"My daughter Ruto was swallowed by Lord Jabu-Jabu. I don't understand why, though... he chose her himself!" He burst into tears again, nearly drowning Navi. The waterlogged fairy clumsily made her way back over to Link's side of the stream, landing with a quiet thump upon his hat.
He gently plucked her off of his head by the wing, allowing her to sit up in his hand. At first she had growled, upset that the wing he had touched was shifted out of place. After a few moments of stretching and listening to the king bawl, however, she decided that her anger could be aimed elsewhere. Extending her glow so that no one could make out her soiled ponytail and dress, Navi awkwardly rose from Link's hand. "Hey! We're willing to help you if you just tell us where Jabu-Jabu is!"
The king sniffled. "Just behind me, though the doors."
"Well, you're going to have to move so we can get by!" The attendant groaned.
"You should never tell the king to move. He takes forever and- Oh, too late now." King Zora was already inching his way slowly across the platform.
"Come on, he can't take that long!"
It had been three hours since he had started moving. In that time frame, Link had caught a fish, went cliff diving, obtained a silver scale, and planted some magic beans that Navi had politely stolen from the salesman outside.
King Zora was still moving, finally coming to a stop as they entered the throne room. "Whew! What a workout! Now go! Behind me lies Jabu-Jabu's Fountain!" Navi whistled, fluttering down next to Link's ear.
"He only moved a foot in three hours... Good to see the true ability of their king." The hylian bit back his lip, stiffling giggles. Navi smirked to herself, pleased to see that he had laughed, then made her way up to the open scarlet doors. Link rounded his way up to the throne, nodding at his fairy to continue moving.
"Good luck, strangers! I wish you the best of Farore's Courage!"
"...And yet they can't help us themselves. This is becoming a recurring theme, wouldn't you agree? Except for Tort and Kana, I guess. If they even count." He smiled at the memory of the bickering Lizfaldo couple. They said that they would meet again, but Link had no plans to trek back up Death Mountain. Especially if Kaepora Gaebora had actually made his roost there, as rumor had it. It was a pity, too. Kana had saved his life, and Tort had helped them get through the mazes of the Cavern.
"Hey!" Navi's signature cry snapped him back to reality. Or... what he at one point had thought was reality. In front of him was a massive fish easily the size of Market Town. The King of Dodongos had nothing on the beast in front of them.
Covered in golden scales and jewels was Lord Jabu-Jabu. He growled at Link, not recognizing him. His massive tail wriggled violently; this strange, tunic-clad boy was holding the other two stones that the Gerudo woman said would cure his disease! The fish growled again, remembering what the witch had told him.
"Wait until the holders of the Sacred Stones offer you a sacrifice. Then you will swallow them whole, taking with you the stones. Once you have done that, I will return with my sister and cure you of your mallady."
It was great luck that a single boy held both of the Stones! He had been afraid that he would have to summon a Goron to him, too, which sounded hard from the way Koume had worded it. As the boy dropped his tiny fish onto the dock, Jabu-Jabu opened his maw and sucked in both the fish and Link.
Navi sighed, slowly floating into the fish's mouth. Link would need her help.
Something wet was pulsing beneath him. And then he heard an oddly familiar 'pop'. What was that...? "Hey! Watch out!"
Instinctively he rolled to the side, taking out his shield and letting the rock chunks shatter against it. "Switch your shield! You still have your Deku one, right?" He obidiently tossed the Hylian shield onto his back, unlatching the other from his sack.
Two more chunks of rock were spat at him. Ducking behind his shield, he allowed them to push him back before they deflected. The strange creatures squeaked, unable to duck fast enough to avoid their own upchuck.
"Those are Octorocks. Remember the Deku Scrubs? They're about the same thing, except they can swim." Link flinched, remembering his last run in with the more violent Scrubs.
"Heh heh... missed me!" The plant creature was popping in and out of his plant bed, spitting out large seeds as Link desperately tried to hit him. Navi was hovering over the enemy, glowing yellow to help him concentrate on the target. Her patience was running thin, though.
"You're so useless, Link! Just aim... right... below me!"
Perhaps Naviw as more trouble than she was worth. Then again, she had just saved him from certain death by Octorock. She would remain on his neutral list for now.
Meanwhile, the fairy had taken to hovering around a strange danging... thing. "Y'know what, Link? I do believe we are actually in the fish. Not that you didn't know that by now, but you're not very bright and... yeah," Link frowned, "Don't sweat it, honestly. Just take out your fancy little slingshot and hit this thing. It might do something. Or kill us, but we gotta gain some ground somehow."
Reluctantly he drew his slingshot, firing one of his seeds at the ivy colored, dangling light. It flew up, clicking as it slid into place. The door to the throat unlocked, revealing a slim blue figure...
With fins.
Link sighed with relief. This had to be the Princess Ruto! Now if she would just come with them, they could-
"I bet my father sent you, didn't he? Well, I don't wanna leave! Go away!" She ran backwards and with a scream fell into one of Jabu-Jabu's throat passages. Navi sighed.
"Oh lovely. We have to travel even farther into the fish. If this girl doesn't have the Sacred Stone, I'll beat her to a pulp. Well, go on, follow her." He leaped into the tunnel, yelling as he fell into the main stomach. Navi merely fluttered down after him, ignoring his less than graceful landing.
Ruto watched him fall, not the least bit amused by his antics. "I thought I told you to leave me alone! Honestly, can no one understand Hylian! Go a-"
"Look, you brat, we've come way too far for the Sacred Stone of Water, and if you don't give it up I'll-"
"You mean Zora's Sapphire?" She actually looked genuinely curious... and guilty. Link nodded. Ruto bit her lip, rolling her eyes around as if trying to find some sort of excuse. Navi decided that this was not a good sign.
"Yeah... why? Do you not have it...?" Ruto nipped her lip again, letting out a soft yelp of pain.
"Well, I do... sort of. Jabu-Jabu swallowed me and took the Stone away. I dunno where it is now.' Navi groaned.
"Alright, then. You're coming with us to help find this thing. So yeah, come on. Link let's - what are you doing?" Ruto had taken a seat on the throat floor. Her eyes were boring holes into Link's head, causing him to shiver. The princess was expecting something, "What are you-?"
"Carry me." She lifted up her arms, the wing-like fins nearly brushing the floor. Link flinched again, his icy eyes slowly drifting towards his fairy in pleading. Navi growled.
"We're here to rescue you, you stupid brat! You can't just-"
"Carry me or I won't help you. Do you-"
"Stop interrupting me! LISTEN! Just listen!" They were both screaming at the top of thier lings, with poor Link standing awkwardly in the biddle. Despite her size, Navi actually seemed to be winning the yelling contest, "FINE THEN! We'll just have to find the stupid Stone by ourselves!" The Zora giggled, shaking her head.
"Well, good luck, then. If you can even find your way through my master without being digested, returning with the Stone by without me and then demanding it... My father would not be pleased."
Link sighed, lowering himself so that she could climb into his arms. Navi zoomed forward. "Hey! What are you doing? Don't give into her demands, you oaf!" It was too late, though, for Ruto had scrambled into her charge's arms. Her long arm fins hung elegantly, nearly sprawled on the floor like some regal carpet.
"Thank you, hero. Now I'll help you through. Turn around and-"
"What about the masses of Biri heading for us?" Navi's tone was dull and ininterested. Ruto shrugged.
"They don't affect us Zora."
"How about Hylians?"
"Oh. Their stings are lethal to them." Link's eyes widened. Navi sighed, switching her glow to yellow before swirling around one of the approaching creatures.
" Biri, Link. Don't try and hit them unless they're stunned. Use a Deku nut or something." Link dropped Ruto to the side, causing her to whimper in frustration. Chucking a Deku nut at the swarm, they collapsed to the ground with an anticlimatic hum. The stomach's flesh quivered in reaction, causing Link to nearly lose his balance. Still though he swung his blade with grace, the sword evenly slicing through their jelly bodies.
"Great job, Link! You might be improving a little bit," he puffed out his chest in pride, "Don't get a big head, idiot. Come on, let's move - Where'd she go? HEY!"
Ruto had crawled back to her original spot, glaring at the pair angrily. "You left me!"
"Well, princess, how in Din's named is he supposed to fight with you in his arms?" She smirked.
"You figure it out, fairy!" Navi bristled.
"Hey! Listen! Listen! LISTEN! LISTEN!" It slowly grew louder with each shriek. She was glowing red with anger and annoyance. Ruto shivered, inching back against Jabu-Jabu. Link merely watched, twitched his ears as Navi's voice cracked, "How about you just cooperate, okay? He'll carry you, fine, but you can't jsut run back here! Got it?" Ruto nodded, fear growing in her wide eyes, "Link. Pick up the brat and let's get moving."
Afraid of facing his fairy's wrath, Link hoisted Ruto onto his back and nodded at Navi. The fairy flashed back to her normal blue color before whizzing ahead. From her position in Link's arms, Ruto pushed the fleshy wall in front of them. After about a second of resistance, it opened up, allowing them into the next room.
A quick fight with an Octorock duo commenced. It didn't last long, for they would slow with every upchuck, making them easy to catch. "Hey! Let's move on!" Link had been struggling with the princess's weight. Alone she wouldn't have been so heavy, but her slick scales and multiple twitching fins added what seemed to be the whole of a Goron onto the slim body. He let out a pant as one of her arm fins slammed against him.
"Oh, you know you like it." Ruto giggled mischieviously, nudging him in the stomach with her elbow. He winced, sending a pleading glare in Navi's direction.
"Look, Ruto... how about you stop smacking my charge around, hm? He's about as useful as a piece of paper versus steel, but we need him any way." These lines were said fondly. Was she actually enjoying spending time with him? It couldn't be...
The Zora pointed forward, shivering slightly. "There's something behind here... I'm sure it's the Stone!" She pressed onto the fleshy door, causing it to open. Jumping from Link's back, she scrambled towards the center of the room. A large circular platform sat in the middle of another, larger platform. On top of the smaller was the elusive Zora's Sapphire. Navi frowned. It shouldn't have been that easy... The flesh above them rumbled as Ruto grabbed the Stone, triumphantly holding it up. Something wasn't right...
"HEY! GET DOWN FROM THERE, NOW!" It was too late. The platform rumbled, knocking the princess to her feet and dragging her to the next level of the stomach. From the flesh dropped a massive creature, roaring with anger and rage. The large platform suddenly sprouted spikes and began to spin wildly, trying to maim Link as the other creature slowly dragged itself forward.
Navi whistled. "That's a lot of fish."
A/N: It's been a while, huh? Sorry about the wait... School absorbed me and I sort of lost interest in writing. But now I'm back... sort of. Update times will be random, I'm afraid, though I'll try to keep it to at least once every two weeks.
One last part to the Jabu-Jabu storyline, yay! I did skip over a bunch of stuff, like the tentacles and the moving hallways, but I really felt that they would just be padding rather than actually interesting. Since there are no new characters in here like Kana and Tort were in the Dodongo Caverns, it really wasn't worth it.
By the way, hope you all like Ruto and Navi's interactions. They don't seem like they're getting along too well.
Reviews are loved as always! :)