idiotic an idea!" He held his head in appall at himself. "To make matters worse, I had heard of a wonderful treasure there in the forest, and was also leading every which way in an attempt to find it for myself. Well," he sighed, dropping his hands to his laps again, "after a week of running the servants ragged, I found it. In the clutches of an old tree's branches, deep within the confines of a perilous part of the woods with a fair amount of flooding (but not really enough to say it was a wetland), but I'd found it. Silly as it sounds, I did something that was actually more common than you might think, and I literally stepped on my servants; I ordered them to form a ladder up the tree while I went up with my tools to retrieve the ring. Sure, it seemed so simple and unimpressive, but I was quite the kleptomaniac. After I had obtained the ring, I came back down and allowed them to come tumbling back down again before examining my find, standing upon a large stump in that circle of old trees. Curious, I went to see if it might fit around my finger...

"As soon as I'd found it could expand to fit, I put it on and held it up, admiring it. Soon, though, I felt the powerful essences within flow through my body, changing me into a massive, sprawling form that rooted to the spot around the stump and sent its woody reaches into the depths of the forest around me. As I felt the unspeakable power seep into me, the glee and horror, I watched my servants flee in fright. Angered, I tried to stop them with my newfound body's powers, but they were too small and quick. I suspect they retreated home...I hope they did...to tell of my fate. But as they ran, I could feel them run; I'd become one with the section of woods around my body. I willed the place to grow as I wished, and it quickly did so, creating those thick, gnarled, vine-like branches and dense tree walls, and the unique doors...I remember someone coming in a fair number of years back, exploring the whole place save for my lair, and then making himself at home there, carving a study out of part of one room. But regardless, I willed it to grow as I pleased, expanding the area I and that part of the woods covered, feeding my insatiable greed...all while playing on the rumors of a powerful treasure deep within the Korken Woods.

"Then that Betta came and, smart man, tried to do what many did before: Negotiate. And, on his next visit, after not much more than one night in, he brought me the bag of Bardin's Bargins' money. Link, you'd better appreciate how good of an arguer that man is, because we were at it for the whole time you were there, and likely would have continued for a few hours more had you not interfered. Once you arrived into the forest, I watched and felt, but did nothing to you—I really couldn't. But then you came inside my lair, and the rest of that life, well, is history." He gestured around him. "After dying, I faced a flash of bright, white light, and remembered all that I had done before the light faded and I found myself in front of a statue of my then-former self. I was stunned as to where I was, and what had happened. Then, a voice came to me—a gentle, female voice. I have reason to believe it was a Great Fairy. She informed me of the reason I am here—that I must look over that which I have done, those actions that caused me to become a Leviathan, and be ready to repent, to use the power I still possess over wood, among some other minor things. I then went to this small stand of woods, here, and made my home. I have been living and thinking ever since. Though..." He leaned back to look up at the dim sky. "...the sunlight here leaves something to be desired...but it and the nutrients here are enough." He sat forward again. "That is my story. Did I...perhaps bore you?" he asked, sounding as if he were sure he was.

Link, then Samba shook their heads. "It was a little long, but some people like details," Link said, shrugging up his hands.

"I will admit, it was interesting to hear about deku scrub life," Samba shrugged his shoulders.

Ruedekul "nodded" again. "Now, then...there are two other things that the Great Fairy, or whoever was speaking to me, said," he added after a pause. "One is that, while Here," he gestured all around him, "time moves differently compared to how it moves in the world we left. For everyone from our world, the time outside moves very slowly; while we spend one minute Here, Hyrule spends only a quarter of a minute."

Link and Samba raised their eyebrows/-ridges at this and looked at each other interestedly before looking back. "Could we possibly use this as a way to take a breather from inside a dungeon?" Link asked.

Ruedekul "shook his head". "Sadly, that is not a way the Song of Penitence works," he answered, and their faces fell. "Hopefully, though, the rest of the places you must go to shouldn't be as distracting as Anjoltvrya's dungeon," he reassured them wryly, looking at Anjoltvrya (who smiled sheepishly and put a paw behind her head). "That is the second thing I was told of," he said, facing the swordsmen again. "It's about the Song of Penitence, which I was taught by the Great Fairy and now teach to every Leviathan that arrives, since it has been designated as my duty, being the first Leviathan here already in possession of decent musical talent. While the Leviathans are in their time-transcending 'flash of light phase', I appear and teach them the song. I'm thankful Anjoltvrya has a knack for it, and that her instrument is similar to mine, the xylophone..." (Anjoltvrya looked a bit shy at this, putting her paws behind her back and rocking on her heels...well, the balls of her feet. She made the same swaying motion, at least.) He groaned a laugh, putting his face in his palm. "It took a while to get Krungratrg to learn it, and even so, I doubt he really cares enough to remember it...He looked like he was just giving enough effort for me to leave him alone. I'm going to have to quiz him on it..." He looked up again.

"The Song of Penitence, you see, exists to gather the saved, yet punished, Leviathans when the time has come for their—our—help," he explained. "You see, there is a very good reason we are all still in possession of our power over our materials...a power which we have had all along, yet might have failed to make good use of during our battles with you." (Anjoltvrya's ears perked at this and she raised an eyebrow, half-eying.) "I don't know the exact details, but that time is soon approaching, and when we hear the Song of Penitence reverberate throughout our entire beings, all of us, we are to quickly gather together in the center of Here and play it back together, because though we have more of it, time is still short, and you two—the ones to play the Song when the time comes—will find that every second shall count."

Link and Samba looked attentive as he talked about the Song of Penitence, and when he was finished, they both looked at their own instruments. "How will we know when the time has come?" asked Samba.

"You will," Ruedekul answered simply and firmly. "Is there anything else about the Song of Penitence you wish to know?"

"Why doesn't it work in dungeons?" asked Link.

"Because of the nature of the song's magic. In certain areas, you are unable to reach us, such as inside areas designated as 'dungeons', even though most really aren't. You can communicate with one of us inside dungeons, if you want, though, via telepathy; we might be of some assistance. Why are they called 'dungeons'?" he asked, honestly curious. They swore the top curve of one of his crescent eyes raised a little bit as he dimmed the other a touch.

The swordsmen (and Anjoltvrya) shrugged. "It just seems an appropriate place to describe a place designed to be hard to infiltrate, like some sort of high-security prison that makes sure the prisoners can't escape and they can't be broken out, at least not without a lot of effort," Link answered as best as he could. "But really, I don't know why."

"I know 'song' is used to refer to any piece of music in common usage," Samba said, looking thoughtful, "but that the word really refers to sung pieces. Does the Song of Penitence have any lyrics?"

Ruedekul "nodded". "I teach them, as well," he added. "Just in case. It appears to have been more effective with Krungratrg, actually, than teaching him with his instrument...I would sing them, but I'm afraid my voice leaves something to be desired."

"Allow me," Anjoltvrya offered, stepping forward. They turned to look at her and she closed her eyes, clearing her throat. She stood still a moment before taking a breath and singing slowly and mournfully in her smooth alto voice:

I have sinned many years this day

My heart feels as if gone away

Condemned now am I

Must I repent until I die?

When she was finished, she opened her eyes again, unable to smile, even faintly. Link and Samba could feel why; the way she sang, with such gentle power and soul, combined with the melancholy melody and dreary lyrics to produce a very sobering effect. She looked as if she were trying hard not to cry, even a little. "I have a feeling there are more, since there is more to the song than what I taught you, as well; as if there is a verse to come after and that was simply the chorus," she informed.

"There is," Ruedekul confirmed. "When I think there are enough of us willing to sing it, I shall teach it. Link, Samba," he addressed, and the swordsmen turned back to him. "Is there anything more to ask about the Song?"

"Not that I can think of," Link shrugged.

"Yasyas," Samba agreed, nodding. Everyone looked at him blankly, so he blushed and explained, "Lizalfos expression that basically means, 'Same here,' or, 'Me, too.'"

"Like 'ditto'," guessed Link.

"Yas, like that, but I guess it's becoming habitual to shift to my native tongue since I'm using more Lizalfos with you," supposed Samba. 'Come to think of it, if the Rings translate Lizalfos for him, why don't they translate things like that for him? Maybe the multiple meanings...?'

"Regardless, it has been a pleasant time with you, gentlemen," Ruedekul said, rising and dusting himself off gently. "Now, if you would kindly visit Krungratrg, he would like to speak with you, as well. You are welcome to return to this stand of trees anytime you desire, though I might be elsewhere, depending." He bowed. "Good-day, sirs."

Link and Samba rose and, after a little pause, bowed back. "Good-day, Ruedekul," Link bade back.

"Come on, I can take you to see Krungratrg," Anjoltvrya said, beckoning as she turned. She waved, smiling her faint smile, at the deku scrub. "Bye, Ruedekul!"

"Good-day, m'lady," bowed Ruedekul as they left. They saw him turn around and re-enter his deku flower.

"He's like a butler," Samba compared, raising an eyeridge.

"Nothing like the guy I fought," Link commented, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm willing to bet he was hit pretty hard by this whole thing, given that he's one of the 'higher' folks," Anjoltvrya conjectured, raising a paw.

"That's right, you were a normal mountain lioness before this, weren't you?" asked Samba.

Anjoltvrya planed a paw, giving a "sorta" sort of expression with her mouth by slanting it. "Most of my life, yes, but then I happened upon the Rose Hammer whilst hunting on Death Mountain, around the other side—the one facing Death Valley. I'd felt some pulses of something, which I later realized was power, coming from a heap of iron ore chunks inside a cave that was hard to reach and you wouldn't know it was there until either you'd somehow fallen into its small entrance hole or you were looking straight at it." She chuckled wryly. "Being what I am, I gave into my curiosity, crawled in, and pawed through the pile until I found it, hidden from all the world on the mountain amidst the very material it represented. I experimentally bit it."

"It hurt, didn't it?" asked Samba, chuckling as they left the last of the trees behind them. Anjoltvrya pointed towards an end of the island before walking off. (Link had taken the time during the walk to whip out the map of Here to mark where Ruedekul was...just to find that it magically was already on it. As well, their current position appeared on the map as the familiar yellow arrows. Again, he suspected the Rings at work.) "I remember when I was little, I bit a piece of thin sheet metal out of curiosity. When my molars set on it, I yelped and spat it out."

"You did that, too?" Link asked, chuckling and smiling.

"Yeah! I bet it hurt more for you, though, since you...omnivores have got more molars," Samba smiled back, raising an eyeridge, after pausing a moment to remember the technical word. He looked at Anjoltvrya again. "Sorry, go on."

Anjoltvrya giggled at this, though, making Samba, for some reason he couldn't fathom, blush. "No, it's okay, it's cute to see you two relate over a childhood experience," she said. "But, yeah, it hurt, but more than just pain hit me—I felt my whole body change shape and fill with such power...Thinking about that rush still gives me frightful chills up my spine. Knowing I still have a fair amount of it is even more frightful to know. But when the pain was finally over, I was left with a hammer in my mouth, large (to me) breasts on my chest, and opposable thumbs on my front paws, as well as longer hind legs and shorter hind paws. That, and I could feel there was a considerable amount more to my head, not to mention my hair (which was shorter then; I grew it out). And I realized that I could now form words with my mouth the way I remembered hearing and seeing humans and gorons form them. With all this new information, you can probably guess I was extremely confused and bewildered," she added with a chuckle. This was met with chuckles back.

"After grabbing the hammer out of my mouth and crawling out of the cave, I realized a few things—one of which was that, since I was to walk on my hind legs like a human, I'd better dress a bit like one, too. Another was that I was being filled with a power...a dangerous one, my instincts all told me, but with my newly-acquired enhanced brain functions came a heightened sense of desire. Really, you smarties are wonderful creatures, but SHEESH, are you needy..." She rolled her eyes semi-sarcastically. "Now, after I was able to figure out how to at least put the hammer away into some other-space—I was too afraid to use it, and I wasn't sure I knew how—I went down to the base of the mountain and went until I came across a troupe of traveling performers. I waited until nightfall before raiding their clothesline for something that fit my body that I felt comfortable in." She motioned down to her outfit. "The sturdy overalls made of denim, here, fit and I felt secure and comfortable at the same time. The shirt I grabbed because I wanted a bit more over my upper area after (making me nearly jump outta my fur) hearing one of the female performers slap a guy and accuse him of coming to look at her chest. I also got it because I appreciated the fact I could now see in quite vivid color, as well."

"You were colorblind?" asked Samba and Link at the same time, Link with more surprise than Samba.

Anjoltvrya nodded, smiling. "Practically—like many cats, actually," she replied. "We've got horrible color vision, sadly. This world is so beautiful in color..." She swooped her arms around, spinning a circle. "While us kitties are probably the coolest creatures on the face of the planet, we're missing out on a LOT."

"You ARE vain!" Samba shouted in laughing surprise, pointing at her. "Ha-! I thought it was just a legend, but you cats ARE full of yourselves, aren't you?"

Anjoltvrya sighed, shrugging helplessly. "Yep, guilty as charged," she confessed. "It's evolutionary, I'm sure. We're all a bit vain."

"Well, Blanca, the cat back home, always seemed pretty aloof," Link commented thoughtfully.

The lioness shrugged again. "Just be happy I'm not as vain as SOME cats out there, not naming names..." She pinned her ears and looked to the side, frowning unhappily. She perked up again and continued. "After getting clothes, I soon started exploring my new abilities. Like the idiot I am, I started abusing the power I had over metal by becoming the ruler of the mechanoids. I attacked travelers using them, strike one for me—Farore. Maybe strike two, Din, as well, but that one at least definitely came later. Then, instead of doing it for food, I attacked people for the heck of it—as in, more than my feline nature wanted to. That's strike two, as far as I'm sure, this being Nayru. Finally, after a particularly badly failed ambush, I desired a stronger body. Since I couldn't just buff myself up, I realized I needed to change myself somehow. Looking at armor made me think about ghosts inhabiting suits of armor sometimes (which is quite annoying, and it usually takes a Metal Ramrock to blow the pieces far enough away that it can't reform before we escape), and I wondered if I could have an armor body, too. So I tried to steal metal to make it using my powers. Using metal for something totally excessive—strike three, Din, and I'm out of the game. And remember, just seriously wanting to and willing to do it will get you a strike.

"Well, at least I got my wish—though I became feral again, 'cept I kept my brain and I got a half more as big as any other mountain lion I'd ever seen, and my body became sorta mechanical—those metal parts around me you saw when I crawled out of my suit. The mechanoids around me became my huge suit's core and head, and the others became the other parts of me, though detached. I was still kinda incomplete—I needed more power to pull myself together. I knew that where there was more of this wonderful thing called metal around me, my powers grew stronger, so we made for the foundry." Her faint smile all but vanished as she bowed her head. "We assaulted the factory, but in my weaker state, I couldn't do much, but I could still bwast 'em, and I did. I tore that ravine in Pouring wider by trying to dump their own molten metal on them..." She widened her eyes at them, looking out the corners of her eyes. "...but, damn, those things are scarier than ANY Leviathan you'll ever face, because those guys didn't mind the stuff at ALL..."

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes to normal, then to melancholic as her expression returned. "They slammed me into Ventilation, which was the most-advanced room in the whole place and ran off of motors powered by moving hot air generated from pits over molten lava...a room that was also special to them culturally. That Triforce is there for a reason. They say that's where one of them met the spirit of Din ages ago, in the cave the ventilation room was built in. But I stayed in there, and it was only a matter of time before I joined together with my parts and felt myself become one with the foundry. I took control and forced them to make more upgrades for me and more mechanoids and more and more and more..." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm disgusted with myself. I was practically forcing them to bring me jewels and gems, like some super-pompous aristocrat...Thank you guys so much for knocking some sense into me." She smiled at them a little more than faintly, nodding slowly.

They smiled and nodded back sympathetically. (As well, they appreciated it being shorter than Ruedekul's story, along with the explanation as to why Ventilation was so high-tech if it wasn't entered for a long time.)

Anjoltvrya looked around them. They were descending a gentle slope to the end of the island, where the ground had been getting barer, the grass thinning out to make way for hard stone. The ocean's sounds came again to their ears as they crashed onto the rocky shore. A cliff began on their right ahead of them while the rest of the stone ground went down. "Along that cliff is where Krungratrg is, if I remember what Rue told me correctly after he finished teaching me the Song," Anjoltvrya pointed.

They nodded to show they heard. Then Link asked, "What do you know about Here?"

Anjoltvrya shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Not much, I'm afraid," she confessed. "Not much more than Ruedekul, at least. The only thing I was told extra on the way here by that voice he mentioned is that areas sort of appear when new Leviathans show up, places where they can live. For instance, my place is probably somewhere with lots of ore or something. I haven't had time to look for it, since I was waiting for you guys." Their feet touched the sand, and Samba looked down as he felt the sensation of the grains under and around his footpaws, sifting dryly between his toes and scratching against his talons' tips.

They took a right around the cliff that rose up, heading towards a large cave with a distinctive entryway—an eroded stone arch poked one end from the sand and one end from the water a few feet from shore, being off-center to the cave entrance. Within, they saw a few lights. They all three raised their eyebrows/-ridges when they saw that these lights appeared to be large crystals of some luminescent variety of quartz. The cave curved a descending, twenty-foot-high tunnel into the mainland until they found themselves in a grand, spherical cavern full of those crystals, with one enormous one sticking down from the ceiling. Three smaller, but larger than the normal size, crystals came out in a generously-spaced, 30-degree-angle line that went from a few feet off the floor to beneath an opening about 8 feet around. A pile of random-looking rocks and boulders was at the floor below it, signifying that it might have been blown open from the other side. A path further inland continued through there, winding out of sight. They didn't see anyone there.

Samba grew suspicious, looking around. "He was a wall when I found him, so he might still be," he grumbled, frowning cautiously as they stepped to the center of the level-floored chamber. His voice echoed nicely in the room.

"Well, maybe, maybe not," Anjoltvrya shrugged, looking around. She looked up at the opening, raising an eyebrow.

A moment later, Link commented a bit louder than normal on the crystals, "Wow. Nice rocks." No sooner had he said this than a rumble was felt and a grinding was heard. It came from the tunnel they had entered from, and they looked. Soon, they saw a large shape barreling down it like a giant boulder. They all ran out of the way just in time. It whooshed past them, heading straight for a spot on the wall where, oddly, the crystals were crushed, the light dimmer there. With a CRASH!, the boulder slammed into it and bounced back a bit. It rolled to the center of the room slowly and stopped as the vibration from the impact stopped running through everyone's bodies.

Link was on one side of the room, and Samba and Anjoltvrya were on the other, all breathing a bit heavily. Before any could comment, a deep, loud chuckle came from the boulder, muffled, followed by what sounded like, "Thanks! Gotta keep 'em hidden, though, sadly!" The boulder then unfolded itself (as Link smacked his forehead at how his comment had been so easily made vulgar).

They were expecting a goron. They were only half-expecting an armadillo. It actually being only partially-curled to create the perfect sphere it had been was a bit of a surprise, though. It unfolded itself, having stopped in its back, tail covering the belly that had contributed at least a quarter of the ball. It rested its legs, arms, and head on the floor with a grunting sigh before looking left and right, smirking, then, lifting slightly to get a good roll backwards, executing the most surprising thing of all—the handspringing, foot-kicking, high-dexterity-needing move of martial arts fame known as the kip-up. And it did it high, adding a spin, as well, to land on its feet with another bone-shaking slam a few feet from the opposite wall. "HAH! Betcha didn't think I could do THAT, now, DIDja?" it crowed, putting its hands on its hips and smirking down.

The three walked together, staring up at the creature. "Krungratrg...?" Samba asked, amazed and frightened that such a gigantic, girthy beast could do that.

"In the not-rock flesh!" Another chuckle. Krungratrg the giant armadillo was about 8 and a half feet tall and stood nearly erect on his feet, not bending forward to compensate for the weight of his back very much; this was probably because of the aforementioned impressive belly acting as a counterweight, somewhat disturbingly enough. (It was large, but not really all that large.) As a result, his back only came up behind his head halfway. His height and girth weren't the only things that made him huge—all four of his paws were large with strong, thick, black-clawed digits (four up, three down); his head was larger than they thought a walking armadillo's head should be, bearing an unusually large jaw; his chest, strangely unaffected by the round gut, was wide and pronounced, a little bit of extra fur coming from the collarbone hanging halfway down the cleft of the pectorals; and his well-defined muscles made his arms and legs just shy of healthy tree trunk thickness. His natural colors consisted of a medium brown face-to-belly area, a darker brown rest-of-body area, and light brown shell and rat-like segmented tail areas, with flecks of grey here and there on the shell. It appeared he had short fur, covering the body where the shell did not. A few small plates of shell ran across his snout and between his large grey eyes. Long, messy grey hair grew from his head, strangely, some areas brown. They noticed he actually wore rather feminine jewelry, being a pair of small, prism-shaped (but rounded in the ear part) hoop earrings seemingly carved from quartz, judging by the way they reflected the light, on his long ears, and on his middle finger of his right paw was a beautiful diamond ring. He wore a pair of tattered, fingerless, slate blue gloves, and he was barepaw. Around his calves and forearms were dark grey bandannas wrapped into bands with the knots on the outer sides. His front drooped down over his pelvis, but they could see he wore a kilt-like loincloth of the same kind of fabric as the gloves that had slits cut for his legs and tail. It was held up by a light grey belt, buckle hidden by his body. Finally, around his thick neck was a collar carved out of pink granite with simply an engraved line a fifth from each edge.

He gave a wide, wide grin to them, eyes completely open. This made him look rather unstable. What made it all the stranger was his perfectly white, sharp teeth. "Sooooo...How d'you do?" he asked in a half-hiss, bringing his bald eyebrows over his eyes without dropping the smile. His voice was a deep bass, and even this hiss was felt very slightly.

Samba blinked a bit before starting right off, "You're...still insane, aren't you."

Krungratrg looked over at him with a raised brow, mouth closing into a small thoughtful pout, before snorting and squeezing his eyes shut and pulling his mouth up to an even bigger smile than before as he shook his bowing head, laughing through his nose. "WhatEVER gave you that idea, hmmm?" he asked sarcastically, opening one eye to look down at him.

Link and Anjoltvrya couldn't help their nervous chuckles as Samba crossed his arms and smiled wryly at his old adversary. "Oh, I dunno; the erratic speech and actions, probably," the lizalfos shrugged.

Krungratrg shook his head and nose-laughed again before looking at them again, mouth shut in his smile this time. He actually looked friendly. "Yeah, I'm still crazy," he sighed, nodding, voice relatively level for once, "and I'm still adoring each second of it." He sniggered before leaning down to get a better look at them, raising an eyebrow, looking at each in turn. "Alright, I know you, Blue Boy, and you're probably that kitten that fell outta her cast-iron tree a little while ago, but who're you, Greenie?" He (surprisingly very gently and carefully) prodded Link in the chest with the meaty tip of his finger when he asked his question.

Link grunted in surprise at first the prod, then the force, before looking up, a little confused as to what he should think of this guy, and replying, "Link..."

"And I'm Anjoltvrya," Anjoltvrya introduced, paw to chest as she blinked at him. She smirked and raised the other eyebrow, crossing her arms, and added, "And you're probably gonna be the most interesting, annoying guy I'll ever meet, won't you, you big ol' piece of work?"

Krungratrg lowered himself to look fully, closely, in her face, half-eyeing with his big smile. "Damn right, Anjy-kitten," he replied in his half-hiss. Anjoltvrya just twitched her other eyebrow a moment. Krungratrg turned to Samba, looking him up and down. "Well, Blue Boy, aren't you your little sis' knight in shining armor?" he chortled, eyebrow raised.

Samba gave a serious frown to this. "Since you actually can now, I'd like you to apologize for that whole mess with my friends and family," he said darkly.

Krungratrg blinked, surprised for a second, before sniggering. "Yeah, sorry, sorry; I plead insane." His head bowed down to cast his face in shadow, eyes still bright, as he drew out that last hissed word. Samba wasn't amused, but he made no facial reaction or comment until he drew his head back again.

"Thank you," Samba nodded. He let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, you're still gonna be a pain in the tail, aren't you?" He looked at Anjoltvrya and said, "Have fun with that."

"Thanks," Anjoltvrya replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You have anything you wanted to tell us?" Link asked, trying to get things on track again.

Krungratrg snickered and nodded wildly. "Oh, yaaaah, lots-a stuff," he answered. He looked back at Samba, standing up straight again. "But first, say, Samba, what do you think, huh?" He raised his arms and twisted himself around once both ways, letting them get a good view of his shell-covered back. His shell was mostly made of a number of stripes in the middle, but the top and bottom fourths were made of near-solid plates. I say near-solid because there were splits in certain places to allow his body to move freely: His shoulder blades on top, and on bottom, his hindquarters (while standing) and a place for his broad, somewhat lengthy tail to come out. If he'd rolled up as he had before, the seams would have been put together again, and almost hidden entirely unless one looked closely. While rough and dirty, the armor-like plates looked to be in very good condition. "I was an ordinary armadillo before finding that ring and becoming the Leviathan, so this great body is one of my favorite things ever, now," he explained after they'd gotten a few seconds to look, chuckling at the memory and crossing his arms. He smirked and chuckled a little more before backing up to the wall and beckoning. "C'mere, kids, it's storytime with Uncle Krungle! A-hah-hah!" He sat down, revealing his rear slid down past the plates to allow him the ability to sit on pliable flesh instead of unyielding natural armor. He sat cross-legged, belly mostly cupped inside but sticking out just a smidgen. It seemed very thick and rubbery, though since he was the Leviathan of the dense material Stone, this wasn't that surprising. (This also explained how something actually so relatively small (it was big, but not THAT huge) could counterbalance something so big as his shell, which, when they got close enough to look, ranged from one to four inches thick of dense organic matter.)

They looked at each other, wearing uncertain faces. "Well, sorry to say, if he tries to hurt us, we're sunk," Samba admitted, holding his paws up. "Truth be told, if we'd fought anywhere else, chances are I'd be dead. It's only because of those red rocks I defeated him."

"Well, um, I'd say we have the advantage of speed, but judging by that stunt earlier..." Link trailed off, glancing at him nervously.

Anjoltvrya sighed, bowing her head. "If all else fails, I can summon metal walls to protect us temporarily," she said. She looked up again and beckoned. "C'mon, I wanna get to know this guy and he wanted to talk to you, anyway." She turned to Krungratrg and called, "Hey, Krunge! What about some seats, huh? We can't all fit on your morbid obesity, you're not that fat!"

"I'm not? Awww, daaaamn!" Krungratrg snapped his claws, looking and sounding genuinely disappointed (which further disturbed them), but he pointed his snout to the pile of boulders before the opening high in the wall and finally fully dropped his smile. Replacing it was a glare with a terrible, merciless frown. "OI!" he barked. He pointed. "You there! And your little pal, too!" He pointed again. "Over here, NOW!"

Without a second's delay, the two larger, oblongish boulders he'd pointed to rolled off the pile and, almost looking like they were in a panic (they even looked to be emitting plewds, but they were only bits of dirt and chips of stone), barreled over to stop in places in front of him where one could sit and see his face well, resting on their most-stable broad sides. Krungratrg growled, putting fists on his hips. "And just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded harshly. "Coming here when you very well know you look like that?" With rage on his face, the plates on his snout folding up into a slight zigzag as he snarled, he leaned over, took a breath, and—suddenly looked at the others with a plain expression, warning calmly, "You might wanna stand back." Then, just as quickly, his scary face returned as he whipped to look at the boulders again and barked, "MAKE YOURSELVES SITTABLE!"

With a sound akin to scraping with a lot of large-grained sandpaper, the rocks suddenly filed their tops down, spraying grains of sand everywhere, almost getting into Link's and Samba's eyes and noses if Anjoltvrya, who had immediately taken the advice and taken a few large steps back, hadn't leaned over, grabbed their shirt collars, and pulled them back to stand beside her. Though it was always in her warm paw, Samba, the one on her right, felt her wrench press coldly against his scales. In a few moments, the two boulders' tops stopped sanding themselves, being much smoother, the points, edges, and uncomfortable lumps filed down, and a unique, earthy smell hung in the air. They were now, indeed, sittable.

Krungratrg, arms folded over his chest, leaned his head back, gazing angrily with scrutiny down at them a moment, before snorting and nodding, leaning back. "Good. Thank you." He then suddenly broke out in a fit of giggles after hissing through a grin and turning his head away. When this subsided, he uncrossed his arms, resting one at the beginning of his gut before it slid off and beckoning with the other. "Come on, then," he said, that friendly-looking face on again.

They looked at each other, shrugged, then went over. Anjoltvrya chuckled, shaking her head. "Me and my big mouth," she muttered. "I said he couldn't fit all of us, and now here he is, ensuring he can fit at least ONE of us..." She patted the boys' shoulders comfortingly. "I'll do it, it's my fault; you guys sit on your chairs...wait until they've cooled from the friction, first, though," she added, making them stop right after turning to their rocks, pointing at the rough-sanded surfaces. She then nimbly jumped onto Krungratrg's stomach, confirming instantly its thickness by bouncing two inches despite her exact, feline-calculated leap. She couldn't help but giggle at this before sitting cross-legged. Link and Samba just sat on their boulders.

Krungratrg looked smugly at his fellow Leviathan. "You asked for it," he reminded her in a sort of sing-song way. He then cleared his throat into his fist before lacing his claws and leaning back, whipping a wave down his side-swept tail. "WELL, now, since we're all here, let's begin, shall we?" he asked briskly...of course, smiling.

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS – OPTIONAL READING

I'd rather not interrupt this, but...well, 20 pages already. Ruedekul took way too long, both to come up with and in his story. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with his character yet. Same with Krungratrg, though I like him better (crazy people are always fun to write); I'm afraid I'm going to get into the "jolly obese guy" characterization I've fallen into with just about every single significantly overweight male character I've made. I'm also afraid (a bit more) that I'll overcompensate his size—he's only 8.5 feet tall, that's nothing compared to some of those other characters I mentioned—and make him seem bigger than he is. (As well, I don't want his gut to be too large, either. Saved my booty with the density thing, there.)

Again, I'm a sucker for description. Blame my writing being influenced by anime and manga, where there's so much to see in the unique environments...and not my inability to say what I want in just a few words instead of a lot. And my love for compound sentences.

Next time, we'll start something I've been doing in my other fanfiction, Kingdom Hearts: Puzzle of Truth: Omakes. They'll be different in that they're going to be all about these guys, the Leviathans. Come on—a gentleman, a tomboy, and a nutjob...living together on an island with nobody else...Tell me that hilarity wouldn't ensue. (In fact, this sounds like it'd make a cute webstrip...)

PS: If you thought back to Mokuba going, "BIG BROTHERR!" during the wrap-up to the dungeon, I do NOT blame you. (Unless you're not currently hyper or otherwise in an at least slightly altered state.) CURSE YOU, CAAAAT! *shakes fist*

PPS: I realized only now that I've been saying "bokoblin" when I really mean "bulblin". WHOOPS. o.o;