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[center]Word Count: 2076[/center]

[center][color=00aeef][b] Level 7[/b] [/color] - (16/70) + 3[/center]

[center][color=darkgreen]Level 10[/color] - (9/100) + 3[/center] 

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[center][h1][color=00aeef]Link[/color][/h1][/center]

[center]Location: Carcass Island[/center]
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His arrows weren't finding their mark as effectively as he would have liked, but that was fine. He hadn't intended to stop the fishy foursome with arrows, just soften them up a little bit. As it turned out the person he was softening them up for was Sakura, who zoomed past him to take them on. He was about to follow when the giant shark monsters stepped past them as the brawl began, interspacing himself between them as he marched on. "I am Tidehunter," he grumbled.

Link scowled. He really should have been used to talking monsters by now. That wasn't all though. He eyed the arrow buried in the monsters pectoral flesh warily. He hadn't even reacted to being shot. Even Lynel's reacted to being shot, albeit with swift retribution, but the Tidehunter hadn't even broken his stride.  Which meant that he either hadn't taken any real damage, or was tough enough that he didn't care. He certainly had the size advantage on Link, but that was mitigated someone by Princess Peach skating up beside him. Link felt his heartbeat quicken as he saw the monsters pure red eyes set on the Princess. "More prey?" Tidehunter said, a wide grin splitting his face and showing off his impressively sharp teeth. 

The pair answered with another pair of shots, the roar of The Princesses shotgun splitting the night as Link loosed another arrow. Tidehunter, ghastly smile never leaving his face, dived forward. Both shots missed as shark monster disappeared into the deeper waters of the basic where neither of them could follow. Link looked around for any tell-tale ripples in the water, but found no sign of the Tidehunter save for the eerie feeling of being watched. He swapped out his bow for his [url=https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/zelda_gamepedia_en/2/28/BotW_Soldier%27s_Broadsword_Icon.png?version=4a6e0ee8ae1c01098dcf0f6cc840f2ee]Broadsword[/url], not daring to move forward without knowing what his opponent could do. 

There was a splash beside them, and it only took a moment for Link to identify the monster emerging from the briny depths, anchor raised to bring down on their heads. "Amphibious Assault!" Called the Tidehunter as he swung. 

"Scatter!" was Link's response, he and Peach skating in opposite directions as the anchor came down where they had been, throwing up a spray of water. Peach fired into the spray as Link reversed course and charged in, leveraging his speed to punish the monster for his attack. He didn't notice one more ball of water among the spray, at least until it was too close for him to dodge. The gush of water the Tidehunter had fired from its mouth hit him full in the chest, knocking the wind out of his sails as he felt a sticky wetness begin to cling to his body. The effects were immediate. The liquid was heavy somehow, it felt as though it was trying to drag him down into the drink, and he found his charge slowed. The Tidehunter laughed, swimming toward Link at his own languid pace as he shrugged off the next hail of buckshot pumped into his back. He brought his anchor up again, swinging it forward at Links side. Link really wished he had a shield, but the only thing he could do was try and pull a Sakura by bringing up his arm. He felt the hull blade of his rigging absorb some of the impact even as he lashed out with his own blade to give a cut across the monsters head. 

He was surprised by the results of the exchange. For one thing his arm hadn't been shattered by the impact. He had expected something like that anchor to do a lot of damage, but it had felt blunted. Was the hull blade that sturdy? He didn't think so. When he'd swung he felt something interfering with his own attack, and the cut across the monsters forehead was unusually shallow as a result. It was a familiar feeling, as though they had both thrown their attacks underwater. 

He still managed to come off the worse of it, being thrown back with a throbbing arm as Tidehunter came in for another blow. Link heard he shotgun roar again as the Princess skated up close, blasting Tidehunter at a range that made the most of every pellet and blowing chunks out of his pretty green hide. Looking back at her, Tidehunter changed the grip on his anchor and swung in a wide arc. Another spray of salty water was thrown out as the Anchor hit the both of them, dousing them in yet more water that weighed down their arms and wormed its way inside the Princesses weapon. He next shot didn't have nearly the same impact even as Tidehunter closed to point blank range and lashed out with the rotting fish he held in his other hand, slapping the Princess to the waters surface in the process. Link's eyes went wild as he recovered from the blow, switching to the Ebony Battle Ax as he charged for Tidehunters exposed back. He gained speed, the first dousing of water he had gotten finally releasing its grip on him as he raised the ax and slammed it into Tidehunters back. Unfortunately between his weakened strength, the effects of the second dousing, and the protection Tidehunter had the ax didn't sink in nearly as far as it should have. 

Tidehunter swung back around, bringing the anchor to bare again, but Link already had the Ax stowed and the Slate in his hands. He aimed and fired the Cryonis Rune, a block of ice springing up in the path of Tidehunter's swing. The ice shattered from the hit, Tidehunters arm being thrown back. The Hunter wasn't done yet, though. With his other hand he swung the fish at Link, an attack that Link jumped away from just in time for the fish to skim the tip of his nose. 

As it did, everything seemed to slow down. Link suddenly found himself able to count every scale on the fish as it flew past his face. He had been wondering when his old reflexes would be back in working order, and for a moment he was able to observes his surroundings and think. This wasn't a good matchup. Tidehunter wasn't as strong as he looked, but Link was now sure that was only because of whatever ability mitigated the damage he was taking. It was like a shield that protected both ways. He also wasn't very fast, so he used that water to slow his opponents down instead of trying to keep up with them. Once he had you stuck in he would use the water to make your attacks less effective as he pummeled you. This was a battle of who could die slower. 

With their speed he and the Princess could beat a tactical retreat, but he took a moment to swivel his eye to check on Sakura. She had already taken one of her monsters down, but could she handle three on one with her strength and speed sapped by this canny hunter? He couldn't risk Tidehunter joining that fight, so what could he do? His eyes flicked forward again, searching Tidehunter for any advantage he could take. He zeroed in the hand that gripped the anchor. Could that work?

Link leaned forward, Broadsword again in his hand. To anyone observing he must have looked like a blue and white blur as he moved forward faster than any human reasonably should. His sword carved apart individual raindrops on its way to cut at Tidehunter's wrist. The first blow, as expected, left only a shallow wound. That was, however, only the first blow. His sword sang as it fell again and again and again and again, so quickly that the attacks may as well have happened all at once. Each cutting deeper, digging into his wrist and across his slimy fingers until with one last blow the sword exploded in his hand. Time began to flow regularly for him again as he heard the monster let out a gurgled scream of pain. The Tidehunter's grip on his weapon, already shaky from deflecting off the ice, failed him. The anchor, the trophy he had taken from the ship of his nemesis, slipped from his grasp and plunged into the basin.

It didn't stay there for long. Managing to disarm the shark monster had only been phase on of the plan. Phase two required the [i]other[/i] Rune Link had gotten back post Maw. His hands already free thanks to the destruction of his Broadsword, Link took the Sheikah Slate in his hand and selected the Magnesis Rune. He spotted the still sinking anchor, highlighted in yellow, and sent the beam of magnetic energy snaking its way after it. It locked on as Tidehunter stopped reeling, and Link tugged on the Slate as though he were pulling up the catch of the day from the depths of the ocean. Tidehunter opened his mouth, outrage driving him to finish off this prey with his teeth, but before he could close his maw around the boy the anchor of Admiral Kunkka exploded from the depths and cracked him across the face with tooth shattering force. 

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[center][h1][color=darkgreen]Linkle[/color][/h1][/center]
[center][h3][color=red]Merge Rate: 33%[/color][/h3][/center]

[center]Location: Frozen Highlands ~ Snowdin[/center]
[@Majoras End]
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"Huh? Bu, hey! Wait a minute!" Linkle said, standing up as the wolf girl fled in terror at the sight of her ears. He ears? Her ears!?! No one had ever even reacted like that to her eyes, which were one hundred percent pure evil and super intimidating, but she got this reaction by showing off her [i]ears!?!?!?!?[/i]

It was dumbfounding. She stood there as the girl bolted out the door looking like someone that had just been punched in the faced and wasn't at all sure that they hadn't done something to deserve it. [color=red]She just couldn't stop hurting people[/color] today.

It didn't take a moment for Mr. Grillby to lay out the whole sad state of affairs. Linkle supposed it made a certain amount of sense if you were talking about regular wolves and regular rabbits, or even regular wolves and people. The Goddesses above only knew how many wolves and wolf adjacent monsters she had taken out. They were a collective menace to anyone that had to travel or were unfortunate enough to farm an animal that didn't mercilessly peck anything that attacked it to death. She had been half-afraid that the wolf girl might smell the blood of her kin all over Linkle. That was the thing, though, she was a wolf [i]girl[/i]. A person. Wolf people wouldn't eat rabbit people, that didn't make any sense. Not eating people was one of the things that made people people.

"Of course I'm not okay with it." She replied to Albedo. "This isn't the way a hero makes people feel. I've got to apologize. Show her that not all rabbits are stupid. I know a huge group of them that are...well...they're all pretty stupid. But they're [i]good[/i] stupid." She had never before imagined that there was a distinction between Good Stupid and Bad Stupid. 

As she was saying this the kid was making it clear that they didn't like what had just happened any more than Linkle had. They went to the door before looking back at the pair, introducing themselves. Frisk. That name did not make things any clearer. They did urge Linkle to come along. "Yosh!" She nodded, putting her hat back on and pulling up her hood for good measure. "We're gonna have to delay heading to that hospital for a little bit." She said apologetically before heading to join Frisk at the doorway and searching for the wolf girl up and down the main street.

Linkle stepped out into the street to get a better look, but try as she might she couldn't spot Treat anywhere. He eyes did fall, once again, upon the festive tree and it gave her an idea. Destiny had already done her well here once, maybe it would help mend this bridge she had inadvertently burned. She walked over and sifted through the presents laid out under it before finding another one wrapped in pretty green wrapping paper. She ran back over to where she had parked her sled beside Grillby's door and set the present on it before turning to Frisk. "Do you know where she lives?" She asked, content to let the kid lead the way if they had any idea.