Link and the Gerudo warriors arrived at the bottom of the falls, and climbed off onto the river bank. They took a moment to wring the excess water from their clothes. Link glanced back up at the side to where Knil was. "I wonder what happened."
"Why did you want to bring him anyway?" Samira snorted, walking up to him.
"I needed his help."
"He hates you. Why would he help?"
Link sighed, with a shrug. "I just thought he would."
Samira folded her arms, glancing up at Knil as well. "Well, I still think that if we took him out of the cage then he should've been chained."
"He can't fight like that."
"Can we really afford to have him running off though?"
Link furrowed at her, heading toward the entrance. "He's not gonna run off. Come on." His snap was more a surprise to him, than the Gerudo leader. It was starting to get annoying that they thought so low of Knil. Say what you will, he was still a part of him, and it didn't seem fair for the Gerudo to hate him.
Link breathed deep to dull his annoyance. He drew his sword, as he approached the base of the waterfall. The Gerudo followed in suit, clutching their weapons.
"I see you've returned." A deep voice resonated around the small cave, forcing the gaggle of warriors to stand at the ready. The voice laughed in his throat. "And you've brought the thieves with you."
Samira moved to stand next to Link. "As acting leader of the Gerudo I demand that you leave this area."
He laughed again. "You demand me? How can you spout such nonsense, when you are the ones trespassing upon my home?"
Samira held her spear higher, aiming towards the direction the voice was resonating. "This land is rightful property of the Gerudo. If you refuse to leave you-" She was unable to finish her threat, seeing as how what seemed like a million vultures ruptured upon them. Link raised his shield, batting a few away that flew towards him. Some of the girls were forced back, retreating towards a more open area to fight. Samira stayed with Link. "Come out and fight us, you coward."
Link shifted back, holding his shield and sword at the ready. "I'm confused. If you own the whole desert, then why does he insist that it's his land?"
Samira didn't answer. Then again, even if she was going to, she wouldn't have been able to. A giant hand came crashing down over them. The two warriors jumped apart to avoid being crushed. The other hand whipped out of nowhere to slam into Samira and knocked her against the stone wall. She slumped to the ground, feeling her vision trying to fade.
The rest of the form stalked out of the darkness. He stood tall, but had to slouch to fit in the small cave. Navi flitted up around the giant's head. Sprinklings of magic issued from her fingers, as she scanned his brain. The giant swatted her away. Navi swirled out of the way, and returned to Link's side. "His name's Luith. I can't seem to find any weakness though."
"Well." Link glared up at the fist about to crush him. "Any ideas?"
"You could always shoot him in the eye."
"That's your solution to everything."
"Don't knock it, it works."
The fist came down, and Link rolled out of the way. He slammed his shield into the ground to stop himself, drew his bow, and fired. All in one smooth movement. Luith's hand came up to block his face. The arrow looked no more than a splinter in his palm. He plucked it out and threw it back at Link.
Link tried to jump out of the way, but the arrow skimmed his calve. He crouched on the ground, staring up at the imposing figure. "Any more bright ideas?"
Navi shrugged. "Bombs?"
Link quirked his eyes up at her. "Never mind."
"What?"
It seemed as soon as he got to his feet, a hand slammed him straight into the wall. Luith leaned in close to him. "I don't wish to kill you, young swordsman. You have a good heart. I can sense it. But if you insist on fighting with these thieves, then I will have no choice." With that, Luith dropped him to the ground. He hadn't realized how high he'd been till his knees buckled under him.
Luith had moved to try and crush Samira, who was still trying to get her head back together. She looked up at the giant, and tried to scramble out of the way. Link jumped in front of her, slicing at the fist with his sword. Luith hissed, pulling his hand back, and swung with his other hand. Link managed to block the blow with his shield, but the force knocked it back and slammed into his head. He fell to the ground, but had to roll out of the way to avoid getting stepped on.
Samira stabbed the toes of the foot. Luith growled, kicking her out of the cave, through the waterfall.
Link was momentarily distracted, wondering if she was alright. He didn't see the hand that came to smack him into the wall, until it was too late. The young Hylian fell to the ground. He brought a hand to his head, trying to keep it together. With a sigh, he looked up at Luith, trying to scan for some kind of opening. It didn't make sense. How could something that big be so fast? Not to mention well guarded. "This isn't working." He gasped, trying to get to his feet. "Come on Knil. I need you."
xXx
Knil paced up and down the edge of the cliff. Seeing a swarm of Gerudo girls race from where they'd entered under the waterfall, made him wonder what he could be missing. His hands clamped around his waist, as he stared over at the water. "There has to be a way down there. I can't just hide up here like some kind of coward."
"It's not cowardice." Ivan flitted around his head. "I think it's called a phobia."
"You're not helping." He growled, swatting at the little faerie. Knil leaned over the side, contemplating his predicament. "If those Gerudo come back, I'll probably be locked up again."
"What?" Ivan swirled up in the air, looking over the side. "But I'm sure Link-"
"Use your brain, Ivan!" He snapped. "Do you really think even Link could stop them from throwing me back in that prison to rot. Especially after me wimping out like this." Knil turned back towards the wall of sand, briefly wondering if he could find his way out of it. "All I have to do is follow those green flags back to Gerudo village. Then I can find my way out into Hyrule." Ivan settled on the brim of his hat. The hat tilted when he looked up at her. "Let's get out of here."
Following her master's plan, Ivan slid down into the collar of his tunic to prepare for the harsh winds. But before he made it back to the wall of sand, Knil stopped. A sense of dread washing over him. Ivan noticed the odd expression on his face and pulled herself further out of the collar. "What is it?"
Knil ignored her, turning back towards the cliff. "Did you hear that?"
Ivan listened for a bit. "I don't hear anything, but the wind."
"This isn't working."
"Something's wrong."
"Like what?"
"I dunno, but something feels wrong."
"Knil, I need you?"
Realization hit hard in his stomach. "It's Link." Knil took off back towards the cliff's edge fast enough to knock the little faerie out of his collar. She tumbled a bit in the air before regaining her balance. "Knil, wait."
She didn't catch up to him until Knil had frozen. Again, staring transfixed over the edge of the cliff. He couldn't even see the Gerudo anymore. Maybe they were covered by the surrounding foliage. Something more than dread settled over him. "Why do I care?" He whispered to no one in general.
"Knil?" Ivan eyed him, feeling unsure about this strange demeanor.
Moments later, Link came running from what must have been a small cave behind the waterfall. The waterfall seemed to split in half, showering over the young Hylian, as a large burly figure erupted after him.
Knil's eyes widened. "What the hell is that?"
He couldn't quite make out what was going on, but there was a large pounding noise that shook the whole area… followed by Link's scream.
A cold heat pounded in Knil's chest. "Oh that's it." His eyes skimmed the region for something. "Alright." He spun around putting some distance between him and the edge before turning around. Knil took a pose that looked like he was ready to fight something. "That blonde haired elf is mine, and I'm not letting anyone else kill him." With that, he bolted off at full speed towards the edge of the cliff, plucking Ivan out of the sky as he passed her.
Just like Link had things that were special just to him, Knil had a few surprises of his own. One thing he definitely prided over his other skills was his ability to jump. Keeping that in mind, he took one step over the edge of the cliff, and propelled himself straight out from the side.
Ivan clamped tightly onto his thumb. "Are you sure you know what you're doing!"
"I sure as hell hope so."
xXx
Link stabbed at the large foot, making Luith back off a bit. He had tried to roll out of the way of his massive stomp, but that giant's foot had caught his right arm beneath it. It felt as if he had gotten his shoulder blade as well, which most likely included a few ribs.
Trying to at least hold onto his sword through the pain, Link sat up, face dripping with sweat. He had completely lost the use of his shield arm, and there was no telling where the rest of the warriors were. He didn't even see Samira anymore.
Luith kneeled in front of him. "You don't seem to know what you're getting yourself into, with involving yourself with these women. It's a shame that I have to kill someone so innocent." He raised one of his fists over his head. It seemed to start glowing with a kind of orange aura. He even had magic on his side. This was just getting worse. The pain had seemed to paralyze his legs. It was all Link could do to raise his sword in hopes of at least dealing some damage back to him.
A black blur whipped from the sky, from behind Luith's head. Knil stabbed his sword into the top of a thick branch, as he flew past it. The momentum from his weight allowed him to swing around the branch, landing a kick straight into Luith's eye with the heel of his boot.
Luith growled, clutching his eye, and fell back a few feet.
Knil had flipped back, landing behind Link. Link glanced back at him, not believing what he was seeing. "Knil?" He almost felt like he could cry from relief. "What are you doing here?"
"Heh. I can't let this thing kill you before I get a chance to. Ivan." He let go of the little faerie, and gestured towards Link. "See if you can heal him."
Ivan saluted. "Aye aye, Captain." Knil jumped back up into the tree, to retrieve his sword, as the little faerie made her way over to Link.
Navi didn't seem to believe what she'd just heard. "Since when can you heal people?"
"What?" Ivan smiled viciously to her. "Are you saying you can't?"
"Why you little."
"Navi." Link held up his good hand to stop her. "Not now. Can you at least fix my arm?"
"I can try." She flew up to his right shoulder, inspecting the damage. However, the look on her face didn't look hopeful.
Knil landed in front of them, sword and shield ready in hand.
"Knil, he's pretty bad off." Ivan called up to him. "This may take a while."
"Just do what you can. I'll keep him busy."
"Knil, be careful." Link cried, as Knil ran off towards Luith. "This guy's a lot stronger than he looks."
Luith had recovered, but the sharp pain wouldn't let him open his eye. "What are you?"
Knil didn't bother to answer, he seemed to vanish up into the trees again. Before the giant knew what had happened, a black sword was lodged into the back of his skull. He ripped through the side of his head, slicing off the top of his left ear.
Luith clamped a hand to his ear, feeling the blood coat his fingers. "I see." He eyed the dark Hylian when he'd landed again. "You are a quick one. A lot faster than your counter-part."
Luith laughed at the look on Knil's face. "Yes. I don't know exactly what you are, but I can see a small part of that other swordsman in you. A small bit of light."
"Shut up." Knil rushed forward, slicing into his shin. Considering it didn't do much damage, it was simple to surmise that higher up were the weakest points. Knil almost didn't see the palm flying down to crush him, but managed to leap out of the way before it hit him. He couldn't, however, seem to avoid the impact pulse that surged from the ground. Knil fell face first against the shore of the river. He clamped to the ground, gaze wide at the rushing water. He closed his eyes, and pushed himself up to stand and face the approaching giant. "Though it seems to be a light that you choose to ignore."
Knil leapt up into the trees again, slicing at the giant's face. Luith swatted at him, only to have half of his pinky severed.
Despite the fact that he was bleeding pretty profusely, Luith seemed to be laughing at him. "You're quite a fighter. I'll admit that you're much faster and stronger than I am. But you cannot beat me. Would you like to know why?"
"I said, shut up." Knil darted under his legs, jumping up to hit him again. He was shocked to find a fist swing around and grasp his legs. Luith hung him upside down, squeezing his legs in his fist. Knil stabbed at the hand, but it didn't seem to want to let go. Luith held him up at eye level, still smiling. "You don't have his confidence."
In an act of rage, Knil stabbed Luith in his good eye.
Luith growled, throwing the young Hylian away from him. It would have been a good moment for a counter-attack, if Knil hadn't slid into the river. He clamped desperately onto the ledge, even stabbing his sword into the bank for leverage, but the current was too strong. The rushing water pulled him right out of the sword's grip, and on down the stream. It took nearly everything he had to not scream like a frightened child as he clambered to try and reach the shore. No matter how much he wanted to.
"Knil!" Link got to his feet, as Knil rushed past him, and took off running along the bank. His arm still ached, but at least he could seem to move it again, even if it was difficult. "Knil, hold on." He cut a vine from one of the trees, and threw it in the river to Knil, but he didn't seem to even try and grab it. "Come on!" Link cried, taking off down the shore again. When he'd run past him, Link jumped into the river, and grabbed him, holding tightly with his left arm. He was kind of shocked to feel Knil cling to him, but was even more so when he realized how much he'd underestimated the force of the current.
It was strong enough to pull him under the rushing waters. After he'd managed to resurface Link realized why the current was so strong. A little ways down, probably about 5-8 yards, was a strong vortex, spinning into the bottom of the water. Link tried to make it to the shore, but the weight and current made it difficult. "Come on, Knil. Help me." But he didn't seem to fully realize what was happening around him.
"Link." He looked up in time to see the two faeries had grabbed the thick vine and threw it into the water. Link threw his good arm out to grab it. The only good thing Knil seemed to be doing was making sure they didn't get separated. At least he didn't have to worry about that.
Navi and Ivan wrapped the other end of the vine around a tree. At least they seemed to know that they couldn't pull them in. Link started to pull their way back to shore. He'd almost made it too, when the vine snapped. The current momentarily seemed to increase when the tension was released. In a panic, Navi grabbed the end of the vine, and tried to pull them to shore. Having little, if any success.
The vortex caught the two Hylians in it's flow, pulling them under into the center.
Navi pulled futilely, convinced that she could save them if she tried hard enough. A heavy weight rammed into her. Ivan had knocked her out of the way, landing on the opposite bank before she could get sucked in too. The two faeries watched in horror, as the snapping vine disappeared beneath the water.
Navi turned her rage to Ivan. "Why did you do that?"
"You would have been pulled under." Ivan responded flatly.
"I could have saved them!" She screamed. "I could have pulled them out! If you hadn't knocked me out of the way they'd still be here! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!"
Ivan slapped her sharply across the face. "Think logically, for a second. If I hadn't saved you then you'd be in the same boat they were."
They were both quiet for a while, until Navi spoke. "He's gone." A tear slid down her face. "I don't believe it, he's really gone. I always knew what we were doing was dangerous, but I never thought Link would ever-" Her soft voice trailed off, them she collapsed to her knees, sobbing audibly. "I can't believe this. No."
Ivan closed the final steps between them, and dropped to her knees, curling her arms around Navi. Navi, in turn, threw her arms around Ivan's neck, crying harder. "No, it's not fair. Come back, Link."
AN: just to prove i'm a dork, im wondering if anyone realized the stupid references. For one thing, all Zelda fans should know that there's always something good behind the waterfall... even if it is a wise old giant which is made of bullshit. Anytime there is water, there is always one of those stupid vortexes (even if it is just a plot device in here) and the third was kinda an obscure reference, but it was Knil pointing out his awesum ability to jump... mostly considering Link can never seem to jump unless you run off the edge of something. SO YAY... now go be sad.
