Had some writer's block with this one, but I did my best with it.
Twilight Continent
The journey toward the Twilight Continent took about four days, traveling to Gerudo Desert west of the mainland and hitching a ride on a Sand Seal-drawn toboggan. Beyond the desert's west was a canyon that marked the edge of the continent's Eldin Region. Team Emma would cut through the Central City and exit its west gate before going south to Lake Lanayru. "Funny how we were just at Mount Lanayru." Gilda said.
"Well, it is one of this country's Light Spirits." Emma replied. "And it's named after Nayru the Goddess of Wisdom… who, according to more modern texts, actually goes by a different name."
Lake Lanayru lied within a wide, deep gorge, and its iconic Great Bridge of Lanayru spanned across it. Both were said to be among the planet's Top 5 Lakes and Bridges. Just looking at the crowds of families along the bridge and path leading to it, this lake was a popular tourist spot: the Watertop Land of Fantastication amusement park. "I can't believe Dad's map leads us here!"
"Yeah, I'm up for some fantastication!" Don fist-pumped.
"So, I guess another golden thingy is being given away as a prize here?" Gilda questioned. "Honestly, this looks even trickier than the Zonai."
"How so?" Ayshe asked. "Are there warriors here even more dangerous?!" She got battle-ready.
"No, no, settle down!" Emma consoled. "Let me look at the mark." She studied the "XX" mark. "Oh…" The mark seemed to cover the whole lake, but there were tiny numbers at some of the XX's points. From 1-5, they were the top center point, left corner, bottom center, right corner, then the down-right corner. In fact, the "1" originated just down the path to their right.
Falbi's Flight-by-Fowl was the primary way for guests to enter the lake. It was a Cucco shack on the cliffside, and as soon as they entered, the Cuccos all seemed to "CAW" as if greeting the morning sun. An Aeralfos in clown clothes was guarding the diving board into the lake. "HU HU HEY, KIDS!" He spoke and danced in a goofy manner. "Here for some fantastication?! Just pop me 20 Rupees and grab yourself a fowl! Follow the trail of Rupees down to the Isle of Riches!"
They could pick up any Cucco (which were almost indistinct from Earth chickens) of their choosing and follow a trail of holo-Rupees. The Isle of Riches was a multi-layered island with platforms ascending from largest to smallest, with the highest, smallest, spinning platform having the best prize. "So, what do we do?" Gilda asked.
"I'm gonna follow the map's direction." Emma answered. "But… I couldn't possibly cover the whole distance with these Cuccos." She examined the array of white, brown, and black chickens. "They just can't glide that far." Emma climbed the ladder to the second floor. "Ah!" She wasn't expecting to find a Gold Cucco up here. "Wow! How do you have a Cucco this rare?!"
"Eh?" The Aeralfos flapped up. "Oh, I wouldn't recommend that. Gold Cuccos never stay in your grasp. We only keep it here for super experts."
"You're looking at one." Gilda remarked.
Emma knew gold ones could glide much farther and faster. The only problem was taming it. "I bet I know! Great-aunt Mito used to read me a children's book about this!" Her friends glanced at her in disbelief. "It's about a Golden Cucco who taunted the others about its sheen. So, let's see if it likes that." Emma squatted down with her hands open. "Ahem…Twinkle, twinkle, little Cucco, I am gold and not for you-oo." She swayed her head to the rhythm, her smile bright and childish. "I can go so very high, farther than you, I can fly."
"Is this really how outsiders hunt?" Ayshe wondered.
"It's how Emma hunts sometimes…" Gilda said awkwardly.
The Cucco seemed gratified by her song and marched into her firm grip. Even Emma's sunny head made a nice perch for his golden radiance. Emma jumped down and ran off the diving board. "WOOHOOOOO!" She flew southwest as indicated by the numbered directions. When she neared the turning point, she saw a small, white, round bird flutter past. "Huh?!" Emma quickly spun to redirect flight in its direction; the same as indicated on her map. She flew southeast, then changed northeast, then southeast again, keeping the song going to appease the Cucco's ego. The flight took her to the southeast corner of the lake, where Emma set foot on a thin ledge. "Yeeeeek!" She wobbled a bit before stabilizing herself, keeping her Cucco perched. "Huh?"
The round bird landed in a nest. It was a very odd bird… with no beak, but a human-like face with purple eyes. "Wait! You're an Oocca!"
"Ookkook." The bird chirped. It burrowed under the nest and pulled out a white and yellow ticket. "(For you, Miss. Good job keeping up with me.)"
"A ticket?" It had strange writing. …Writing that she recognized from the textbook.
"The Oocca live in an ancient city in the sky above the Twilight Continent." Emma followed long with Mrs. Marie's briefing of the book. It had pictures of murals depicting the Oocca, one of their writing, and of a quirky cannon with feet. "They have a unique craftsmanship that relies on Island Cloud and have designed their city to freely move like a ship. It's built with defense cannons and can project fog to hide from outsiders. Though it's fairly easy to find and land on their home with modern ships, they rarely accept visitors this way, and even Queen Mandy's army leaves their culture at peace."
"Mrs. Marie?" Emma raised her hand. "The Oocca look scary."
"Hmhm, yes, many people agree they are rather… odd for bird-folk, but please don't say so to their face. It's rare to see Oocca in common societies, but they are still a registered people. Anyway, the only 'proper' way to enter the Oocca City is through use of the Sky Cannon. The Sky Cannon is an ancient artifact designed to trace the city wherever it may be and fire with proper accuracy. The cannon was said to be discovered about 1,900 years ago and now resides in…"
Emma's friends rode their own Cucco to the Isle of Riches. Don tried to shoot for the spinning platform, stretching his foot to catch it, but he wound up stumbling from its motion and falling in the lake. "DANG IT!"
Gilda landed on the second-highest platform. "OOOH, a Blue Heart Necklace!" She put it on. "Beautiful!"
Ayshe landed on the third-highest. "I found a rock." It was a shiny purple stone.
"That's Dusk Relic! It's from the Twilight Realm!"
"Hey! Guuuuuys!" Emma had to dive in and swim up the lake after her Cucco abandoned her. "Look! I got a ticket with Oocca writing!"
"What writing?"
"Let's ask if the cannon runner knows about this."
A raft bridge linked the Isle of Riches to a raft with a tall, purple building. The building was actually a cannon designed to shoot people back up to the Flight-by-Fowl, making sure people would exit the lake with excitement. It was guarded by a Fatblin in clown makeup. "Excuse me? Could you tell me what this is?"
"Hoh? Ah!" The clown's eyes puffed up at the ticket. "That's a Sky Ticket! That means you get to ride the Sky Cannon!"
"Really?!"
"We get to be shot out of a cannon?!" Don exclaimed.
"Ye-…uh, well, only one of you. You only have one ticket, right?"
"WHAT? But I wanna take my friends, too!" Emma cried.
"Er, the rules say-"
"SKY CANNON, SKY CANNON, SKY CANNON, SKY CANNON, SKY CANNON!" Ayshe stared dumbfoundedly at the three's childish chanting. She raised her fist and repeated the words in a quieter way.
"FINE, FINE, YOU ALL GET TO RIDE!"
"Skyyyyyyy," the kids squat, "CANNOOOOOON!" and jumped shooting their arms skyward!
The Fatblin led them across the bridge to the lowest shore and inserted a key into a secret hole in the bridge's post. "Stand back." The ground on the shore opened, revealing a metallic interior. An ancient stone cannon with chicken-like feet emerged on a lift. Surrounding park-goers lit up in awe: none of them had ever seen the Sky Cannon and some have only heard of it as a rare privilege. "I dunno how you kids got lucky enough to get ahold of that ticket, but you've earned yourself a trip to Oocca City!"
"And that's gonna be where Dad's next treasure is!"
…
There were two ways to travel up the Zora's River canyon. They could pay to ride the Carrier Kargarok and do the Balloon Popping Game or simply follow the trail along the side of the canyon and its wooden walkways. From the Upper Zora's River, people could pay to ride a boat back down to the lake and play the Rapids Ride Shooting Game, which involved shooting large jar-like targets.
Iza, the manager of the game, was coming back from her break, bringing two fishburgers from Zora's Domain. "Hey, Tallia!" she called to her Tallblin workmate. "They didn't have Reekfish, but I got…AAAAAAAHHH!" The demon was strung upside-down with her head in the water. Iza was in time only to see her body poof into darkness.
Garcia Hotspur rowed the rapids, munching a Reekfish burger. "Ay! That really DOES reek! Oh, if Paula could smell this, she'd suck the fish right outta me and take my heart with it!" Just the thought of it made him want to start shooting the targets wildly! He saw a few families cross a wood walkway he was rowing under. "'ey, don't you know demons can't cross running water?!" He shot the bridge's supports, causing it to collapse into the river. The Hylians were afloat and rode the river's current, but the demons sank and drowned. "No, wait, that's vampires. Ah, what's the difference?"
"Well, if I had a choice between dating a demon or a vampire, I'd pick the vampire." His horned skull scepter said.
The river would conclude at the waterfall that sloped down into the lake. The floating Ferris wheel, Bridge of Lanayru, and game and shop stands came into view. "So romantic, eh Johnny?" Garcia docked at the nearby pier while a Zora attendant would carry the boat back upriver. The Mexican followed the boarded walkways, wondering what had everyone's attention. "Is that cannon… walking?" His gaze focused on the Sky Cannon.
"I can't tell if it's a cannon or a disfigured giant chicken." Johnny replied.
It turned northwest and fired at a high diagonal angle. "WHOOOOOOOOOOAAAA…" Team Emma's cries echoed to the heavens. The crowd erupted in cheers!
"What?! Are you guys loco, those kids just got yeeted into space!" Garcia's protests were lost in the noise. "…And it was that clown demon! Always knew clowns were evil! Dragging children into sewers, shooting them outta cannons… I'm gonna pop that carny's balloon!"
Oocca City
"Look, there's the Lanayru Desert!" Emma pointed as the wind violently blew their hair and clothes. "And wow, I can see Four Sword Country from here!"
"This would be a TON more exciting if we weren't flying at a kajillion kilometers an hour!" Gilda exclaimed.
"How much distance is that?" Ayshe asked.
"Too much for my math!" Don screamed. "WHOA, THERE IT IS!"
They barely had a chance to process the incoming floating city before crashing into a dense, vertical, squishy cloud. The cloud softly bounced them out and splashed them into a white pool. The water was less dense than normal water, but they were able to resurface. "Hey, we're in Cloud Water!" Emma beamed. "AND LOOK! WE MADE IT!"
Oocca city was made of mostly whitish buildings with yellow décor and some red. There were propellers at the bases and the tops were shaped like giant eggs. As a chirping-like sound rang in their ears, the pool was soon surrounded by strange bird folk. They were Cucco-sized with yellow-feathered birdy bodies, but tall white necks that ended at bald heads with humanoid faces. "W-W-W-What are these things?" Gilda stuttered.
"Creepy, that's what." Don said, his expression cautious. Ayshe held daggers ready to lop their necks if they tried anything.
"It's okay, guys, these are the Oocca."
"These things? They look like human-Cucco fusion experiments gone wrong!"
"And I feel like we're only safe in this water!" Gilda shuddered.
"Let's just get out and talk to them." Emma swam to some stairs and climbed out. Some Oocca cleared a way for her to stand, looking up at the tall, sun-haired human in awe and excited chirps.
"Outta the way, outta the way!" An Oocca with a clown nose and puffy rainbow wig flapped up the bridge. "Ah-he-hoom. Greetings, travelers! I'm Oochoocoo, the head tour guide of Oocca City and representative of Watertop Land! For winning the honor of riding the Sky Cannon, I'm obliged to show you around our fair city!"
"Thanks, Mister, but we're actually here on other business."
"Mister?" Gilda questioned. "I thought for sure it was a girl."
"I really can't tell any of them apart." Don said.
"Does the name 'Gon Freecss' ring a bell?"
"Gon? Wait, wasn't that the guy who…"
"So, it does. And does this look familiar?" Emma showed him the golden trapezoid.
"(Ooooo what's that, what's that, what's that?)"
"(Shiny shiny shiny!)"
"Let's talk in my souvenir shop, it's quieter!"
The souvenir shop was filled with miniature, cylinder-shaped bird statues with holes in the middle, wooden Oocca figurines, spellbooks written in Oocca, keychains depicting their face, and of course their classic Ooccoo Clocks; because everyone wants to wake up with one of those things jutting out above you, they thought.
"Yes, a young man named Gon came to our town quite a while ago. And I could swear he had a gold bar like that. He came here to hide that bar in the 'perfect hiding place.' A hiding place he said only a patient and courageous hero would be able to find. I thought for sure he'd be referring to the next Hero of Time."
"Well, I doubt that's me." Emma blushed. "I heard the current Master Sword wielders lived on Earth, and I sure don't know 'em."
"Then who even are you?"
"I'm Gon's daughter." Emma went on to explain her quest.
"I see… that's quite an errand your father's making you do. Especially if he intends you to go up there."
"Up… where?"
Oochoocoo pointed out a window. The kids peered out, agape at a towering pillar on the opposite side of the city. The pillar was based atop the tallest building and practically went to the edge of the atmosphere.
They traveled across town and up the building. The pillar itself seemed to be made of all manner of junk lodged into Island Cloud. There was an empty pot at the entrance of the pillar, along with a hammer. "This is Diogenes Tower. It was constructed centuries ago by a skilled craftsman, and we've taken liberties of 'improving' it across the years. At the top of this tower, Diogenes planted a garden… A garden of extremely rare Anti-step Flowers."
"Anti-step?"
"They're flowers that can feel footsteps at a great distance and burrow underground when they do. As soon as you set foot on this pillar, they'll do just that. The only intended way to climb the tower and pick the flowers… is to climb your way up using this pot and hammer. In fact, I heard someone made a game based on this idea. Getting Over It, I believe?"
"I haven't heard of that. Have you guys…?"
Gilda and Don's expressions were horrific, as though they'd just witnessed a child be skinned alive. "W-W…What's wrong, guys?"
"So, you're saying Emma's dad…" Gilda quivered in her words, "wants her to do the Bennett Foddy challenge?"
"We call it the Trial of Diogenes, but yes." Oochoocoo answered.
"Wait… what exactly am I doing?" Emma wondered.
"You sit in the pot there. You might want to bend your legs like this." Emma went to squeeze herself in the pot with her knees sticking up from the front, already feeling awkward in this posture. "You hold the hammer and push or pull your way up."
Emma pressed the hammer to the ground to push herself back, as well as pull forward. "…You mean… I actually have to climb this tower… like this?"
"Correct."
"WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH GOURMET HUNTING?!" Emma was already in a stressful panic. "Why couldn't Dad just make me fight a giant bird?! Can you at least tell me Link had to do this?!"
"Not in our current texts, nocoo."
"It was nice knowing you, Emma." Gilda waved, wiping tears as she pictured her friend's funeral.
"I didn't think this would be how it ended." Don wept.
"C-Come on, guys… don't say it like that." Emma smiled nervously. "Maybe it… isn't as hard as it looks."
"Truecoo." Oochoocoo said. "I think it took Gon only three months to make it. That was quite a record."
Emma's soul shattered. "Th…Three months…" She let out a sigh. She had to do this… Her dad wanted her to… for some twisted reason or other… "Aunt Mito was right about him."
The first part of the course had Emma hammer-pulling over cloud rocks and gaps. She then had to reach up and latch the hammer in a rock above her, then swing up at a good angle and speed to launch atop the—"Dang it!" she swung too far and fell to the ground level. "You gotta be kidding me!"
And it would only get worse from there. There was a playground lodged in the cloud, where Emma had to cling up a long slide—the hammer would keep scraping off its perch as she bounced down the slide and to the lower levels. "HOW DID YOU GET ALL THIS UP HERE?!" And if she got past the slide, she would have to shimmy monkey bars, then leap over a large bouncy ball up top, but her momentum was too short as she landed on the ball, slipping as they both rolled down the monkey bars, down the slide, and returning to the low levels. "THIS IS SO STUPID!"
Emma had to pull-jump a ladder of construction scaffolds, but when a ceiling of the tower blocked her way, she had to swing to scaffolds hanging from cranes. When they bobbed from her weight, one could guess how many times she fell and had to start again. The challenge didn't just involve pull-jumping but push-jumping, in which she had to aim her hammer at the exact right angle and push with the appropriate force to clear the obstacles and stay on the path. She climbed steep steps to a church, then would have to do a strong push-jump to reach the church's roof, but since the building was leaning out at an odd angle, she would have to quickly swing her hammer to latch the roof's edge. And just when she thought she could pull it off—"Ooccoo, ooccoo!" The church's front clock was actually an Ooccoo Clock, the makeshift Oocca jutting out just in time to push her down the tower. "NOOOOOOOOO!"
The first two hours of it were already painful to watch for her friends. "Out of curiosity, how fast could you climb this tower perfectly?" Gilda asked.
"About one minute." Oochoocoo answered.
"THERE'S NO WAY ANYONE COULD DO THIS IN ONE MINUTE!" Don screamed.
"Theoretically, one can skip entire layers of the tower with the appropriate force and angling."
"Gilda, can't you summon a spirit or something to give Emma a lift?"
"That may not work." Oochoocoo mentioned. "Our sorcerers enchanted the tower with charms that prevent any sort of cheating, including anti-flight, chi-blocking, and even spirit-warding charms. The only way to complete the trial is with sheer willpower and perseverance. Of course, one also needs strong courage. After all, you're climbing a perilous tower in a perilous manner, when we're already 10,000 meters above the planet. There are many fears… but this is certainly a rare one."
"Yeah. I think she's only been surviving these falls with her Haki."
"Courage…" Ayshe began to see a pattern. The Zonai tested Emma's power as well as her wisdom… and even this trial required a bit of wisdom when judging the right momentum.
"Well, we can't just keep watching." Don said. "Let's shop for some food to bring her. I'm sure she'll make a few more stops down…"
Hyrule Castle
"Cindy, I need a word with you in the library. Pronto!"
Cindy tired of her mother's nagging. She was a grown woman capable of handling her own business, yet Queen Mandy still berated and talked to her like a child. On her way to the library, she saw 13-year-old Uza practicing firebending against the Silver Tallblin guards. "Can't you idiots go to the gym?! There's a reason we have one, y'know!"
Her mother was sitting at a table with newspapers splayed. She looked pale as a Reaper in her old age and dark-blue cloak, her blonde hair in a withered horn shape. The wrinkles in her nostril area almost fulfilled the place of a nose. "We have a serious issue, Cindy! Demon massacres are happening all over the planet!"
"I've already heard. Cave-ins on the Spirit Tracks, sunken ships on the Windy Sea… and, more recently, several workers murdered at Watertop Land, along with collapsed walkways on Zora River."
"Somebody out there's been targeting demons. MY demons on MY planet! I've got all my pirates on high alert… though with how much you've been ditching the castle lately, I couldn't help wondering if you knew anything."
"I just said I've already heard; if you've got everyone on alert, what do you expect me to do? But did you see this one about the Hinoxes that devoured the Hylian villagers? Or how one of the Ocean Realm patrol ships rammed into Papuchia Village? Lots of demons traveled to Earth during the Day of the Demon. What if some of them came back a little berserk? What if these other incidents were orchestrated by normal civilians? Maybe they're starting to lose trust."
Mandy flashed her daughter a Scare Stare, the frizzy-haired woman glaring back in spite. "I'm having Azula and Cortez investigate the crime scenes as much as they can. Azula's got a nose for liars… so, she can determine if the people in those areas were responsible. We do have one lead, at least: in Kakariko Village, some demons claimed to be attacked by an icebending man. They were frozen, but rescued, albeit with some casualties… so, with a little more investigating, we're bound to find some loose hairs."
Cindy ripped off a loose hair strand in front of her face. "And what should I do, Mother?"
"I want you to stay put. After all, it may be quite dangerous for you to leave the castle in these circumstances. You wouldn't want to be in the crossfire of an accident, would you?"
"Oh, want to ban me from my bars, is that it? It's about the only kingdom I have at the moment, since I'm SO unfit to rule."
"And you aren't! You may project fear, but your will is lacking as much as your braincells. And worse, your loyalty to this crew and this kingdom is questionable. You've never even found a husband… just a mating tool at best. And how did that turn out?"
Cindy aggressively swiped the papers off the table and stormed out of the room. "I'll go where I please and do as I please. Isn't that how we've always been? In fact, Gerudo Town sounds nice right about now. Heard they got a new dancer. And some new booze."
"Mmmmgh…" It's true that Cindy had a will that couldn't easily be bent by fear… but not what Mandy hoped.
The princess rode a carriage out of the castle and made for the Gerudo. She sent a call on her Sheikah Phone. "Silver?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"What's this I hear about frozen demons at Kakariko Village? Or rather… why wasn't the job finished more appropriately?"
"There were interlopers."
"Who? KND? Other guards?"
"Just… Gourmet Hunters."
"What?! Who?! The Marzipans?!"
"Just some… kid named Emma."
"Letting some brat get the better of you, what a shame. I expect triple the results to make up for this. And if anyone tries to stop you… well, if you don't have the gut to freeze them, perhaps I'll get Kamui to assist you."
Oocca City
"Mmm…uuuuu…" An indigo, starlit sky blurred its way into Emma's vision, along with a girl's pleasant smile.
"Good evening, sleepyhead." Gilda greeted.
Emma was lying on a cloud bed. "I… didn't make it, did I?"
"You got up pretty high… and you fell in the White Sea and passed out. Luckily, the Oocca got you and we pushed any cloud water out. Want something to eat? They have Helmasaur meat and Loftwing eggs."
"Mmmmmm!"
They found Don and Ayshe doing leg-ups in the guest dining room. "'bout time you woke up!" Don grinned. "I was starving!"
"What time is it, anyway? Feels like you guys should be in bed!"
"We may not be doing what you were doing, but it's only fair that we work hard too, right?"
"I'm amazed you have the patience for that challenge." Ayshe said. "Even for two days, even the Zonai would've called it quits by now. We'd take the monster slaying any day."
"I don't think even Captain Augustus could beat this in one day."
"Why don't we go after the next clue, Emma?" Gilda suggested. "Take a break from this and come back when we're refreshed."
"But I'm so close! I've got the patterns down pat, if I give up now, I'll just forget them!"
"You're the smartest person we know, there's no way you'll forget."
"It took your father three months to clear that challenge." Ayshe said. "Why are you so determined to catch up with him?"
"Because he's testing me… and I want to find out why. What do these treasures mean? Why does he want me to find them? What does he expect from me?"
"Hmm…" Ayshe wondered if she could spare Emma a lot of grief if she only admitted what she thought.
Emma savored a hefty meal of Helmasaur meat and Loftwing yolk. "Phew, we'll need to snag a few of these to go! Welp, back to the tower!" And she strolled off.
"What'll we do with her…" Don sighed.
Emma fell at the playground part, the church part, the hanging scaffolds, the slanted fruits basket table, the church again, the fruits again, the scaffolds, and the giant frozen ice creams. Fortunately, she only needed to put up with it for 12 more hours. Once she was past the slippery ice creams, Emma had to clamber her way up a radio tower, topping at a wide cloud platform. She hammered along the thin hooks at the bottom of the cloud, falling a few times, but saving herself on the ice creams. Once successful, she angled her hammer to cling the side of the cloud and carefully haul herself on top. At first, she thought it was already nighttime… but it was the very edge of outer space. It scared her that one good jump could send her out of orbit.
There were soft grayscale flowers whose petals were shaped like ears. They were still and peaceful, but feared the presence of footsteps. They had no problems with someone hammering up the tower in a pot though. Emma carefully pulled herself around and saw a golden shimmer inside one of the flowers. She approached and found a small gold triangle inside it. Emma slowly positioned her hand and swiftly yanked the flower from its roots. She picked the triangle out and stashed it away, smiling in satisfaction. But no reason she couldn't pick the rest of the flowers, too. They had already spread seeds in the cloud and some were in the process of growing. She sniffed one. "When prepared right, I bet these would make a good salad or tea. What a strange plant though… I hope you're happy, Dad, 'cause I'd like to hit you with this hammer for making me do this."
Emma made her way down to the bottom, utilizing safe and more reckless maneuvers, and reported the good news to her friends. "Only two-and-a-half days!" Don beamed. "That'll show your dad!"
"Yeah! So, who's ready to get out of here? I think we long overstayed our welcome."
"And how!" Gilda sang. "Uh…how do we get out of here?"
"We have another Sky Cannon homed in on Lake Lanayru." Oochoocoo answered. "But hey, let me give you guys a special reward for beating our tower!" He chucked them a rolled-up tapestry, which then unraveled, depicting a tall, ape-like being with puffed blue pants and a feathered cloak and headdress with a beak.
"EUUUH!" The kids cringed. "What is this?"
"Where can we fight it?!" Ayshe assumed a stance.
"No, this is our ancient ancestor, King Coong."
"DWAAAAT?!" Their jaws nearly snapped off from gaping. "How do you go from this…" Emma looked from the picture to Oochoocoo, "TO THAT?!"
"The legends say he had a thing for Cuccos."
"Nope! We're good! Thank you!" Emma didn't want to know any more. "To the Sky Cannon please."
Their escort led them back across the city to the cloud pool they had first landed. Across the pool was another cannon, but to their surprised, another figure suddenly splashed in the pool. The Oocca crowded around it, cooing excitedly. "Another visitor? 'Guess someone else won a ticket."
"UWAAAH!" Garcia emerged from the pool. "Pluh! What is this stuff, milk?!"
"Looks like cloud, actually. We did get blown to the sky." Johnny replied
"God, why do they make that lake so hard to exit?! It's either take a cannon or a giant bird and they got guards at…?" The surrounding Oocca threw Garcia into disgust. "WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?!"
"I don't know, but they creep me the f*** out."
"This calls for the Teethgrinder!" Johnny turned into a bone-made submachine gun, which Garcia began to unload on the Oocca. The birds panicked and scattered hurriedly.
"STOP THAT!" Emma pulled an arrow and loosed, striking Garcia's arm and stopping his fire.
"OW! …HEY, niñas!" Garcia lit up seeing the kids. "You're okay!" He climbed onto the shore. "I saw that loco clown blast you away! Don't worry, I took care of him."
"Huh? Wait, what do you mean?"
"The clown at the lake, eh? Took out all those other carnies, too. But I couldn't find a way out, then guards started crowding the place, trying to arrest me… I've just been hiding out in a cave up there before I decided to take my chance with that chicken cannon. Listen, I know some guys, let's call us a ride to get us off this thing."
Ayshe kicked him off his feet, too sudden for him to react, then slammed him to the ground. Garcia's weapon turned back into a scepter as he swiped it at Ayshe, burning and knocking her into the White Sea. "SCISSORS!" He raised Johnny to block Emma's chopping attack, but in that stalemate, Don grabbed and tried to wrestle Johnny from him. The hunter kicked Don and leapt over Emma as Johnny became a revolver.
"What's with you guys? You ain't friends with these monsters, are ya?"
"The Oocca aren't monsters, they live up here!" Emma readied another arrow. "Did you really kill the demons at the lake?! Are you in league with that icebender?!"
"Icebender? You mean Silver?"
"Did demons take your family, too?"
"Oh, much more than that." Garcia lit a cigarette. "It all started…" He inhaled and blew a soft puff of smoke, "when I fell in love with a Demon Lord's mistress."
"Huh?" Their expressions fell.
"Paula was a beautiful angel who fell from the Spirit World and became the unrequited lover of Demon Lord Fleming. I found her, by a stroke of fate, lost and confused… in a supermarket dumpster. After helping her find her bearings, and letting her use my shower… we fell in love. But Fleming, that six-eyed devil, demanded her return, and so I swore to protect her." He flicked his cigar into the sea and waved Johnny with a passionate flare. "My quest to hunt demons is a quest of ROMANCE!"
But when he spun, hoping to meet the horizon, he instead met the soles of Emma's boots. With imprints in his face, he was blown out to the sea. "How many other demon hunters are there? You mentioned Silver like you're working together, why are you all invading Hyrule?"
"You ask too many questions!" Garcia shot sticky bubbles, the kids ducking as they latched onto the side of the bridge. He then shot different bullets to explode the bubbles, crumbling the bridge as Emma and Gilda fell in the sea. But Garcia was suddenly yanked underwater by Ayshe, punching and trying to drag him lower.
"Hey, she's going to take us below the clouds if we don't do something!" Johnny exclaimed.
I'm on it, gee! Garcia wanted to say, bashing the Zonai with the bubbling scepter until she was off, then shooting a bomb to blast her away. He looked up and saw Emma diving full speed with a Rock Fist charged. He turned Johnny into the Skullfest 9000, charging energy and shooting four demon skulls. Emma exerted her charged Haki to shattering the skulls before grabbing Garcia firmly. She dragged him downward and splashed through the bottom of the clouds. "You trying to kill us both, estúpida?!"
"No! Just wanted to keep you hanging."
They stopped falling and began hanging: Garcia just noticed the fishing hook around Emma's left arm. She used her other arm and both legs to hold onto Garcia. Up on the broken bridge, Don was holding the fishing rod and stabilizing the reel with the best of his grip. "So, you can't fight any more if you don't wanna fall to your death! You hurt innocent demons and Oocca and you're gonna accept your punishment!"
"Is this the best you can do? They don't call me Hotspur for nothing!" Garcia pushed away from Emma's grasp and plunged. "'Cause when I feel hot, I make hot-air balloons!"
"And what kind of analogy is that—oh, whoa, whoa!" Johnny flushed when Garcia pressed his lips to his shaft. "G-Garcia, we really shouldn't do this in front of, mmmmmm!" He had to hold his mouth shut as his skull inflated. Garcia hung onto the shaft as Johnny descended them downward like a balloon.
"It was a nice try, kids, but I'm afraid it is not your time."
"Clouds, protect my fall, clouds, heed my call!" Gilda fell from the clouds, but fell softly on a Cloud Spirit. "Hey, skull staff, before you bequeath, open your mouth and breathe!"
"Sh-She's talkin'… to me, G." Johnny muttered through his teeth. "Her voice is… so heavenly…"
"Keep your mouth shut, Johnny!"
Gilda smirked; that staff really was a spirit! "Johnny, won't you come to me, Johnny, won't you kiss me?"
"K-Kiss? She wants a kiss! I can't remember the last time I've been kissed!"
"I JUST KISSED YOUR SHAFT! Johnny, you're losing air! JOHNNY!"
Gilda flew low enough to grab Garcia's other hand, struggling to stay firm on her cloud platform. She had the spirit lift them up for Emma to grab them before it faded. "Now then… I believe you have some atoning to do."
"Slaying demons has been a rite of mortalkind since the beginning. I should not 'atone' for that."
"Oh, you will… and these guys will make sure of that."
A flock of angry Oocca had flown through a gap in the sea, surrounding the hanging trio. "Lock him in the coop, soldiers!" Oochoocoo ordered.
"THE COOP, THE COOP, THE COOP!"
"Coop?" Garcia questioned. "…Wait!" He realized what that entailed. "No, not the coop! NOOOOOO!"
Emma dealt him a few more good kicks to quell his crying.
…
Don and Ayshe reeled their friends back up above the sea while the Oocca carried Garcia away bound in rope. The kids wouldn't discuss the disgusting punishment that awaited him in the coop. "We'll go down and tell the pirates that the culprit's been captured." Emma said. "You sure you guys can hold him okay?"
"Sure as sugar! Don't underestimate us!"
"We're really sorry this happened. Even though we were here to stop him… you still lost five Oocca."
"It's terrible, yes… but if we came down any later, much more might've been lost. In fact, if you had beaten that challenge earlier and left us, even I'm not sure we could've stopped him. I think it was a blessing you could be here at this time."
"Aw, we don't deserve it…" Don blushed.
"You deserve a lifetime pass to Watertop Land and then some! I'll put in the good word to park management for you!"
"We'll keep that in mind." Emma smiled. "But we got other places to be."
The kids gathered at the exit cannon, dread still hanging over Emma's mind. "Just… who's putting these hunters up to this?"
"Does it concern you?" Ayshe asked.
"Of course it does. Innocent people are getting hurt."
"But that shouldn't fall on your shoulders. It's the KND's and royal army's problem. You're an adventurer and Gourmet Hunter first. That's the life you chose, isn't it?"
"I know I am. But… I can't stop thinking about it. I want to be there to help these people, whenever I can… even if I am in the middle of my own quest. I can't… stand whatever's happening here."
"Hey, we're with you, Emma." Gilda lay a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Lizu and her parents didn't deserve what happened, none of them do. I'd like it if we could do something, too."
"Yeah, and we will!" Don supported. "I bet even your dad would want you, too!"
"Yes." Ayshe agreed. "This victory was possible thanks to your quick thinking."
"Heh heh!" Emma blushed in a humble manner. "Then we'll try to help wherever we can. For now, we might as well head to the last location. It… looks like it's just in Ordon Woods. That's due south of the Twilight Continent."
"Feels pretty close."
"I know. I wonder what surprise Dad will throw us next…"