Hello readers, it's time for chapter 103! After their defeat at the hands of the Ebony Sisterhood, our heroes have escaped to Kokiri Forest, but what will become of them all and Link...?
"How's Link doing?" Aviel asked Sarami.
"Still sleeping I'm afraid, I'm not sure when he's going to wake up..." Sarami spoke with a sigh.
"Oooh... I wanna talk to him real bad..." Aviel spoke sadly.
"I know how you feel Aviel-dear, but please be patient, he's been through so much pain." Sarami said.
"Ms. Dr. Sarami, we got the plants you wanted!" called out two small boys as they ran over to Sarami carrying bushels of leaves and herbs, though they were dropping some it in their hurry.
"Oh you two are such sweeties! Thank you!" Sarami smiled beautifully, giving the two a small kiss on the forehead each, which got them both blushing red. The two of them were Kokiri who had just came back from the forest gathering ingredients for Sarami's medicines.
After retreating from Gerudo Town after the rebels invaded; Aviel, Nemisa, Saria, Togau, Reirousa, Kesuta and Korume were all resting and recovering from their injuries in the magical forest town of Kokiri Village. Along with them was the half-Hylian and Nabooru's personal assistant Halei and Sovan the chef along with the other four members in the Sandstorm Viper desert gang. There was also a number of guards and soldiers who had helped them all escape.
In addition was their friends from the other tribes; first of which being Vekai, Skuld, Tatl and Tael who all notified the Kokiri that Link, along with a number of his friends would be staying for a brief while. Mido was skeptic about it, but Vekai talked him into it without much of an argument.
From the zora tribe was Ruto and her bodyguard Zopem. They had sent Ambassador Oton back to Zora's Domain through the warp point in the Lost Woods to rest from everything that had happened. From the goron tribe was only Darunia, who had sent his son and brothers back to Goron City through their warp point as well. His concern for his sworn brother Link made him unable to just go back so soon. There was also Impa, along with her personal bodyguards Sir Knave and Sir Lackey.
"There, I think that should do it." Sarami said wiping her brow as she had just finished treating Togau's injuries, she turned to some Kokiri who had been helping her with the treatment through their forest magic and thanked them for their help.
"Ugh, thanks a lot Sarami, still feeling pretty sore though." Togau groaned.
"It's understandable Togau, we were all completely overwhelmed by the Ebony Sisterhood." Nemisa spoke, she looked down at her wrists to see her steel bands that she used to use for defense were long gone, having finally been broken off in the fighting from earlier, "Even I couldn't do anything."
"This is the darkest day of the Gerudo since we lost the war nine years ago." Korume spoke, "The rebels have taken over the town, Lady Nabooru is captured, and our beloved husband and king is in a coma..."
"Those Elite Rebel ladies were real strong, and using a lot of weird powers too. I couldn't even figure out what that lady I fought was using. I wonder where they got it all..." Aviel pouted.
"They must have been planning and training all this time for a chance like this." Togau said, recalling that the rebel she fought called her a 'pampered queen', "Since the town's been doing so well, I wonder if we did get a little too soft and weak..."
"I don't like thinking that they were right, but it's hard to deny after they defeated us like that..." Nemisa said.
"Oh dear, they've been through so much." Ruto spoke sadly, "I wish we could have done more for them and my poor darling."
"There wasn't really much we could do that wouldn't have ended up with us potentially getting hurt, and that would had just made things worse for them due to that clause in the Gerudo Banishment Law." Zopem said patting Ruto's shoulder to assure her.
"What a situation, my sworn brother is out cold, and our allies are in peril." Darunia clenched his fists, "All this strength I have to crush things with but I can't do anything for them due to that stupid law!"
"So that was the true power of the Ebony Sisterhood. There's no doubt they'll pose a threat to Hyrule at this point." Impa said, "If only those bastards in the Parliament would just hear us out."
"..." Lackey said nothing, but kept taking glances at the tree stump house where Link was resting in.
Over the doorway of the house, Skuld was sitting back playing a song on his ocarina that he learned in the land of Termina, in the hopes that it might help wake Link up, while Tatl and Tael both floated around him.
Reirousa meanwhile was laying on her side, tapping at the grass with her fingers in deep thought. Sovan and the Vipers all just watched her carefully, any attempt they made to make small talk with her was met with silence.
"Ha ha ha, I knew it!" spoke up one voice, everyone turned to see it was Mido sitting on a stump with his arms folded and grinning widely, "I told Link with him in charge as king that whole place would be totally doomed!"
"Mido, please." Vekai said, frowning at the Kokiri boss' brazen attitude in the moment.
"What? I'm only sayin' the truth!" Mido shrugged, "He's supposed to be king of his town, and all he's doing now is sleeping like a baby while everyone else is suffering! Some boss he is!"
Saria turned and frowned at Mido, even after all this time he still had that bad attitude from before where he'd mock and belittle Link. She was about to tell him off for saying such terrible things, but she wound up not having to.
"Hey, you shut up shortie!" Aviel suddenly stood up and shouted to Mido angerly.
"Huh? Who you calling a shortie, grapefruit bird?!" Mido shouted back, hopping off his stump and strutting up to Aviel.
"You weren't there, so you don't know what happened! You don't know what Link has been through!" Aviel shouted out, "He's been working hard to make things right for all of us! If anyone's to blame for what happened, it's us for letting him down and-!" she then looked surprised and covered her mouth, realizing what she had just blurted out.
Mido was caught off guard at Aviel's words, and in a rare moment for him, found himself unable to speak back at her.
Aviel spoke to the other Gerudo meekly, "U-Um... sorry everyone..."
"No... you're right Aviel." Nemisa shook her head, "We did let Link down, I didn't stand a chance against that wrestler woman. I barely escaped from the fight within an inch of my life."
"I admit I couldn't do anything for the gardeners..." Saria said sadly, her hand stroking a small flower growing out from the grass, "I was only able to escape because I used the flash from a Deku Nut at the last moment. I guess I really was useless to them..."
"Oh come on Saria, don't be like that!" Faete pleaded to her.
"Me and sister were both defeated so soundly by that Meokuro woman..." Korume spoke, "I wish I had done her in when we had her captured back at the canyon..."
"I just wonder how Mom's doing right now?" Kesuta said, looking up into the sky through the trees, "Do you think she'd be disappointed that our magic wasn't strong enough to beat that woman?"
"..." Korume said nothing in response, but hung her head down low.
"I only managed to escape from that crazy wild lady cause my ranch-hand friends stayed behind to get me out of the pit, but I had to leave them behind to get away..." Togau said, "I hope they and the animals are doin' alright..."
"I can't stop thinking about my staff and all the poor patients." Sarami said with a heavy sigh, "I've been making some great progress with Sister Gonaeti's tumor after she had her baby, but I don't know what will happen to her now with the rebels taking over..."
"I'm so worried about Lady Nabooru as well, we don't know what the Ebony Sisterhood plans to do with her..." Halei spoke, meekly reaching up and rubbing an ear of her Bunny Hood, "Isn't there anything we can do?"
"I'm not sure, we've persevered through so much in the past, but now we're heavily outnumbered by the rebels, everyone in town is at the mercy of their control, and Link and Lady Nabooru are indisposed..." Nemisa spoke, "This situation just seems so hopeless..."
There was a heavy silence in the forest, the Kokiri children of the village looked to each other, unable to think of anything to say about their allies' predicament.
"...so that's it then? We're just gonna give up?" spoke a voice.
Everyone looked over to see Reirousa was pulling out grass from the ground, making a small pile of it beside her.
"After everything we've done to rebuild our society after that damn war, after Link and Lady Nabooru put their blood, sweat and tears into giving us a future, we're just gonna throw it all away cause of this setback?" Reirousa asked, sitting up and putting a hand on her knee.
"Hey you thick-headed moron, do you remember how we all got our butts handed to us?" Kesuta shouted to Reirousa, "Even you and your team got beaten!"
"..." Reirousa said nothing.
"Hey, that's just because that little brat had some weird power that we couldn't figure out!" protested one of the Vipers, "She used it to take control of Reirousa!"
"How'd you guys save her then?" Saria asked.
"I tricked Reirousa into stepping onto my Spinner, she's always been unable to ride them due to getting motion sickness, so I thought that could incapacitate her." Sovan explained.
"Ugh... don't remind me of that..." Reirousa groaned, looking like she was about to upchuck inside of the grass pile she was making.
"Ms. Sovan brings up a good point, isn't that exactly what you all went through?" Rutoas ked the other Gerudo, "You weren't defeated because you were weak, it was because you couldn't have predicted what tricks the rebels were using."
"That's right, just like what Sovan did, we get hit with a setback, we figure out a way around it!" Reirousa shouted, "I don't know about you guys, but I ain't gonna let the rebels walk all over us! So what if Link and Lady Nabooru aren't able to help us out, we ain't helpless without them!"
Reirousa got herself up and readied her Bombos Warhammer, "I'm gonna head back there and take back the town! If you girls wanna stay behind and sulk over losing than fine, but I ain't gonna do that!" she turned to Sovan and the Vipers, "You girls with me?"
"Of course boss!" shouted out a Viper, thrusting her fists with brass knuckles into the air.
"Definitely, I'm taking back my diner pronto!" grinned Sovan.
The others all stared at Reirousa, surprised at her determination.
"...heh, never would had thought Reirousa would be the one to inspire us." Nemisa smirked, getting herself up to her feet, "But she's right, I'm not going to let that setback be the end of us, I'm not giving up!"
"Yeah..." Aviel said with a growing smile, "You know what? Yeah! We're not gonna let Link or Lady Nabooru down, we'll save everyone and our home!"
"... ...yes, that's correct." Korume spoke, putting a hand to her heart "We have to save the precious lives of our people. If we're going to be the future queens of the Gerudo, we have to look out for them as much as Link and Lady Nabooru would."
"Sounds great!" grinned Kesuta, igniting her fists with flames, "I'll give all those dummy rebels a roasting!"
Saria smiled softly at Reirousa inspiring everyone, she was always so awkward with others in the past, but it was clear her time she spent with Link helped bring out that determination, it reminded the Kokiri girl in many ways of her own resolve to protect Link,
"Okay! It's not going to be easy, but I know we can do this, right Togau?" Saria spoke up.
"Reckon course Saria!" Togau grinned, "Doesn't matter what the odds, we'll figure something out!"
The Gerudo girls all collectively cheered out, as Ruto, Zopem, Darunia, Impa and her guards all watched on.
"Impressive, they really perked right up, didn't they?" Impa smirked.
"Yes, and we're going to have to give them all the support we can." Ruto nodded, "Even if it's not something direct."
"Hey everyone!" shouted a Kokiri, running out from the tree house where Link had been resting at, "Link is waking up!"
"Really?!" Aviel exclaimed, her spiky hair standing on end, as the others all ran right over to see for themselves.
While everyone had been sulking and arguing earlier, Link was busy tossing and turning on his bed. His injuries from all the fighting he had done earlier were recovering quickly thanks to his healthy body along with Sarami's expertly-made medicine and the Kokiri's healing magic, but he was at the time going through a different crisis, namely a horrible dream...
In his dream, Link was fighting off strange shadowy figures that were attacking him with his sword and shield. No matter how many he fought off, more seemed to come at him relentlessly. Three shadows loomed up and charged at him, but he blocked them off with his shield before cutting them all down.
"What's with all these things?" Link spoke, "Keep back!"
As easy as it was to take them down, Link was more bothered by the sheer numbers, as well as a certain unease he was feeling about fighting them... As he took down five more of the shadows, a particularly tall one came up at him from behind to grab him, but Link instinctively turned and slashed through it.
With a final swing, the young king struck down the last shadow creature. He backed up and took a gasp of breath as he looked around at the remains of all the shadow creatures.
'I wonder why these things were attacking me.' Link thought to himself.
Suddenly though, powerful memories came back to him, from back when he was suffering from his blind rage. He remembered Esolu being stabbed and killed by that Hylian knight, and those that he had fought while going to confront the knight. The strange people that had attacked were becoming more clear in his mind. His vision started to come into focus, and he gasped out in horror,
"No..."
Stern around the battlefield were the bodies of numerous dead Gerudo women. The shadow creatures he had been fighting as it turned out were his own people. He found himself shaking at the horrible sight,
"What..? No... Nonononono!" Link stammered, he backed up and his foot bumped into something. He looked down in horror to see Reirousa's body laying on the ground dead, "T-This is can't be real! Reirousa!"
Link fell to his knees and he clenched at his head, his body was shaking at this horrible revelation.
"N-No... I didn't do this... I couldn't have...!" Link gasped out, he saw the blood covering his body, and on his own hands, closed his eyes and shouted out,
"NOOOOOOOO!"
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a very familiar place. He was standing just outside of Hyrule Castle Town at the drawbridge. He looked up to see there was a powerful lightning storm overhead, and that the town was ablaze.
Suddenly a horse rode by swiftly, and for a brief moment he saw a grown woman and a small girl riding on it. This was becoming all too familiar for him, he looked down at himself to see he was a small child once again. This was exactly like the dream he had before he set off on his journey to defeat Ganondorf, and exactly like what happened when that dream became reality after he had recovered the Spiritual Stones.
Link then heard a loud neigh that chilled him, as he turned and was confronted by a terrifying sight, a tall menacing man in black armor on top a horse. The man leered down at Link with a fiendish grin. Link nervously unsheathed his Kokiri Knife and Deku Shield to prepare himself for battle against the demon king.
But the dark king grinned as his horse take a step forward, a crash of lightning went off in the stormy sky, and Link got a good sight of just who the man on the horse was...
Rather then the former Gerudo king Ganondorf like he assumed, he instead saw a young man with long pointy ears, white wild hair, piercing blank eyes, and strange blue and red markings on his face. Link quickly realized just who the horrifying man was...
...himself.
The demonic man on the horse snickered fiendishly as Link stepped back in horror at the sight, dropping his knife and shield to the ground, before he closed his eyes and let out a terrified shout.
"AAAAAAHHH!"
When he opened his eyes again, Link found himself in a new place. He saw green grass on the ground, and a gentle wind was blowing through the area. He looked up to see a giant tree before him. It was eerily calm and tranquil after the horrific scene he had just seen a second ago.
"That's right... this is that field from before..." Link spoke, looking up at the giant tree, "This is where I confronted the evil spirit within Majora's Mask back in that adventure I had in Termina with Tatl..."
He had been to this place many times before in his past dreams, the first time being after he had fought Nemisa at the gate to Gerudo Town three years ago after he had been knocked out during his fight with Nemisa. He had came back her many times in the past years, usually after he had gone through a moment of intense anger caused by a malicious person or monster...
"Damnit... I was so close that time! You're really pissing me off, you know that buddy?!" spoke a familiar voice. Link narrowed his eyes and turned to confront the one that he kept meeting each and every time he dreamed of this place,
"You!" Link said, "Would you just back off already? You've caused me enough trouble as it is!"
Before the figure always appeared to him as a silhouette, but the more times he came here the clear he was. Now standing before him was a tall, muscular tan-skinned man with long white wild hair. The man's left eye had a red pupil, while he had an eye patch over his right eye. His face had some familiar markings on them, a blue arc shaped mark on his forehead, as well as two pairs of red crooked lines on his cheeks. He wore a tattered scarf as well as some battle-torn aqua-colored armor, the chest part having a moon and sun engraved on it. He was also holding a large tempered glass sword shaped like a helix.
"Feh, what'd I do exactly?" shrugged the man, "You're the one who snapped and killed all those people just cause you couldn't deal with one of those whores of yours getting offed! What do you care, you got plenty as it is!"
"SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!" Link shouted, charging at the man and about to swing out his sword, only to realize he didn't have it anymore. The man grinned as he quickly grabbed Link by his tunic and threw him to the side, sending the young king rolling to the ground.
"Heh, I always love feeling that anger from you, buddy. Every time you go over the brink I feel just a little more power from it." the man said, then sporting an annoyed sneer, "If it hadn't been for those damn women snapping you out of it each time I could finally have enough strength to take over this body and live again."
"You're the one who made me this way..." Link scowled, "This is why I didn't want to have to use your power again all that time ago..."
Link thought about a time he was in a war-torn battlefield, confronting a powerful force, just as three certain people were about to get attacked by it...
"I made you like this? Ha-hahahaha!" laughed out the man, "Yer giving me way much credit buddy, you've always had that anger inside you. That's why you could even tap into my strength to begin with! You just keep denying it because you don't want to admit who you really are!"
"I wish I had never relied on it..." Link muttered, "If I had known this would happen, I never would had put on that mask!"
It had taken Link a while to figure out exactly who the man before him was all this time, but the more times he went over the brink of anger, the more clear those dreams were getting, until he finally realized what was going on. This was the voice that had been calling out to him when he wore a certain mask handed to him by a mysterious child in this very grassy plain, a voice that urged him to keep getting angrier...
This was the spirit of the Fierce Deity, the incredible but dangerous power that had resided within the mask he used to destroy Majora's reincarnation.
"Well you did, you came to the reality that you were just too weak, and couldn't do anything without my strength, and now you're facing the consequences." grinned the Fierce Deity, "And all those poor innocent women you killed in the canyon had to suffer for it."
"No... you can't be serious..." Link spoke, clenching at the grass between his fingers.
"Question is, how many more are gonna have to die by your hand because of your bone-headed choices?" smirked the Fierce Deity, "Not the first time your stupidity and weakness cost so many lives..."
Link's eyes widened as he recalled a terrible memory from his past, of him standing at a destroyed town crawling with Redeads while a dark castle loomed high in the distance...
"...and it wasn't the second time either."
Link then had another memory of a small tranquil village, with a beautiful woman in the center of it singing to herself, she turned around and smiled softly... Link recalled another memory of that same woman closing a wooden door in front of him...
"I..." Link spoke, his hands shaking.
But before the Fierce Deity could say anything else, he felt a strange presence and quickly turned just as a figure jumped at and swung it's sword at him, he tried to jump back in time, but was slashed across the chest.
"Graaah!" the Fierce Deity shouted, clutching at his wound, he snarled at the one that attacked him.
It was a skeletal knight of some kind, somewhat like a Staflos. It wore golden armor with traces of foliage hanging off of it and was wielding an old sword and shield. It had one eerie glowing red eye while the other was missing.
"I've hath found thee once again, prepare yeself villain f'r thy demise." the strange skeleton said, before coming right at the Fierce Deity with it's sword.
"Grrr... would you back off already you bag of bones?! I don't even know who the hell you are!" the Fierce Deity shouted in fury as he clashed against the skeleton, "Why the hell are you wearing that armor of all things anyway?!"
"Just who is that...?" Link spoke to himself as he watched the skeleton fight the Fierce Deity. Link could tell from the way the Fierce Deity was fighting that he wasn't taking the skeleton on at his full strength for some reason, something seemed to be holding him back...
"I wast nev'r able to save him, but I shalt putteth a stand ho to thee dark god! Has't at thee!" the skeleton shouted, clashing against the Fierce Deity more.
"Hassit at thee yerself!" Fierce Deity shouted swinging his helix sword around wildly at the skeleton.
Link got himself up and decided to focus on making a getaway. He wondered when the ground was going to open up and send him back into that void before waking up like what usually happened in these dreams, but it didn't seem to be coming. He wondered if he was ever going to escape this nightmare at this point...
"...llo..."
"Huh?" Link stopped and looked around, while the loud battle was going on in the distance, he could hear a very faint and gentle voice, before the ground suddenly opened up underneath him and he went falling like before. But this time, rather then waking up immediately, he felt a strange voice calling out to him as he fell.
"...nk... it's..." the voice was very faint.
"What are you saying? I can't hear you!" Link shouted.
"...ime has... meet m..."
But the voice faded away, and Link just helplessly feel deep into the void.
"AAAAAAaaaa-!"
"-aaaaaahhhhh!" Link shouted out snapping awake. He gasped out in a cold sweat and put a hand to his forehead, "That was... just who the hell was that...?"
"LINK!" squealed out a voice, Link was immediately tackled and hugged tightly by a familiar young girl with bird wings, before he could even think about what happened, the girl planted a big kiss directly on his lips, "We were so worried about yooooou!"
"Wha- Aviel?" Link spoke, just before Nemisa, Saria, Ruto, Togau, Sarami, Kesuta, and Korume all collectively swarmed around the young king and embraced him as well, "What's going on, and why are we in Kokiri Village?"
"Don't worry about it Link-darling!" squealed Ruto, "We're just so glad to have you back!"
"Girls..." Link spoke with tears in his eyes, "I thought you were all... all... I thought I had..." he hugged them all back as best as he could, "Jees, I don't know what I'm saying anymore..."
"Don't worry about saying anything!" Saria said smiling as happily as she could, "We're just glad you're awake and okay!"
"We missed you so much our love!" Kesuta said,
"Yeah, we finally have our husband and king back!" Kesuta said smiling brightly.
Hearing that Link flinched, as he recalled the memories of what he had gone through.
"Your king..." Link repeated, "How can I call yourself your king after what I've done?"
"Huh?" Aviel asked.
"I remember now what happened while I was on that rampage," Link jerked himself out of the girls' grip and sat up, "And I've done some truly unforgivable things..."
"Waddaya mean?" Togau looked curiously, "Ya just went a little bonkers is all, but yer out of it now!"
"No... I did so much worse..." Link spoke, his hands were trembling as tears were forming in his eyes, "I saw a knight murder Esolu and our child... and I went to go confront them at the bridge... along the way you all tried to stop me. I remember now that I fought you all mercilessly..."
"Link wait, if you just let us expla-" Nemisa started, but Link cut her off.
"And... when Reirousa and her guards all tried to stop me..." Link said sniffling as tears started to run down his face, "I... killed her... I killed those guards and Reirousa! I became your king so I could make everyone happy and bring peace to the lives of the Gerudo and... I... I killed my friend!"
Link buried his face in his hands as tears poured down his face, "I almost started a war between the Hylians and the Gerudo, and I killed Reirousa and so many of the girls in cold blood! How can I call myself your king and husband anymore when I did horrible things like this?!"
He reflected on the words the Fierce Deity told him, he looked down at the black tunic he wore, and saw there was still some faint blood spots on it. He had a brief memory of that horrible dream of him in Ganondorf's place. He gripped at the black king's vest he wore, before ripping it off of his body and throwing it across the room, before burying his hands in his palms again.
"I'm no King of the Gerudo... I'm a monster, I REALLY AM A MONSTER!"
"But Link-" Aviel spoke, only to be interrupted by a gruff voice speaking out.
"Hey, is he up yet already?" Reirousa asked, kneeling down and peeking through the small door, "I can't get in there since these kids make the doors so damn small!"
"R-Reirousa...?" Link asked in surprise, "You're... alive?"
"Of course she is, you moron!" Nemisa said bashing Link upside the head, before immediately going back to hugging him tightly, "That's what we've been trying to tell you! She and the guards are all just fine!"
"But... I remember attacking everyone..." Link said, putting a hand to his forehead, "I remember fighting Nabooru, Reirousa and all of you! And I killed at least a number of guards too!"
"No Link-honey, you have it all wrong!" Sarami said, grabbing and holding him against her large, soft chest, "The Gerudo are all just fine!"
"Huh? But how?" Link exclaimed.
"You see, back in the canyon Reirousa rounded up everyone you had fought..." Sarami explained, "I was prepared to do emergency treatment of all the soldiers, but the thing is, they were almost completely unharmed!"
"Wait, unharmed...?" Link spoke, trying to think about how exactly the battle went down.
"Yes, the worst they suffered from was small cuts, bruises and minor diaphragm spasms!" Sarami said.
"Dia-what-now?" Aviel asked.
"Basically they just got the air knocked out of them." Saria explained.
"There was nothing severe or lethal." Sarami assured him, "It's not anything worse than what the girls go through in their usual training exercises."
"Yeah, especially when Reirousa took over the training." snickered Togau.
"But... I could have sworn I killed someone..." Link spoke, making out some more blood stains on his pants.
"Eh, it was mostly just monsters and bandits, but they were all asking for it anyway!" Kesuta said, "You even took down that murderous bunch of marauders that called themselves the Red Jackals!"
"Yes, if anything you did Hyrule a favor in that regard." Korume nodded.
"You're kidding me..." Link muttered, "But how? I was on a rampage, I could barely even think about anything other than killing that knight and anything that got in my way..."
"Nabs figured it out when I showed her the soldier's injuries..." Sarami placed her hand over his own, "She saw that their wounds were very minimal compared to the monsters and bandits you fought. It led her to believe that no matter how angry or vengeful you felt in that time, that there was a small part of you that managed to hold back against your own people."
"That must have been what happened back when you and I were fighting Straw Kid." Saria nodded, "You were about snap with rage against him, but when I called out your name, that small part of you must have heard me and forced you out of it!"
"Yeah, I remember when it happened with that angry mob we fought back in Dhaijialoft too. When you snapped and started beating people up, I called out and made you stop!" Aviel nodded.
"Nabs put all of that together, and knew that if we could get through to that part of you Link-honey, that we could all stop you." Sarami said.
Taking all this in, Link found himself remembering a soft, warm feeling from not too long ago during his blind fury, when he was being restrained by all the girls before he could make it to the bridge. They were all calling out to Link and helping him remember his life and times with them. And then he finally snapped out of it when he felt the gentle kiss of his friend and the woman he loved, Nabooru.
"Link, remember who you are. You are our king, our friend and the one we love."
"Nabooru... girls..." Link spoke as tears spilled down his face, and the girls all went right back to embracing him, "I'm so sorry..."
"It's fine my love," Nemisa said, "We all understand what you've been through now, and we vow never to let you go again."
There was nothing left to say in that moment, Link and his fiances all held each other in the tight, warm embrace.
Meanwhile Reirousa was peeking out from a window, watching Link and his fiances embrace. As relieved as she was to see Link was awake and well again, she thought deeply about the words Sarami had said about Link holding back from hurting his people. She took a look down at her body, seeing some of the new scars Link had given her in their battle...
After everyone had settled down, Link came out from the tree stump house and greeted everyone, much to the surprise and happiness of the Kokiri folk and the Gerudo guards (some of the girls, both Gerudo and Kokiri alike were especially happy to see Link come out shirtless).
"Hey Link, you doin' okay now?" Reirousa asked Link walking up to him as he was comforting some the Kokiri who had been worried about him.
"Yeah, thank you Reirousa," Link said standing up and looking to her.
"Glad to hear that." Reirousa nodded, a second before she brought back her fist and punched Link across the face, sending him flailing backwards, but was caught by the other girls.
"Hey Reirousa, what do you think you're doing?!" Aviel exclaimed.
"That's for causing all that trouble back at the canyon!" shouted Reirousa, "Do you know how worried everyone was about you?! Yer lucky I don't make you run two hundred laps around the training grounds' track!"
"Damnit you big oaf, he just recovered, don't go hitting him!" Nemisa shouted back.
"Didn't you whack him just a while ago too?" Togau pointed out.
"It's okay Nemisa, she's right. I deserved that." Link spoke getting up, he sported a smile as he looked up at the muscular woman, small tears were forming in his eyes as he saw her, alive and still the same as always, "I'm happy to see you're okay Reirousa."
He took a step forward and embraced her around her waist, pressing his head against her. Reirousa gulped a bit and looked away, blushing bright red.
"H-Hey, stop that you bastard... d-don't make me pound you again..." muttered Reirousa. Despite her words though, she found herself hugging him back, much to the relief and happiness of the others.
The two broke the hug Link spoke out, "So I didn't get an answer earlier, but what exactly are we doing here in Kokiri Village anyway, and where's Nabooru?"
He noticed the girls were looking rather saddened, Nemisa stepped up and cleared her throat,
"Well you see..."
"Oh..." Link spoke sadly, he was sitting on the soft grass of Kokiri Forest while the girls all described what had happened; making sure to tell him that Esolu was alive, though currently in a coma, that the Order of Reyham being responsible for his blind rage, that the Ebony Sisterhood had attacked and taken over Gerudo Town while he was outcold, and that Nabooru was captured.
As relieved as Link was to hear Esolu and their child was alive, this new information hit him pretty badly.
"We're sorry Link, we were caught off guard by the rebels." Nemisa said hanging her head down. But Link leaned forward, putting a hand on her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the lips.
"Don't worry Nemisa, you all went through a lot, namely because I was too weak to hold myself back from what's inside me.. or for telling any of you about what I was going through." Link spoke sadly.
Mido was caught off guard by Link's words. He always secretly envied the Hylian for the attention Saria gave him, and now seeing how big and strong he had gotten over the years, and Mido was always trying to work out and drink milk to get his body stronger to catch up with him. To hear Link outright admit he was too weak made him look down at his own self, feeling more guilty of his remark about Link earlier...
"Tatl already told us what it probably is, the mask of the Fleece Dietary right?" Aviel asked.
"She said Fierce Deity." Nemisa said sweatdropping.
Link was a little surprised they knew so soon, but nodded "Yeah, that's right."
"Sorry Link, I know we promised not to talk about it." Tatl said.
"It's okay, it's been a long time coming for me to say something." Link said, "I've just been worried to talk about it before because of everything we've been going through lately. Maybe if I had been more honest to you all things might have gone differently..."
"I dunno Link, I don't think much would have changed even if we did know. Lady Nabooru said that Reyahm follower was a pretty slippery little creep." Kesuta said, "And he was using some strange powers to pull it off."
"Either way, that's not what's important right at the moment. What matters now is taking back the town and saving Nabooru, right everyone?" Link asked with a grin.
"Yeah!" shouted out the others.
"So what are we even gonna do about the town? It's one thing to have the courage to take on the rebels, but how we gonna pull it off?" Togau said.
"Those rebels went in with an all-out assault, so how about we do the same? I could have my brothers do a Mighty Goron Knockdown of the gate into the town!" Darunia said.
"You doofus, the rebels have them outnumbered and they have that power tonic of theirs!" Ruto pointed out, "I think a sneak attack would be more effective."
"A sneak attack sounds plausible, but which locations would be most effective to attack without them ending up overwhelmed?" Impa asked.
"I'm not sure, it would be nice if we had some way to talk to someone in town and figure out the situation there." Link said in thought.
"Talk to someone..." Saria spoke, "Oh! I have an idea!"
Saria quickly pulled out her ocarina and started playing her song she usually used to talk to Link. The happy and bouncy tune livened up the area. Having been a while since they heard it, the Kokiri kids started clapping their hands to it while Darunia and Nemisa instinctively broke out into a dance.
"Yeow what a hot beat! Thanks for the mood lifter, little lady!" Darunia laughed out, doing a jig.
"Hey Chieftain, your moves are too sloppy!" Nemisa said snapping her fingers.
"Can I join you in the song Ms. Saria?" Skuld asked holding up his ocarina.
"No, and everyone be quiet, I'm trying to call someone!" Saria said, focusing back on playing the music. Link noted as she played it, it was at a slightly higher pitch than she usually did when communicating with him.
"But Link is right here, who could she be trying to call?" Aviel asked.
"...Ilite... Ilite, this is Saria... can you hear me?" Saria called out.
"... ...Saria? Is that you?" spoke a small voice, surprising Link and Sarami in particular.
"Ilite?" Sarami exclaimed.
"Wait, that's Link's little friend from the medical clinic right? The one with the asthma?" Togau asked.
"Yes, I made an ocarina for Ilite and taught her how to use my song so we could talk to each other while she was in the clinic!" Saria said nodding.
"Saria, thank the goddess Aifet you're okay!" Ilite said, "How is King Link and everyone?"
"We're fine Ilite, good to hear you again. What's the situation over there?" Link called out.
"Not very good, the whole town has been taken over by those nasty rebel ladies! They gave everyone two choices, either join the rebellion or get put in the prisons!" Ilite said, "I uh, got myself put in prison, I'm lucky they didn't take my ocarina from me."
"It's fine Ilite, we're just happy you're not hurt." Saria nodded.
"Listen little one, can you get any idea of what's going on in town from your prison?" Impa asked.
"Um... I dunno. We're in the underground prison, there's no windows or anything for us to see out of." Ilite said.
"Well that's problematic." Nemisa muttered.
"What is that? Is that King Link? Please help us!" called out a voice, along with some others and everyone quickly figured out it must had been the other prisoners.
"Shhh! Keep it down!" exclaimed Saria, "If a rebel overhears this conversation they might take away Ilite's ocarina!"
"Hey, what's going on here?" shouted a new voice, "What's that voice I'm hearing...? It sounds familiar..."
"Uh oh, what if that's a prison guard?!" Nemisa spoke.
"Um... w-we were just doing impressions, that's all!" they could hear Ilite state in a panic.
"Saria, you better cut the signal!" Link whispered to her, she was about to do so, but then the new voice spoke again,
"Hold up, was that Squirt I heard?"
"Wait a minute, squirt...?" Saria pondered, before coming to realization, "Oh! Maukai is that you?"
"Maukai?!" Nemisa exclaimed, "The rebel we captured from the Hall of Knowledge?!"
"Ah yes, that one who defected from the rebellion and was working as a prison snitch!" Ruto realized, recalling meeting her after Link's birthday when he had been briefly turned into a child.
"Yeah, it's me! Glad to hear from you guys!" Maukai stated, "How the heck are you talking to us? Are you hiding in a clay jar somewhere?"
"We're communicating to Ilite through Saria's ocarina magic." Link said, "What are you doing there?"
"Oh, well as luck would have it, the rebels released me from my cell and appointed me as a guard for this prison!" Maukai said, "Luckily they don't know I defected to you and Lady Nabooru's side yet!"
"Talk about a lucky break, seems like we have a source on the inside after all!" Nemisa said, "What's going on over there?"
"Lotta stuff really." Maukai sighed, "Anyone who surrendered to the rebels' side are now being drilled into becoming soldiers, and they're going to start hauling supplies from here out to Gerudo Fortress soon. Anyone who disobeys or is too weak to fight gets put in prison. Thankfully no one's been killed... at least so far."
"Sounds like they're preparing for the war on Hyrule Castle." Impa said narrowing her eyes, "But this drilling sounds more like an enslavement than anything."
"Have you heard anything about Nabooru?" Link asked desperately.
"Lady Nabooru? Word is she's been taken to Gerudo Fortress. Not sure what Mother Eclipsis wants to do with her, but everyone here seems really worried." Maukai said.
"Damnit..." Link spoke, looking downcast.
"I do have some good news though, been taking around to some friends I had in the rebellion before I defected, and despite their victory, it seems they don't like the way Mother Eclipsis is handling things anymore. They're talking about defecting themselves, but they're afraid of retaliation by the higher-ups."
"I don't blame em, those Elite Rebel ladies were a force to be reckoned with, that's fer sure." Togau sighed, "They even kicked our butts all over the place. Not sure how we're going to take back the town with them around."
"Oh the Elite Rebels? They're not here anymore." Maukai clarified, getting everyone's attention, "They went out to Gerudo Fortress with Mother Eclipsis shortly after the takeover."
"Wait really?" Link asked.
"They must have gone back to the fortress to prepare for the war." Impa deduced.
"Kukuku... sounds like this would be a fine time to land a strike on the town then." Korume spoke.
"Yeah, in fact this might be our only chance." Link nodded, "We have to take it before it's too late."
"Yo Maukai, could you do us a favor and root around town?" Reirousa asked, "Try to get us some info on the toughest rebels they got there right now and where they're held up at!"
"Can do!" Maukai said.
Link and his friends continued to stay in the forest for a while, waiting patiently for new information from Maukai.
Aviel and Saria were busy entertaining the Kokiri folk with singing and music. After finding out her passion for singing after being the Rito's priestess, Aviel started taking to writing her own songs to go with Saria's music. Darunia took well to their duet and did some dancing of his own which was very entertaining for the Kokiri, if a bit destructive at times.
Sarami was very enthusiastic about getting to be around the Kokiri, she asked them many questions about their physical states and behaviors to learn more about how they functioned. The boys were embarrassed to be around her due to her full figured beauty, while the girls just looked annoyed with jealousy.
"Hmm..." Sarami muttered as she looked at Vekai's eyes carefully. The young Kokiri seemed to be waiting in anticipation of what the doctor was looking for, "Well good news, you seem to have perfect twenty-twenty vision Ms. Vekai, so you don't need glasses like you thought!"
"...oh I see..." Vekai said, hanging her head down sadly.
"Wait, you're disappointed?" Sarami asked in confusion.
Nemisa meanwhile had been busy trying to carve some wristbands out of wood to temporarily replace her steel ones, but wasn't having much luck making anything sturdy enough. She instead focused on practicing her martial arts techniques on a training dummy, though the kids were getting annoyed that she kept breaking them. Nemisa paid that no mind, instead thinking about her loss to Lae Sahvasu, and kept going at it regardless, determined to win next time...
"Alright sister, hit me!" Kesuta said to Korume, who complied by spraying her with light ice magic. Kesuta cringed but did what she could to hold her ground.
"Are you certain of this, dear sister?" Korume asked curiously.
"Just do it, I need to build up my resistance to ice! I wanna be ready for when we take on that Meokuro lady next time!" Kesuta said, looking downwards, "When we lost, I felt like I let everyone down, including Mom. I wanna stick it to those rebels when the time comes!"
"...well if you insist, though afterwards..." Korume spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Could you possibly assist me in building up my tolerance to fire?" Korume asked with a light smile.
"Keeheehee, of course sister!" Kesuta said grinning.
In another area, Reirousa was sitting with Link and Halei, drawing out an accurate map of Gerudo Town, including buildings and landmarks so they could plan out their attack. Occasionally Halei would take small glances at Link to see if he was alright after everything that had happened. She saw the determined look in his eyes, ensuring her that he was fine.
As Reirousa was drawing out a picture of a building, Link tried to point out to her that it was a three story building, and in the process accidentally put his hand over hers. The two paused for a second with light blush on their cheeks, before Link jerked his hand away and Reirousa clumsily went back to drawing. Halei took note of this with some amusement.
Impa meanwhile sat back with Sir Knave and Sir Lackey, all watching Link and his friends working on their preparations. Mido was also sitting by with his arms and legs folded.
"Huh, they're really giving it their all to win back their town." Mido spoke.
"Indeed, before I wasn't sure what to think about the idea of Link becoming the Gerudo King, but he's grown well over the years, it seems like every time I see him he looks more and more like a true leader." Impa said.
"I... see..." Mido said, thinking about his role as the Kokiri leader, finding himself having more respect for Link then he could have thought.
Lackey meanwhile just stared out at Link himself, smiling lightly from under his helmet.
As Saria continued to play her ocarina to the other Kokiri, she sensed the melody of her communication song being played in the air, and realized Ilite was trying to get a hold of them.
"Everyone, I think Maukai has something to report!" she called out.
"Okay, so according to the information Maukai sent us, the rebels' strongest members have been stationed to seven key points in Gerudo Town." Halei said, as Link and Reirousa placed small rocks down onto the map drew up, everyone else was gathered around to see.
"They set themselves up at the prison, the training grounds, the schoolhouse, the animal ranch, the medical clinic, the Velvet Rogue nightclub, and of course the palace itself." Halei explained, using a brush to paint a small angry face on the rock that was on top of the palace drawing, "She said there's an Elite Rebel in particular that's stationed in the palace that goes by the name 'MAGIS'."
"Magis? That's kind of a weird name." Aviel said tilting her head.
"Maukai said she doesn't know much about her other than she's one of the few that Eclipsis allows to stand by her side." Halei said, "If we defeat and capture her then the rest of the rebels should surrender quickly."
"But there's a problem, if we just go straight for the palace we're gonna get clobbered." Reirosua said, "Before we take on the palace we need to go after the other six key points on this map and take control of them. That way, this MAGIS lady will be surrounded on all sides."
"Ah so a flanking maneuver, not bad." Impa nodded, "But that means you'd have to take the territories without any rebels alerting the palace."
"Maukai mentioned before that there's a lot of rebels who would be willing to switch sides if their safety could be assured. The only thing holding them back right now are the six rebel captains, one at each of the key points." Link said.
"Hm... so if we can manage to take out the rebels that they fear, then the defectors can help us secure the key points." Nemisa said.
"Exactly, which is why we'll sneak our way in and target the captains of each location." Halei said, "We do that, and the rebels will surrender, and we'll have 'MAGIS' and the palace trapped."
"Oooh, this is pretty exciting!" giggled Ruto, "These war strategies remind me of what we went through that one time, remember Darunia?"
"I was always confused about all the orders and stuff we took, I just went in and smashed everything!" Darunia laughed out loud.
"But how do we get into town to begin with?" Togau asked, "They gotta have some lookouts and guards watchin' over things by now!"
"Don't worry, Reirousa already figured out the best paths to get to each key location as quickly as possible. But we'll need a bit of help for some of the routes." Link said, he turned to Ruto, Darunia and Impa, "Can I ask you guys to help us with that?"
"Ohoohohoho, but of course my darling!" Ruto laughed out, "If we can't help you fight than we can at least do this to support you!"
"Leave it to me!" Darunia grinned, flexing his arms, "We'll all get you into the town real easy!"
"I've been itching for a good chance to use my ninja techniques to their fullest again after my pregnancy." Impa said as she stood on the underside of a tree branch, "Leave this to me."
As everyone started discussing what the planned to do for their battles, Link sat there pondering to himself. He looked up to the group and spoke out,
"Listen everyone, I'm glad we got a plan situated, but I have something I need to ask you. I know it sounds selfish of me after what my recklessness has caused, but I'm worried for Nabooru and I... well..."
"It's okay Link, we understand." Nemisa nodded, "You want to go save Lady Nabooru over at Gerudo Fortress, right?"
Link nodded, "I don't know what the Sisterhood is doing with Nabooru, but either way I feel that I need to help her."
"It's fine Link-honey, we're all worried for Nabs ourselves." Sarami spoke, "It would work better if we minimized her rescue team anyway. Sending in a whole army to attack a place like Gerudo Fortress would be difficult."
"Yeah, go for it! You can count on all of us to take back the town ourselves!" Aviel said cheerfully, "But are you sure about going alone?"
"I should be fine, I already know my way around that place pretty well." Link nodded.
"Huh? You've been to Gerudo Fortress before?" Kesuta asked.
"Does this have anything to do with this horseback archery score you had posted up in your home?" Korume asked, holding up said paper.
"Gerudo horseback archery? But don't have anything like that in town, on account of the horse shortage we got..." Toagu said with surprise.
Link was a little startled himself by Korume bringing that up, though he knew she was pretty sharp, having taken notice of it back when he brought her to the forest to save Saria, "It's a... long story. A story I've been wanting to tell you all, including Nabooru. And when this is all over, I plan to tell you all everything."
"Very well, we're looking forward to it, my love." Nemisa said with a smile, "Don't worry, we'll handle things at Gerudo Town."
"You don't have to worry about Link, he's not going to be going alone." Reirousa said, standing up and holding her warhammer on her shoulders, "I grew up in that fortress for a while before the war, so I remember that place pretty well. I can help him find her."
"Thanks Reirousa." Link nodded, he brought out his hand over the map, "Alright everyone, let's take back Gerudo Town, and save Nabooru!"
The Gerudo and their allies all brought out their hands with Link's and they all rose them up into the air at the same time, letting out a great cheer. Despite all the pain and sadness they had gone through, the bonds they held so closely to one another kept them going, and they weren't going to give up on anyone.
"Well glad to hear that you guys got that all sorted out!" Mido said, "Now that that's done, we Kokiri got to get back to our own work!"
"Yes, and on that note..."
Mido froze up at the feeling of a hand grabbing at his pointy ear, as he slowly looked over to see Vekai was the one holding it, she had a very cross look in her eyes as she adjusted her root glasses,
"I think you and I need to have a little 'chat' about your attitude towards Link from earlier."
"Have mercy!" shouted Mido in panic as Vekai dragged him off by his ear to his home.
Meanwhile, far off in Gerudo Fortress...
"Welcome back Mother Eclipsis, congratulations on your victory over the false king!"
"Thank you, it was mere child's play." Mother Eclipsis said to a rebel servant as she walked down a hallway of the fortress, before arriving in a spacious meeting room.
There sat the seven members of the Elite Rebels that defeated Link's fiances and Reirousa in combat at the town; Asaeku, Hetoma, Lae Sahvasu, Zuzoc, Niani, Kiraila and Meokuro.
"Splendid work, all of you." Eclipsis said, sitting down at a seat that was beside a larger empty seat at the end of the table, "Our people have been taken back, and the false king and his traitorous brides have pathetically retreated."
"Yes, and it won't be long now until we take back our true king and destroy those foolish Hylians." nodded Asaeku.
"To think Grand Colonel Nabooru herself fell to you Asaeku," Eclipsis said, "Your training certainly paid off."
"My life is indebted to you Mother Eclipsis," Asaeku bowed, "It's the least I could do."
"So... what exactly are you going to do with Lady Nabooru?" Meokuro asked with a hint of unease in her voice, "I would had figured you'd just have her killed already..."
"No... at least not yet." Mother Eclipsis spoke, "Killing Nabooru now would only be merciful to her. I intend on her to suffer for as long as possible..."
The others looked to each other somewhat nervously, they wondered at that point just what connection Eclipsis had to Nabooru, as not even they knew which Gerudo she really was behind that strange mask.
Shortly after the war, Nabooru stated she wanted the Gerudo to defect from Ganondorf's royal authority as the Gerudo King. Some like Aseaku stayed loyal to Ganondorf though, and remained in Gerudo Fortress while Nabooru led her own people off to the location that would eventually become Gerudo Town.
Those that stayed behind in the fortress were left wondering just what they could do, until the day came that Mother Eclipsis arrived before them with a group of followers. Eclipsis told them of her plans to free King Ganondorf, and they formed the Ebony Sisterhood, with the intention of taking back their people from Nabooru, going to war with Hyrule, and saving King Ganondorf.
"Now that Gerudo Town is in the hands of Sister 'MAGIS', we shall rest from our victory, and prepare for the attack on Hyrule Castle at a later point." Eclipsis stated, "I have other plan to make with Lady Nabooru." she said with a dark chuckle.
"Alright, this calls for a celebration!" Hetoma cheered out, "How about I fire us up some barbecue?!"
"Un burgosa de octavo flambioyoooo!" Lae Sahvasu shouted with a big hungry grin.
"I already said I ain't gonna cook you another Arrghus!" Hetoma shouted to Sahvasu, "Not after that tentacle incident from last time!"
"I just want some cake!" Niani said leaning on her elbows drooling, "With extra, extra frosting!"
"Now, now all of you. This isn't exactly cause for celebration just yet." Kiraila spoke up waving her finger, "Don't forget that the false king and his queens managed to escape from us."
"Aw, killjoy." pouted Hetoma.
"Sister Kiraila right though. After Zuzoc kill great black tiger, Zuzoc attacked by many tigers wishing for revenge. There great chance false king and Lynel lady come to save Nabooru from sisterhood. " Zuzoc said, who was squatting down picking at her ear with her right toe until she pulled out a large amount of earwax on it.
"Eww... so much for my appetite..." Niani said in disgust.
"Hmph, if the false king truly has that death wish, we have ways of dealing with him..." spoke Eclipsis, she turned her head towards a shadowy figure sitting some distance away from them,
"...isn't that right, Prince Ghilmarelm?"
Sitting back on a pile of pillow was a masculine figure with a strong muscular body. His red hair was combed back wildly, and he had a long pointed nose and chin. At the moment he was clad only in his pants, showing off his muscular chest and that his skin was tanned with a strangely greenish hue to it as well. There was numerous tattoos decorating his body of various Gerudo symbols.
Surrounding him was six Gerudo rebels, all cooing and rubbing at him with affection. One stroked her finger along his ear, and he replied by kissing her on the lips, which she moaned into. As soon as he broke the kiss she swooned out and fainted against his muscular arm.
"Not a problem Mother." he said with a sinister grin, as he brought up his hand, generating some dark power form it which dazzled the girls around him, "Should that foolish boy come here, I'll strike him down with my own hands, and make him pay for the imprisonment of my father..."
"...the great King Ganondorf Dragmire!"
And that ends the chapter. Next time, the Gerudo begin their attack to reclaim Gerudo Town! Can they pull through and emerge victorious? Find out next time!
Thanks again to everyone for your continued support! Leave a like, follow, comment or send me a PM at your leisure!