To Sheikah Ninja: Ya, I also don't believe that Sheik is a completely cold person. The way I portrayed him in here is my personal opinion of him, but I also believe that having him be cold is sometimes something that just fits in a particular writers story.
To Emperor Celest: I haven't played it yet, but I've heard that Twilight Princess for the Wii has Link fighting with his right hand. It was mostly a small way to set this Link apart from the others.
To Everyone Else: Thanks so much for the reviews! Please keep them coming!
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Link and Sheik laid on the roof of the ranch's barn in stunned silence, staring at the mass of monsters that crowded the place. The hero felt a sense of sadness once he noticed the bodies of the goats he herded everyday laying spread out in front of the barn. Most already looked picked clean but some were still fresh. He grimaced, quickly looking elsewhere when a leg was ripped off by a bulblin before his comrade grabbed at it and they started to fight over it.
Nayru...don't let Epona be laying half eaten somewhere on this field.
Link narrowed his eyes once he spotted something.
"There's those fucking stalfo's that started this wonderful day…" grumbled Link as he glared down at the bony warriors standing near a huge bonfire.
How come we didn't see the smoke or at least the light from that fire? It's huge!
"There's a great deal of shadow magic surrounding this place…some sort of containment spell. What would they need to hide? There's no one for miles that would even know that this place was attacked. I fear that whoever petrified the Light Spirits of the forest may be here," whispered Sheik. He then narrowed his eyes as he noticed that something was missing among the prowling monsters.
"I don't see any of those shadow creatures from earlier around here. They must be something our foe must have to summon whenever he wants them active," whispered Sheik. Something suddenly caught his eye and he sighed wearily. He really was hopeful for this rescue. The hero did not deserve such heartache. He gestured for Link to look to the far left of the bonfire.
"Hero…"
Link looked where he was pointing and couldn't suppress the gasp that escaped his mouth. Sheik pulled them both back just before the group of bokoblin's standing below could look up and see them.
Oh my goddess…all of them?
Link recognized the people that stood stone still to the far left of the bonfire. He knew now why they didn't move. He couldn't see their expressions, but the position some of them were in led Link to believe that whoever did this was attempting to intimidate them into doing something. Some were on the floor, as if thrown there to reach someone new. The people he loved like family were left there like forgotten trash.
Petrified…just like Faron and Ordona.
"Even the children…?" whispered Link miserably. He struggled to keep his emotions in check. His fists shook with the force he was clutching them. Despair and rage were battling for dominance in his mind as his blue eyes began to fill with tears. He'd dealt with tragedy before, but something was different now.
I will find who did this. I will tear them apart and relish in their scream's!
"Perhaps not," muttered Sheik as he was scanning the area and saw something that finally gave him some hope. He didn't notice the dark expression growing on the hero's face, pushing against Link's shoulder to get his attention. He pointed to toward the opposite side of the bonfire, near where the stalfos were standing.
Link stiffened at his touch, at war with himself. Then he caught sight of what Sheik was pointing at. It was as if a drain was pulled on his rampant emotions, making them settle into something he could control. Relief flooded his senses when he saw Colin, Beth, Talo and Malo sitting beside the fire perfectly fine. Or at least physically fine. Even that was debatable since he didn't have a clear view of them. He hurriedly wiped a dirty sleeve across his eyes.
Link needed to get to them. Needed to protect them.
In front of the children stood what looked like another child that was covered in nothing but purple. A shout of "SILENCE!" suddenly made them both jump out of their skin. They could hardly believe that such a deep and powerful voice came from a small child like that. The purple clothed child pointed at the children, screaming something else but the sound was muffled with the raising yells of the monsters.
Link yelped when something suddenly pounced on his back. He began twisting and turning to try and get the creature off, yelping again when he felt claws dig into his back when the creature refused to be moved. Sheik tensed beside him, a throwing knife already posed to strike in his hand. After seeing what it was, he just rolled his eyes and put the weapon away.
"Seshat! I told you to stay away!" Scolded Sheik angrily. He crawled back over the edge of the barn's roof to check if anyone heard Link's yelp. He was relieved that any nearby monsters were to riled up to hear much of anything. They excitedly pounded fists or blunt weapons against an object. Adding to the cacophony of noise that the ranch had become. Sheik crawled back to find Link still in the same position from when he left.
"Whatever is on my back is a friend…right?" asked Link cautiously, still frozen in place. Sheik chuckled, looking up at the cause of Link's distress.
A white cat with black speckles and stripes all along its body sat perched in between Link's shoulder blades. Her sharp green eyes looked back at Sheik and then she tilted her head as if to say, 'What did I do?'
"She won't hurt you, hero," said Sheik. He clicked his tongue softly. Seshat leaped off Link's back and padded her way to Sheik's side, rubbing against his right arm.
"I was about to say this situation is rather irreversible but since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful," said Sheik softly to Seshat as he scratched her behind the ears. His red eyes glanced back to the whooping and hollering monsters, some actually knocking each other out by accident in their excitement.
These creatures were far to stupid to be of any real danger to Seshat.
"Meow?" Sharp feline eyes followed the whooping and hollering monsters below, her tail gently swinging from side to side.
"Hero, we need to get this horde away from the ranch if we want any chance of saving those children. I suggest we create a distraction over near the entryway. Seshat should be able to handle that, right girl?" said Sheik. She gave Sheik a pointed look, as if saying, 'look who you're talking to.'
Seshat then padded over to the side of the barn's roof and leapt off, disappearing from sight. Link, who had been staring wide eyed at the cat for this entire time, finally crawled up beside Sheik.
Of all the things that I had imagined pouncing on my back…a cat wasn't one of them.
"Well, since you got a plan all laid out now, mind telling me why your cat just jumped my ass? Or why we are now relying on your cat to drive hundreds of vicious man eating monsters away? What is she? A lion in disguise?" muttered Link. Sheik laughed softly, a sound that Link decided he liked best coming out of him.
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, hero. She is very intelligent and very fast. As for why she "jumped" you…well, that's pretty rare for her actually. I'd say she likes you. That says a lot. She doesn't like many people," replied Sheik as he kept a watchful eye on the riled up monsters. They both noticed that the purple clothed child was still screaming something at the children, but both couldn't tell if it was from the same rant as before or part of a new one.
"Of course she couldn't jump straight to you…had to scare the shit out of me first. And you say she likes me? Well, your cat has a weird way of showing affection then," grumbled Link.
"Her name is Seshat hero, and everyone has their own way of showing affection," said Sheik neutrally.
"Fine," muttered Link. His eyes snapped back to the monsters when he noticed movement.
Oh my goddess…that damn cat really did it! But how?! What could she possibly have done to attract the attention of that many?!
Link watched in amazement as the monsters started to run toward the exit as if chasing something. The purple clothed child stopped mid rant and swung around toward where the monsters were all heading. Then the child suddenly stopped mid step and slowly turned and looked right where they were hiding.
"Can that kid see us?" Whispered Link nervously as they both kept as low as they possibly could. His question was answered when a bolt of lightning suddenly hurled straight for them.
Reacting purely on instinct, Link threw himself to the left. He saw the streak of lightning come sailing right where he had been laying but the force of the electricity and chillingly cold dark magic blasted him off the roof.
Link landed hard on the ground and he had to steady himself as the fall had knocked the air from his lungs. He laid there for a moment until finally pushing himself up, resting his upper body on his uninjured left arm. He winced as the throbbing in his wounded right arm seemed to finally break free of the adrenaline rush that made him momentarily forget about it. He was lucky that he didn't land on it at least.
He suddenly caught sight of the children huddled together near the bonfire. Link pushed himself to his feet and began running toward them. He skidded to a halt when he suddenly remembered that he wasn't the only one on that roof. He swung toward the barn's roof, only to look in horror at what was left of it.
Sheik…
He cursed himself for his thoughtlessness.
He's fast. I'm sure he just threw himself the other way or teleported maybe. He'll turn up soon. Hopefully…
He turned back and jogged up the last line of trees that separated the forest from the pasture next to the ranch. Peering out from behind a tree, Link scanned the area around the children. He was surprised to see that only that pair of stalfos was left standing near them.
Did that cat really get every other monster to chase her out of here? Wait, where's that weird kid?
Not seeing the purple clothed child anywhere, Link left his cover and snuck up behind the stalfos. He reached into the pouch on the side of his belt as he went and pulled out a bombling. He activated the explosive insect-like creature and then quickly sidestepped away as it suddenly stood up on its own feet and started walking in the direction that he pointed it in.
Hearing the bombling, the first stalfos quickly glanced down to find that it walked right up next to it before lifting itself higher and blew up in its face. Link was happy to find that the blast had blown the stalfos to pieces. He loved it when he was able to position these explosive critters in just the right way to take out a stalfos in one hit. The blast luckily even stunned the other stalfos. Allowing Link to quickly take care of it by tossing a regular bomb at it while he ran past.
"Link! I knew you would come! I knew it!" shouted Colin happily as Beth stayed wrapped around him, crying.
"Took you long enough! What have you been doing?! We almost had some crazy short guy go totally bonkers on us!" shouted Talo. His face was red as if he had been shouting for awhile.
"I think he went "totally bonkers" the moment you spoke your first word to him," muttered Malo.
"Hey, I was busy trying to stay alive! Now shut up Talo and let's get out of here!" Shouted Link after he freed them from the ropes that restrained them.
"Most interesting." murmured a deep male voice that echoed from all around them. Link stopped, the children almost running into him from behind. He tried looking for the culprit but could find no one.
"Here stands another Great Hero. A man who saved all of Hyrule again and yet…couldn't stop me from destroying his poor excuse of a home…how pitiful," snickered the endless voice. Link growled.
"Come out and say that to my face!" snarled Link. The children all huddled behind him.
They heard footsteps, and Link swung to his right to see the purple clothed child standing before him. It almost looked as if he walked right out of the shadows. He smirked, his bright red eyes glowing with malice. He had shoulder length lavender colored hair that blew lightly in the breeze and skin that was so pale it almost looked white.
"Though I must admit, I never thought you would gain the aid of one of the shadow walkers. Thought they were all dead. Oh, well. He can't help you now anyway. Though I did expect him to put up a better fight then that." drawled the purple clothed child as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.
Sheik, no…!
Link was furious, but then noticed that the monsters were heading back up the path to the ranch. Link began to panic and started backing up, pushing the children with him.
"Not so fast. You're not going anywhere and now that I do finally have you here, I have no further use for those little brats," hissed the purple clothed child. He glared especially hard at Talo for some reason, who returned fire with just as much anger and hatred. Link stood protectively in front of them, a feral look springing into his eyes.
"You touch them and you're dead!" snarled Link.
"Oh, I won't be. Not that you could stop me if I were, but I'm sure there are plenty of these creatures that are hungry," sneered the purple clothed child. He laughed menacingly as the monsters got closer.
"Oh! And what fun it would be to actually have you watch," cackled the purple clothed child. His short hand shot out to point at Link, the beginnings of a spell already taking shape. The hero tensed, waiting for the inevitable. He couldn't dodge it because then it would hit the kids instead and he didn't have anything that he could get out quick enough to make a difference so he just stood ready to accept whatever cards fate decided to deal him. Suddenly a flash of silver came hurling toward the outstretched hand and embedded itself straight through his palm.
Sheik came sprinting up, weaving his way through the few monsters fast enough to have reached them at this point and stood protectively next to Link. Knives posed to strike in between each of his knuckles. The child bent over screaming in pain, clutching his bleeding hand.
"Sheik! You're alive!" exclaimed Link in relief.
"Unfortunately for him, I'm not so easy to kill," replied Sheik as the monsters started to surround them. They sometimes reached out in attempts grab at one of them as if this was a game. The purple clothed child straightened, a pulsing malicious dark aura suddenly bursting forth all around him.
"You…! HOW DARE YOU INJURE MY BEAUTIFUL HAND! YOU WILL ALL SUFFER GREATLY BEFORE YOU BEG ME TO KILL YOU!" yelled the purple clothed child. It was then that Link noticed a gleaming gold emblem in the shape of an eye on the gold rim of the purple cap on the child's head. The same emblem of an eye was on the buckle of the gold belt around his waist.
He tried to look closer at the emblem, swearing that it gave him the same strange sense of deja vu as his savior did but Sheik quickly pushed Link behind himself.
"YOU WILL ALL WISH FOR DEATH AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU! NOW FACE YOUR DOO-" but the child was cut off as a streak of white suddenly flew out of nowhere and hit the child's face. The impact sent him crashing to the ground, startled.
Link couldn't believe his eyes but there stood Seshat, glaring down at the child from his chest. She hissed and then pounced, scratching and biting everything she could reach. Link tensed, expecting the kid to blast the cat off of himself. To his utter amazement however, the child did the exact opposite. He let out the most girly screech Link had ever heard, his arms and legs flailing.
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME! DON'T JUST STAND THERE YOU IDIOTS! GET IT OFF! AHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed the terrified child. He was twisting and turning as Seshat continued to hiss, shredding his purple tunic. Link couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the ridiculous sight. The children soon followed his example. Some of the closest monsters even seemed to look at the scene in confusion, not knowing what they should be doing about it.
"Hero! Come, gather the children. I'm afraid I will need your assistance after this, but just get us away from the forest!" shouted Sheik over the loud yells all around them. Link was still laughing as he clutched the laughing children to his chest until what Sheik said finally dawned on him.
Wait, what…?
"Seshat! Come!" commanded Sheik loudly in his native tongue as he put an arm around Link's right shoulder. Seshat jumped off the screaming child and then leapt into Sheik's other arm where he caught and held her firmly. Sheik quickly teleported them all away.
The next thing everyone saw is the side of a house. Link was just about to say how awesome he thought Seshat was now until Sheik suddenly slumped against his side.
"Sheik!" exclaimed Link. He tried to catch him before he hit the ground, but his only free arm was his injured one. He gasped in pain and fell down to the ground with Sheik.
Blinking owlishly to clear his head, Link reached over to quickly check his pulse. Satisfied that he found a steady heartbeat, Link hoisted Sheik up on his left shoulder and then struggled to his feet. The children began to crowd around him and started asking him questions all at once. Seshat stayed glued next to Link's legs.
"Quiet! All of you!" shouted Link. He looked sharply to his right once he heard a door open.
"What in the world is all the shouting about…" muttered the man emerging from the house. He scratched his chin in thought as he watched them curiously, his big brown afro slightly dislodging the bird nestled within as it tilted to the side.
"Oh, Link! And you brought the kids! Grand. Been waiting for you buddy! You see, Epona came running all through here looking panicked, so I tied her to the other side of my house…and…ah, is something wrong? What did I miss?" asked the man, his tone changing from friendly to worried as the children all stared at him like they wanted to approach him but were unwilling to leave Link's side.
"Man! You're a life saver Coro, but I don't have time to explain. There's something bad happening in the forest right now. Go stay with one of your sisters, ok?" said Link as he passed Coro, heading for the other side of his house.
Link rounded the corner with the children all trailing behind him and sighed with relief once he caught sight of Epona. She neighed at him impatiently as if saying, 'You're late.'
Link rolled his eyes at her, but was startled to find that she wasn't alone. A white stallion was nervously shifting around a few feet away from Epona. He stood taller then her. His body was pure white except his soft dark muzzle. He was thinner then Epona as well. Link could tell it wasn't from malnourishment however. He simply seemed built more for speed then endurance. His pure white mane was silky smooth and his coat was well groomed. A sign he was well cared for.
"Oh yeah, and this ninja guy came and asked if he could keep his horse here and I didn't have a problem with it but he hasn't come back yet…" muttered Coro as he scratching his head. Link blinked, and then turned his left side to Coro.
"You mean this ninja guy?" asked Link as he pointed to the unconscious sheikah slumped over his shoulder.
"Yep! That would be him. Wow, you guys are friends? You really are a friendly guy," said Coro laughing.
"I guess I'll go stay with my little sis then, because there isn't anything on this green earth that could make me stay with my older sister. She's scary," said Coro with a shudder. He turned back and went into his house but they still heard him muttering about how mean his older sister was.
"What are we going to do Link?" asked Colin worriedly. The children stayed crowded around him looking lost. Even Talo wasn't his normal arrogant self as he kept peering nervously around the area like he expected monsters to come pouring out at any moment. Link took an uneasy breath.
What did that bastard do to everyone else…? What did he force these kids to see…?
"Relax guys. I'll take everyone somewhere safe. So, first step. We are getting out of this forest," stated Link as he briefly scanned each child to make sure they didn't have any wounds that needed immediate treatment.
Where is somewhere safe though? Somewhere with those that I trust?
"I guess the best place to go is Kakariko for now," said Link after debating with himself. He thought of Castle Town first, especially since Zelda should be told about this. The exposure to the entire capitol city is not something he wants anywhere near these kids though.
Link adjusted Sheik's body so it was easier to carry as he watched the white stallion keep a close eye on every move he made. It seemed distrustful but not violent so he would try to get it to follow them. He glanced at Epona, who had her ears perked toward him curiously but didn't seem to be bothered by the other horse. He realized as he untied her lead rope from the wooden pole mounted in the ground that he would need to get a new saddle and blanket for her.
He gestured for the children to stay back and then approached the white stallion slowly. He made sure that Sheik was easily visible, knowing that had been what helped cause Epona to become used to Zelda. He spoke soothing words as he got closer to the horse but paused when it bared its teeth, his ears flattening against his head and pawed the ground with a hoof in agitation. He continued to stand there just talking to it soothingly until it seemed to calm down. The stallion snorted in irritation but he eventually reached forward to nuzzle Sheik's arm as it laid limp against Link's side. A sharp "meow" from his feet made Link glance down to see Seshat looking at him impatiently as if to say, "ok, can we go now?"
Link grinned down at her and then reached forward slowly to untie the stallions lead rope from the wooden pole. The stallion's ears flattened against his head again as Link's hand approached him but he just gazed suspiciously at it until his lead rope was free. Link turned to glance at the children, who started to look like they were getting tired. They needed to get to Kakariko as fast as possible so some of them needed to ride on Epona.
"Alright, we need to get going as quickly as possible. I'll walk. Two of you can ride Epona but the other two need to walk with me," said Link as he approached Epona. Talo and Beth immediately started fighting about who would ride and who would walk.
"I'll walk with you Link," muttered Colin shyly as he walked up beside him. The blonde boy hooked the fingers of his left hand over the top of Link's belt with a nervous smile. Rolling his eyes, Malo walked up to Link's side as well. Link assumed Malo was walking as well so after running a hand through Colin's hair reassuringly, he went over to quickly split up the fighting children. After settling Sheik down against the wall of Coro's house, he helped them up onto Epona's back.
Epona snorted as her ears went flat against her head. She obliviously wasn't liking the fact that two of the rowdiest children in the world were now on her back. Link lightly slapped her shoulder.
"Stop that. It's only until we reach Kakariko," said Link sternly to Epona. She snorted again, but straightened her ears. Taking a deep breath, Link hoisted Sheik back over his left shoulder. He then cautiously approached the white stallion and grabbed his lead rope. He sighed tiredly when he heard Talo and Beth start arguing on who should control their pace.
Link reached over and snatched Epona's reins out of Talo's hand when Beth started trying to wrestle it away from him.
"I don't think so. I don't need you guys barreling through Hyrule Field being chased by monsters on top of an angry horse," grumbled Link. A sharp look from him silenced the argument that rose from Talo, so the child just slumped on Epona's back with a scowl.
"Malo and Colin, you guys stay next to Epona while I lead this guy," instructed Link as he cautiously tried to pull the stallions lead rope. The white horse snorted and pulled his head back stubbornly when Link tried to pull him forward so the hero loosened the rope and spoke soothing again. Within moments the stallion seemed to trust him enough to follow.
He led Epona through the entrance to Hyrule Field first as the stallion followed closely behind.
Link noticed Seshat suddenly leap on top of a high rock. She waited until the white stallion passed it and then leapt off the rock and onto his back.
The hero laughed softly when the stallion snorted and shook his head, but didn't seem to mind that Seshat hitched a ride on his back.
Wow, I know that I wanted adventure back but I didn't mean I wanted it to snowball me in the face like this. Just proves that you better be careful what you wish for.
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Back on the ranch, the purple clothed child was heaving from his position on the ground. His pulsing dark aura shocking any monster that came near him. He had already pulled the knife from his palm and tossed it as far as he could from himself in a fit of rage. He then wrapped the wound with pieces of his ruined tunic.
"When I get my hands on them…they are DEAD! They will have a whole new meaningfor the word pain once I'm through with them!" growled the child.
Another man suddenly approached the mass of monsters making them all shout in excitement, thinking he was just another meal. He quickly proved them wrong with a simple bend of his wrist, making any that were close enough to suddenly burst into golden flames. The monsters parted for him, seemly mesmerized.
"So? Where's the Hero of Twilight? You didn't let any of these thingseat him, did you?" asked the man. He crossed his arms and looked down at the heaving child. He was covered in a black cloak, its golden seams flashing with the light of the bonfire. He also had the hood over his face.
"Yes, I didhave the Hero of Twilight. I had him shaking in fear along with those miserable brats right here in this very spot but you never toldme one of the shadow walkers would be helping him! I could have prepared for that!" shouted the child as he stood up and dusted himself off. His pulsing dark aura finally fading. The man sighed.
"You couldn't handle an extra person? I thought you said that this would be easy?" drawled the man.
"It was easy! I had them in my grasp not more than five minutes ago! But then that shadow walker proved he is most definitely not a weakling…he even had a legendary fiend as an ally! If he hadn't sicked iton me, they would still be my prisoners!" grumbled the child as he crossed his arms as well but winced when his injured hand throbbed with pain from the movement.
"Well, they could be anywhere now and with this legendary fiend of theirs, it will be even harder to apprehend them. What is this legendary fiend anyway? They couldn't have found a phoenix could they? Or a dragon? Just start from the beginning." said the man. The child sighed impatiently, but relayed everything that had happened since the escape of his prisoners. After the child had finished, the man stared at him unbelievably for a moment.
"Let me get this straight…the hero escapes the first time because you sent nothing but a few bony warriors after him. Then, they were able to sneak right under your nose because you didn't have any of your shadow creatures patrolling the area due to them taking to much energy to keep them active during the day. Then, once you had them cornered…they escaped because you were attacked by a cat?" asked the man skeptically.
"That fiend could have killed me! There are countless stories of how that horrible creature would play with its food before killing it!" exclaimed the child angrily. The man ran his hand down his face and then shook his head.
"Good lord…Well, just be prepared for the trials ahead. The Hero of Twilight will begin his next journey soon. One where he must notsucceed, or it's the end of us all. Understand? Now get it done," said the man lowly. He spun around with a flourish of his black cloak and walked back the way he came.
Hateful red eyes glared at the man's retreating back as he held his wounded hand to his chest.
"One of these days mortal…you will regret blackmailing me." grumbled the purple clothed child under his breath.