The Legend of Zelda: the Secret of the Sages (ZEROKI PLEEEZE)

Link pulled Epona to a stop as he heard those words. He turned around, looking at Nyx, his normally calm demeanor broken. "Look, you think you know Hyrule so well?" he questioned, "This isn't the world you left behind Nyx! This is dangerous! Everything you knew is... It's twisted from what it was then... Look at Lake Hylia if you need proof. That's Ganondorf's power. That's what he's going to do to the whole world if we don't stop him now!"

He spoke less with anger and more with passion... and something else... fear? How was it that the mighty Hero of Time, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, could be made fearful for what was happening? Did Nyx even wonder about the things he'd saw over the course of his last journey?

He spurred Epona onward and looked down. "I'm sorry Nyx... I... I'm just worried about the sages... Saria... Chief Darunia the Goron... Princess Ruto of the Zoras, Impa, Nabooru.. Princess Zelda... Every one of them is in danger, and it's my fault... If I had made sure the evil was completely vanquished before..." He broke off, struggling to keep from crying.

At Link's outburst, Nyx seemed to recoil slightly. She wanted to yell back at him, scream her own anger at him. But something in her fizzled out, the fight in her seemed gone. For the lack of any better word, she wasn't bothering with the argument anymore. Truth was, Nyx had wondered, more than once in the past 24 hours what had happened during Link's last big journey. However, Link had never in the time Nyx had know him told her absolutely anything about his big adventure. Ever. What the in the hell was she supposed to know?! She hung her head in the universal sign of defeat.

"I'm sorry Nyx... I... I'm just worried about the sages... Saria... Chief Darunia the Goron... Princess Ruto of the Zoras, Impa, Nabooru.. Princess Zelda... Every one of them is in danger, and it's my fault... If I had made sure the evil was completely vanquished before..."

Oberon had slowly started moving forward to follow Link and Epona because Nyx wasn't actually giving him direction at the moment, but she was rather letting her mind wander for a short time. When she heard Link begin degrading himself, she looked up before she nudged Oberon forward faster and drew up beside Link. She drew her fist back and punched Link in the shoulder, hard. "Shut up. According to you and Zelda both, you sealed him away. As far as you and Zelda could see, your mission was done." Nyx paused a moment, looking at Link "And yes Link, I heard that part of your conversation. I had to learn to be a thief as a kid, given that it was not hard to get into the gardens."

Nyx stared at Link a moment before she looked away, as though she was suddenly uncomfortable with looking at Link any longer. She hadn't told anyone aside from Talon that she'd been a thief as a kid. And the only reason he knew was because Nyx had tried to nick a rupee from the rancher's pocket and he'd caught her trying to do so. She could feel her teeth grinding without her paying attention to it.

"Let's just go."

Link winced as he felt the punch to his shoulder, but otherwise showed no sign that he'd even felt the blow from his friend. He was silent for awhile as the two traveled, his thoughts wandering through time and space, through trial and victory and defeat...

It was only when the two finally arrived at the cliff wall beyond which was the fishing hole that he looked up. Climbing off Epona he sighed, looking at Nyx. "We'll probably have to leave the horses here," he mused, "I don't think there's anything beyond this but the ocean, and we'll be lucky if we can get a boat big enough to hold us." He gathered his supplies into a backpack and knocked on the door.

The man answering the door was short, coming only up to Link's shoulders, a balding man who looked to be in his late forties, his thin mustache came to a sharp point at the corners of his mouth. He wore a flannel shirt, and a bright red vest and fisherman's hat that covered his aging brow.

"Visitors!" he cheered in his disturbingly high voice, "Come in! Come in! It's been so long since we've had visitors! Come for some fishing have you? Grown weary of the trials befalling our beloved Hyrule? Quite so, quite so! Come in!" He stepped back, leading Link to shoot a wary look back at Nyx before slipping inside.

"We'll probably have to leave the horses here,""I don't think there's anything beyond this but the ocean, and we'll be lucky if we can get a boat big enough to hold us."

There was a moment as Nyx dismounted that she looked at Oberon, her eyes clearly sad at having to leave her friend so soon yet again. She pat Oberon's neck, running a hand down his velvet soft muzzle. The stallion snorted, pushing against the young woman's hand. Inside, Nyx wanted to cry; though her eyes remained dry as a desert in summer at high noon. She slung her knapsack over her shoulder, slightly bumping the fairy bow that already rested on her back as she followed Link.

Oberon snorted and let out a quiet whinny as the two walked away, tossing his head while he stamped his front left hoof in a distinct sign of displeasure.

Nyx sighed quietly as they reached the door and Link knocked.

"Visitors!""Come in! Come in! It's been so long since we've had visitors! Come for some fishing have you? Grown weary of the trials befalling our beloved Hyrule? Quite so, quite so! Come in!"

The wary glance that Link shot her didn't go unnoticed, but she didn't seem to acknowledge it as she followed the green clad young man through the door, ducking to avoid the top of said door. The voice made her ears want to bleed and it was with little surprise that her left hand twitched toward the fairy bow and her right one toward a hunting arrow.

Call her high-strung, but this didn't feel right to Nyx...

Link winced at the fisherman's continued ramblings. Why did everyone in the future have to be so high-strung anyway? True enough it seemed other... dark forces were carrying on Ganondorf's work for whatever reason, but even so... the amount of jumpiness these denizens of his own future exhibited was just absolutely unreasonable.

The hero raised his hands, trying to silence the fisherman. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, "We're not here to fish... We need a boat."

The fisherman tilted his head, confused. "A boat you say? Oh, but good sir, you must know that there is trouble beyond our walls! Rumors of things darker in the countries around us. Quite fearsome, oh yes! I don't know why you'd ever want to go there. Please, just stay here and enjoy some fishing!"

Link shook his head. "How much to rent your boat?"

The fisherman crossed his arms. "Five hundred rupies... Just in case you don't make it back." Clearly he expected that Link wouldn't have that kind of money. Most Hylians never carried more at a time than a hundred rupies or so.

The fisherman's voice was burrowing itself into Nyx's brain and tearing her eardrums apart. She could've sworn that it was, and it was beginning to drive her crazy. Nyx had been hanging back behind Link, letting him do the talking.

"Five hundred rupies... Just in case you don't make it back."

She rolled her eyes in response to the old man that made clear she thought this was ridiculous. It took only two swift motions before she had her bow drawn with a hunting arrow notched and ready to fire.

"How about you drop that to two hundred and fifty because he and I are both coming back."

There was a certain deadly calm to Nyx as she watched the fisherman's face down the shaft of the arrow. She didn't seem angry, but then again in Nyx's mind; this could just be considered aggressive haggling. The dark haired woman wouldn't actually shoot the guy. Not to kill at least.

"Or I could start by shooting you in the neck. Your choice."

Link susprisingly didn't seem all that upset by Nyx's rash actions. He simply held up a hand and forced her aiming arm low so it wasn't pointed at the fisherman. The old man wasn't evil... just foolish. "Three hundred," he said, "And when we get back, we give you an extra ten for each day it's gone. You'll get to five hundred in no time I'm sure."

The fisherman did some rapid math, quickly counting it all out on his fingers. "You can't take my boat for almost a whole month!" he moaned, "I'll be ruined! Bad for business you know! Quite bad, quite bad!"

Link rolled his eyes. "Twenty a day then, and that's my final offer. You'll make your fishing fees, plus a little extra."

The fisherman's eyes lit up. "Deal."

Nyx lowered the bow and replaced the arrow with a brief glance to Link before she turned her green eyes to the fisherman who was still haggling with Link. The black haired Hylian wandered in the direction of the pond, stooping down a moment to run her fingers through the crystal waters. A few small fish came to investigate the long fingers swirling through the water but sped away just as quickly.

She was surprisingly quiet and almost pensive near the edge of the water, her eyes watching the water waver as a slight breeze stirred ripples onto the surface. Breathing slowly in and out, Nyx tried to let her thoughts melt away; without avail. They stuck to her mind like fleas on a dog.

"Deal"

The single word uttered by the fisherman with the high pitched voice officially signaled to Nyx their leaving Hyrule. This was a home, and she loathed to leave it. Standing up once more, she turned around the face Link and the fisherman; no words from her mouth or sarcastic comment to add...

Link rolled his eyes and pulled a pouch from his belt. It jingled with the glittering gems that represented Hyrule's official currency. Surprisingly, when Link had dolled out the three hundred, there were still almost two hundred rupies left over. "Now don't forget," the Fisherman toned, "Twenty a day! Bad luck a broken promise! Bad luck indeed!" Link nodded solemnly.

The two men pushed the little fishing boat into the water, leaving the wooden vessel to gently rock back and forth, a single rope keeping it tied to the shore.

Stepping back, Link turned to look at Nyx, simply nodding, a slightly sad expression on his own face. He knew what she was feeling... This was all so new to her... not just to be living seven years in her own future, but seeing the home she loved all but destroyed... and then having to leave it, but Link knew better... If they didn't do this...

He inspected the boat a few times before finally nodding to her. "It's sea-worthy, Nyx," he said plainly, "We should be going... sooner we leave, sooner we can get you back to Lon Lon ranch and you can put this whole... business behind you."

"It's sea-worthy, Nyx," "We should be going... sooner we leave, sooner we can get you back to Lon Lon ranch and you can put this whole... business behind you."

Nyx gave a small nod as she followed Link onto the boat, taking the rope from where it was tied to the shore as they slowly floated into the outlet that would take them between the cliffs of Hyrule and the Gerudo Valley.

She sat down slowly, trying not to rock the boat. Truth was, Nyx was inexperienced with boats. In fact, part of her was dead terrified of them. For a long time, Nyx had always preferred keeping her feet on the ground. If not there then on a horse.

It must have be been incredibly interesting to see Nyx so clammed up. She was doing her level best to not have a panic attack with the situation she found herself in, in a Hyrule destroyed, and leaving what remained of those closest to her (on a boat no less).

Keeping her gaze on absolutely anything but the disappearing Hyrule or Link for that matter, Nyx retreated into the furthest memories she had, before everything she'd known then had broken apart beneath her feet.

"Do you care if I sing?"

A strange question to be sure, Nyx had not sung around Link. Ever. She reserved that only for when she alone; when no one could hear and no one would ask about the songs and where they came from. Her gaze was not pleading, but one could tell she was stressed out by everything that had happened in the past two days. For her to ask Link if he minded her singing was tantamount to her spilling her guts to a total stranger...

Link focused on the task ahead as best he could. In his mind, this was important... save the sages, and get back to enjoying his childhood in Hyrule, but he knew how Nyx was feeling... the same sense of disorientation he'd felt the first time he'd found himself seven years older. As the mountainous walls rose around them he kept his eyes fixed ahead. "Go ahead," he told Nyx, "Some music might be nice."

Pushing slowly at the oar he eventually had a seat, letting the current carry the two for now.

Nyx closed her eyes a moment, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought of which song she could sing. Not that she didn't know many, but they were all special to her; ones that her parents had sung to Orin and herself before the split. It didn't take long for her to choose one, but she hadn't sang it in such a long time; she was trying to remember the beat of it.

She started tapping her foot on the wooden bottom of the boat to start, a gentle drumming as the bits and pieces of memories floated back into the forefront of her mind. This had been one of Dain's songs, one that Nyx remembered would always lead to her falling asleep in her father's lap for his deep rumbling voice.

An old man by a seashore
At the end of day
Gazes the horizon
With seawinds in his face
Tempest-tossed island
Seasons all the same
Anchorage unpainted
And a ship without a name

Sea without a shore for the banished one unheard
He lightens the beacon, light at the end of world
Showing the way lighting hope in their hearts
The ones on their travels homeward from afar

This is for long-forgotten
Light at the end of the world
Horizon crying
The tears he left behind long ago

The albatross is flying
Making him daydream
The time before he became
One of the world`s unseen
Princess in the tower
Children in the fields
Life gave him it all:
An island of the universe

Now his love`s a memory
A ghost in the fog
He sets the sails one last time
Saying farewell to the world
Anchor to the water
Seabed far below
Grass still in his feet
And a smile beneath his brow

This is for long-forgotten
Light at the end of the world
Horizon crying
The tears he left behind long ago

So long ago
So long ago

This is for long-forgotten
Light at the end of the world
Horizon crying
The tears he left behind so long ago

So long ago

The song was somewhat upbeat and had the feel of a folk-song. Her eyes remained closed as she sang, a faint but welcome smile crossing her face. As she finished the song, she rubbed her eyes a moment. Nyx was tired, that was no lie; her mind had been running in the circles the past 48 hours to process everything.

Another reason was that Nyx was hiding the tears that wanted to spill. Remembering what her family had been like when she was a child always made her want to cry, she had missed it. Even as often as her father had been gone, she missed her mother's touch; her little brother's attempted (and often failed) pranks on her, and those wonderful days where dad was home before he went on another trading trip.

Nyx smiled lightly, turning to look at Link; her eyes only slightly watery. She would not cry in front of Link, part of her refused to do so. Mostly stemming from the thieving child she'd grown up as, refusing to let those larger and stronger than her know she was hurt. "Do you want to hear another one or would you rather play the ocarina?"

Link rowed slowly as he listened to the song, not any more anxious to leave Hyrule behind than Nyx was. This was his home, as much trouble as had come to it. It was the land of his mother, though she'd died when he was a baby. It was the land of his people, the Kokiri. Everything he knew was bound up in Hyrule, but so too was everything bound up in its safety. He knew why he had to leave it behind, but though he covered well, it was no easier for him than for Nyx.

As the two finally left the great walls behind them and took to the open sea, he ran up a small mast and sail, letting a gentle wind take over as he sat back in the boat. Looking at her, he smiled a little, knowing he might be able to make her feel better with some playing. The notes of the songs he knew mostly had a mystical power all their own. "There is a song that might help," he smiled, "Princess Zelda's bodyguard, Impa, taught it to me, to show that I was an agent of the royal family." He raised the blue-tinted instrument to his lips, and soon the peaceful strains of the royal family's song flowed forth like water.

Nyx listened Link's ocarina, stretching her legs out as she rested backward on her elbows; looking at the wide blue sky. The song Link was playing made her want to sleep, but she resisted the lure of a nap. As she stared at the sky, blinking slowly as the music wafted over the occupants of the small boat.

Her green eyes blinked slowly at the sky as clouds floated by and the music wafted like the waves that were lapping serenely at the edge of the little boat. Nyx chuckled a moment, a faint smile flicking to her face.

"Hey Link, I never told you I wasn't born in Hyrule; did I?"

The question was rather random, and it seemed an odd moment for one. But thinking back, just as Link had not told her anything about himself; she had been just as secretive about her own past. It couldn't hurt much to let him in she thought...

Link opened his eyes as the question came. Slowly he drew the Ocarina from his lips and placed it reverently in his lap. He shook his head. "No, I don't believe you ever did," he said thoughtfully, "I know of a few lands outside of Hyrule, but other than Termina, I can't say I've visited most of them." Of course, there had been that little incident on Koholint island but, the fact that that land had turned out to be a dream of one of the many wondrous beings of the world meant it didn't really count.

Link found himself curious now. He'd always imagined that Nyx was Hylian, just like the other people he'd met in his journey... It seemed he was going to learn a lot about his friend on this trip.

"No, I don't believe you ever did,""I know of a few lands outside of Hyrule, but other than Termina, I can't say I've visited most of them."

Nyx chuckled lightly. "My parents were born and raised in Hyrule. Dain was always a trader and Horon City in Holodrum was a larger port city, great for selling things fast. My mother met him in Castle Town; and fell just so madly* in love with him that she followed him back to Horon City. They lived there before I was born and we left just after Orin was born, putting me at..." she trailed off a moment, counting on her fingers as she searched her memories; vague and blurry as they were "three, three and one half maybe?"
*note sarcasm here

She scoffed, as her reminiscing smile turned into something of a angry scowl. "Or at least they did, I wasn't quite so lucky in that regard. I got knocked off of the wagon carrying items to trade when it was robbed by highwaymen. Dain's horses freaked and took off; and I didn't see them again until I jumped a ship to Hyrule when I was 7."

There was a moment of silence in which Nyx seemed to momentarily stew on her intense dislike for Dain. Her fingers twitched in what could have been considered anger. (Or intense desire to be burn something in effigy of Dain, perhaps.) "What I found was not what I had been hoping to find when I saw Dain and Orin again. I don't think I'd ever been so angry in my life when I found out he'd left my mother and gotten re-married."

Whatever dislike or scowl had been on her face previously slowly lifted, "And Talon was the one who kept me from throwing the rock I'd been holding at the time and I'd bet you twenty rupees that if it hadn't been for him, I would not be here."

She scoffed a bit. "So technically, I'm not a true Hylian. By blood and heritage yes, but I wasn't born in Hyrule."

Link smiled a little sadly at the story he was told. "At least you know where you were born," he pointed out, "I grew up in the Kokiri forest, under the care of the Great Deku Tree. Saria was really the only mother I knew, but when I started my first journey, the Great Deku Tree revealed that I'd been born in some far-off land during a great war, and that my mother had gone to him to seek my protection." He looked up at the sky. "Until I turned twelve, I hadn't even seen the world outside the forest. We were always told that if we left, we'd be turned into stalfos... If not for everything that happened, I'd probably still be the boy without a fairy just... existing, thinking myself a very odd kokiri."

He pulled the oars into the boat and leaned forward, erecting a short mast and running up a sail, letting the wind take over for now as he leaned back. "You know what I've discovered though?" he smiled, "It isn't where you're born that determines what you are... It's where your heart lies, and what you're willing to do for that place... I would defend Hyrule, and the friends I have within it no matter the cost, even if that cost was my life... Whatever I was before, I am Hylian now... and so are you, Nyx."

"You know what I've discovered though?""It isn't where you're born that determines what you are... It's where your heart lies, and what you're willing to do for that place... I would defend Hyrule, and the friends I have within it no matter the cost, even if that cost was my life... Whatever I was before, I am Hylian now... and so are you, Nyx."

She listened to Link's own story with a faint smile on her face, an eyebrow slightly quirked as smile became a full blown one at the end. Nyx leaned across the boat and squished Link's hat further down onto his head, the prankster in her making a small return. "I owe Talon my life, I owe him as much to protect him and Malon. That and I need to make it back to see Oberon again."

It was a strange thing, how close to Oberon she was. It had initially been Talon's idea to get Nyx a horse. The only reason why Talon had been so hell-bent on it was that Nyx was...for lack of a better word, difficult to control after she'd jumped ship back to Hyrule. Her four years on the streets of Horon City had molded her into an efficient thief. And that thievery had gotten her into a great deal of trouble in Castle Town. The jolly owner of Lon Lon determined that she had needed something to ground her, responsibility of sorts. A horse had seemed perfect at the time. He just hadn't expected her to pick the horse that she would actually have issues controlling initially. The first couple of months had been interesting and humorous.

Nyx smiled again as she pulled the dark brown cloak tighter around her slim shoulders, seeming to settle in for a light nap as she pulled the hood to block away some of the remaining sunlight.

"And Link?" There was a moment's pause as she smiled again. "You're just odd. Kokiri has nothing to do with it." her statement ended in a chuckle before she closed her eyes, fully intent on a light snooze...

Link smiled and nodded his head. He reached out to take Nyx's hand, a gentle, reassuring gesture. "We will see Hyrule again," he declared, "And you'll be able to tell Oberon all about how you saved the sages and brought peace to the kingdom."

The rest of the journey was actually pretty uneventful. A series of high, fluffy clouds rolled in as the daylit sky turned to sunset, to night. Link yawned slightly, but he looked at Nyx. "You should sleep," he advised, "I'll wake you in a few hours so you can take watch. We'll probably need to switch off until one of us spots land."

Nyx could not help the faint blush that decorated her cheeks when Link took her hand. Most of her childhood had been absent of gentle touches, and Nyx was not accustomed to being reassured, even in such uncertain situations. She pulled her hand away after just a moment, as though she'd been shocked with static electricity. "We'll see." A sort of faint but shy smile crossed her features.

"You should sleep,""I'll wake you in a few hours so you can take watch. We'll probably need to switch off until one of us spots land."

She nodded tiredly as she drew her knees up and rolled to her side, without realizing that she had done so. However, her dreams were placid; as evidenced by her smile as she slept and her lack of movement aside from her breathing in calm, dreaming pace...

Link kept the boat steady as long as he could, but as the open waters carried Link and Nyx further and further from Hyrule and closer to the unknown, he felt a growing sense of unease gnawing at him...

Hours passed... days... True to his word he switched off with Nyx. For three nights straight the two traveled, until finally, as the first stars came out on the third night, he thought he spotted a line of brown in the distance. Land? Hope soared deep in his heart as he steered toward shore... only for his hope to suddenly become a deep dread. The wind that had previously been driving the boat died suddenly. The gentle, lapping waves became terribly still, and even the seagulls that had been singing their screechy songs for days on end became dumb... It was as if the world itself was afraid of what was to come...

Link bit his lip. "Nyx, wake up," he said, looking back at her. "Nyx..."

Without warning the water became choppy again, rising like mountains above the two and coming back down, crashing against the wood. Link grunted as he was tossed against the deck. It sounded like a rumble when he heard it, a sound from deep below... A shadow, emerging from the deep. What was coming... it was evil. Link could tell that much. Without much though he elbowed Nyx just below her rib as he stood. "Nyx! Wake up! Now!"

It was then that the rumble became clearer, a voice, dark, powerful... full of malice. "LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!!!!!!"

"Nyx, wake up,""Nyx..."

It was surprising what Nyx could sleep through. She snuffled a moment as she buried herself deeper in her dark brown cloak.

When the world around them fell silent, Nyx paid no mind. As the waves began to grow and rise around the boat, a flittering of consciousness began. It was the rumbling that vibrating through her body that brought her closer to being awake. There were few sounds that rumbled through Nyx's bones like that.

"Nyx! Wake up! Now!"

The elbow below her ribs however, brought her to curse despite her alertness returning to her. "You everliving son of a...!"

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!!!!!!"

Nyx stood, grabbing at the Fairy Bow, immediately notching an arrow before she looked briefly at Link. The sound nearly made her shake and a few of her muscles twitch.

"Who in seven hells did you piss off!?" Nyx shouted over the noise...

Link looked helplessly at Nyx. He was as clueless as she on the matter, but unfortunately he wasn't going to get the chance to tell her. The boat pitched backward, nearly throwing the two out as a massive creature rose out of the water.

Link gasped. The thing was enormous, easily dwarving the vast majority of enemies he'd faced. The best way to describe it was a rounded, pale-blue body bristling with tentacles... tentacle arms, tentacle hair... tentacles breaching the water below. The only indication of any kind of intelligence was its head, which contained, along with a massive maw that could easily swallow Link whole and teeth that could easily slice him in half with a single bite, a glowing gold eye.

The hero of time looked the thing over just as a massive tentacle came plummeting from the air above. It was all Link could do to hold on as the little boat pitched again. "That eye!" he said finally, "That eye has to be its weak point!" Link dove into the water without another word, unsheathing the Master Sword as he did so. The next time Nyx saw him, he had his weapon plunged into the flesh of one of the tentacles and was hurtling toward the air toward the eye. "SHOOT IT!"

It was unavoidable that Nyx looked terrified while Link looked helplessly.

As the creature breached the water and nearly capsized the boat, Nyx lost her arrow and held onto a rope she had wrapped around her right forearm. With a white knuckle grip she gaped at the tentacle creature. She could feel her body begin shaking, starting with her arms. When Link dove into the water, she felt her heart leap into her throat.

"SHOOT IT!"

When she caught sight of Link hurtling towards the creature's eye, she let go of the rope and ran forward to the front of the small boat; drawing another arrow to replace her lost one as she notched it, took aim...and missed.

The creature's body sucked it in easily, as though it were passing through water.

Nyx notched yet another arrow, her hands shaking in the process before she took aim and fired once more, striking the bright golden eye.

The creature was obviously not pleased as she felt more tentacles from below flail under the water, causing the boat to continue rocking and bobbing like the piece of driftwood. Nyx snatched hold of the mast, holding on tight as she couldn't make a decent shot with Link in the way of the eye and the tentacles nearly blocking it...

Link was almost too focused on trying not to lose his grip on his sword to see what happened, to see that the creature's body either bounced Nyx's arrows off of it, or absorbed them all together. Definitely not good. That confirmed his theory. The eye was going to be about the only weak point.

Unfortunately, Nyx's first true shot made things worse. The creature was thrashing and flailing about, sending up wave after wave of water which then came down like liquid boulders. The tentacles surrounding the top of its head made getting to the eye almost impossible...

The creature finally seemed to notice Link hanging on for dear life and brought another tentacle to swipe him off like a dog casually scratching at a flea. Link shoved off, pushing against that tentacle and sailing to another one. The creature howled in frustration as Link again shoved off, this time sliding down the smooth limb to build up speed. At the right moment he threw himself off again, starting to climb the limbs until he could get closer to the eye. With a scream he threw himself off the end of one of the tentacles.

Everything slowed down. He held out his arm and closed his eyes, directing some of his energies into his sword. As Nyx watched the blade would glow, changing from silvry-blue, to blue, to gold. The energy-sheathed blade cleaved through the tentacles around the eye, clearing the way for Nyx's arow. "Nyx, shoot!" he yelled again as he plunged into the icy waters below.