Ch 1-1 (Prt 3)
Link sighed as the green man sailed into the distance. They could have gotten some more information from him, and then Red had to mess that up. He looked over at his team, already in shambles with Red curled over in a fetal position with Purps attending to him while Blue was trying to stand without putting weight on his injured leg. He shook his head, they really had to get this together, and someone needed to lead them. Heneeded to lead them.
"Alright, let's get moving. We're wasting too much time just sitting here and wa-"
"Sorry Link, but you saw what happened to Tingle. The bandits are still up there and they must be waiting on us." Purps said without looking, having decided Red would live to see another day. "I mean at least we know where we are now and we could figure out where to go but we still need some supplies so-"
Purps' thoughts slowed from his tongue as he watched Blue pick himself up on shaky limbs. Link walked over to lend him a support, but Blue motioned him away stubbornly.
"Link's right, I'm sick of waiting and those bastards need to know who their dealing with." he said boldly, removing his sword from his back and using its scabbard as a cane. "Let's go, it's time for some revenge!" He held the 'cane' with his right hand and tested his weight on the sacred blade's sapphire encrusted pommel. Satisfied, he limped forward and to the cliffs ledge, followed by Link. Purps pulled Red off his feet and they followed the party.
"Don't you think I should be leading?" asked Link, trying to cut in front of Blue.
"Well I don't see why I should do tha-" Blue replied as he almost put his good foot off the cliff's edge. Loose pebbles tumbled into the stream below, almost taking extra effort to hit every conceivable bump on the way down. "Okay yeah, you lead." he said with his confidence dampened.
Link slowly climbed down the edge and into the water, followed by Blue. Even when he was injured, Blue was still even more dexterous than his most of his companions. He slipped into the water before Link even arrived and hung onto the wall to conserve his strength as he silently guided Link to the proper handholds. As Link quietly slipped into the water, he waved to Purps and Red who waited above. Red began his descent and quickly lost his footing, he slid down the side of the cliff, bringing chunks of the wall tumbling down into the water with, causing a small "sploosh" sound to echo throughout the cave.
"SHHH" hissed Blue, not being very quiet himself, Link raised his palm to his forehead as he tread water.
"Guys, how deep is the water?" asked Purps from above them. Red took a big breath and sunk out of sight for a few seconds then resurfaced. "Pretty deep, why?"
"Well, it isn't shallow enough to stand in, is it?" he asked hesitantly.
Link groaned, "Purps are you telling us you don't know how to swim?"
There was silence from above, broken by a loud splash that sounded from the other side of the cavern. Link peered through a few gaps in the tight rock wall that blocked off where they were now from the side they entered in. He saw a disturbance on the water's face like something just fell in and it was quickly followed up by several bolts piercing the disrupted water. Above him, Purps leaped over the ledge and dove into the water below gracefully and silently sliding into the murky water, he resurfaced near where the bridge's cover ended.
"Hurry! They're distracted!" he said quickly, diving back under the water. Link swam over to the edge of the bridge's safety and took a deep breath and submerged. It took a moment to accommodate to the icy chill water's flow, it reminded him of a winter's gust clawing at his face. He cracked his eyes open slightly and saw a purple blur swimming up river underwater, followed by a red blur slowly diminishing after him into the dark blue haze clouding his vision. Link kicked his legs behind him and angled downward, putting his hands ahead of him and pushing them down to his sides, pulling through the water. He kept swimming forward till his lungs could no longer take the strain and he swam up to the surface. He surfaced and heard a loud rushing sound all about him. That can't be good he thought. Taking a huge gulp of air, he dipped under the water's surface again and pushed forward.
After swimming for what felt like forever, Link surfaced and turned backwards, pushing his hair out of his face and wiping off the water from his eyes. He saw the bridge far in the distance, well out of crossbow range, and again he heard the intense rushing of... something behind him. He ducked under the water; dodging the attack he felt would have cleaved his head off and he poked his head above the water to see the noisy threat.
Link struggled to keep above the water as he gazed at the most incredible waterfall he had ever seen. It seemed to be pouring from the top of the sky itself it was so massive. I've never been to this part of the lake before he thought awe struck. He was forced to tear his gaze off of the mighty falls as he turned to his teammates calling his name. Red was resting on one of the conveniently floating platforms, like the one under the bridge, and Blue was struggling up with the help of Purps. There were four platforms all swaying in the waterfall's current, but Link swam towards the far right one, being nearest to him.
He clambered up and skipped across the gaps between the planks to meet up with his team. Blue flopped onto his back breathing heavily, his fist clenched tightly. Link looked on curiously and almost hopped the final gap...
"Don't get on! It's already shaking enough as is" said Purps, motioning Link to stay where he was. Blue sat up and heaved a sigh.
"Don't worry about me, I'm just tired out. Swimming in circles does that to you." he chuckled breathily. Red scoffed and rolled his eyes "Wimp" he mumbled under his breath.
Blue glared at him "You try swimming with one leg dragging, you get no-where!" he said, the annoyance easily detected in his tone. "Besides, at least I got something out of backtracking once or twice…" he unclenched his fist and revealed a red Force Gem. Red's eyebrows shot up at the sight.
"What the he-"
"These are pretty buoyant I think. Hit my head on it floating in the water." he said with a flashy smirk at the jealousy on Red's face.
"Why you…"
"HEY! If you two are done fighting, can we get a move on?" asked Link, already ascending up the soggy rope ladder leading up the waterfall's side, dampened by the spray. He already found his patience being shredded to a fraction under his companion's presence, but he held tongue in cheek. The two glanced up and then back at each other and began scrambling up the ladder, racing to beat the other to the top.
It was a surprisingly long climb, and trying to keep up with the tough Red was no easy task for Blue, especially when he was injured. Blue winced as he lifted his wounded leg up onto the next rung on the ladder, he felt the scab crack a bit, but he pressed onwards. Yard after yard passed under him as Blue slowly clambered up the loose ladder. A strong gust shook the ladder and Blue wrapped his arms around the nearest rung, tempted to let his legs flop around in the flurry. When the winds settled, he pulled him self up once more, fighting gravity on his way to the top of the ledge. He eventually rolled over the top of the ladder and onto the soaked grass under him panting heavily.
Purps heard a wet flop behind him, which he quickly assumed to be Blue. He normally would check, but who would want to look away from this view?
They had only reached halfway up the mighty falls, and they were just above the mist formed from thousands of pounds of water crashing against the lake. The clear sky above them and the bright sunlight mingled and formed a bright vivid rainbow when it cast its warm rays through the cold mist. A gust of wind blew past and the cool spray dampened Purp's brow, cooling him down after the climb. He let out a content sigh. This is what he lived for: this is what kept Hyrule great. Well, that and the teamwork the heroes put into keeping the kingdom from falling into anarchy without the closest thing to a ruler in power.
Right, princess he thought with a silly grin. He could get sidetracked very easily. He looked away from the beautiful falls and back onto the ledge to his team... that wasn't there.
Problematic. He decided with his smile fading. He looked around the sides of the slippery mountain for another ladder to continue the assent, but only saw a dim cave entrance. He heard noises of squabbling coming from within the cavern and shook his head as he walked in. Crazy bastards...
"NO WAY am I getting in that crazy DEATH TRAP."
"Hey, these things work perfectly. We got them installed all over the kingdo-" Said a heavily accented voice that Purps didn't quite recognize.
"I don't care if Nayru herself uses this thing, NO MEANS NO."
"Calm down you pansy, it doesn't look so bad..."
"Then why the hells aren't you in it?"
"I'm waiting on Purps, common courtesy, you know."
"Red you don't know two things about manners!"
"Please and thank you, now fuck off."
This didn't seem like it was getting any better. Purps walked into the narrow corridor. He skipped over a ladder hole and walked towards the light spilling from under the overhang and onto the walls. He saw the three other heroes, no surprises, but there was also a grimy and dirty man wearing an oily black shirt with a dirt stained red hat. He was holding a lantern which cast off the aforementioned glow, so he easily noticed Purps looking at him and he waved with his free hand.
"Hey, looks like one of you kids are ballsy enough to use my cannon, off you go then!" yelled the man in a jolly voice and a wave at Purps. The team below turned to look up, expressions ranging from worry to curiosity imprinted on their face. Purps looked down, noticing the soft platform he was standing on for the first time.
"…Cannon?" he asked.
The man pressed a button on the wall, and the machine beneath Purps hummed to life and his footing slipped as the middle of the platform sunk down, forming the barrel of a suspended cannon. With a small yelp, Purps slid backwards and landed on his back on the soft cushion. He heard gears churning behind the swishy insides of the cannon, readying to launch. With a smooth click, all the motion stopped and the floor beneath Purps slid to a halt, waiting for a trigger to release a spring that would sail it's occupant into the air.
Purps sat still in shock, and then slowly tried to push himself up, but his hands sunk into the slushy leather bound watery cushion. His hand reached out for the wall to support himself, and he felt the wall slide inwards a little, followed by a quiet click from beneath him, then a loud crack of igniting gunpowder.
"Uh-oaaaAAAAHHHHUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!"
The scream bounced off of the walls and out of hearing range from those below. The man maintaining the cannon smiled, "heheh, don't worry guys, he'll be alright. I just calibrated these things meself this morning..."
"THINGS? As in, more than one?" asked Blue. The man smiled knowingly and with a laugh and wink primed the cannon again.
"Hang on Purps, I'M A-COMING!" yelled Red as he lumbered up the ladder and jumped into the machine, with another click and another whoosh of screaming Link, Red sailed off towards the cave's exit high above them.
Blue and Link watched him sail off until his frame blocked the light at the top and disappeared into the blinding sunlight. Blue nervously hid his concern with a casual yawn as he stretched his arms behind his head "Well, I guess it's your turn." he said to Link. A rough arm pushed him forward and up the ladder, guided by the man.
"Oh no ya don't. I've seen enough people chicken out to know the signs." he said with a good natured smile and a hearty chuckle. "Hurry up before ya get all panicky, kid."
Blue ascended the ladder quickly and headed towards the cannon under Link's watchful eye, "Hey man, I'm not a kid and I'm not scared of flying, I do it all the time." he said as he clambered into the cannon, causing the grizzly worker to give off a booming laugh.
"Oh ya do?" He asked with a smile and a twinkle of mischief in his eye visible even in the dim torchlight.
"Yeah, It's just the landing I'm worried about." he snarked back with an anxious edge as the firing chamber descended. Blue took a big gulp and closed his eyes, waiting for the cannon blas-
"WHAAAAUAUAUAUAGH!"
Link winced as he watched his companion sail away. He stepped onto the cannon's platform and gave the jolly man a nod of conformation, during which he noticed something. The humor on the man's face vanished and he only allowed his grave and serious face to show quick enough for Link to catch the tone before he hid his face in his lantern's shadow.
"Link, I know that's you..."
Link froze and his hand strayed to the boomerang on his belt. The mechanic gave a soft chuckle and a dismissive wave of his hand. "Relax hero, I'm not against ya, even though half of Hyrule is."
"What are you talking about? And how do you-"
"Know your name? That's a bit of a dumb question, isn't it? since you did already put down the wind sorcerer once, your famous around Hyrule, if you couldn't figure that out." another soft chuckle at his own joke "But more importantly, you and your friends need to watch yourself, you're all wanted now."
"What? Why? Who would want me captur-?" he asked wildly. The man shook his head slowly.
"Not captured, Killed. The king himself wants your head on the sword you bear brought to him, for quite the sum of rupees too. Charges being kidnapping royalty, acts of unprovoked violence, pillaging, destruction of crops..."
Link stood in bewilderment, hardly believing his ears.
Shadow.
How could one imposter cause so much damage in the time he was out? How long was he out for anyway?
"Burglary, illegal use of heavy machinery, trespassin', disrupting the peace... the list just goes on. All caused by you, 'xcept alot darker and angrier accordin' to descriptions, but I'm thinkin' "how can one guy do that much with so little time?" especially after all he done for Hyrule? It makes no sen-"
Link cut the man off quickly. "How long ago since Zelda went missing?"
The man pondered briefly, "Reports went out about two days ago, but lotsa people think the Guard took a day or so to find her to prevent this kind of panic..."
"TWO DAYS? No one could cause that much trouble in that little time, why am I being blamed?"
"Dunno. I'm not in charge of the law... The law... Hey, mabey you oughta head to the castle! If you turn yourself in, you might get a chance to put a say in these matters and clean your slate!" the man exclaimed. "Go calmly and you might get a chance for a hearing! If you and the others went peacefully, maybe the higher ups would listen for a second before they shoot ya!"
Link took it into heavy consideration "How long to Hyrule Castle from here?"
"I just passed through myself after hearing about some rusty cannon issue in there. Took me a week travelin' by road, and it'd take mabye four days climbing the mountain at your rate, but that's if your prepared" he noticed the look of impatience Link had "But there is a shortcut through the Cave of No Return..."
This caught Link's attention. "A cave? How long will that take?" he asked eagerly.
The man's hearty laughter rung throughout the cavern. "They call it that for a reason, It's cause no one who goes in comes out! I've heard rumors it'll get you through in a day or less, but them's just made up stories from nutty ol' travelers, the entrance is down across a bridge on the fall's banks below us, but you should climb the mountain if ya got the right gear!"
Link shook his head, "We've got nothing"
"Oh! Well I suppose you could always take the road if you have that kinda time... but you might get attacked by anyone who might recongize ya... What if we disguised the four of you'se as a travelin band..."
"Bottom of the falls, gotcha." BANG
Link flew off with the mechanic's directions in his head, unable to tolerate the man's droning much longer. "GOOD LUCK KID!" he heard hollered behind him as he soared out the doorway above.
"Yer gonna need it..."
The flight was exhilarating, but terrifying. Red flailed about in panic as he tried to adjust his aimless sail through the air. Something hit him in the side of the head and his arms wrapped around the object as the boy went spiraling out of control. At every turn he noticed the light ahead of him getting bigger until he finally tumbled through the doorway and back next to the sunlit waterfall, the object tumbling out of his hands as he rolled towards the cliffs face, slowing just as he reached the edge.
Red groggily sat up and shook his head, then heavily lay down once again. Oh my goddesses, I'm going to puke he thought staring up. The sky above him was even spinning until Purps leaned his head over the stunned berserker. "You okay?" he asked distortedly as the clouds behind him swam in circles through Red's vision. Red took his rolling eyes off the dizzying sight and rolled over to stare at a single blade of grass he allowed to fill his vision.
"Din dammed, I don't even know." he said in what sounded like a booming voice that would fill a concert hall. To Purps it only sounded like a faint and weak mumble, but the senses would deceive you after head injuries... he had learned from experience.
Purps walked over to retrieve the fallen object Red was clutching on his entrance and he found a very sizable green Force Gem. It was like the one Link had found earlier with Shadow's corpse. That brought up a new train of thought for Purps as he collected the Gem, what was Shadow? He didn't look like he belonged to anybody, Vaati in particular since Shadow had hid away during their first confrontation with the wind mage, even though Shadow should be dead... Which lead to another question of why the wind mage spared them? Purps sat down on a soft rock and clutched his head in one hand, the other on the Force Gem. So much to consider and so many questions.
THUMP.
A noise came from the exit Red and Purps just came from followed by a wheezing noise. Purps shot his head up and hand to his sword only to see Blue striding forward shakily. Purps lowered his guard and waved, Blue returned the gesture with a nod.
"Any reason you're sitting on Red?" he asked almost casually. Purps looked down for the first time since he had settled himself... apparently on his companion. He jumped up with a hurry and Red took in a heavy breath.
"Geez Purps, you've got eyes like a damn hawk!" said Red sarcastically as he sat up and brushed the loose grass of his tunic's front, stretching his back as he did so.
"Sorry, I was kinda somewhere else..."
"Haha, aren't you always?" Blue said jokingly as he rapped his knuckles against Purp's head lightly. A disapproving gaze from Red and he stopped, but it still got a smile out of Purps.
Purps looked down to his hand and tossed the large Gem over to Red. "Oh, you dropped this when you landed, just thought you should..."
"WHOA! This is what hit me?"
"Wait, where did tha-" asked Blue curiously.
"THAT'S what hit me on my head on the way up, 'Pretty buoyant' my ass, Blue!" answered Red sarcastically. Blue murmur thoughts to himself as Red held it in front of his thoughtful eyes tauntingly.
"Hmmm, interesting... I'm going to go find the path, you guys wanna wait for Lin-" As if on cue to interrupt him, a loud noise sounded from the cave they came from. Blue shook his head with a sigh "I swear to Nayru, some times..." He walked ahead into a second and slightly darker cave on his own. Purps took his eyes off of Blue for a second to confirm with Red.
"I'll go with him, you wait for Link." he said as he walked past Red, who gave a thumbs up and a nod as Purps followed Blue into the cave.
Link walked forward with a solemn look on his face, which Red wasn't unused to seeing, but his following words were what really caught Red's attention.
"We're going to the Castle."
Blue entered the cave cautiously with his shield drawn, but he left his sword sheathed. The room was dark and barren, but there was a ladder being illuminated by the only shaft of light in the room. Blue felt it was a little suspicious being the only light in the room, but he saw no other way up so he replaced his shield and begun his ascent.
"Hang on a sec!" came a cry from behind. Blue looked back over his shoulder and saw Purps jogging towards the ladder. He put one hand on the first rung, and then pulled it back with a smirk on his face. "It might be unstable, so I think I'll wait till you reach the top."
Blue shrugged and continued climbing, "Was that a fat joke?" he had to yell back over his shoulder to ask. He climbed over the ledge and sat by the ladder to watch Purp's slower ascent.
"Nope, the ladder looks shady is all. Besides, calling you fat is Red's thing, right?" responded Purps as he reached the top.
Blue grabbed his wrist and helped him up with a scoff, "Calling me anything is Red's job, what's with him anyway?" he asked as Purps stood up with Blue's generous but unnecessary help.
Purps responded with a chuckle "Calm down, he's just in a bad mood today, I think he wanted Shadow to put up more of a fight, you know he always strikes up to a challenge." he said as he looked around the second floor.
It was much better lit since there was a skylight roughly twenty feet above them that cast its golden daylight into the larger room. What looked like a caved in section of the roof rested at a jagged slope against the wall, but something shiny was resting on top of the pile of rubble and loose rocks, making it worth the risk. Blue and Purps started towards landslide across the small cavern.
"I guess Red's got a thing about fighting himself, if you catch my drift." he replied smartly. Blue put his hands onto of a large piece of rock and shook it around to test its stability. Satisfied, he pushed himself up and dragged his injured leg up behind him and continued his climb.
"Hey I was thinking, since the Force Gem Red found was apparently was floating thanks to magic, maybe the one in the water was also suspended by magic? It might have been a spell put on it, but what if the Gems levitate by their own power?"
Purps hopped across a small gap and onto a shaky piece of rock and immediately scrambled back off of it as the chunk of earth rolled down the hill. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked.
Blue groaned, "If the Gem was floating in the air... wait, was it?"
"Was it what? Floating?" asked Purps absently as he planned his next move up the treacherous slope.
"Yeah, or was it like, wedged in the wall?" asked Blue, climbing across the debris like no one's business. Purps stopped once more and put a hand to his chin to ponder.
"You know, I never asked... Hmm, Careless of me not to." he said finally. He looked up and saw that Blue was already on top of the slate heap and was wiggling something orange-ish out from under a pile. He triumphantly pulled out another boomerang.
"What the- WHOAAAAA"
Blue pulled a bit too hard and he fell backwards as the weapon came free of the landslide, taking a part of the rock wall with it. Blue half rolled, half ran down the small hill as he was chased by pounds of rolling dirt, earth, and rocks. He collided into Purps and the two tripped into a shallow hole, landing with Purps under Blue, and more than a few pounds of rubble separating them and the light from the sky.
Link poked his head above the ladder and saw clouds of dust settling as a few more stray rocks slid into place. He called out for his copies names and only received a small click in response.
BOOM
A pile of earth and Links came flying out of the ground and into the air as Blue and Purps were launched wailing from the cannon they had fallen into straight up out of the skylight, leaving only Link behind.
"...whoa..." was Link's only response as he emerged from the ladder with Red following him. He climbed into the cannon after a quick observation while Red reactivated a primer switch he found on the wall behind a small pile of rocks, which had apparently readied the cannon during the landslide. Another click and a loud boom, and another hero was on his was. Red shook his head while he watched Link sail away as he re-armed the man cannon for himself.
"Man, we've just got some kinda luck..." he mumbled as he jumped into the firing hole and launched himself none too quietly or calmly after his group.
With a thump, Link rolled to his feet after landing in the soaked grass, he quickly checked over his shoulder and saw that they had reached the top of the waterfall. With a turn, he looked ahead and quickly corrected himself.
One waterfall. They were gathered around the bank of a small pool that had rapid currents pulling the water off of the nearby cliff to form the first of the falls, and all the while the pool was being refilled by another waterfall reaching far above the extent they could see. It was a cascade that seemed to reach the all the way to the peaks of the mountain the water had hewn into, and the falls formed rivers that could have run all the way to the Eastern coast of Hyrule.
Link quickly overlooked the majesty of the mountains and rushed ahead to find where his team had gone off to. He didn't have to look far. Blue was fighting to keep his grip on a rock on the riverside while Purps held tightly onto Blue's hard leather boot. The current was pulling them towards the waterfall and about to rip them off the cliff they had struggled to climb. Blue noticed Link's arrival.
"LINK! OVER HERE!"
Link ran over to the rapidly flowing riverside yelling at his team over the roar of the water pounding over the falls.
"HOW DID YOU GET HERE?"
"CANNON'S FAULT, NOT MINE!"
"OR MINE!" chimed in Purps, making a rather silly sight with his legs flopping in the swift torrent behind him, he seemed to be having a good time in spite of the situation.
Link rolled his eyes and grabbed Blue's hand, "C'mon! Lets get you on some dry la-"
"WELL LOOK WHO'S HERE?" yelled a strained voice from above. Link's view shot up and he saw the green freak Tingle of all people floating above him, suspended by his bright red balloon backpack, now adorned with a white bandage "X" covering a hole in the cherry hued balloon
"HOW NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, MR. FAIRY! Or should I say... LINK!" he yelled, flailing his arms to demonstrate his fury, though the effect was lacking and left him to look like a toddler throwing a tantrum, in midair no less.
"THOSE BANDITS WERE RATHER NICE AFTER THEY FIGURED I WASN'T YOU. ESPECIALLY AFTER TINGLE PROMISED TO HELP BRING YOU IN FOR OH SO MANY LOVELY FORCE GEMS." he cackled over the noise of the falls.
"Oh boy, this again..." said Blue, but the sound only reached his ears. Link's eye's darted left to right as he looked for a way to get them out of the mess they had quickly found themselves in. He couldn't get his boomerang without letting go of Blue and dropping him off the falls...
"I KNOW! I'LL START WITH THE PINK ONE! THE IMPOSTER WHO FANCIES HIMSELF A POET, YES?" He dropped a sack from his bag and pulled a string and a button as air rushed out off his balloon and Tingle lowered himself near the rushing waters. He reached down and grabbed Purps by the ankle and twisted some knobs on his pack's side. Slowly, the two began to rise up out of the water as Tingles balloon filled with air. Purps struggled and swore along the way, but his grip begun to loosen on Blue's leg and the two started to take to the air.
"I'LL BE BACK FOR THE REST OF YOU SOON... TRY NOT TO GO ANYWHERE! WAHAHAHAHAHA!"
With another boom, barely audible over the falls, Red went flying forth from the pit the party had come from. Oddly enough, he seemed to have the same lopsided trajectory that had launched Blue and Purps into the water in the first place. He slammed into the balloon suspending Tingle and he scrambled to secure a grip so he would not tumble into the roaring falls beneath them.
"Hey Red! Nice of you to drop in!" shouted Purps from beneath the two, but his terrible joke fell on deaf ears (aside from a groaning Blue).
Both tingle and Red were startled, an emotion that was quickly replaced with anger.
"YOU." hissed Red hanging onto a strap for dear life; he began kicking at Tingle with flailing legs as Tingle retaliated by punching at his red hitchhiker, releasing his grip on Purps in the process.
Purps fell into the roaring falls with a loud splash, yet he never loosened his grip on his team mates, causing both Blue and Link to come tumbling into the swift flowing water right behind him.
"AAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGgggghhhhhh..."
The collective scream slowly faded over the roar of water, but the falls were muffled by Red's response of rage. Red came swinging across a rope on Tingle's pack screaming for revenge, drawing a weapon from his side as he swung. He unintentionally released air from the balloon as he arrived face to face with Tingle while the balloon slowly sank in altitude and towards the rapids.
Panic was the first emotion splattered across Tingle's face as Red growled viciously up at him, and the sight of the scorching flame rod and a malicious scowl did not calm the self proclaimed fairy.
""? ?"
But tingle's quickly stammered out excuses fell on deaf ears. The flame rod crackled to life in response and Red swung the blistering bludgeon over his head and smashed it into the side of the air filled balloon.
KA-BOOM
With a mighty explosion, Tingle was sent sky-high until he was all but a faint sparkle in the distance. Red was thrown backwards into the water, dowsing the flames on his body, but he quickly followed his party over the waterfalls lip. Black spots filled Red's vision as he felt his limbs growing heavy like lead and the rush of wind and roar of the water tumbling around him slowly numbed out as he lost consciousness on his way down...
down...
down...
...
"WAUUUUUUUGHHHH-
SPLOSH!
Link and his companions hit the water hard, but the waterfall's torrent kept the pool of water in a constant churning motion and in a mostly soft state, keeping serious harm from coming to the Heroes of the Four Sword.
It still hurt like hell though.
The sound of their bodies hitting the water was like that of poultry being smacked with a log, Purps lost whatever breath was left as he was subjected to gravity's punishment. He gasped for air underwater, and quickly realized the futility of it as his lungs filled with water and he scrambled to figure out which side was up and down. He broke the surface a small distance from where the falls ended and flung himself onto land, coughing up the water in his lungs as he did so. He looked up and searched the nearby land for any signs of his friends and saw Blue's torso moving up and down vehemently as he sucked in as much air as he could. His mouth moved, but Purps couldn't hear him, but he figured what Blue meant was "Ouch" or something like it. Link himself was hunched over knee deep in shallow water, almost in a pushup position, puking out his stomach's contents, which were sucked downstream by the currents. They didn't seem to be in any good positions to help at the moment decided Purps. Something was missing though, there was no sign of Red.
Purps' eyes swept to the top of the falls and he saw Red's limp body tumble into the water, fortunately avoiding the few rocks there were at the falls base. He smacked into the water, drawing a wince from Purps, but he did not seem to be coming back up. One... Two... Three... Time seemed to slip by and still no sign of... WAIT!
Red's hat floated to the surface, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Purps gulped and look around, almost searching for guidance and help, but his team was still recovering and in no state to get back into the water. He sucked in as much air as he could and waded back into the water, grabbing Red's hat as it floated by and tossing it back onto the shore along with his as he submerged under the water. He had some trouble seeing under the murky churning water, but he could make out a humanoid shape drifting down the river. Purps swam after it furiously, and upon reaching it he wrapped an arm around Red's chest. Purps tried to swim back up the stream to the rest of the group, but he couldn't fight the current with Red's weight and using just one arm, so he dragged the limp body over to the nearest and shallowest area. He laid Red face up onto the shallows, and his head and mouth could at least break the water, but he wasn't breathing.
"...uh... Red?"
Purps leaned his ear over Red's mouth, listening for wind whispering through his lips... nothing but the lapse of water against the two, Purps tilted Red's head back, trying to clear the airway, but still no breath. Purps took a gulp and glanced around quickly and looked back at his companion, who desperately needed air in his lungs. Purps sighed and took a deep breath, sucking up as much air as he could before he leaned in to start giving mouth to mouth to Red...
"BLLLUUUAAARRGUARGGH!"
Red jolted up in an instant and he was puking out the water in his system. His body decided for him that coughing wasn't quick enough; he greedily sucked in air when his body wasn't forcing water out of his mouth, sputtering and gasping in this airless purgatory. Unfortunately, he also happened to get most of the vomit on Purp's tunic, which turned a nasty brown hue to match Red's lunch.
"Ugh! Gross man!" exclaimed Purps loudly, but with a faint chuckle in his voice, relieved as he was to be freed of the... awkward task of breathing life back into his friend. He wasn't even worried about the tunic; since they'd have to be swimming anyway the smell would come out...
"blarfgrafgbmlr *GASP* fgrblhmer...BLRRMMP" wretched out Red as his eyes filled with tears involuntarily, good Din did he hate this part.
When the puking finally ceased, Red lifted himself on shaky limbs, still feeling weak and... well generally bad after the fall, "Where's everyone? Where are we?"
"Well, you had a pretty rough landing and it took you awhile to come around... thought you almost died for a sec." said Purps, scanning upriver for any signs of Blue or Link. He shrugged over at Red "Almost had to breath for you."
Red cupped his hands in the shallow stream and started washing the bile from himself. "Nah, gonna take more than a little trip like that to kill me." he chuckled.
Red stood up after he felt cleaned and checked his gear briefly; just to be sure everything was as it... "Aw crap." Red muttered. He couldn't find the fire rod, it wasn't where he usually tucked between his shield and scabbard. He looked up just in time to see it float up to the shore of the small inlet they rested on. It had a few cracks running down the sides, starting from the red jeweled top and intensifying around the chunk removed from his past experience. A faint trickle of water seeped from the magic wand. He groaned and bent down to pick it up, shaking some mud off of it's surface.
"Craaaaaaaaaap" he said with a very disappointed frown on his face. He hated it when his things broke.
Purps turned with a curious glance at the damage, "Will it still work?" he asked Red
Red turned it over in his hands a few times, testing the weight as if to feel the magical power remaining (a method Purps doubted was working). Red raised it into the air and closed his eyes, but he cracked one open briefly, "You might want to get down" he warned. Purps pulled off his shield and hid with just enough room for his eyes to view. Red grunted, and a few sparks and a meager flame came from the red jeweled tip, but it paled in comparison to the fiery inferno earlier. Red lowered it to his hands and frowned. "Damn, guess don't open it in water..." he muttered as he replaced it into it's usual position, tucked into his belt to insure it didn't fall out again..
"Hmm, well, we ought to head back up river, that's were I left our hats."
"What about the other guys?" asked Red, unconsciously scratching the back of his head with his hand. His normally sandy hair was darkened from being wet, and he felt bald and naked without the trademark hat on, his whole head seemed lighter.
Purps started wading into the river "They're watching over the hats, don't worry"
Red shook his head chuckling and followed, dropping his arms to his sides. It wasn't like Red to be this relaxed, but something about Purps just calmed his edge a little bit.
"What do you mean we lost them?" shouted the General. The light green armored soldier stood below him, looking like a startled seal being eyed down by an angry polar bear. The General gave a sigh and dropped his hand into his palm, "Tell me all that happened."
The green clad scout held his shaky salute as he tried to recall what happened. "Well sir, we saw 4 boys dressed as the iconic hero, shield, hat and all on the bank of the river. We took aim and started shooting, after we sent back a man to report. Those were your orders sir, report when we found anything and capture or eliminate if they were the convicts."
The officer nodded blearily; orders orders orders, couldn't these men think on their own? "I'm aware solider, I got the report, and that's why I'm surprised you lost them. But go on." These damned changes, no one was acting like themselves anymore...
"Sir. We fired with our crossbows, but they took to the river. One of our men think they got a hit on the Blue one and we heard shouting like it was a fatal blow, perhaps two of theirs were killed-"
"Which man?"
"...which, sir?"
"Yes solider, the man who shot the hero, his name! What was it?" barked the general. Someone had to be rewarded for a prize like that, and if no one would take it...
"Name? Sir?" asked the scout, confusion detectable even under his face concealing mask.
The general allowed himself a toothy grin beneath his heavy helmet that his men couldn't read, maybe there was an upside to the new orders. "Carry on, you sent a party to check the river?"
"Well sir, we were about to, but then a strange green man came flying from beneath the bridge where they went..."
"...What?"
"Sir. We assumed when we saw a pointed green cap that it was Him, so we fired and knocked him out of the air. We followed the man a ways to where he landed, but he turned out to be someone else. A man named Tingle; he said he would help us capture the fugitives for a sum of Force Gems. He took flight using what we believe to be a hydrogen balloon. We patched him up and told him where to look, his flight could help us cut them off if they decide to scale the waterfall and head north."
The general nodded slowly. That was decently sound logic, so he could respect that, and turning the locals against Link might lower his morale, giving the hunting party an advantage. He walked towards the bridge where the events had transpired, just a bit always east from a meadow his troops had set up camp in. The scout and a few other subordinates followed his movements like automatons, waiting for further orders. "How many force gems did you promise this 'Tingle'?" asked the general. His heavy armor clanked after each step and his broadsword's scabbard banged across his plate like a bell being rung.
"Sir, we offered 400 force gems to the local" snapped a second green clad scout. "He seemed more than happy to help, but demanded 200 up front."
"Hmm, four hundred? That's half of our emergency funds..." muttered their superior. "Why so much?"
"There are rocks blocking passage downstream in the east and a blockage to the south. There is a path leading up the mountains Sir, we suspect the Hero would go there, and a balloon could get us a spotter there before he arrives." Barked the first scout.
"Hmm..." he pondered with a gauntleted chin to his hand. The mountains, eh? But why would he go up Death Mountain?The general leaned against the bridge's guardrail, watching the water flowing below. He wasn't admiring the view though; he was scanning the waters below. With all the big shot commanders out across Hyrule, the weaker and less influential commanders are stuck keeping a loose guard on the castle and surrounding areas, what more could they lose anyway? They already had their royalty kidnapped by a greater demon collaborating with a known fugitive, reports of terrorism across Hyrule all blaming the same man, and the new men under his command were so strange... If the general were to bring in the four real Links with setbacks like these, why, he could soar through the ranks, instant promotions and fame for him. His name would be known throughout the kingdom! The crowds would all be chanting his name... his name... umm... His name was... Uh oh...
He took a heavy blink and walked away from the bridge, barking orders at his men "Someone go to Hyrule Castle and inform them the fugitive is here! Scouting party, begin scouring the river for remains! We'll find that bastard or what's left of him!" his gruff voice was met with a chorus of 'Yes Sir!'. He let out a sigh and walked back towards his tent.
These damn changes...
Yeah I suck at schedules.
Sorry, lack of support/catching back up on schooling after tsunami took more than I expected from my flow of creativity, but hey! Not done yet! I can't grantee another update soon, (gimmie another year) but I'm having a blast and I'm not going to grantee anything, since that might be a taboo.
Oh well, please let me know what you think: like, comment and subscribe! Or whatever the trend is around here...
Thanks for sticking with me!