Okay, new chappie. I took another train ride home this weekend, my first in over two months. It really spurred me into action, let me tell you. This is the fruit of my labor, a much more upbeat, hopefully funny chapter.

It's official: my reviewers ROCK. Seriously, you guys are awesome. I was in a weird funk when I posted the last chapter, and that's why I was throwing myself a pity party. Then you guys swooped in and made me feel ten times better! Thank you! You all are amazing.

Thank you Liquid Earth for reminding me I was indeed on your favorites. Sometimes I get down on myself and forget that people actually do read this and I despair. But your comment (which, in my head, sounded exactly like my grandma admonishing me for acting like a sulky child o.O) snapped me out of that like a boot to the head. You may not have intended it that way, but I thank you. I needed that.

And big thank you to sourapple10000, JustWriter2 (what up, fellow Brittany :P), Lizai, Princess Kira Lady of Element, SageOfTheMinish, Super Becki, and rissa. Really, y'all rock my socks.

And before I forget, last time I posted the wrong version of the chapter, so if you read the wrong version, you might want to check out the newer, less craptacular one. I changed a lot of things, and all in all, it's just plain better. God, I still can't believe I posted the wrong one… .:facepalm:.

Chapter Eleven:

"High Quality H2O"

Jennifer woke with the now familiar beginnings of a headache. Stupid gift, she thought. Eric was still asleep. She worried her lip, wondering how she was going to smooth things over. Jennifer struggled out of her bedroll and walked to Chez.

"Hey, Chezzie," she whispered as she stroked his nose. He laid a large brown eye on her, making Jennifer smile. "Well, at least you still like me. How come I always manage to mess things up, hm?" She snuck a look at Eric's sleeping form.

Jennifer absently ran her fingers through Chez's mane. One of his ears flicked back as Jennifer dug the First Power out of her saddlebag. She studied it for a moment as Eric stirred.

"Whatcha looking at?" he asked sleepily. He rolled out of bed and walked over to her side.

"The First Power," she replied. "It's amazing that such a small, ugly rock can cause such a stir." She turned guiltily towards Eric. "Sorry about—about last night. I shouldn't have—"

"Don't worry about it," he interjected. "I'm sorry, too. We both said things we didn't mean." He laid a hand on Chez and looked apologetically into Jennifer's eyes. Jennifer nodded mutely, only serving to make her head pound. Silence settled between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable; there was nothing else to say. That is, until Eric decided to break it.

"I would say I'm sorry if I thought that it would change your mind…" he sang softly, not even trying to stay in tune.

Jennifer reached out to pinch him, effectively cutting him off.

"Don't start singing," she groaned. "And you called me childish…"

"But I know that this time—"

Jennifer took a swipe at him, but he ducked it easily, grinning relentlessly. She used the other hand to shove him lightly.

"You're a horrible singer, about as good as I am a cook." She crossed her arms, barely containing her amusement. He looked at her like a wounded puppy, making her laugh and effectively sending a stabbing pain shooting through her head.

"Ugh, haven't the Hylians ever thought of Tylenol?" she griped, putting a hand to her temple.

"Have some healing potion," Eric said as he turned to Faedra.

"Nah, I don't want to waste it. I've got a feeling we're gonna need it."

"Sense a disturbance in the Force?"

Jennifer smiled a little. "No, I paid Zelda a little visit."

"Zelda?"

"Yeah. Remember? My 'gift.' Zelda called it clairvoyance." She added a deadpan, "Oh, joy."

"Well, what did she say?" Eric asked, absentmindedly stroking Fae's mane.

"She said that we should keep going for the Third Power. She said that she would handle it, though I don't know how she thinks she's gonna do it. She's got so much riding on her shoulders as it is."

He nodded. "I think we should just keep going, and quickly. We can't waste time."

"Yeah." Jennifer grimaced and began to saddle up Chez.

----------

Thankfully, the Kokiri Forest was close to Zora's River. Jennifer and Eric made their way along the riverbank as fast as they could, but it was difficult to maneuver. They had to get off the horses and walk most of the time, picking their way through rocks and the ubiquitous strange Hyrulian creatures.

Just as they reached the waterfall that was the source of their dreaded river, a voice rang out.

"Who passes into the Zora's Domain?" it cried.

"Oh, man, not this again," Jennifer mumbled.

"I am Eric, and this is Jennifer. We seek the Third Power," Eric said.

There was a long silence. All Jennifer and Eric could hear was the crashing of the waterfall and the sound of their own breathing.

Suddenly, the waterfall's flow lessened and revealed a watery entranceway. A blue fish-like creature stood on the lip of the opening. It was tall and thin, with fins on its limbs and a large, oval head. A Zora, apparently.

"Why do you seek the Third Power?" he—Jennifer thought it was male—asked suspiciously.

"To do the same thing we do every night, Bluey, to try and take over the world," Jennifer retorted in her best Brain impression.

The Zora looked very surprised and puzzled, to say the least.

"What she means is, we were sent by Destiny," Eric put in quickly, looking accusingly over at Jennifer. Jennifer widened her eyes and looked innocent under Eric's glare as the Zora spoke again.

"Destiny?" he asked, doubtful. "Do not play games with the Zora people, human."

"Whoa there, tuna brain, chill out. We got a club card," Jennifer said proudly. She waited patiently for the handprint to flare. After a moment, the Zora looked even more incredulous and flexed his arms threateningly. Jennifer scowled and whispered, "Now would be good, Des."

The prints on their chest blazed right on cue this time. The Zora looked stunned, and then motioned for them to enter the waterfall.

Jennifer shrugged at the capricious powers that be as Eric shook his head resignedly. They followed the Zora into a huge cavern, a vast lake lying in the middle. Light bounced off of the clear water and onto the stone surfaces and a steady drip-drip echoed off the cavern walls. The water was translucent and sparkled like rhinestones where the light hit it. But it was not as peaceful as it seemed. The few Zora swimming around in the water eyed them suspiciously as Jennifer and Eric followed their original Zora to the right and up a natural path carved out of the cavern walls. Jennifer and Eric couldn't help but feel a little freaked out under the Zora's intense gazes. They had never seen fish people before and now those fish were staring at them like they were the weird ones.

"What is your name?" Eric asked the Zora civilly. Jennifer rolled her eyes. Leave it to Eric to make polite conversation.

"I am Kelno," he said proudly. "Captain of the Guards."

"I didn't know the Zora had guards," Eric declared mildly. "I was told that only nature and secret guarded the Zora's Domain."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. Eric was up to something.

"We face a new threat more powerful than nature and secret," Kelno answered tersely. "We cannot allow the Hands to infiltrate our Domain. Our way of life would be lost."

Jennifer and Eric nodded knowingly.

"The same goes for the queen," Eric said calmly. "The way of life for the Hylians is also being lost. Same for the Gerudo and the Kokiri. This is a threat that affects all of Hyrule."

Oh, he's good, Jennifer thought, garnering support for an alliance already. She looked down when she couldn't help but smile.

Kelno looked thoughtful. Eric caught Jennifer's small smile and continued, "The way of life for all Hyrulians is being threatened. But how can we be expected to save ourselves if we are not seen as Hyrulians?"

Jennifer picked up on the mention of "we." So did Kelno. The Zora guard looked even more thoughtful. But before he could say anything further about it, they reached a smaller cavern, where an enormous Zora sat on top of a waterfall. Jennifer's eyes widened to take him all in. He was humongous.

Kelno bowed and said, "My liege, may I present Jennifer of—" He faltered.

"San Diego," Jennifer supplied. "And this is my companion, Eric, also of San Diego." She looked pleased with herself. Eric wasn't the only one capable of flowery words after all.

"Indeed," Kelno said. "They have come with a curious mission: to seek the Third Power."

The Zora King's eyes widened.

"The Third Power?" his voice boomed. "Why?"

"We need to collect the Five Powers," Eric replied. "It is a quest given to us by Destiny herself."

"They are Destiny touched, Majesty," Kelno added.

The King harrumphed. Then, he suddenly yelled, "Ruto!"

His voice rang in Jennifer's and Eric's ears. They looked much taken aback by his unexpected exclamation. All of the other Zora didn't, however, and a female Zora appeared next to the King's side.

"Yes, Daddy?" she asked.

Both Jennifer and Eric raised their brows. She was a beautiful—relatively speaking—Zora, all curves and shiny skin. Jennifer realized belatedly that the Zora were all naked, except for the King. She bit her lip. Oh, man.

"These humans are looking for the Third Power," the King said.

"I see," Ruto said. She jumped down from the waterfall and walked over to Jennifer and Eric.

"Your Highness, this is—" Kelno began, but Jennifer cut him off.

"Jennifer. Eric." She pointed to each of them. "San Diego. Destiny. Third Power. Can you help us?"

Ruto looked very surprised with Jennifer's shortened explanation. So did Eric; he glared reproachfully at her. Jennifer shrugged. "Not wasting time," was all she said, her tone clipped.

"Please, your Highness. We need your help," Eric said smoothly, bowing his head a little.

"I like him better," Ruto declared, making Jennifer's brows shoot up. "He is nicer." She took Eric's arm and led him away, leaving Jennifer standing agape near Kelno. She blinked.

"And cuter, too," Ruto added, leaning into him. Jennifer blinked again at that and stifled a laugh. She was hitting on him! A part of her wanted to haul off and smack the sardine, but a greater part of her found the whole situation really funny. She followed Eric and Ruto, who was still attached to his arm, around behind the King.

"We must go to Zora's Fountain," Ruto said, blinking coquettishly at Eric. He smiled politely. He looked desperately over her head at Jennifer, who simply shrugged.

"You're on your own," Jennifer mouthed amusedly. Eric looked betrayed as Ruto led him into a dark opening in the cavern. As to where it led, Jennifer could only guess.

"We must go this way," the Zora princess said. She walked with Eric into the dark opening, Jennifer following at a distance.

She lost sight of them in the darkness of the opening, but was soon hit by the full force of the sun when she emerged on the other side. Spots swam in her vision and she put a hand up to shade her face, blinking hastily to regain her eyesight.

The Fountain was surrounded on all sides by a mountain range. The water was deep and clear and flowed into a river on the northern side. Ruto gestured to an island in the middle of the Fountain.

"This way," she said and dove into the water. Jennifer and Eric hesitated, exchanging a look of obvious dismay. Eric shrugged and jumped in after her, Jennifer sparing only a second to curse islands without bridges before leaping in the freezing water. They all swam to the island, Ruto darting around like the fish she was, obviously showing off her swimming prowess. Jennifer ignored her and instead looked down at the ruins at the bottom of the Fountain, white and shining where the streaks of sunlight hit them. The island had ruins on top of it too, making Jennifer wonder how Hyrule had so many ruins in the first place.

Ruto pulled herself gracefully up onto the island, skin glistening in the sunlight. Jennifer tried to match her poise, but was only able to wiggle her way up, her mood quickly darkening. Not only was she was wet and cold, but also being upstaged shamelessly by a carp.

"I come out here a lot," Ruto said, pacing the island. "And a little while ago I noticed something that I had never seen before." She pointed to some carvings in the ruins.

"What does it say?" Eric prompted.

Ruto smiled at him. Jennifer felt repulsed.

"It says, 'The Third Power lies in the holiest of misty sights."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jennifer exclaimed. That disapproving look was back on Eric's face, a look Jennifer was becoming very used to. She really needed to learn to bite her tongue. After they left the Zora's Domain, of course.

"I do not know," Ruto said, frowning.

"I'm sick of riddles," Jennifer mumbled.

"Well," Eric said loudly. "Where is the holiest place in your Domain?"

"Lord Jabu-Jabu, of course," Ruto replied.

"Where's that?" Jennifer asked.

Ruto abruptly dove into the Fountain, leaving Jennifer and Eric staring confusedly at where the princess used to be. Seconds later, a huge fish surfaced the water, Ruto bobbing next to it.

"This is holy?" Eric asked hesitantly.

"Holy crap is more like it," Jennifer uttered under her breath.

Ruto climbed onto the rocks gracefully. "This is Lord Jabu-Jabu," she said proudly, waving a hand at their new companion.

Both Jennifer and Eric stood will their mouths agape. Lord Jabu-Jabu was even bigger than the King. It was an enormous gray fish, with beady blue eyes and a large, wide mouth. The aquatic Lord reminded Jennifer more of a barge made to look like a fish than an actual fish.

"Um, okay… what now?" Jennifer asked.

"We go inside," Ruto replied pertly.

Ta ta, lovelies, and have a great day.

BB