"Link, you're weak!" shouted Beat, punching Link to the ground.
"Just because you've knocked me down a couple times doesn't mean you've beaten me!" he growled as he stood up.
"Guys! Come on, lunch is ready!" pleaded Navi.
At the mention of food the two quit fighting and rushed to the cart. Beat got to the cart first, and received a large apple, a bottle of milk, and a slice of bread. Link came to find Beat eating the apple, and ignoring his milk and bread. A smile crept across Link's face as he reached for his friends milk.
"Touch that lid and I will snap your arm in half." grinned Beat.
Link was amazed at that. Beat's eyes had remained closed the entire time. Link then got his own food and began to eat.
"So why the fighting so often?" asked Archer between bites of his apple.
"Training." answered Beat.
"For what?" asked Richard.
"The Blazing Fist Fighting Cup." Link replied.
"Why?" Navi inquired.
"It's gonna be fun!" laughed Beat. "Besides, Darunia told us the Fire Sage Warrior would be there. Apparently his protector isn't a Goron. So Zelda was wrong."
"Well she couldn't know that all. I mean she was just coming up with that off the top of her mind." Link stated.
"Cool!" Archer shouted. "Maybe Richard and I should enter!"
"I'll pass. If we enter we may end up fighting one of these two. And I doubt they'll fight full force against us." Richard sighed, ruffling Archer's hair.
"You're right." sighed Archer.
"You're allowed to use any equipment you have. So Archer would be able to fight from a distance." reassured Beat. "But I wouldn't be able to fight you buddy. You're practically my brother."
"Oh, alright." replied Archer sadly.
"But you could help us warm up. Some guys may fight long range, and we'll need help preparing. Or at least I will."
"Yeah Beat will need your help. There's no way he can beat me!" laughed Link.
"Is that a challenge?" growled Beat with a smile.
"Peter, I'm worried." sighed Penelope leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I'm worried too. But maybe he doesn't know where we went." comforted Gwen patting her young friend's head.
"I think we'll run into them. You remember how Beat loved those fighting tournaments back at our village? He always entered and won without injuring them. I believe he'll enter this one here in this town." laughed Peter.
"Beat enjoys fighting?" gasped Gwen in surprise.
"He enjoys going into those competitions because he gets to witness other people's fighting style. He learns their style and perfects it. He then tells them how to improve, but he'll use the style later on in a different tournament." explained Penny.
"I think I'll enter." stated Peter. "I watched Beat training before. I think I can use one of his styles."
"Don't fight anyone too tough." advised Penny.
"You let him fight?"
"Yeah, I usually have to stop her from joining." laughed Peter.
"Oh Nayru! You two are crazy." sighed Gwen.
"You haven't seen Beat and Penny working together. They usually play pranks a lot. They make my life hell."
"Oh remember what we did when we first met?" Penny laughed.
"Don't tell Gwen! I'm still trying to hide the fact that you did that to me from Mom and Dad!"
"What happened?" Gwen said smiling evilly.
"Beat had just saved our town, so I ran up to thank him. I was only ten, so I had no idea what it was like to kiss someone outside my family. I kissed him and he fell into the water. He was a little surprised, but then he laughed. I consider it our first prank because we had made Peter swear not to tell." laughed Penelope.
"Wow." laughed Gwen. "You kissed him?"
"Well, yeah. He saved us, but it was mainly because of me being so young." replied Penny.
"Alright we're here." announced Peter stopping the cart.
"Heads up!" shouted Archer as he shot arrows at Link and Beat. Link simply used his shield. Beat dodged and grabbed arrows.
"Here's ten more arrows!" shouted Beat as he tossed arrows to Richard.
"No more please! I'm exhausted!" Archer gasped.
"Fine. How you feeling kid?" Beat asked turning to Link.
"I'm fine. I've been getting shot at for eight years. You can't outdodge me!"
"You blocked the arrows, not dodge. I bet you can't even fight without using one of your toys!" Beat challenged.
"I..I...I ah who am I kidding. I use my weapons too much. Can you train me to fight unarmed?"
"I'd be glad to help. I'll even teach you to vanish like a Sheikah."
"Ooh, Ooh train me too!" pleaded Archer.
"Fine. I'll train you. But only when we rest. We need to find the twins and Gwen." Beat replied.
"Navi, any idea how far from Kakariko are we?" asked Richard.
"Well, with all three horses pulling, at top speed we reach Kakariko by nightfall." answered Navi.
With Navi's answer, the guys picked up the arrows used by Archer. They all gathered in the cart. Link took the reigns and started the horses off at a trot. As they picked up speed the cart started bumping around.
"Sorry! The path gets rough up ahead. We're gonna have to slow down." apologized Link.
"Just go as fast as you can without making one of us fall out!" shouted Beat.
"Alright." shouted Link in response.
"I've got a bad feeling." sighed Richard. "Something's following us."
"Hmm? You noticed it also?" asked Beat.
"You knew we were being followed?" shouted Link. "Thanks for warning us!"
"Relax. It's not a major threat. It's just an imp. With two... Fairies?" stated Beat confusedly looking behind the cart.
"An imp, with two fairies? What colors are they?" hollered Link.
"Yellow and purple." called Archer.
"Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael!" whooped Link. He abandoned the reigns and jumped out of the cart.
"Holy crap!" screamed Richard as he jumped to grab the reigns.
"Link get your ass over here!" screamed Navi.
"You damn fool! Get over here jackass!" shouted Archer. Everyone stopped and looked at Archer, mouths open. "What? I can't swear?"
Peter signed up at the booth in Kakariko. The tournament was being held in front of the town's well. Gwen had taken Penny to find a place to rest. They had decided to bring their cart into town with them. They had left it next to a newly finished shop. It was apparently a potion shop, for putrid scents came from it.
"Let's get an inn on the other side of town. I can't stand those smells!" muttered Gwen.
"Yeah, it stinks really badly." laughed Penelope. She then found a wandering Cuccoo, and picked it up. "You shouldn't wander the streets little fella."
"Penny put that down!" snapped Gwen.
"No!" squealed Penny as she ran off with the bird held above her head. She jumped off a flight of stairs and flew to the tree in the center of town.
"Penny!" screamed Gwen, "Stop playing around and," she was interrupted by a firm hand grabbing her.
Link was talking with Skull Kid, until he was dog-piled on by his traveling friends.
"You idiot!" shouted Beat.
"What were you thinking?" lectured Richard.
"Let me go!!!" cried Link.
Meanwhile Navi talked with the two fairies following the Skull Kid.
"So you traveled with Link?" she asked.
"No, just Tatl." replied Tael.
"It wasn't very easy. We had to relive the same three days again and again!" moaned Tatl.
"Try spending seven years sleeping with the guy without being able to move." laughed Navi.
Archer was talking with the Skull Kid.
"So you left the woods too, huh?"
"Yeah I did." sighed Archer.
"It's good to see you again Archie. I appreciated the blowdart lesson." laughed Skull Kid.
"Maybe you should join us, that way we can talk and travel together." suggested Archer.
"I like that idea!" agreed Navi. "Everyone! Why don't we all travel together?"
Everyone nodded agreement and gathered in the cart. Link and Beat in the drivers bench, Skull Kid sitting on the trunk with Archer, and Richard relaxing against the back of the bench. They explained the whole journey so far, and how they were entering a contest.
"Wow! A fighting tournament, that sounds fun. I don't think I could beat any of you guys." sighed Skull Kid.
"Don't worry, I'm not allowed to enter." reassured Archer.
"I don't feel like fighting. I'm going to visit a friend." Richard added.
"Who?" asked Navi landing on his shoulder.
"Why, Maribelle's sister of course. Or at least her half-sister. She raises Cuccoos despite her allergies."
"The Cuccoo chick?" asked Link.
"Yeah, her. Now hurry up, I wanna get there before sundown." ordered Richard before falling asleep.
"Hmm, you may be able to help me." muttered a pale looking boy. He had Gwen by the head, her mouth covered. "I need someones help."
He released Gwen's mouth and let her speak. "With what?"
"My father. He's the head carpenter here. I wanna join this competition, but I can't afford the entry fee. He won't give me any rupees, so I need you,"
"To loan you some?" suggested Gwen.
"You'd loan them to me? I was gonna ask you tell my dad I was helping you with some chores. He thinks I'm lazy, but I just don't want him knowing I'm training to become a fighter."
"Well, I'll loan the rupees to you, and then you can guide me through town." replied Gwen.
"Thank you, I'm Caesar."
"I'm Gwen."
Peter had found a kind lady with the heart to let him and the girls stay at her house. Her only cost: find her chickens. Penny showed up with one after he had collected three. They only had three more to go. Peter and Penny split up to search for the last of them. Then they each caught another one. Only one left, and it was brought by Gwen. She had accidentally kicked it and now it was chasing her. She ran into the twins, and the pile they made was high enough for the bird to jump over on its own.
"Oh you sweet children!" cheered the owner. "I'm allergic to the Cuccoos but I still raise them. I couldn't get them by myself. Thank you so much."
"It's no problem," replied Gwen. "Psst! Peter, what'd we do?"
"Why are you raising these things if you're allergic to them?" asked Penelope.
"I think I'd rather tell you inside, it's getting dark. Come inside." invited the kindly young woman.
When the cart pulled in the sun was just rising. Richard had slept the entire trip. Link had fallen asleep in the bench so Beat was driving now. Skull Kid and Archer were huddled close together.
"Cute, isn't it?" sighed Beat as he stopped the cart. "Huh. The prize for winning is a wish that will be granted by the king himself. I wonder if he means anything reasonable."
Beat ceased talking to himself. He sensed something creeping in on them. He slipped out of the cart, and crawled under it. He looked up to see a shady looking youth. He had strange blades on his feet, could he be a TerraSlider? Beat had heard of a race of fighters who could glide across the ground on blades attached to their feet. Beat snuck behind the curious teen and tapped his shoulder.
"What's up?" asked Beat.
The teen jumped revealing that the teen was a girl. She fell onto her behind and looked at him, clearly surprised.
"Sorry. Habit of mine."
"You make it a habit to scare teenage girls?" she asked.
"No, sneaking up on people. But I must say, I've never met a TerraSlider before. I had heard they were very attractive. You exceed expectations."
"Um, thank you, I think." said the girl blushing. "Is this your cart?"
"Yes it is my fair lady." replied Beat helping her to her feet.
"I thought it was strange, someone showing up at sunrise."
"We traveled over night to get here. Could you believe we were fated to meet?" laughed Beat.
"Maybe. I'm Ivy. You are?"
"Grimsley, Beat Grimsley. Pleasure of making your acquaintance."
The girl blushed and laughed at his politeness. "You act like nobility, the way you talk."
"Not nobility. Just good manners." laughed Beat shrugging.
"Would you like to accompany me on a walk through town?" she said offering her arm.
"I'd be delighted to." he said taking her arm. "You're not going to drag me are you?"
"No, why?" she asked turning to face him.
"No reason." said Beat turning away.
The two walked through town. Admiring the sites. Beat found himself staring at Ivy. She wore a blue headband in her Snow-white hair, along with a blue shirt, and a long white skirt. They walked by the table for tournament entries. They both glanced at it. Not noticing they both stared at it. They continued on until they passed a building with a small fence containing several Cuccoos. They were too absorbed in their conversation to notice someone creep out of the house and follow them.
"Who is that with Beat?" muttered Gwen. She stayed behind them, following from a distance. She followed them to the outskirts of town where a cart waited.
"Thank you for your company, Mr. Grimsley." laughed the girl.
"It was my pleasure, milady." replied Beat with a laugh.
Gwen remained calm. She didn't see Beat as she did in Castle Town. She saw him as another person. "What has happened to me?" she thought to herself. She watched the girl hug Beat, and run off towards town. She decided to surprise Beat then.
Beat watched as Ivy walked off. "She will probably enter, the tournament." he sighed. He then took a step to the right and watched Gwen fall onto her face.
"Oww." she moaned. She looked up to see Beat smiling at her.
"Yo. Sorry about that." chuckled Beat.
"Beat, who was that?" she asked rubbing her head.
"Oh, her? She's a new friend." stated Beat shrugging. "What's up?"
"I saw you so I thought I'd follow you."
"Sound Gwen logic." muttered Beat.
"Haha, real funny. So where's Richard?"
"Sleeping. Along with my other friends. Come and help me wake them."
The two climbed into the cart to find everyone there, except for Link.
"That's strange. You wake Richard and I'll go look for someone." ordered Beat before taking off.
"Jerk." she muttered.
Link had woken up the moment Beat left with Ivy. He explored town to see the new buildings. "So this is one year of work? Wow."
"My dad's workers didn't do much." sighed a boy behind Link.
"You." growled Link. "Still hating the world?"
"I deserve that. Sorry for what I said to you last time." laughed the pale skinned boy.
Link recalled finding this boy sitting under a tree in the town, he said everyone was disgusting, especially Link. Link gritted his teeth.
"I've changed. Honestly. I was in that mood because my dad didn't mind my sisters' choices in life. One became a maid, and the other raised Cuccoos. He thought becoming a fighter was a waist of time. I was always resting my body when you showed up."
"A family feud? Huh, Caesar, you never cease to find trouble with your father."
"You know those two?" asked Caesar pointing to Beat and Ivy.
"Just the guy. I've got no clue who the girl is. Hey he's being followed!"
"Hmm? Oh that's Gwen! She's staying with Tiffany, I'd leave her. Let's visit my sister." suggested Caesar. He led Link to the Cuccoo Lady's home. He knocked until she answered.
"What is it?" she snapped. When she saw her brother she relaxed.
"Oh Caesar, it's you. And you're the kind boy who gathered my Cuccoos. How did the bottle help?"
"Very well, thank you." nodded Link.
"You still have those kids here Sis'?" asked Caesar.
"The twins? They're both asleep. Let's go get them."
Beat knew he was being watched. The follower was stealthy, but Beat could escape. He went down a back alley and put on the Stone Mask. The person following him revealed himself. He was a taller TerraSlider and wore his blades on his arms.
"Damn, I lost him." he muttered pushing back his silver hair. He passed Beat, unaware that his prey was right next to him.
"Looking for someone?" asked Beat tapping on his hunter's shoulder.
"Yeah a... What the?" he exclaimed looking at Beat. "You! Stay away from Ivy! She's mine!"
"Okay, someone is a little possessive. Ivy asked me to walk with her. What are you her brother?" asked Beat politely.
"I'm her fiancé. She will be married to me after I win this competition!"
"She seemed to avoid talking about that."
"I doubt it. She didn't want to toy with your feelings."
"Are you assuming I have feelings for her? Well I do feel sorry for her having to marry you." shouted Beat.
"I should kill you now!" screamed the TerraSlider, he raised his arm to slash Beat across his face.
"Hey, Gerudo! Need some help?" hollered a deep voice.
Richard awoke to soft hands shaking him, and found Gwen staring at him.
"Ah! For Din's sake don't don't do that!" he screamed.
This woke everyone else up.
"What's going on?" yawned Archer.
"Aww, your so cute!" swooned Gwen.
"Gwen, restrain yourself." ordered Richard.
Gwen obeyed, but did so reluctantly. She then saw the sun rising.
"Hey, do you wanna go find Peter and Penny?" suggested Gwen.
"Sure why not?" shrugged Navi. "Lead the way."
Link and the twins headed for the outskirts of town. They left the two siblings to talk. The group talked about the whole trip they had before Link joined up.
"Oh, you're entering the contest also?" laughed Link.
"Yeah. He wanted to join so he could see how well he fights. We should get our cart. It's by the potion shop." replied Penny.
"Alright you two get it. I'm gonna go back to my cart. I wanna tell Beat I found you two." suggested Link.
The group then separated. The twins headed towards their cart, Link towards his own.
Beat jumped back to avoid the slash. He didn't even get a cut on his tunic. He put on his mask and vanished. He ducked under his attackers blades and rolled to his new ally. He unmasked himself and stood next to his savior.
"Thanks."
"I don't want anyone being in a fight before the tournament. And I also have an ongoing hatred for TerraSliders." laughed the new arrival.
"Vakan filth!" spat the attacker. He dropped his blades and stepped onto them. He then glided away.
"Thanks for the help. You're a Vakan?"
"Yeah, I'm Vakanos." introduced the Vakan.
"I'm Beat. You here for the fighting?"
"Yeah. A number of races here. Zora, Goron, Hylian, Human, TerraSlider, you are the first Gerudo. I'm the only Vakan here. I think I saw a child enter too. He was wearing a green tunic and was followed by a fairy."
"A Kokiri?" gasped Beat.
"Yeah, that was the race he said he was. His name was Medo, or something like that."
"Mido!" screamed Beat. "Where is he staying?"
"Where every other entrant is staying. They rented out the windmill for the combatants to sleep in."
"I think I prefer my cart."
This made Vakanos laugh. "I'll help you find him. But first go sign up for the contest."
"I promised I would sign in the same time my friend did." sighed Beat. "But thanks for the help. I hope I get to fight against you. You look like a fun opponent."
"Hmm? You may not want to fight me. The Vakan are trained fighters."
Beat shrugged it off and waved as he left. But after saying goodbye he had to say hello, to Ivy again.
"Oh, hello Ivy." laughed the Gerudo.
"Beat I apologize for what happened." she sobbed hugging him close to her. "Ace just doesn't let me be alone. He demands I marry him. And he's going to use the prize to marry me."
"Relax Ivy. I can handle him. Just stay calm. You can stay with a friend of mine's friend's sister's place."
"That's confusing." she laughed.
"Yeah, it is. What'd I say?"
This made her laugh more. They walked up a hidden staircase along the cliffside surrounding the east half of town. There they found a calm spring.
"Huh. Didn't expect to find that."
"Oh Beat. It's a perfect place to talk." reassured Ivy.
"Heh, alright. I should warn you though. I end up kissing a girl when I'm alone with her. Or she kisses me."
"Oh really? Maybe I should get it out of the way." teased Ivy. She leaned in to kiss him, but pulled back quickly.
"Oh don't do that! You raised my hopes." whined Beat playfully.
"Hmm? Tell me about the other girls first." she ordered teasingly.
Link found his friends awake with a black haired girl with them.
"You're Gwen? You seemed scarier in the stories about you." taunted Link.
"She's not gonna respond. She is too busy stalking Archer." Richard replied.
Sure enough Archer was running around trying to hide from her. He then remembered his hookshot and pulled himself onto a roof. If this was it's basic mode, what was the true mode like? He thought.
"Beat didn't find you. And the twins weren't at the Cuccoo Chick's house. Now Beat's missing." moaned Tatl.
"No, he's up here! Or at least on the flat part of the cliff. With a pretty girl with white hair. Ooh! They're kissing!" he laughed.
"He certainly found a welcome party." laughed Link.
"Hmm, he seems pretty popular." muttered Tael.
"Relax, he won't kiss me or Navi!" giggled Tatl.
"This is a pretty nice welcome." stated Richard with a smirk.
Beat's head was spinning. He couldn't believe the passion in this kiss. Sure his kiss with Malon was passionate, yet it was also held back. The one with Gwen lacked romance and focused on desire. But this one with Ivy was much different. Her's was full of passion and desire, a perfect kiss. He held her close and kissed her with as much passion as she gave him. When they released each other they were flustered. They gasped at the passionate moment they just had.
"Uh, that was nice." mumbled Beat with a face redder than the rising sun.
"Uh yeah. Good job." replied Ivy, a little embarrassed.
"See you later?" Beat said questionably.
"Maybe. Just pray that Ace didn't see that."
Ace didn't see it, but Archer did. He smiled, "Beat certainly has a knack for kissing girls. I'm glad he didn't kiss any Kokiri."
Beat joined his friends to find Peter and Penny with them. Their cart next to the one he arrived in.
"Ready to sign in guys?" he asked.
"But you said just you and Link." replied Archer.
"If Mido's entering you can enter. Somehow he beat us here but I bet you can beat him little buddy."
"Cool!" cheered Archer. He ran to Beat and hugged him.
Beat kneeled and whispered "I know you saw, and I assume you probably told the people here. Am I right?"
"Only the twins don't know." whispered Archer. "Sorry, I'm just not used to that. The best I've seen is a quick peck on the cheeks. And the Kokiri Twins don't kiss as long as you did."
"Don't worry. I'll find you someone, as long as she's not Gwen."
"Thank you. Not for the girls, but the no Gwen. She scares me."
"Don't worry, she scares me and Richard too."
And the two shared a private laugh.
