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To Hunt Down a Hylian

Chapter 17

Cry of the Fierce Deity

"What is this place?" Lucina asked and tugged her mantle around her for warmth. The Goron had taken her and Cassandra down the mountain but Snowhead was far larger an area than they had thought; the mountain range seemed endless! The area they had finally arrived to what looked like some kind of primitive settlement upon closer inspection with cave-like structures carved into the mountain.

"This is my village, goro!" he replied. "I said that I would take you to the temple, but only the elder knows, to be honest… No-one has visited that area in years."

"So, this elder knows where it is?" Cassandra inquired. The Goron nodded.

"Yes, goro. He should know."

"I hope so," Lucina then said. "He's our only chance for finding a way back."

The Goron lead them through the village paths until they reached the biggest building in the middle of their settlement. It was blocked by enormous wooden gates but the Goron pushed them aside as if they were paper. These creatures, the girls noted, possessed natural strength.

They walked through a small series of tunnels – as expected, everything was made out of rock – until they reached a spacious chamber where several more Gorons resided, their attention now fixated on the new arrivals.

"Oh! Elder, goro!" the girl's guide then exclaimed. "We are lucky to have run into just now!"

The elder – a Goron who was starting to hunch over with grey-white hair – supported himself on a stone sceptre as he turned towards the one who called. "Oh? Is that right? I see you're bringing humans with you, oro."

He nodded. "Yes! They need to find the Great Fairy that lives near Snowhead Temple, goro!"

The gathering crowd fell quiet and the elder's eyes widened for a bit. "The Temple?" He paused. "Yes, a Great Fairy, leader of the fairies, is said to live near there…Why do you wish to see her, humans?" He caught himself and cleared his throat. "Oh, forgive me, goro. I am the elder of this village – the patriarch, if you will – welcome to the Goron Village, goro."

"The honor is ours, elder," Lucina replied and bowed, her companion mimicking her. "I will keep it brief; we need to find the Great Fairy so we can return to… well, not our world, but a world where we need to be. The Great Fairy is the only one who might be able to help."

The elder scratched his head and looked away, lost in thought. He eventually sighed and replied, "Though I do not understand, I guessed that you weren't from here – your clothes are different from the humans of Clocktown, goro. And judging by the tone in your voice, I assume that that this other world you're referring to is perhaps in trouble?"

"That's correct!" Cassandra answered. "We were teleported to these mountains by a warlock!"

"Sounds like trouble…" the elder remarked. "I can understand why you would seek the Great Fairy then, and indeed, she could be of help… Regrettably, however, I am not. I do not know the path to the temple."

Cassandra was the first (and loudest) to react. "What?! But, the Goron here told us that you would know!"

The elder held up his hands as if to calm her down. "Please, take a deep breath, goro. It is true that our people used to know the way… But no-one has been to the temple ever since a young hero went there, goro. That was almost ten years ago. Despite that the young hero defeated the evil that was dwelling there, our people have stayed cleared of it since – out of sight, out of mind, as they say. All I do remember is that the road was a perilous one; you could not simply walk up to the temple, goro."

"So what will we do, then?" Lucina angrily asked. "If we can't get there, then we cannot ever go back!"

The Goron elder sighed and bowed. "I am deeply sorry."

The swordswoman glanced over at her companion – the poor girl was about to cry – as the blonde turned on her heel and promptly headed outside. With a quick apology of her own, Lucina followed.

x.x.x.x.x

"Cassandra," the cobalt-haired girl began as she looked down at her companion. The Grecian had left the central cavern hub and had settled on a lone rock overlooking the mountain range and the seemingly bottomless abyss below. "You shouldn't have left like that."

"These people won't help us anyway," Cassandra said. "Our only hope to find our way back and they cannot remember."

Lucina sighed and tucked a few loose locks of hair behind her ear. "You heard the elder; the temple used to be a nest of evil. Of course they would wish to forget about it."

"´Almost ten years´ is not enough time for everyone to simply forget. Someone have to know." The blonde paused for a second. "They are probably just scared and don't want to show us."

"Regardless of their reason, we are in an unfavourable situation," Lucina admitted. "Like I told you earlier, Link has apparently been here years ago. There has to be a path between this land and Hyrule."

"Yes, but where? By the time we find it, it will likely be too late. Who knows if it's not already too late?" She turned to look at her blue-haired companion. "What if Link and the others are already dead by now because we took our time to walk over here?!"

"Cassandra, calm down –!"

"Taki could be dying right now and I'm stuck here on a frozen rock! What if Link died from the shock of magic?! What if –!"

An open palm firmly connected with the Grecian's cheek, the impact of the slap echoing briefly through the mountains. Their eyes met; Cassandra was visibly stunned and Lucina glared at her.

"They are our companions – your friends! – Please believe in them! I am certain the others are alright, but speaking nonsense is not getting us anywhere. So, please, take a deep breath and calm down, Cassandra."

She reached up to her cheek. It stung, but she didn't seem to be aware of the pain and slowly nodded. "…Y-Yes… My apologies…"

"No, I should apologize," Lucina replied. "I didn't mean to hit you but you seemed lost in your worries… I had to break you out of it." She thought for a minute. "Listen, we will find a way back to Link and the others. I don't know how, but we will. Let's take a moment longer to rest before we head back inside. I'm sure someone here must know the way to the temple – "

A shadow drifted by overhead and the girls looked up to see a giant owl circling above them. It flew around, slowly making its way down and perched on a nearby outcrop of rock, its eyes never leaving the pair.

"An owl?" Cassandra studied it. "It's… big."

"It's rather unnerving, the way it sits there and watches us," Lucina commented. "Let's head back inside."

"Hold, travellers." The voice caught them off-guard. It was a gentle-yet-stern tone and the girls looked around until the owl flapped its giant wings. "I have watched you from afar – you are not from this world, correct?"

"Is…" The blue-garbed swordswoman shook her head. "I must still be hungry. I thought for a moment that the owl was speaking to us."

Cassandra replied, "No…I heard the voice, too…"

"Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm, humans. I am indeed speaking to you." It flew off from the rock and circled above them again. "You seek a way back to the land of Hyrule, no? And so you have come here to find the Great Fairy of Snowhead, hoot!"

"The owl really is talking?!" Lucina exclaimed. "Who are you?! And how do you know about our plight?!"

"Who I am is of no importance. I once aided the young hero – the one you refer to as Link – a long time ago. I can show you the path to Snowhead Temple, hoot! But we must hurry; another snowstorm approaches, and it will make the path impassable, hoot!"

"He knows the way?!" Cassandra exclaimed. "We have to follow him, Lucina!"

"How do we know we can trust him? We know nothing about this world! We almost died out there if it were not for the Goron! If we lose our way out there we will not be so lucky!"

"But if we don't go, we won't be able to reach the Great Fairy!" the blonde countered. "It might be too late if we wait!"

The bluette looked up at the owl that was still flying above them. His appearance seemed too good to be true but what choice did they have? They didn't have the time to get to know people and learn who could be trusted. The thought of wandering around the mountains aimlessly, however, did not sit well with her…

"Very well, owl!" she shouted. "Please, lead us to the Great Fairy!"

The owl seemingly nodded and flew at a good pace as the girls ran after him, hoping that they weren't committing a grave mistake.

X.x.X.x.X

Lili clung onto Sheik for dear life as the princess-alter-ego leapt great distances, ran as swift as the wind, through landscapes and fields. Where did such inhuman strength and stamina come from to allow someone like her to do this?

It all came to a sudden halt however and the blonde girl was almost thrown off Sheik's back. Her heart raced and a sickening feeling settled in her stomach as she carefully climbed down and slumped onto the ground.

"N-Never…again…" she complained. "Can't you be a bit gentler, princess –" Her voice quickly trailed off at the sight before them. Had Lili looked at Sheik, she would have seen the shock and fright in her eyes.

They had reached the forest and the small glade – a village of sorts – was on fire. Several of the tree-buildings were ablaze and the countless bodies of children lay on the ground. It was difficult to tell if they were dead or just unconscious, but the gruesome sight made their hearts sink in their chests. Several creatures with bright green or autumn-red foliage covering their bodies were also scattered over the place, having seemingly lost the fight.

"How…" Sheik began. "The forest should have been protected from outsiders. How could this be?"

Lili opened her mouth to speak only to find that she didn't have the words to comfort her companion.

The sky above them was darkened with smoke. The crackle of wood and roars of the flames was the only sound they could hear.

"Your Highness!" The two turned to see a woman garbed similarly to Sheik, with ash-blonde hair rushing towards them. "You shouldn't be here! The invaders are still around!"

"This forest is part of our kingdom, Impa!" Sheik replied. "I will not sit idle this time."

The older woman's brow furrowed. "If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I would do! Please, Your Highness, retreat while you still can!"

The princess-alter-ego was about to shout at the other woman – you could tell by body-language alone – when she was suddenly pushed aside by Lili –

"L-Lili?!"

-as the blonde blocked an attack with her arms, a painful grunt escaping her lips as she did so. Sheik and Impa stared in awe as the girl but their attention quickly turned to the enemy who was still in mid-kick against Lili.

It was a woman: black hair styled into two horn-like bangs, garbed in black, lilac, and white. She grinned – a predatory smile that made her appear even more inhuman – and let out an insane laugh.

"You've got keen reflexes, girl!" she exclaimed. "But what about strength?"

The woman leapt off the ground and in a heartbeat spun around, her left heel firmly connecting with Lili's right shoulder and sending the blonde crashing across the grassy ground a few feet away.

"Lili!" Sheik yelled. She turned towards the brunette. "Who are you?! Are you the one responsible for all this?!"

The woman laughed again uncontrollably and, once she had calmed down, smirked. "The sole credit is not mine, but yes!" She placed her hands on her hips. "You see, me and my partner are looking for someone, and we heard that these little gnats," She pointed at the Kokiri. "would know where to find him since he's supposedly in these woods! Since they didn't want to co-operate, however, we had to persuade them a little."

"So you attack them and burn down their home," Impa commented. She glared daggers at the invader. "You are a monster in human form."

The woman just laughed again. "I've been called worse, lady. But you can still save them, I guess; just tell us where we can find the man known as Link and we will be on our way…after I beat you senseless!"

Sheik vanished from sight and the woman glared, confused, at the spot she had stood, as the princess-alter-ego reappeared behind her, kodachi at the ready to plunge into her enemy…but the strike hit solid steel instead.

Sheik looked up, bewildered, as a pair of swords blocked her attack and forced her backwards to avoid the counterattack. Another woman stood behind the brunette, slightly taller in height, with her dark-brown hair wound into a single thin ponytail and a fringe covering her left eye. She was dressed in black vest top with black underwear and chaps, blue arm and leg wraps complete with red sandals. A grotesque skull was strapped to her left shoulder.

She eyed Sheik for a moment. "Are you a worthy foe, I wonder," she said. "You're quick, child…But what else do you possess?"

The other brunette cackled with glee. "Thanks for the assistance, Shura! But don't fucking butt in on my fights!"

The swordswoman didn't glance back at her companion. "I wasn't saving you, Juri. Much rather, I want to teach this child a lesson…"

"Yeah, yeah," the other woman – Juri, as she was apparently named – said and rolled her eyes. "Let's enjoy ourselves for a bit before we proceed with finding that Link person! All this waiting has made me stiff…"

A shout had them both turn and Juri dodged out of a series of kicks. Lili kept going, aiming low and high, but the brunette avoided each and every blow.

The blonde glared at her. "I will deal with her! You two take the other one!"

They needed no further encouragement as Sheik and Impa, their kodachi's unsheathed, attacked Shura who blocked their attacks with her dual katanas. The swordswoman grinned and managed to push them both off her and created enough space for her to rush at them.

"I will hopefully enjoy this!" she yelled and slashed at the older Sheikah; Impa managed to enter a deadlock, but the brunette's strength was almost terrifying as she was pushed back.

"Sheik!"

"I'm on it!" the princess-alter-ego replied and vanished, only to appear above Shura and skydived with her blade right at her –

Steel met steel when the swordswoman parried Sheik's attack as well and forced the blonde onto the ground. She pushed Impa away with incredible force and charged at Sheik before she had a chance to recover and kicked her to the side.

"Pathetic!"

The brunette dashed towards Sheik, swords at the ready. She slashed four times in quick succession and graced the princess' arms and legs –

Sheik grunted from the pain. This woman from the other world was nothing like the other ones – so full of malice and desire to fight – and it was scaring her. But with a smirk behind her collar, she tossed a Deku nut at Shura's feet.

The brunette let out a frustrated growl as she covered her eyes and swung wildly with her other arm. Sheik rounded her tripped her from behind as Impa grabbed hold of her arms, forcing Shura to let go of her swords.

X.x.X

Lili was pushed back across the ground, the air in her body cleanly knocked out of her. Her midsection hurt something fiercely from her opponent's punch, but the pain spurred the blonde on; this Juri-woman was strong, and if Lili could defeat her, it would make Zelda realize her strength. Though, she'd admit that perhaps this wasn't the time to be thinking about it.

"You can still stand?" Juri remarked and smirked. "Good! It wouldn't be nearly as fun if you were to give up after a little warmup!"

"Prostituée…" Lili replied with a confident smile and straightened herself. This woman was unfathomably strong; she made the blonde's fights with Asuka look like a tickling competition for Heaven's sake! She had speed to match her strength too, which only made matters worse.

´This is hardly fair at all…´

Lili ran towards Juri aimed a strong kick at the brunette's head but the latter blocked it with her arm, grabbed it, and flung the younger girl spinning into the ground, face first.

She quickly got up and wiped mud, grass, and ashes off her face. She rolled to the side and got up, taking a stance. Juri merely grinned.

Lili let out a battle-shout and lunged forward with a series of kicked; one, two, three, four…five kicks, all of which the older woman blocked with little effort. Lili fumed and swiped with her leg to knock the brunette off the ground, her leg successfully hitting Juri in the calf –

´I got her!´

-and followed swiftly up with another kick connecting to Juri's midsection that caused her to crash into a nearby tree-trunk building. Lili smirked, revelling in her small victory.

A purple glow shined from where the brunette had landed and before Lili reacted – something flew at her at a high speed – Juri kicked her right in the stomach with enough for to send her hurtling into a tree, the wind clearly knocked out of her. She couldn't breathe for what felt like a small eternity and her vision spun. She tried to move but an agonizing pain spiked in her chest as she did. At least one rib had to be fractured from that impact, she reckoned.

"You've got a lot of nerve, kicking me like that!" Juri yelled as she casually walked over to the blonde. "That actually hurt a little, so I guess I should commend you for that. But I want to go back home as swiftly as possible, so we will have to cut this short." She met Lili's eyes and inspected her. What was she looking for? "You're definitely one of those girls Mau had sent first. Because you couldn't fulfil this simple task, I now have to clean up your mess before I can return home. This world doesn't even have anyone strong for me to fight, so…I'm really pissed, you know?"

The devilish smirk on Juri's face was the only warning Lili got before she was kicked in the face from the side. As the blonde spat out the taste of copper and struggled to get up, another kick in her side forced her down to her back.

The brunette straddled her, cracking her knuckles. "At least bludgeoning you will be a good consolation prize before we move on to find that guy…" She grabbed Lili by the cheeks and forced her to take a look to the right. "And don't expect your friends to be of help, either."

The blonde's eyes widened; Zelda had been pinned down by one of Shura's katana piercing through her left shoulder, while she managed to fend off a furious Impa with the other blade.

"Do you see now?" Juri asked. "We are here because you couldn't finish a simple task, and now you have to suffer for it."

Lili wanted to cry. The brunette was grabbing her tightly by the throat now and pulled back her other hand for a solid punch…that never came.

The grip on her throat had gone and so was the weight on her body. Lili, despite the pain in her chest, forced herself into a sitting position only to find that Juri was a few feet away, rubbing her cheek. What had happened –

"Are you alright?" She looked up to meet the hazel eyes of the raven-haired ninja. "Can you fight?"

She didn't reply. The pain from her fractured rib wouldn't allow her to move. She shook her head, unable to speak.

"I see," Taki replied. "Rikku, try to tend to mend her. I'll deal with the other one."

"Got it!" the blonde, green-eyed girl from before said as she appeared out of nowhere. "D-Don't worry! I'll h-help!"

Lili stared at her, wide-eyed. The others were here? She didn't know whether to die out of shame for being seen in the state she was, or cry out of gratitude for not being alone. "Rikku…"

"It's not much, but I can heal some of the wounds," Rikku said and smiled. "Just hang in there!"

X.x.X

"I don't know, nor care where you came from," Juri exclaimed. "But don't fucking butt in on my fights, bastards!"

The ground before her suddenly exploded and she leapt back, gritting her teeth. The sound of a gun reloading alarmed and she leapt out of the way again from another blast.

"Who's there?!"

"Justice," came the reply as a young person, clad in a blue-trench coat, stepped forward, her guns aimed at the brunette. "I suggest you stay where you are."

Meanwhile, Shura avoided Impa's attacks, having been forced to rip her sword out of Sheik for mobility's sake. She glanced over at her companion. "Tch. Why do I have to help that child again?"

She made a run for it, only to raise her blades by instinct and deflect a pair of kunai's from embedding themselves in her.

Taki appeared before her, her ninjatō drawn. "Do not even dare to think about it."

Shura smirked. Her eyes lit up with glee. "Oh, a kunoichi, huh? This will be fun."

"The only pleasure to be found will be from putting an end to your terror," Taki replied and reappeared before the swordswoman at an instant and slashed –

Impa lunged forward and readied herself to stab Shura in the back, her blade barely a hand's width away.

-but Shura spun like a whirlwind of steel and forced her attackers away. She gave chase to Taki and slashed wildly, forcing the brunette to go on the defensive as wide swings pushed her further back and barely grazed the skin of her face.

Shura let out a shrill cry and raised her blade but quickly leapt away. A single arrow stood between her and Taki and the women turned to where the arrow had been shot.

"I have your back!" Link shouted and took aim with a second arrow. The ninja managed a slight smile and poised to strike, turning back to Shura.

"Green clothes, golden hair…" the swordswoman noted. Her expression became feral. "That's the man! We found him!"

"It won't do you any good," Taki stated. "Your friend is apprehended and you're both outnumbered."

Shura glanced over at her with a wicked smile. "I think not, ninja."

A series of roars and hissing noises suddenly emitted around the gathering and hordes of monsters – skeletal warriors, lizard-people, and other fiendish creatures – surrounded them and charged with sword and shield in hands at the group. Tension rose, hearts went sporadic, as the battle turned and became chaotic!

Firing an arrow, Link quickly put it away and took up his shield and sword and defended himself from a Stalfos. "Everyone, defend yourselves!"

Noel fired a couple of rounds at the gathering enemies, clearing out a good number of them. But as she did, she lost sight of the brunette –

"NO-ONE keeps me at gunpoint and gets away with it!"

-she was kneed right in her chin and was hurtled into the wall of trees that marked the border of the village, and Juri rushed towards her.

"Noel!" Link shouted and ran, but the numerous enemies stood in his way. A clean swipe had most of them on the ground, but many more took their places.

The scene was like out of a nightmare: the roaring fires, the blood-stained ground, the monsters that kept on coming and allies struggling to stay alive.

"D-Don't worry, Lili!" the bubbly blonde thief exclaimed and slashed at a lizalfos. "I will d-defend you! Don't move-!"

Another lizalfos struck and she parried the attack, but a skeletal warrior charged at her, its twisted blade entering her body with a sickening noise. A violent shriek exits her mouth, emerald eyes wide open with shocking pain.

Several heads turn but only Taki is the first to act.

"RIKKU!"

She elbows a lizard-creature out of the way, decapitates a skeletal warrior after that, and runs towards the blonde…until she could no longer move forward. A single spike of pain, a split-second of torment, has her frozen in her tracks as a katana pierced through her abdomen and spilling her life-force onto the ground.

"Taki!" Link's voice is drowned out by the battlefield. He looks around; Impa is barely able to defend herself and the motionless body of Sheik – Zelda! – behind her from the monsters. Rikku is assaulted as Lili watches in horror, unable to do anything, and Noel is pummelled by the enemy commander. Taki, one of their strongest, is fighting a losing fight as Shura forced her to the ground.

Kokiri villagers lay on the ground around him. Everyone he knew as a child and cared for him is most likely dead. There's no sight of Mido or Saria and it only fuels the anxiety within him.

He dodged out of the way from a rusted blade and cut clean through the moblin and pushed it back into the ground. His eyes well up from the sorrow that threatened to spill forth. The sound of blood pumping echoed in his ears, loud as a drum and he ran straight into the masses, a great spin-attack creating some room and sent the monsters scattering. His blade cut and cleaved, his shield blocked and bashed, but the sea of monsters seemed endless!

Finally, the inevitable happened: one strike slowed Link down. A second one forced him to his knees. The third and fourth ones had him lying on the ground.

"The master needs him alive!" the swordswoman yelled. "Do not kill him!"

His vision swam, unable to focus. He saw monsters around him, taunting him…

And then he saw her – the swordswoman – standing next to Sheik's body. She spoke, but he couldn't make out what she was saying from the series of roars around him. He saw her blade raised high –

His heart nearly shattered. A single stroke and steel embedded itself in flesh and Sheik's body jerked and twitched.

Link didn't know what happened. He wanted to cry, to throw up, and to scream, all at once. He wanted – had to – to save Zelda, his comrades, his childhood home, Sara…

He didn't know how or when he had managed to pick it up from his pouch but he saw in it in his hand, beckoning him. The one item he had gotten from his adventures in his younger days, which he had sworn to never use again, was in the palm of his hand. It silently beckoned him, tempting him with power.

And in his moment of weakness, Link donned the item.

A warped, twisted light of muted colours shot forth from where he stood and the monsters backed away. The light erupted into raw power, shattering the earth and setting the air around him ablaze.

"What the fuck is that?!" Juri exclaimed.

Shura stared in awe. "This… Could this be…?"

The fiery light slowly subsided and a lone figure stood in its centre. The figure glared with pupil-less eyes, his muscular frame radiating frightening power.

He bellowed – a wordless sound of wrath – as he charged with unbridled fury.