Zelda Art Snowpeak

[Tavoriel]

Hi Zelda Dungeoners!

I journeyed to Snowpeak in Twilight princess just after I finished reading Stephen King's The Shining and then bam, I had to write this story. I hope you like it.

Rating: PG-13 (Unsettling at times but nothing horrible or gory)
Summary: Separated from Midna and injured from an unfortunate sledding incident involving a tree, Link must use his wits to stay alive in an old, isolated mansion. One of his hosts is not what she seems. Searching for a dark power that may threaten the World of Light she has come to admire, Midna hopes that Link will be okay without her. Then she realizes just how much danger she is in herself...

Snowpeak

Chapter 1: Betrayal

It looked like a gentle mass of furry evergreen branches, rapidly welcoming Link’s careening sled, but his terrified mind processed only the hidden trunks. Over and over within the span of a few seconds, he imagined violently striking cold, hard wood, a scratching host of needles the least of his worries, and was almost surprised when the actual impact occurred.

“Link!” Midna yelled, jumping out of his shadow as the sled went its merry way into an unforgiving cliff face. “Are you alright?”

“Urrk,” Link said softly. With the arm he could move, he felt the arm he could not and was immediately sorry he had.

“You’re going to be fine,” Midna said quickly. “Just fine, Link. It looks like you’ve broken your arm, but that’s about all. The fairy you caught can fix that easily—see, there it is now. You’re going to be fine.”

The dazzling white-pink shape of a fairy popped out of a bottle that had fallen a ways to the left of the tree (miraculously, the bottle hadn’t broken) and spun frantically around him, distress written all over its scrunched up little face. Fairies couldn’t stand to see others in pain. So much that they instantly forgave you for carting them around in a bottle the minute their beady eyes caught sight of a speck of blood.

“Your ice sled crashed and broke,” Midna was saying. “But it’s not far to walk from here. I think. Feeling better?”

“Oh no,” Link said miserably, not to Midna but to the world at large, as the fairy disappeared. He clutched his arm and grimaced.

“What’s wrong?” Midna asked, concerned. “The fairy just—I saw it fly around you! What happened?”

“Stupid fairy,” Link moaned. “Why did I trust that thing to think… Oww…”

Midna reached out gently to touch his arm, but he pulled away.

“Link,” she said sternly, “tell me what’s wrong. I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need.”

“That fairy healed my arm,” Link said darkly, “but it didn’t think to line the bones back up first.”

Midna’s mouth formed a silent ‘O.’

Link pulled himself carefully to his feet. The fairy had healed his scratches and bruises, so apart from his arm he was fine. Just fine, except for his arm. He looked around, his expression furrowing in concern. The sun, locked in an indecisive state of “day” for the past few hours, finally put its foot down in favor of “evening.” As if eager for the coming night and the temperature drop that came with it, the chill mountain wind whistled possessively over Link’s unprotected face, through his thin tunic. Mine.

“I can only see trees and the side of the mountain,” he said. “I think it’s very far to walk from here.”

“Fair enough,” Midna said, “giving me a hard time for being encouraging. I’ll admit I can be a bit proud sometimes, but I’m not above taking a swipe if it was well-deserved.”

“Sorry,” Link said, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“You don’t have to be so worried,” Midna said. “You’re going to be fine. I can warp you to Castle Town or Karikariko village. We’ll have a doctor set your arm, and then we’ll heal you up with another fairy and be back here in no time. Let me tell you, Zant had no idea just how much he was helping us when he gave us that little magic rock that turns you into a wolf. Come on, let’s go.”

“Just a minute,” Link said. “My gear went everywhere when I hit the tree. I can’t leave it here.”

“I’ll help you pick it up,” Midna said.

In forty minutes, they had found everything but the wallet.

“You sure you can’t just leave it?” Midna asked. “You only had six-hundred rupees in there, and you can find rupees everywhere.”

“It’s not the money I’m worried about losing,” Link said. “It’s the wallet. It’s the only thing I can store rupees in that keeps them from disappearing. Without it, that magic armor I bought is useless.” He sighed. “It’s really convenient to be able to find money under rocks,” he said, “but sometimes I wish we used a currency that was a little more… I dunno, grounded in reality. What’s money like where you come from?”

“There aren’t that many Twili,” Midna said thoughtfully. “Half the time we end up bartering with goods. But the money that we use sticks around. I’ve heard that the princess has chests and chests of it in the castle.”

“Good for her,” Link said, pawing through the snow with his good hand.

“Would it be easier to dig if you were a wolf?” Midna asked.

“No,” Link said, “I’m fine like this. Ha ha, I wouldn’t be able to stand up properly as a wolf.”

“You’re right,” Midna said thoughtfully. “Never mind, then.”

The wallet was not in the spot where Link was digging. It was not in the next spot either.

“Link,” Midna said, “I don’t want to alarm you, but there’s a group of ice keese headed your way.”

There was indeed. They were easy to spot in the evening shadows, five or six moving swirls of bright, whitish blue.

“I suppose I’m lucky enough not to have broken my sword arm, at least,” Link said, drawing the Master Sword. “Found anything?”

“Nope,” Midna said. “You take care of yourself. Maybe you can hold a sword, but that doesn’t mean—oh dear.”

The keese flew stupidly around their frozen target, unsure of what to do next. Their usual prey was smaller and had the tendency of freezing to death, but this big creature seemed to have missed the memo.

“Shoo! Shoo!” Midna barked, waving the keese away with her arms. “Link, hang in there. Their magic is so weak I can barely feel it. You’ll be unfrozen in no time. Shoo!”

Link had been blasted in the middle of a swing and was very much off-balance. The minute his feet unstuck from the ground and his body unstiffened, he toppled backwards, blocking his fall instinctively with his injured arm.

“Ahh,” he said in a strained voice, sitting up. Then he began to laugh.

“What?” Midna asked.

Still laughing, Link held up his injured arm. He was holding his wallet.

“Wow,” Midna said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. “That’s…that’s pretty impressive. Are you okay?”

“If it’s possible to be okay and in pain,” Link said, “then yeah. I’m ready to go when—”

But he was cut off, his throat freezing still, his mouth filling with ice.

“I told you to shoo!” Midna yelled, batting furiously at the keese. “Leave Link alone! What are you bothering him for anyway? Do you seriously think you can eat him? Can’t you see how big he is? Shoo, you little numbskulls!”

“Pun intended?” Link asked, shivering violently.

“What do you mean?” Midna asked.

“N-n-numbskulls,” Link said, shivering. “Ice, freezing, cold…numb…you know.”

“Oh,” Midna said. “No. Ha ha. But that works. You know, you look terrible.”

“I don’t think the ancient hero whose clothes I’m b-b-borrowing was much of a mountaineer,” Link said through chattering teeth. “I didn’t notice how cold it was up here at first because I came up here as a w-w-wolf. I’d hate to be stuck up here without that nice, furry coat as an option. Or warping. It’s scary how far we are from civilization.”

Midna was about to say something when she heard it. Seconds later, Link heard it too.

Footsteps. Crunchschruncschrunchschrunch. Louder and louder.

They turned to see the friendly, white shape of Yeto approaching them in the falling darkness. Link locked eyes with Midna, wordlessly pleading, begging. I know he’ll see you if he gets any closer. He’ll see me change. But please, let’s just warp out of here. I am in pain. Don’t leave me with him. Please.

Midna could read his face like a book. But she frowned as if her heart were breaking. She shook her head apologetically, guiltily. She dove into Link’s shadow.

“No…” The word was barely a whisper.

“Human!” Yeto boomed, his big face crinkling in concern. “Yeto was worried when you not come! Wife say, ‘Human not yeti.’ Wife say, ‘Human fragile. Maybe human get hurt on mountain all alone.’ You alive, uh?”

“Fine,” Link said. “Just f-fine. I just stopped to adm-m-mire the v-v-v-v-view; this place is really beautif-f-f-f… urhh. Beautiful. Cold, but beautiful.” He sneezed. “You go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

“No, come with me,” Yeto said. “Silly Yeto, let human slide down here all alone with no warm fur, no protection against cold. I never notice cold, but you do! Lots! Uh, silly Yeto. Come, I carry.”

“Nononoo!” Link said. “I can’t come right now. I dropped something in the snnnnnn, in the snow, something really important. I’ll f-f-follow y—”

The cold breath of an ice keese stopped the words in his throat. Helpless, he could feel strong arms pry him loose from the cold ground, saw the world tilt at crazy angles and finally settle a few feet further below him than it had been before. Fearful, he felt the pressure of the yeti’s warm body against his injured arm. The ice kept it rigid for now, but he would be in a lot of pain once that ice was gone…

Yeto would never know if he did not cry out. When he unfroze, he could not cry out. If Yeto found out that his arm was broken, the kind soul would almost certainly try and lend a hand, a blunt hand with stubby fingers, all force and no finesse…

“Aahhhh!” Link gasped half a second later, clutching his arm.

Yeto set him down gently.

“You’re hurt, uh,” he said with dismay. “Why you not say anything?”

“Because I wanted to have it seen by a doctor down in K-k-kari—kar—karikarik-k-k-k—kar— I wanted to have it seen by a doctor,” Link said, a bitter edge creeping into his unsteady voice. “I have a f-f-f-friend with me, a little imp that h-hides in my shadow, who was going to w-w-warp me there, just before you came. She hid because she didn’t want you to see us. She has to turn me into a w-w-w-wolf before she can warp me, and she didn’t want to scare you. Y-y-y-you know how you saw a wolf b-b-back at the top of the mountain? That was m-me! You said you w-would have taken me home and eaten me if you didn’t have a f-f-fish. Alright, M-midna, he knows. Come out now, and let’s get going. Th-thanks for your h-h-help, Yeto, but we’ve g-got this.”

“Poor, poor human,” Yeto said, his face a picture of outright misery. “Cold and hurt and alone, mind full of crazies. My fault. Uh, my fault for leaving poor fragile little human all alone. Come, human. I take you and “friend” to my house. Sit you down by fire. Make warm soup, uh. Hold still now!”

“Midna,” Link said desperately, “please come out! Please?”

She did not come. The wind whipped his face accusingly, whispering betrayal in his ears, as the yeti scooped him up and hugged him close as if he were a baby.

“Yeto,” Link said, “I r-really w-was that w-wolf. How could I have known what y-y-you said to the w-w-wolf otherw-w-wise?”

But the yeti only patted his face with a huge, calloused hand and trudged onward into the darkness.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I have a lot more written, and I have a lot more to go. This is fun to write. I think I might actually finish this one. Yay.

 

[BakerGuy]

Wow, that is pretty impresive. I enjoyed it. I am a huge TP fan!

 

[Tavoriel]

Thanks for the feedback



Here is more:




Chapter 2: Hospitality


Yeto’s wife Yeta had a kind and gentle spirit, more so than Yeto if that could even be possible. She didn’t seem to have arms herself but nevertheless sympathized deeply with her guest. She crooned “Ooooh” and “Oh no” in all the right places as he sat across from her at the fireside, telling his story. Link did not mention Midna to her.

“How does arm feel now?” she asked, voice ringing with sweet empathy.

“Not too good,” Link admitted. Once Yeto had dragged the truth about the tree and the fairy from Link, he had been very firm about both the need for setting Link’s arm to rights and his own ability to do so. Link wasn’t sure how many pieces those blunt fingers had mashed his poor bones into, but at least the limb had been bound into a sorry, swollen package that would heal… more normally than before. Which would take who knew how long unless he could sneak away long enough for Midna to warp him elsewhere, somewhere he could get a fairy. Yeto had no fairies. He didn’t even have chuchu jelly. Link had half a mind to give that helmet of Midna’s a field test for not warping him earlier. If she didn’t kill him for spilling her secrets to Yeto first.

“Not too good” indeed.

“You are brave boy,” Yeta said.

Link hardly thought it proper for any self-respecting seventeen-year-old to be called a boy, but he hardly saw the use in offering protest.

“How’s your head?” he asked.

“Ache-y,” Yeta said sadly. “Speaking of which…”

[Here she looked around furtively]

“I heard what Yeto said about pretend friend Mindy. Don’t worry. I not think you crazy. I have pretend friend too.”

“Oh really?” Link asked, not sure what else to say.

“Pretend friend made of ice,” Yeta whispered. “Beautiful ice, uh, all smooth and sparkly. Visitor in dreams. Always same vision—friend coming down the mountain and covering whole world in ice. And sometimes I pretend I am something that I am not, uh, like you pretend to be wolf. Sometimes in the dream I pretend that pretend friend is me.”

“That’s an interesting dream,” Link said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come true.”

Yeta frowned.

“It is nice dream,” she said defensively. “Ice makes beauty, uh. Ice can make even silliest object beautiful.”

“It makes living objects dead,” Link pointed out.

“Oh,” Yeta said, frowning. “Yes, it does, uh.”

“So… did this have something to do with your headaches?” Link asked.

“Friend came after headaches started,” Yeta said quietly. “After mirror. Sickness is no fun, but friend is nice. Uh, it is lonely here often. Sad if friend leaves once I am well. What about your friend? Is Mindy nice?”

“Hmm…” Link said. “Most of the time.”

Then Yeto came out of the kitchen with two big bowls of horrible-smelling soup. The smell and the memories that came with it brought Link’s mind to murky, canine places. One memory was stronger than all the rest, a memory of a triumphant catch in Zora’s Domain: Whooooa, what a smell! It is a GOOD SMELL! It is a good smell for this thing that I have caught, and it is a good smell for me too! Roll, roll, roll, all over! Hooraaaaay!

Unsettled, Link stared at the faded pictures on the wall, doing arithmetic in his head and running his tongue over generally blunt teeth—anything to remind himself that he was not a wolf at all but a rational human being. His brain did not readily disclose wolf memories with embarrassingly animal content to his human mind, and for good reason.

“Have little taste of soup, uh,” Yeto said kindly, offering Link one of the huge bowls. “Tell Yeto if you want more.”

There was more to the memory: Now let’s see what is inside this wonderful thing with this wonderful smell! Oooh, it is warm on the inside! This wonderful thing with this wonderful smell is cold on the outside and warm on the inside! Hooray! And wow wow WOW! This wonderful thing has a wonderful taste! Even more wonderful than the smell! I like this thing. I like this thing a lot. This wonderful thing.

“I’m not hungry,” Link said. Seventeen plus sixty, that’s seventy-seven. Sixty-eight minus forty-five, that’s… that’s the same thing as sixty-three minus forty, which is twenty-three. If you add seventy-seven and twenty-three, you get an even hundred…

But he was hungry, and the yetis were very persistent.

I miss the water temple, Link thought darkly as he sipped the warm broth. Another, less sophisticated part of him thought, Yum yum yum, fish, hooray, hooray!

Midna, we need to talk. Soon.

------------------

Any guesses on what will happen next?

 

[Tavoriel]

MOAR story

Chapter 3: Alone

Yeto slept by the fireplace next to his wife, cradling her aching head with his massive side, radiating gentleness and care even in sleep. It was touching to watch. And Link did watch. He watched the two of them snore for a good thirty minutes before he was convinced that they wouldn’t hear him sneak into the parlor. Then he was gone.

He didn’t even have to call for Midna. She was out of his shadow and hovering in his face the minute he closed the parlor door, her visible eye narrowed in regret.

“Look at my arm, Midna,” Link said. “That, that… that yeti turned it into a jigsaw puzzle. And you let him! I can understand that you didn’t want to come out unless there was an emergency, but I really thought... Midna, I trusted you.”

“Link, I’m sorry,” Midna said. “My safety is important to the Twili people in ways you’re not aware of. I can’t take unnecessary risks. I can’t justify showing myself to people unfamiliar with the Twili, people with every reason to resent us for what Zant did to these lands. I understand that you’re upset, but please don’t be angry. Can I see your arm?”

“Sure,” Link said. “Maybe you can find a way to damage it further. Think you’re creative enough for the challenge?”

“I’d better not try,” Midna said, gently running her hands along the outside of the bandage. “You might get back at me by introducing me to everyone you know. Oh, and by the way—I distinctly remember telling you to put on your magic armor before you took off on that ice sled. For the record.”

Link was about to respond, but surprise stopped him. Midna had made her hand go all wispy, and she was passing it back and forth through his arm. It was the same trick she’d used to travel through solid iron bars, so long ago in the dungeon where they’d first met.

“For an amateur doctor, the yeti did a good job,” Midna said finally. “There is some needless damage, true, but I’m pretty sure everything’s in a good position to heal back up. If someone threw a fairy at you right now, you would almost certainly be restored to perfect health. Fairies are dependable enough most of the time. Remember that time you got a big gash in your shoulder? And the time you slipped and drove your foot into a pool of lava in the Goron Mines? You got healed by fairies both times. You didn’t end up with a crater on your shoulder or a bone for a foot.”

“Pretty sure everything’s in a good position to heal?” Link asked. “Almost certain a fairy will work now? Midna, I don’t… Oh forget it. Take me to a fairy already and I’ll find out for myself.”

“That’s the spirit,” Midna said. “Lie on your back so you don’t hurt yourself or fall over when you turn into a wolf. I’ll warp you to Ordon Spring. The Great Fairy we met in that cave in the Gerudo desert sent a bunch of little fairies there.”

“Thanks,” Link said. He lay on his back and waited.

When he did not dissolve into black squares, intuition told him to be very afraid.

“It’s not here,” Midna said.

“What’s not here?” Link asked.

“Zant’s crystal,” Midna said nervously. “I thought for sure I had it… could I have dropped it when you hit the tree?”

“Zant’s… you mean you can’t warp me anymore?” Link asked in horror, sitting up. “But how could it… Midna, I looked all around that stupid tree! If the crystal was there, I would have touched it, and I would have turned into a wolf instantly! How could we not have found it?”

“Link,” Midna said, “I’ve never said anything about it until now, but that crystal makes me uneasy. I could never understand why Zant would use it against you if all it did was turn you into a wolf. And ever since I started carrying it… I don’t know. I know there’s no way it could be watching me, but… Hm.”

“Midna,” Link said, “you’ve stuck that thing in my forehead dozens of times. Hundreds. I’ve never noticed anything weird.”

“That’s true,” Midna said, “but we never left it in for long periods of time. If it could hurt you right away, it would have done so when Zant first attacked you with it. The blue-eyed beast is sacred and not very easily corrupted, so you not noticing anything doesn’t mean much.”

“Okay,” Link said, “so maybe magic rock equals bad… now what? You’ll still use it to warp me out of here once we find it, right? Even if we never use it again… just this one time…”

“I’d certainly warp you if I had the crystal,” Midna said. “That’s not what I was worried about. What worries me is… Link, I think it wanted to get away from us. I don’t think it was me who dropped it.”

“That’s… no,” Link said. “Come on, don’t be stupid.”

“Poor close-minded country boy,” Midna said. “The only thing magical about the world he grew up in was its currency.”

Link opened and closed his mouth. Then,

“Okay, fine,” he said, “let’s say Mr. Magic Rock was on a mission from Zant to break through my defenses, like you suggested earlier. Why would it want to leave? Where would it want to go?”

“I think it realized that its evil has no chance of touching you,” Midna said. “I think it’s terrified of the Master Sword—what’s its other name—Evil’s Bane. My guess is that it left to look for easier prey. A keese, maybe? A wolfos? We saw what a fused shadow can do to an innocent creature from this world. Fused shadows are Twili magic. The crystal is… I don’t even know what the crystal is. Hyrule could be in danger… oh, Link, the Zoras are right in its path! It’ll strike them first!”

“Hmm,” Link said. “Alright. If you really think that what you're describing could happen, I'll help you find the rock.”

“You’re right about the need to find it,” Midna said. “But you’re wrong about coming with. Forget it. You’re in no condition to.”

“I don’t want to be left here alone with those yetis,” Link said, waves of fear coursing through his person. “Not defenseless like this! They’re nice as hell, but they’re not human. I honestly couldn’t say I trust them not to eat me under any circumstance.”

“What are you going to do if the crystal’s found a host before we can stop it?” Midna asked. “How will you defend yourself, so much as fight? I’d expect a monster created by that crystal to eat you under any circumstance, believe me. I’ll have enough on my hands as it is. I don’t want to have to worry about protecting you. And I don’t want to lose you.”

“If you’re so paranoid that you have to hide from everyone, why would you take a risk like this?” Link asked.

“It’s not only my own people I care about,” Midna said. “I can’t allow a mutant beast to go on a rampage through your world of light. Please, Link. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. I hate the idea of leaving you by yourself like this and you know it.”

“Alright,” Link said, resting his head on the palm of his good hand. “Midna, you be careful out there, understand?”

“I will,” Midna said. She turned to go.

“And I guess you couldn’t have warped me anyway,” Link said. “If the stone’s gone.”

Midna flew back and hugged him.

“I would have realized it was gone sooner if I’d tried to warp you,” she said.

“Don’t die out there,” Link said.

“And you don’t die in here,” Midna said.

“Agreed,” Link said.

They shook hands warmly, and then Midna was gone, floating through the door like so much smoke.

Link stared after her for quite some time. Then he turned slowly, sadly away and walked back to the room with the fireplace. He had never felt so alone.

 

[xmajorax]

Wow, great story so far! I'm going to be keeping an eye on this, good job!

 

[Tavoriel]

AAANND STORY IS BACK

Chapter 4: Lost Ticket

Yeta was gone.

As Link walked, defeated, to his pile of cushions, he could see only the shadowy form of Yeto, a perfect living couch, curled protectively around no one.

Strange.

Link eased himself down into his little pillow nest, careful not to jog his injured arm on any of the surrounding furniture. He was quite tired.

But sleep did not come.

He kept staring at Yeto. At the space where Yeta should be. She had said that her headaches (and her "pretend friend") had come shortly after they'd found the mirror shard. He knew that the fused shadows he'd collected earlier had turned innocent creatures into monsters. Did pieces of the Mirror of Twilight do the same? Those sages from the Mirror Chamber had warned of some dark power associated with the shards. What if, this time, the monstrously-transformed critter was not hiding behind a locked door? What if this monster roamed freely through dark, frozen corridors it knew well, ready to strike at the first sign of weakness? At the first sign of movement, perhaps?

STOP THAT.

Link closed his eyes.

Yeto was here. Yeto was a big, tough yeti with huge, oversized fangs. If Yeto was on your side, you were safe. End of story, go to sleep.

But he still couldn't sleep.

And it wasn't the end of the story. Because somewhere inside the house, he could hear the muffled sound of something very large bumping about.

Link got up and gently shook Yeto. When the yeti did not wake up, Link shook him harder.

Still nothing.

Link got out one of his iron boots (one-handed, awkwardly) and gave his host a firm tap with it.

The growl that rumbled through the yeti's great throat would have scared another yeti. The sound of it sent Link scampering across the room in fright. His back against the far wall, he stared at that large, gently-heaving, furry mass for a good long time before he felt safe enough to breathe at a normal volume.

Maybe he shouldn't wake Yeto after all.

Bump. Ka-bump. Thump.

But would he try to sleep?

Indecisive, he wandered into the kitchen. He felt incredibly helpless, and he didn't like that at all. Changing up the scenery felt good. At least he could control that.

He'd never been in the kitchen before. It was not as open as the room with the fireplace. By the dull glow of embers under a large soup pot, he could see a number of little hiding places. That was reassuring. The whole place smelled like what heaven would smell like, hooray!

No, it smelled like fish. Reeked of fish, you stupid wolf. Link almost turned back, but a faint noise stopped him in his tracks.

"Quirp! Quirp, quirp!"

No way.

Impossible.

Too good to be true.

That was the sound that Ooccoo made when she got stuck in a pot. Ooccoo, that hideously ugly goddess of warping and safety. Unless Link was hearing things, his ticket out was only a few feet away.

He laughed silently. Alright, so he'd been a little worried when Yeto had carried him here, doctored his arm with all the gentleness of a thousand-pound yeti, and plonked him in front of a fire with a bowl of awful-smelling soup. He'd been a little worried when Midna had confessed to losing the artifact that let him warp with her. He'd been a little worried, just now, about Yeta's disappearance, the mirror shard, and those scary noises. But everything was going to be fine. That little bird and her son could warp him over short distances. They usually only used those powers to move him to the mouth of a dungeon, but he was sure that they would make an exception, considering the circumstances. How far could he go with each trip? Did it matter? Soon enough, he would be at Karikariko Village bathing his arm in the healing waters of the Light Spirit's spring. He could be back here before dawn. So what if there was some big ol' scary monster shuffling around this place? He would be ready for it.

Just as Link took a step forward, a door opened.

He had the sense to hide behind a table before looking to see what was coming. Something big. Big and shuffling. In the shadows, it was hard to make out what exactly it was. But two red eyes shone perfectly clear, piercing the darkness, searching.

Link was frozen in fear. Had he brought the Master Sword with him, or was it still lying next to his cushion nest? Would the sword be enough to save his life if he had brought it?

Sniff. Sniff sniff. The creature had found the soup. It lowered its head into the pot and began to drink in big gulps. Maybe, while it was distracted…

"Quirp!"

Link had almost forgotten about Ooccoo. Stuck in a pot, completely unaware…

That the great head had lifted, soup streaming from its huge jaws.

Sniff. Sniff, sniff.

"Quirp!"

The smell of the Reekfish would mask Ooccoo's scent, Link was sure. But the creature hardly needed a scent. It shuffled towards the shelf that Ooccoo was surely behind. A faint growl rumbled in its throat. Flecks of soup and drool hit the ground, making little plop noises.

Link ducked back behind the table, racked with indecision. No use if he died too, right? But… there was the Master Sword after all, its hilt cold against his reaching fingers. His sword arm was perfectly strong. No use in letting anyone die if he could help it. Ooccoo was his friend.

And his only way out.

The monster shuffled onwards, behind the shelf, towards the defenseless little bird and her small son.

He would face it.

"Hey!" he snapped, running out from behind the table. He half expected to trip over something in the darkness, but he didn't. "Don't take one more step!"

The monster was supposed to have turned, surprised. It was supposed to have charged Link, and he was supposed to have used its momentum to drive the sword home. But the monster continued to advance towards Ooccoo, ignoring Link completely, soup and slobber contributing haunting vibrations to an already terrifying growl.

"Quirp?"

"Ooccoo, look out!" Link shouted, running forward.

Several things happened at once.

The monster snapped its fangs around the pot Ooccoo was in. Ooccoo gave an eerie scream. Her son warped them both away. Link drove his sword into the monster's side.

The monster didn't appear to have arms…so what had grabbed the sword?

Link barely saw the sword halt its forward motion, barely felt the surprising wrench, before he was spun into the wall.

He couldn't hear his injured arm strike the wall, couldn't hear his own shout of pain, over the monster's roar of anger.

Anger and fear?

It stared at him, looked down at the Master Sword.

Evil's bane.

It recoiled. Not badly hurt but badly shaken, it lumbered off through the door it had come in through, just as Yeto lumbered in from the living room.

"Human?" he bellowed. "Human! Where are you? What happen?"

"Ooccoo's gone," Link said weakly. "The monster--it didn't have arms!"

Then all was black.

 

[PapilioTempesta]

Great story! It fits in the game perfectly, and it has a good humor-creepiness balance. Nice work.

I didn't think of the Shining's hotel while being in the house, but now you mention it, there is some similarities. As if it wasn't creepy enough as it is now...