Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda Series or its characters. I also do not own "Beauty and the Beast", "Les Miserables", or any other musical or piece of music mentioned in this story. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Hello, everyone! Thank you again for your continued support! As always, please leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think! Enjoy chapter 21! ~Opal

Chapter 21: "City in the Sky"

Sally and I got ready to leave the theatre after talking for a few minutes, but before we could get out Tilanya took Sally into an embrace. "I'm gonna miss you, girl!"

Sally giggled. "It's not like I'm going away forever!"

"Just shut up and give me a hug!" She yelled. She stopped hugging Sally and put her hands on her shoulders. "Don't let Link take you anywhere that'll get you killed, okay?"

She laughed again. "I'll try."

"Darn it!" I shouted. "I guess those lava pits are out of the question!" I grinned while lacing my hands behind my head. We all laughed and then Sally and I bid Tilanya farewell.

"No kissing in public!" Tilanya shouted after us. I blushed while Sally laughed again.

After leaving town we mounted our horses and headed to Lake Hylia, where the cannon still stands in remembrance of my adventures. After traveling for a short distance Sally took out the music she received from Mr. Cathbird and proceeded to attempt looking at it while steering her horse. She fumbled with the pages in one hand while holding the reins with the other hand.

"Not a good multi-tasker, huh?" I asked.

"Not when it comes to this!" She continued to struggle with the reins and music.

"Here's a thought...why don't you put the music away?" I smirked.

"No!" She stuck her tongue out at me. "I can do what I want!"

"Have fun with that!" I chuckled.

She continued to fuss with the sheet music and then finally put it away in her knapsack. "Okay...you win." She shrugged.

"Told you I would!" I smiled.

"No you didn't!" She argued.

"Oh, well!" I said. "I always win!"

She galloped in front of me. "I DARE you to say that again!" She smirked.

I stopped Epona. "I...always...win." She got out a bow and aimed it at me. "Woah, woah! Careful where you point that thing!" I put my hands up in surrender.

She giggled and put her bow and arrow away. She wiggled a finger at me. "Don't get too boastful now, hero!"

"Who says I'm getting boastful?" I looked at her while raising a brow and grinning. "Your pretty little head just can't handle the truth!"

"Hmmm...strong words for someone who's about to hit a tree!" She shouted excitedly.

I stopped looking at her and looked ahead of me. "Crap!" I wrestled with my reins. "Epona! Don't you know how to avoid obstacles?!" She just lifted up her front legs to whinny and then brought her front end back down.

"Blaming the horse when it's the fault of a distracted master?" She tittered. "Maybe you should stop looking at my 'pretty little head' and watch where you're going, hmmm?"

"Pfft! I know where I'm going!" I teased. "I was only testing you!"

"Right..." She winked. A couple of hours later we were in Lake Hylia. We dismounted our horses and walked over to the cannon. "Why are we at the cannon?" Sally asked. "Surely we can just magically teleport there or s-something?" She started shaking.

"Nope." I replied. "We both have to get into the cannon to be shot into the sky."

She gulped. "One problem..."

"What's that?"

"I'm d-deathly afraid of h-heights."

I held her hand. "You can do it!" She shook her head. "I have to go with you, I'll make sure you're safe!" She shook her head again, looking at me with a white face. I looked at her earnestly. "Trust me."

I opened the door of the cannon and helped her into the chamber. After loading some ammo I lit the fuse and got into the chamber with her, sealing the door shut behind me. She began to hold onto me tightly, her whole body in tremors. "I'm s-s0 s-s-scared!" She shouted.

"It's okay, Sally." I said. "Besides, we haven't even taken off yet."

She was quiet for a minute. "L-Link..." She whispered shakily.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I'm going to squeeze you. That way if I go down, you'll go with me." She squeezed tighter.

"How considerate!" I replied sarcastically, feeling constricted. I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "It'll be okay." The sound of the fuse began to get louder as it got closer to the end.

She was laughing and crying hysterically at the same time at this moment, and then she began to scream. "AAAAHHHH! WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

"3..." I began counting down as she shut her eyes. "2..."

"Please, spare me, goddesses!" She cried.

"1..." I managed to say. Not even a second later we heard an explosion and were shot into the air. She wouldn't stop screaming as she held onto me, and I hollered more out of excitement. I'm sure anyone that would have been there to hear us would think we were being kicked out of a mental asylum.

We landed safely in a pool when we reached our destination. Sally surfaced and felt her face with her hands. "I'm dead..." She looked at me and gasped. "You're dead too!? Oh, cruel world!" She put her hands over her face again.

"Sally." I put my hands on her shoulders. "We're not dead."

She put her hands down. "Oh, geez! I'm sorry! I kind of...overreacted..."

"It's alright." I sighed. "You were frightened."

"So..." She swirled around to look at the strange structures that were only familiar to me. "This is the 'City in the Sky?'"

"Yep." I joined her in looking around and then I looked at her.

Her mouth was agape. "Wow." She said with awe. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before."

"Pretty cool-looking, huh?" I smirked. "All these cool things I get to do." I cleared my throat, continuing to smile.

She splashed me. "Were you trying to brag?" She laughed.

Water dripped from my hair and onto my nose. "...Maybe..."

"That's unlike you." She said with peculiarity.

"Alright..." I felt my cheeks turn pink. "I'll quit messing with you."

"Okay." We both laughed. I looked over towards the stairs leading from the pool to the bridge that connected to the shop and saw Ooccoo running towards us.

"Link!" She shouted, her son Ooccoo Jr. floating beside her. "We're so glad you're here!" There was a sense of anxiety in her voice.

Sally looked over at the two Oocca with confusion. "Link...what are those things?"

"Nothing to fear." I replied to her as I grabbed her hand. "I'll introduce you to them." We swam over to Ooccoo and Ooccoo Jr. and stood on the steps.

"I hate to be rude, but this isn't the time for small talk." Ooccoo said to me. "There have been monsters all over the place!"

Ooccoo Jr. gingerly came out from behind his mother and spoke shyly. "The only place that's safe to get away from them is the shop."

"The monsters you had previously destroyed...they are back...and there's a new monster that has joined them..." She quaked with fear.

"What does the new monster look like?"

"It..."

"Check this out, everyone!" Sally hollered. She was standing next to a blue jay that was flying close to her.

"Don't go any further, Sally!" I warned. "The strong gusts of wind will blow you off the bridge!"

"I won't." She smiled. "But look at this bird! I wonder why it's all the way up here?" It landed on a stone wall to the left of her. She bent her knees to get more at eye-level with it. "Don't you feel lonely all by yourself?" She said sweetly.

"Hmmm..." I answered while looking in her direction. "That's interesting."

"G-g-g-g-get her away from that bird!" Ooccoo yelled.

"What's wrong? That bird looks harmless." I questioned.

"Don't judge a book by its cover!" She squawked.

"Wait...you're not trying to tell me that..." I was cut off by an ear-piercing shrill coming from the bird. We all covered our ears in reaction. The bird began to grow into what looked like the ancient Loftwings I've heard of in stories of Hyrule's past, but the only difference was that its mouth had razor-sharp teeth & its wings had one giant claw on each tip. "Sally!" I screamed, trying to run towards her. She jumped out of the way as it tried to bite her with its beak. I ran in front of her to protect her, the bird staring in my direction. It began to step towards me, kawing and shrieking like it had done a minute ago. It tried to bite me, but I smacked it away with my iron chain and quickly drew out my sword. It then tried to slash at me with the claws on its wings, but I put up my shield at the last second and avoided getting scratched.

"Link!" Sally shouted from behind. "Keep distracting it! I have a plan!" She ran out from behind me and got out of the bird's line of sight, drawing her bow. She shot an arrow and it went right into the side of its head. It let out a high-pitched shrill in agony. I took the opportunity to charge at it and pierced its chest with my sword. It collapsed seconds later and disappeared in a huge puff of smoke. Sally ran over to me to make sure I was okay.

Ooccoo flew over to us and exhaled with relief. "Are you two alright?" Ooccoo Jr. flew up to us close behind her mother.

"Yeah." I nodded, Sally nodding as well.

"What splendid courage showcased from the both of you!" She exclaimed, raising her wings up in the air with gratitude. "Thanks to you both, we don't have to worry about that demon bird troubling us." Sally and I looked at each other and smiled.

I turned back to Ooccoo. "Was there only one of them?" I inquired.

"Yes. Only one." She replied.

"Hmm..." I rubbed my chin with my hand. "Have there been any strange occurrences that may have led to the sudden appearance of monsters?"

"There was one strange occurance I can recall..." She thought for a moment. "Everything was fine until one day the wind settled momentarily." She frowned. "It was eerily quiet and calm, which concerned Jr. and me..." She pointed to the store. "We were coming out of the store at that moment, and Jr. saw a bright orange light in the sky. It came towards us and landed on the bridge in front of us, sending out a blinding white light as it transformed into a woman..." I couldn't help but feel bewildered. I mean, a woman? All the way up here? Ooccoo continued. "The woman faced us momentarily, but obviously didn't think anything of us...even though we could talk and could easily tell of her whereabouts."

"What did she look like?" I queried, trying to think if I would know who it was or who they're affiliated with.

"She wasn't young, but not incredibly old. She also had black hair, although it was beginning to turn grey. She had fairly long, well-manicured nails...and the way she carried herself felt very vain." Sally and I were quiet. "She raised a hand to the sky and shot out a magical beam, creating a vortex in the sky, which is where the monsters came from. They floated into the city and have wreaked havoc since. As for the lady, she disappeared the same way she appeared."

"T-that...sounds just like..." Sally struggled to find words.

I looked at her with concern, realizing the same thing she just realized. "...Your stepmother?" I almost whispered.

"It couldn't be..." She looked back at me with fret clearly written on her face. "...Could it?"

"...She is a shady, hateful woman..." I told her. She responded with a firm nod of agreement, and I looked back at Ooccoo. "Her stepmother matches your description almost perfectly, but we don't know if she has magical capabilities or not..."

Ooccoo gasped and looked at Sally. "How can someone like that be your stepmother?" She squawked. "You seem so kind and genuine."

She put her hand to her heart. "Thank you. That was very sweet."

"Don't mention it." She smiled. "I heard Link calling you Sally, so that must be your name?"

"Yes." She answered.

"Nice to meet you!" She flapped her small wings.

"Likewise." Sally giggled.

"You are a friend of Link's?" She asked.

"Yes." Sally answered quickly.

"C'mon!" I teased her with a wink. "Tell the bird the truth!"

She blushed, turning back to Ooccoo. "Well, we used to be just friends...we're..." She rubbed her arm shyly. "We're dating now."

Ooccoo trilled with glee. "How charming!" She looked at me and winked. "She's a keeper!"

I blushed and looked away for a minute, trying to find anything else to focus on. Ooccoo, Jr., and Sally laughed from behind me. I looked towards them again. "Thank you for the information, Ooccoo. Sally and I will investigate this."

"Good luck to the two of you!" She flapped her wings twice, causing her to float momentarily, and then she landed back on the ground. "If anyone can take care of this issue, it's the two of you!"

Sally and I bid Ooccoo and Ooccoo Jr. farewell and grabbed some parachutes made of cloth out of our packs, preparing to land back in Hyrule to check on Sally's stepmother. I'm nervous about how this may turn out, but this should be interesting, and I'm glad that we're finally starting to uncover this mystery.