Navi lead Knil to the entrance of the village. He hid behind the corner, peering down into the vast valley. It was relatively dark, the only light being an array of torches circling the village square. "Wow. This place is expansive. It's incredible." His eyes shifted towards Navi. "Where exactly is this Stone?"

Navi fluttered over to land on Knil's shoulder. She gestured over towards the forest. "There's a small forest over towards the back of the village. A few yards in is a cave. The stone is buried behind a boulder near the back of the cave. I can lead you there."

"No, don't. I can find it on my own. There's something else I want you to do."

Navi drifted up. "What? But Link told me to-"

"I don't care what Link said. This is more important."

"What... do you mean?"

"How fast can you fly?"

"Fly? Fairly fast, why?"

Knil drew his sword, eyes shooting around to examine the area. "I want you to try and go to that faerie fountain thing, and bring a few of them back. They can help Ivan heal Link."

Navi seemed confused. "How did you know-" She shook her head together. "I don't think they'll leave the fountain."

"Ask them!" Knil snapped, turning to her. "From what I saw, I'm pretty sure they'll make an exception." He turned back towards the village. "Epona should be somewhere around the Gerudo encampment. She can probably take you there faster, if you need to."

"But, what about-"

"Do you want to save Link, or not?" His eyes glared back at her again.

Navi started, drifting back a bit. "Uh, well, yea. Of course I do."

"Then stop questioning me, and get your tiny glowing ass in gear."

"What about you?" Navi cried, before he could interrupt her again.

"Don't worry about me. I'm used to dealing with problems on my own, so I can deal with this."

Navi hesitated, from the pained look in his eyes, as she slowly drifted backward. "You don't have to be alone."

Knil closed his eyes and sighed, unsure if it was from annoyance, or from him not really wanting to hear these words. "You're wasting time. Every second you take arguing with me, the closer we come to losing him."

Navi hovered backwards. "Just be careful." She waited slightly, before spinning around and bolting off into the cave.

Knil watched the tiny blue light fade off into the darkness, then turned back towards the village, to better take in the setting. Gerudo guards were standing in front of each of the houses, possibly keeping the occupants contained. Several more were darting in and out of the forest, most likely looking for the stone. Samira was perched on a fountain in the center of the village, and what looked like the body of a man lay on the ground next to her.

Deciphering a relatively safe path, Knil slid down the valley. He ducked behind the houses, peering around to make sure none of them could see when he slid behind the next one. Knil finally made it to the house closest to the forest, but there was a problem. The edge of the forest was still about five yards away. There was no way he could make it that distance without being seen.

His eyes shot around the small village square, wondering what he could do to hide his trek into the woods. Considering it was relatively dark, there was still a chance that he couldn't be seen, but he didn't want to risk it. If only he could snuff those torches, then they wouldn't see him. Knil backed up a few feet, about to turn around to check the other side, when a window opened on the house he was sneaking around. Knil whipped his sword around, and realized he was holding the tip of his blade to a young boy's throat. The boy stared at him, wide eyed, though not in a way that said he was afraid. They stared at each other for a while, until the boy finally spoke. "You're not Link."

Knil's brow quirked at him. "No, I'm not. Who are you?"

"I'll tell you my name, if you tell my yours."

Knil paused for brief moment. "Knil."

"Cole."

"Do you know Link?"

"We met. And you?"

"Quite well."

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for this stone thing."

"To steal it?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Link asked me to. Something about protecting some people."

"You don't seem like the type to protect people."

"You can see that, huh?"

"Yea. So why?"

"I told you, Link asked me to."

"So Link's rather special to you?"

Knil paused, contemplating the words. "Something like that. So, what are you up to?"

"Be glad to tell you, under one condition."

"What's that?"

"If you get your sword out of my face."

"Oh." Knil lowered his sword, but still kept his eyes on the child.

Cole climbed on out of the window and moved to peer around the corner, into the square. "My dad's the guardian of this village, but the Gerudo overwhelmed him. I want to find the stone and heal him."

Knil's ears perked up. "Heal?"

Cole turned back to him. "The Spiritual Stone of Life can be used to heal people, or even bring others back to life, if they're brought to it soon enough."

"Really." Knil glanced off towards the woods, contemplating his options.

"Link hid the stone somewhere in the forest. I just have to get to it, then I can help my father." He started to run out, and Knil grasped the back of his collar, dragging him back. "Whoa, hold on, Kid. You can't just go running out like that."

"But."

"Now, listen, you have to think logically for a bit. If you just run out there now, they'll spot you before you can even get to the forest." He dropped to his knees, holding onto his shoulders. He leaned closer, to try and keep himself from talking too loudly. "Besides, how are you intending to get near your dad with those guards everywhere?"

"Uh, well." Cole lowered his eyes, touching his chin in thought. "I was going to find a way."

"Well, why don't we figure that out before we head in there."

"Ok, so how do you suggest we get into the forest, without being seen?"

Knil thought for a bit, inching closer to look around the building towards Samira. A guard walked by, and he ducked back. "If only I could darken the area." He turned to Cole. "You should know this village fairly well. Is there an unseen path to each of those torches?"

Cole thought for bit, and leaned over him to take in where the torches were. His mouth quirked into a rather bold smile. "No problem." Cole leaned back to sit against the house. He held his hands in front of him, as if holding a ball. The wind picked up slightly around them, seemingly converging into the pocket between his hands.

Knil just watched him in stunned silence. What was this kid doing? Cole rose to his feet, and started to step around the house.

"Hold on."

"Shh." He pulled his hands apart, seeming to split the ball of air, and threw part of it at the nearby lantern. Taking advantage of the darkened area, Cole ran out and threw the other half, spinning around in a way that looked as though he was controlling it to swirl around the rest of the square. The other torches extinguished, and an uproar sounded from the Gerudo. Knil darted out and grabbed Cole's hand, running for the forest, mumbling to himself, "Why does everybody have to know magic? It's bullshit."

"I can't see anything." Cole called, probably a bit louder than he should have.

Knil pulled him into the forest, holding a hand over his mouth. "Shh. It's ok. I'll lead you to the stone, just stay quiet, and stay close." Knil peered around a bit, making sure that there were no Gerudo in sight. There were a few lanterns off in the distance, but they were too far away for him to even make out a figure. "Come on." He held onto Cole's hand, leading him further into the woods, briefly wondering why the boy was staring at him funny.

It didn't matter how solid his body seemed to be, Knil was still a shadow himself, and could see quite easily in the dark. He soon found a rock-face in the forest, and started following it until he came across the entrance to a cave. "This has to be it." There was a rustling behind them, and Knil spun around to look. He shoved Cole behind him, sword held at the ready.

"Close your eyes."

"What?" Knil split his attention towards Cole.

Cole grabbed his arm and started to pull him into the cave. "They'll see you, if you don't close your eyes."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Knil hissed, ducking down towards him. "How can I fight them, if they attack?"

"If you close your eyes, then they might not even know that we're here."

Knil just growled, but closed his eyes, ducking into a crevice behind the cave entrance, hiding Cole under him. "Keep an eye on them?"

Cole clung to Knil's arm, his eyes spread wide against the darkness. A small group of lights joined the rustling, outlining the female's forms. They were whispering to themselves, but they were still too far away for them to be overheard. Cole set most of his attention to examining the women. He counted four, about eight to ten feet away from where they stood. Three of them held broadswords on their belts, the forth holding a spear, slung over her shoulder. They didn't seem to be coming any closer. They must have been passing through, perhaps already having explored this cave.

The Gerudo passed by, a fifth coming into view just before they did. Cole held his breath, afraid that they might hear. Once they had gone from view, the lights bobbing off in the distance, Cole finally released his breath. "They're gone."

Knil opened his eyes. "I heard." He glanced back, after the receding lights. "They're not as smooth with walking in the brush."

"And here I thought you were actually trusting me."

"I'd never do such a thing." seeing how it was dark again, Knil had to grasp Cole's arm and lead him towards the back of the cave. "Although, I would like you to explain why I had to close my eyes."

"Really? You don't know?"

Knil groaned at the child's impertinence. "No, I don't know. Enlighten me."

"They're glowing. I was afraid they would see them."

"Glowing?" Knil's eyes flicked back to Cole, then ahead to try and locate where Link's hiding place could be. "Strange."

"You're surprised?"

"No, just stating fact." A large boulder came into view, towards the back. "That has to be it."

"Where?"

Knil rolled his eyes. "Are you not adjusted yet?"

"Fraid not."

He guided Cole over towards the opposite wall. "Sit there." When he was settled, Knil fell to his knees, and started searching the ground, behind the boulder. His hands soon came around some loose dirt, thought it was packed fairly well. Looking at the ground, he might not have even realized it had been disturbed. Factoring this had to be it, he started digging. Far deeper than he thought, his hand brushed against what seemed to be fabric. As he cleared the dirt, a faint glow shone through the green tunic. Without removing the bundle, Knil pulled the cloth aside to let the bright stone shine through. "This is it, right?"

Cole slid closer, his face gleaming along with the stone. "Yes, that's it. Come on, get it out."

Knil glanced back down the cave, then turned to the stone, wrapping it back up. When the cloth was back in place, he started to shove the dirt back over it. "No."

"What are you doing?"

"I just needed to know where it was. It's not safe to take it out of it's hiding place, yet. Not until we drive off the Gerudo."

"But my dad could die."

"If we take it from the cave, it will be taken from us. We have to secure a plan before we act."

Cole seemed to growl at him. "What about my dad?"

It took every once of his restraint to keep from shaking this child before him. "Think logically boy. Apparently this thing is valuable. The Gerudo will be all over us the minute we leave this forest. Plus, your dad is in the middle of the square. If by some odd chance we do make it to him, we will be instantly overwhelmed, and the stupid stone will still be taken, and just for the hell of it, they may kill us all. I don't know about you, but I really frown upon dying."

Cole seemed like he was going to cry. "Then what do we do?"

Knil settled against the wall, considering his options. He suddenly felt winded again, his heart beating faster. Why'd that idiot have to get himself hurt? He could really use his help. Frankly, he'd like to just say screw the village and bring the stone to Link, but there didn't seem to be a way for him to get it out to him. On the other hand, he could always bring Link here. Although, giving Link's condition, he doubted he could move him. Knil sighed, his head starting to swim with the dilemma.

"So? What do we do?"

"I'm thinking." Knil growled. He rubbed at his head, then an idea started to form in his head. "Do you know how bad your dad's wounds are?"

"Huh? His wounds?" Cole brought his hands to his lips in contemplation. "I'm not sure."

Knil rubbed his head again. He may not have met many children, but he was starting to see why he hated them. "Can your dad fight?"

"Of course he can fight." Cole responded in a growl. Apparently this question made him angry. "My dad's the strongest ever."

Knil highly doubted that, but he didn't feel like debating.

"Ok. You can do magic?"

"Yea. I'm still learning, but I do know-"

"Can you fight?"

"Yea."

"Do you think you can guard this stone?"

It took him a bit longer to respond. "Y-yea. But why me?"

"Because I'm going to go get your dad, and bring him back here." Knil got up and headed towards the entrance.

Cole got up and started after him. "I'm come with y-"

"NO!" Knil snapped, a bit louder than he meant to. He took a deep breath, drawing his temper back in. Trying to stifle his new found annoyance, Knil dropped his hands on Cole's shoulders. "I can see, in the dark, and I can move a lot faster when I'm alone."

"But I want to help. He's my dad."

"You can help by looking after this thing. I don't need some clingy little pest slowing me down."

Cole scowled. "I'm not a pest."

"You can prove me wrong, by staying here."

"But, what if they come down here?"

"I'm sure you can handle it. Till then." Knil grabbed his arms, plopping him down behind the boulder, and on top of the mound of dirt. "Stay put, stay quiet, and they shouldn't find you."

Fighting for a chance to get away from him, Knil scurried on down towards the cave entrance, drawing his sword. He scoured the trees, for the lights, finding two small groups, far off in the distance. Knil skimmed along the side of the cliff, on his way back towards the village.

AN: I'd say i'm just awesome enough to get two done in one day (which i have actually done) but i'll admit i already had this one mostly done