Shadow: A late update, but an update nonetheless.
Time Stop: We did say that we would try to stick to the regular schedule, but no promises.
Shadow: We don't own a thing.
Chapter 14: Hello
She exited the tower and into the sunlight. The light dazzled through her tears, blinding her. She glanced about, wiping away at her tears. Something tapped her shoulder, and looked to the side. Tatl was sitting down on it.
"You okay?"
"Of course." Nadai snarked. "It's not often the love of my life ruins and leaves me to die."
Tatl frowned. "Not literally, right?"
"Of course not. It just feels like that." She looked about, focusing on the guards by the exit of Clock Town. "Give me a quick second."
"What?"
"I need to get some steam out."
She rushed the gate, drawing a startled gasp from Tatl as well as from one of the guards. The men moved to intercept her. Nadai drew her twin daggers, a dangerous glint in her eye. She dodged the first attack, her blades flashing out and tapping away and deflecting two more swords as they came at her. A spear rushed in, and she jumped over it to land atop of it. The spear was pinned down, and she used her weight to force the spear holder to let go. As the man let go she darted forward, spinning her daggers this way and that. Two men went down, crying out in shock as their hands were nipped by the blades.
She spun about, kicking out against one man and propelling herself into the air. She flipped, dodging a man's hand as it reached out to grab her. She landed atop the spear, and stepped sideways. The spear rolled across the ground, and the wooden rod tripped another man. Nadai closed her eyes and ducked as a sword missed her.
When she opened her eyes again all the men around her were on the ground, marked with nicks and cuts. They weren't deadly, but they would seriously hurt coupled with the heavy bruises from them falling over and over again. She looked at Tatl.
"I need to swim."
Tatl cocked her head to the side. "Swim?"
"I need to blow off some steam."
"And this wasn't enough."
"…no."
"Then let's go west." Tatl flew over to land on Nadai's shoulder. "The ocean is that way."
"Ocean? Is that like a lake?"
"But much, much larger."
"That sounds, nice."
"Water as far as the sky can see. You can get lost there."
"Lost?" An image of the woman appeared before her mind's eye, but she shook her head to dispel the image. "That sounds nice."
She took out her flute, and played the Song of Soaring. Wings sprouted from her back, and to the astonished men on the ground she flew up and away from Clock Town. She headed west, headed away from the town and Link and all.
Link. That, that moron! That stupid idiot! Why couldn't he just talk about it! Why couldn't he trust her like so many of the other people he had trusted? Why couldn't he love her like she wanted him to love her?
Tears dripped from her cheeks as she flew, and they weren't from the wind scratching at her eyes. Something fierce had taken Link, something fierce had taken him and stolen away his trust and his love. He wasn't the man that she fell in love with.
Well, how could be? They were seven years younger than when she had fallen in love with him. They were children again, they weren't adults. Maybe it was for the best? Maybe Link had fallen out of love with her.
No! That couldn't be it. Link did love her. That much was true. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen her over Malon. But something did take Link away from her, emotionally if not physically. There was something, something had to be done. She had to get him back.
But how? And was she even ready to have him come back? The pain was real, the pain he gave her was real. And while she could somewhat sympathize with Link's struggles, she couldn't forgive him yet. It still hurt.
Below the grassland slowly turned to sand. Up ahead there was a crowd of women by a small hut on the beach. They were yelling, and crowding around something. She touched down closeby and walked to them, hands warily on her daggers.
"Watch out!" Tatl hissed. "These are Gerudo!"
"Gerudo?" Nadai slowed down. "This isn't the dessert."
"No, these are pirates." Tatl slipped to hide in Nadai's hair. "Think of them like a branch of your Gerudos, but far, far more hostile."
"But they're beating someone up." Nadai moved faster. "Gerudo or not, I'm not letting them get away with this!"
"What do you mean, Gerudo or not?"
Nadai ignored the fairy as she came up to the crowd. The six Gerudo women stopped their assault and looked down at her.
"What is a small girl doing here?" One of them spun about her spear, and the bloody point was pointed at her.
"What's going on here?"
"Not an outsider's business." Another said, taking a long curved sword and swiping down once more at the body below them. "Maybe she doesn't understand our customs."
The spear holder attacked. Nadai dodged the blow, instinct kicking in where her own rational thought failed. She stepped in, closing the distance between the two of them. Her daggers flashed out from their sheathes, and the woman dodged the strikes with only a hair's breadth to spare.
"Just who are you?" A third Gerudo asked.
"Nadai." The former Gerudo attacked, but her blows missed.
She cursed under her breath. If she was an adult, with the reach and speed of one, she could easily win. Even after months of being a child she wasn't used to the shorter reach or the lack of strength and speed.
Her legs were swept out from under her, and her back hit the sand hard. Nadai panted hard, staring at the third Gerudo, obviously now to her their leader.
"Who are you?"
"Nadai." Nadai repeated herself.
"Who taught you how to fight like a Gerudo?"
"Nabooru."
The weapons wavered in the air. "Nabooru?"
"Nabooru." Nadai slowed down her breathing. "She's the second—"
"We know whom she is, girl." Their leader looked down at her. "Our sister clan's second in command is well known even as far out as Termina." She brought down a hand. "If you were Gerudo, you should have said."
Nadai didn't take the hand, and got to her feet. "I'm not a—"
"You came to study under us for a bit?" The leader cut her off again. "The old ways haven't been done for a long time."
Nadai looked beyond the women, to the Zora on the ground. "I don't know. What's going on with him?"
The evasion worked, though she could see the woman's eyes stare at her for a brief moment longer than necessary before answering Nadai's question. "That fish caused us some problems."
"Problems?"
The leader put a hand on Nadai's shoulder, gripping just a little too tightly. "Come with me to the fortress, I'll tell you on the way."
"What about the fish?" One of the woman asked.
"He'll die soon anyways." The leader laughed. "Serves him right!"
They began to walk to the north, where Nadai could just make out a large structure over the rocky outcropping that lined the northern beach. The women fell in step around the two of them. The pressure on Nadai's shoulder reminded her that even if she wanted to run or to fight that she would be at a stark disadvantage.
"So what happened to that Zora?"
"Fish." The Gerudo leader corrected. "That damn fish destroyed our ship and made us loose some valuable cargo."
"Cargo?"
"Zoras are lesser than us, they're fish." The woman smiled. "We have buyers across the sea whom use Zoras as slaves. They pay well for Zora eggs."
Nadai gulped. "And what happened to the eggs?"
"Some of them were knocked off, they landed deep into the water. We are going to go after them tomorrow, when our Diving Team returns from their mission. The rest are well safe inside our walls. No fish would dare try to enter and survive."
Up ahead the stronghold got larger and more defined. It was formidable, with a large sea gate and walls that rose out of the water like mountains. Nadai couldn't help but to be impressed. It was a fortress, more heavily defendable than any that the Gerudos in Hyrule had.
"Welcome, to the Gerudo Fortress!" The leader smiled wide. "It's the strongest stronghold this side of the sea."
"I see."
"Tell me, girl, do you know how to swim?"
"Swim?" Nadai's heart jumped a little. "A bit, yeah."
"Show me."
The hand left her shoulder and the pressure abated. She felt the hand on her back, and Nadai was thrust forward off the rocky outcropping and into the water. She recovered quickly, swiveling around under the water to get her bearings.
From the side a monstrous shark appeared, cutting at her through the water. Nadai surfaced, getting in a large breath. The scale on her neck glowed feebily. She touched it, knowing that the magic that let her hold her breath underwater in Hyrule wouldn't work here. If she was to survive, she would have to end this quickly.
Which was easier said than done. The shark's skin was tougher than she had thought. Her daggers hardly pierced the fish's skin, much less cause any considerable damage to it. One of her daggers was taken away from her, stuck in the monster as the other one she clutched in both hands.
The shark turned, attacking again. The teeth missed her by the skin of her teeth as she continued her attack against the monster. Her lungs were starting to burn. She surfaced and breathed in, and the shark cut deep into her legs.
The ache that was deep inside them already hurt, but that was nothing compared to the sharp pain of the teeth digging into her kneecap. She screamed, and brought down her remaining dagger. It plunged deep into the shark's eye, and the shark let her go. But Nadai held on as the monster tried to escape. Taking the other dagger from the shark's body, she stabbed the shark again and again, alternating between strikes.
One eye was gone, and the other was clouded in anger and madness. Nadai cut as fast as she could, doing what she could to cause as much pain to the shark as she could. She held on for dear life, straddling the beast as it carried her around underwater.
She looked up. It was the fortress wall. She drew her daggers from the monster and pushed off. The shark hit the wall, creating a large, spider-webbing crack that encircled the shark's spot. The shark hung limply in the water, unmoving.
Nadai then fully realized the pain in her legs. She swam up, using her arms primarily to avoid hurting her legs any more than they already were. She came up amid bloody water, gasping for breath. Up above her stood the Gerudos, watching her in complete silence.
"You survived."
"Of course I did." She wanted to cry out in pain, but if she did she might have been killed. Gerudos don't show weakness, that was their way.
She clambered out of the water, ignoring the painful way her legs set as she walked up to them. She stood there, dripping wet as they continued to stare at her silence.
"And?"
"You did well to face against the guardian. I wasn't expecting you to kill it, however." The Gerudo leader smiled at her. "You have proven yourself. Come, let us robe you and show you to your new family."
Nadai followed the other Gerudos, no longer being forcibly led. She glanced behind her, to the far off place where the Zora had died. Taking a deep breath, she followed the Gerudo women inside their fortress.
"I'm telling you, I'm not this Mikau dude." Link shook his head and his arms at the Zoras in front of him. "My name is Link."
"Who?"
"Are you sure?" Another asked. "You sure look like a Mikau to me."
"I promise you, I'm not him." Link gulped. "I just probably look like him, that's all."
The three Zoras before him huddled up, talking quickly. They popped up once in a while to look at him before returning to their hurried discussion. Eventually they stopped and looked at him in unison.
"So say that you aren't Mikau, can you still help us?"
"Help? How?"
"You see," one of the Zora's hesitated. "Mikau's wife, Lulu, just lost her voice."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Lulu, Mikau, and us were part of a band. We are supposed to play at the festival in two days, but we can't do much if she can't sing and if Mikau is missing."
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Lulu and Mikau had eggs. They were stolen by the pirates up north and Mikau went off to rescue them. That was two days ago, we haven't seen him since. And ever since the pirates took the eggs, Lulu had lost her voice due to grief."
"So what do you want from me."
"Maybe if you show yourself to Lulu, she might be relieved. You know, since you look just like Mikau."
"I'll do you one better." Link looked to the north. "I'll just get the eggs."
"That's impossible! Those pirates are notorious!"
"And I'm a hero. It's what I do." His thoughts turned to the dead Zora. "And if it's so notorious, maybe you three should have gone with Mikau to save the eggs."
"Mikau snuck off in the middle of the night." One of them protested. "We would have gone with if he hadn't just run off!"
"Sure, sure." Link turned around, facing north fully now. "You guys stay here and make sure this Lulu girl is all safe. And…you might need to break it to her if Mikau doesn't make it back."
"How would you know that!"
"If I'm not back in a day or two, and Mikau isn't back by then, it'll be safe to assume that no one survived. Especially if these pirates are as notorious as you say."
Link ran to the shore, ignoring the band members behind him. He dove into the water and began to swim. He hated swimming. When he was younger, much younger, he had an almost terrifying experience with swimming that almost cost him his life. And it had taken him countless practice with Wanderer to get over it.
But swimming as a Zora was almost enjoyable. Nadai would love it in this form.
Nadai.
His mind wandered as he swam. He missed her. He had spent practically every day with her for the past, gosh, forever it felt like. Since the beginning in the Great Deku Tree, he had been with her. Minus a few training sessions with Shiek and with Wanderer. Every day, for everything. He missed her.
You never truly know what you have until it was gone. And the world could burn in hell for all he cared, he needed Nadai back in his life. He needed to tell her the truth, and all of it. And that would solve everything between them, right? Consequences be damned! Together they were the Heroes of Time! They needed all of them together to save the day!
And what was he now? Some B-rated hero? He was nothing without Nadai, he knew that. He had to find her and fast. His gut was telling him that she was somewhere close. Where? No idea. But she was close. After all, the two of them had half the Triforce of Courage each. If what he thought was right, they would end up meeting anyway.
Both of them couldn't just sit around and let the world come to an end because of some madman in a mask. It wasn't their play. That was why they faced off against Gannondorf, because they could do something about it. That was why they would face off against Majora, because they could do something about it.
He passed where Mikau had died, and the words the Zora said echoed in his mind.
"I wish I had loved her more. I wish I had been with her more. I wish I had been a better man. Kid, if you ever get a wife, take my words well."
Link gulped, and breathed in deeply. Another thing he didn't like. He could breathe underwater. While that was cool, it was totally counterintuitive. He shouldn't be able to breathe in water and breathe out bubbles. That was just not natural!
He came upon a strange sight. Amid red water was the carcass of a shark, mutilated by something. It could've been Nadai's daggers, and Link's heart soared. However, it could've been anything else. And besides, it hovered in front of this giant walled fortress. He swam up to look at it clearly above the water. It was a fortress alright, with no way in.
He swam back down, just as the sun's fading light came through a cloud. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm his breathing. He had caught a glimpse of some woman whom looked very much like a Gerudo up there on the ramparts. What the hell were Gerudos doing here! He shook his head, trying to clear it. How the hell was he to do this one?
He looked at the spider-webbed crack in the wall. Could he do something with that? Maybe if he swam really fast? He looked at his thin arms. If he was a Goron it would be no problem. Maybe not as a Zora. Though the Zora King was pretty beefy, and Ruto was pretty strong herself. She had fought well back in the day. Maybe he could do the same.
Fighting and rock hitting weren't the same in the slightest, but it could mean something for him. Maybe he could just be durable enough to break through. He swam backwards, and floated a couple of hundred feet from the rocky wall. He floated there for a moment, breathing in and out to calm his nerves.
He started slow, and sped up bit by bit. He went as fast as he could. About fifty feet from the wall he felt something switch in his head. It was as if he was able to tap into something he couldn't do before. But he wasn't expecting to literally rocket through the water at a speed far faster than he had ever swam before!
He hit the wall head first, and the impact made stars shine in his eyes. But the hole was made, and it was large enough to wavily swim into the opening. He shook his head and rose out of the water. He needed fresh air, he needed to breathe in air to calm the beating in his head.
He realized that when he surfaced that he was a Zora, and that he had gills. That he meant that he could breathe underwater. He also realized that once he popped his head out of the water that he would be seen by those inside. Lights flickered on him and he was seen immediately by the Gerudos inside.
Before he could act, he could feel spears against his neck.
"Don't even think about moving, fish."
"Isn't this the one that destroyed our fishing vessal?"
"I thought you had left him for dead."
"That's what I thought."
"What do we do, Division Commander?"
"Jail him for now. The boss is asleep. She can talk to him in the morning."
Link recovered his senses just as a spear butt hit him in the head.
Up above in a small room Nadai checked out her new outfit. "You call this a Diving Suit?"
"It's Gerudo made." The woman nodded. "We used those fish skins and our own technology to make a suit so that we can breathe under the water."
"Does it work?"
"Of course. The Division Commander wanted you to have one for tomorrow. You'll be able to swim pretty deep and for as long as you want. Up to your strength and your endurance to see how far you go, but yes, you can swim underwater almost indefinitely."
"Alright." Nadai could feel the squeamish feeling of wearing Zora Skin sink in. "Where was I to go next?"
"I'm to take you to your room for the rest of the evening. The Boss will talk to you tomorrow, and we can show you the Diving Team. You can swim pretty well, according to the Division Commander. If she wants you to swim with the team, as a new girl, that's a high honor."
"Uh, thanks."
The suit was skin tight, and had been modified over the past several hours for Nadai's smaller frame. It was dark blue, and bore a belt which held her daggers. Her regular clothes was folded to the side, and Nadai picked them up. There was a deep ache in her legs, despite the potion that the Gerudos gave her to heal her from her wounds. The ache had to be from her fight with Goht; they must not have healed yet.
They left the small room, and walked to the main area of the fortress. Nadai had learned that it was based roughly like her own home back in Hyrule. There was a large central area, with all the rooms branching off of it. Instead of the rooms being carved into the side of a mountain, it was carved into the walls of a cliff. Different levels each held their own sections. There was the armory, living quarters, kitchen, and so forth.
Rope bridges spanned from higher level sections to lower ones, or to other high sections. The place was designed like a maze on purpose, so that intruders would have a hard time invading. Below in the main area was half dry land and half dock. Several large ships sat docked, with some Gerudos working on them. Other Gerudos patrolled the area, or practiced on the lowest level far below.
There was some commotion down below. Gerudos were around a body in the water, and the area was lit up with large torches with directed beams of light. Nadai picked at the mask that covered half of her face, trying to see better.
"What's going on?"
The older woman looked down, her visage grim. "Intruder."
"Intruder?"
"It's one of those fish. How'd he get inside?"
They watched as the Zora was knocked out and taken away.
"What are they going to do with him?"
"Probably question him in the morning." The woman shrugged and began walking. "The Boss will be up by then, and she can question him."
"Right." Nadai fell in step with the woman. "Is the boss just a sleepy person?"
"She's very busy."
"So they are taking him to the dungeon?"
"We have a few holding cells in the fortress on the base floor, but not a proper dungeon. We don't usually go for prisoners."
Nadai gulped and nodded. "Right."
They made their way to a small room with a single bed. This one too was on the top level of the fortress. "Here's your room for tonight. The mess hall is on the third level if you are hungry. Can you find your way back?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm going back to work. If the Diving Team is going out tomorrow, I need to prepare their suits."
Nadai was left alone then. She sat down on the bed and stared at the wall. The whole thing with Zoras being less than, well, what they should be didn't sit well with her. And the whole thing with the eggs didn't sit well with her either.
She stood up. She needed to think, and she didn't want to be hemmed in by these cold stone walls. She left her room and began walking around. No one stopped her. Because she wore their garb, they all assumed that she was one of them. Having red hair like theirs helped a lot. She easily blended in their mannerisms, even saluting when called to. But she didn't like it.
It reminded her too much of her dark time when she was a child. Spending time as a Gerudo, with Nabooru as her adopted mother, was fun and all. But she wouldn't do it again, not if she had the choice. She wanted to go back to how things were, to a family she had. More than anything, she wanted to be an adult.
She wanted kids.
She stopped as the thought came to her, and she began walking again. Yes, she wanted kids. Lost had kids, and she had kinda liked them. But, something had been awakened inside her. Motherly instincts maybe? Maybe her time as an adult had changed her more than she thought. And at ten years old and a bit, she wasn't ready for kids. Hell, her body wasn't even ready for her to have kids! She was a child. A child in body, but an adult in mind.
Maybe that was why Link was so crazy. Maybe he was like her. Maybe he was an adult in mind, but a kid in body. She needed to talk to Link. She missed him.
She came upon a doorway. She opened it and went inside without even thinking. A woman was lounging in her chair, reading reports from the look of it. In a tank behind her were five round eggs.
"You must be Nadai."
Nadai's attention didn't waver from the eggs. "What of it?"
"I'm the Boss of this place. We weren't supposed to meet until tomorrow, but—"
Nadai ignored the rest of what was said. She began to walk slowly to the tank. Her heart was made up. She was going to save those eggs. Then that Zora. And together they could save the eggs that were lost at sea.
"She's still talking to you." Tatl whispered, hidden in her hair.
"So what?"
"What did you say, brat?" The woman began to stand up, taking hold of two long swords.
"I said so what?" Nadai turned to her. "Gerudo or not, I won't go easy on you if you get in my way."
"Easy on me? Don't tell me you want to take my merchandise?"
"They're living beings, not slaves for profit." Nadai smiled. "Last chance."
The woman attacked first, her two swords flashing through the air. Nadai saw red. And she was angry, so very angry. Those eggs weren't for being sold. They weren't or being taken from their mother!
"Gerudo or not, I won't let you do this!" Nadai shouted out. She slipped into the woman's defenses, and stabbed her daggers into the woman's stomach.
"What…"
"Don't underestimate a Hero of Time."
"Who?" The Boss stepped back, her hands going to her stomach. "What the hell are you?"
Nadai smiled wickedly. "I'm a Hylian. I'm a Hero of Time. And I'm not going to let you get away with this!" Nadai rammed her head into the woman's head, now that it was lower for her to hit. The boss's nose broke, and Nadai followed through with a heavy kick to the knee cap.
The woman went down, and she moaned in pain. Nadai kicked down, slamming the woman's jaw into the ground. She attacked again and again, until Tatl stopped her by slapping Nadai on the cheek.
"She's done! Enough!"
Nadai breathed hard, and looked down at the bloody face of the woman. She slowed down, and stepped back from the mess.
"She's dead." Tatl said softly. "What the hell did you just do?"
Nadai swallowed hard. "I'll explain in a bit." She looked at the tank. "Do you see a bag or anything? We're taking the eggs and getting that Zora and getting the hell out of here."
"Just who are you?" Tatl didn't move. "I want an answer. Please."
Nadai looked at the fairy, and sighed. "I'll…I'll tell you everything. But not now. Not here. Let's get the eggs out of here first."
Tatl was silent. "Fine."
They found a bag on the dead woman's body, and put the eggs in it. The bag had to be enchanted, for it was damp to the touch and didn't dry out. The eggs should be safe in there, but they had to move.
She ran through the fortress, consequences damned. No one knew why she was running, and nor did they care. At least, until they found out that their boss was brutally murdered. She was in the middle of the fortress, and she needed to get to the bottom level if she remembered correctly. It didn't take long for her to find the cell with the Zora.
It was dark inside, with a singular torch lighting up the area. It was far away from both Nadai and the Zora, so it was hard to see properly.
"Hey!" Nadai hissed. "You alive?"
"Yeah." The Zora stood up, and towered over her. "What does a Gerudo want with me?"
"I'm here to get you out of here."
"And why would a Gerudo help me? You're more likely to take me to my death."
"No," she shook her head. "I'm not a Gerudo."
The Zora paused. "Nadai?"
The Zora stepped close to the bars, and Nadai could see him properly for the first time. Unlike normal Zoras, he wore a green tunic over his privates, and was bare chested. A guitar made of fish bones was hanging from his back.
"…Link?"
The Zora laughed gently. "I can't believe it's you."
"You moron." She smiled despite the flash of anger that took her. "Another mask? How'd you get here?"
"Of course, got it from a dying Zora. How did you get here? And what's with the get up?"
"No." Nadai held out a hand. "I want the truth."
"…the truth?"
"I want it all. Please."
Link hesitated. "After we leave. I need to save these Zora eggs for this mute girl."
"…what?"
"It's a long story." He held a hand through the bars. "Nadai. No more secrets. I promise."
Nadai hesitated before taking his hand. "No more secrets."
Tatl slipped out from Nadai's hair and put her tiny hand on theirs. "Even for me?"
Link looked pained. "Even for you." He sighed. "Now get me the hell out of here so we can save those eggs."
Nadai smirked. "Already got the eggs." The smirk faded when she remembered the dead woman. "Let's get out of here."
Link didn't say anything and nodded. He pointed to the far wall. "There's a key over there, I think. We might meet resistance. Where do we go from here?"
"We can swim out. Follow my lead."
"Can you?" Tatl asked. "There's no way out through the water, you'd have to open up the sea gates, and that takes at least four women to open."
Link smiled. "I broke a hole in the wall. We can slip through there. There's no way they would block it up that quickly."
Nadai nodded. "Then let's get out of here."
"What about the eggs lost at sea?" Tatl asked. "It'll be impossible to get them without knowing where exactly they are."
Nadai waited a moment, thinking. "There's an expedition going tomorrow morning for them. We can follow behind them and take it from them as needed."
Link nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's get going."
Within a few minutes they had broken free from jail and were racing through cold stone corridors to the main area. When they came out into the open a dozen Gerudo guards spotted them and began to attack. Nadai was agile enough to avoid the arrows coming at her, and Link in his new body was far more agile than even he had expected. He was fast too, and made it to the water before Nadai did.
She dived in after him, and followed him to the hole in the fortress wall. Arrows rained down around them, but nothing hit. They swam through the opening, and into freedom.
Static: A longer one this time.
Wang: Whooo!
Static: Please Review!