A/N: I feel very good about this chapter! I think that I was very descriptive with it. I even went back and played through the Earth Temple on the game to get all the details right. I hope it sounds OK!
Link, Medli, King belong to Nintendo.
Link hopped off of King and set his feet on the sandy shores of Stonewatcher Island, not even pausing to look back. King contemplated calling after him, but he decided against it. By the desperation in his race to enter the island's temple, he could tell that nothing was going to stop him.
After using his Deku Leaf to sail across the gap at the temple's entrance, Link entered the doorway to the next chamber. He was in awe of what had happened whenever he witnessed the scene.
The giant pillars that stood on either side of the next exit had collapsed. The stairway that was usually occupied by the Moblins had also collapsed, and the limp corpses of the Moblins were trapped underneath the rubble.
To put it simply, the place was in shambles.
"Holy…!" Link edged backwards in shock. His knees felt weak and his pupils had dilated to their capacity. There was no time to lose. He had to find Medli.
Forgetting everything else, Link charged ahead to the door. After moving some of the rock out from in front of it, he was finally able to slide open the door. The next chamber wasn't much better than the last, the ChuChus that usually hang on the ceiling had been reduced to puddles upon the floor.
Link frowned and avoided stepping in their remains and made his way into the next room. And the next. Finally, the hero reached the main chamber of the Earth Temple, where the giant sun had once hung. Link had memories of he and Medli using their reflecting accessories to shine light upon the sun and clear away the poisonous fog that lingered on the floor beneath it, but their efforts had been wasted. The sun was now in pieces upon the floor, giant cracks protruding beneath it.
The bad thing about this was that now that the room had become unlit, the fog had returned. Gulping in some air, Link plowed through the rummage and was able to barely fit through a crevice in the rummage to wriggle his way through the next door.
"This is terrible," Link muttered to himself upon examination of another chamber in the temple. However, he knew that he was getting close to the end of the temple, which is where Medli lay. After making his way through some more rubble, he finally made his way to the hallway that led to correct room.
Link nearly choked whenever he saw the hallway. Instead of the tombs lining the hallway, filled with Redeads, there was nothing but pure chaos. This must have been the worst room so far. Link climbed on top of the giant pile of fallen rock and tried to make his way down the hall, but there was so much damage that he didn't know if he could navigate or not.
After a couple minutes of trekking over the destruction, he had finally found the door. There was no way he could open it, though, due to it being completely blocked off. Link frowned and clenched his teeth together. He couldn't accept defeat now! Not when he was so close to his friend!
He abruptly had an idea. Taking out a bomb, Link created a spark on the fuse with the fallen rock and the steel end of an arrow and dropped it near the rubble blocking the door. Then, in an attempt to scramble away, he spun around and ran…smack dab into another fallen stone.
Regardless, the blast didn't reach him, and the fallen slab in front of the door had been shattered. Link slung the door open and dashed inside. After clearing one last gap with his Deku Leaf, the blonde charged in through the door leading to the chamber where Medli was being held.
"Medli!"
Link called out into the chamber with desperation screaming in his voice. This room had little destruction, but he couldn't see his friend anywhere.
As if from the heavens, Link heard a weak voice. "Hey…Link…up here…!"
He searched frantically for the voice, and finally found it from the right side of the room. It seemed to be coming from behind a giant stone that had fallen from the ceiling. Wasting no time, Link scurried over to where he heard the voice the clearest and called out again. "Medli!"
Using the power bracelets that he received from within Fire Mountain, Link heaved the great stone slab and hurled it at the opposing wall. It created a block in front of the exit, but Link knew that the light emitting from the triforce in the center of the chamber would teleport him out instantly.
Crumpled from under the stone was Medli, clutching her harp protectively.
"Link, I'm so glad you're back!" Medli's voice was raspy and weak. Link knelt down next to her and propped her head up on his arm.
"Medli, what on earth happened here?!" Link's expressive face was a picture of worry and confusion. Medli coughed and dropped her harp on the floor, her amber eyes looking dull.
"The temple was…attacked," she finally got out. Link propped the Rito up more, so she was sitting up. "I think…it was Gannon…but I can't be sure…"
Link's mouth fell agape. "Gannon?!"
Medli nodded, a grim expression on her dirty face. "Yes, Gannon…he was…after me, he wanted…to kill me…like Laruto…but I didn't let him…I heard him…coming so I hid behind…the rock protruding from the wall. But…another stone had fallen nearly on top of me…I was trapped…"
"Oh, Medli! Medli, I'm so sorry I wasn't here! I could've protected you!" Link could feel tears clinging to his eyes. "How long were you trapped here?!"
A smile on her face, Medli shook her head. "Don't be sorry Link…it's not your fault," she soothed as best she could. "I've only been down here…about a day…don't worry, you came just in time…"
Link narrowed his eyes and grabbed his friend's Lylat, strapping it onto his back. Then he hoisted Medli into his arms. "Listen, I'm going to get you help right away, alright?" he said as calmly as he could. "Then we're going to get revenge on Gannon for this."
Medli sighed then closed her eyes. "Alright…are we going back to Dragon Roost…?"
The wide-eyed boy contemplated this for a moment. "No…not yet. They shouldn't see you like this." He stood up, making his way for the sparkling light emanating in the center of the triforce on the floor. "We're going to my island, Outset. My friends and family can take care of you."
"Oh…that sounds great." Medli rested her head on Link's chest, taking her ponytail out. "Tell me when we get there…OK…?" With that, she fell asleep.
Link smiled slightly and took one final step into the light before being teleported to the world above.
***
"King…we have to hurry."
The King of Red Lions studied Link as he carefully laid Medli on his shoulder and took his Wind Waker out of his pocket. "Normally I would just sail, but Medli isn't doing so great…" Link attempted to explain himself as he conducted the Ballad of the Gales once again to instantly warp to Outset Island.
"Link…do you know who attacked this island?" the boat asked as a cyclone appeared to pick him up. Link frowned and nodded, looking up at King's face with his steady black gaze.
"Yeah…it was Gannon."
"I knew it," King spat, pausing in his speech as the cyclone warped them to Link's island. The boy hoisted the sail and held onto his green hat as the boat started to move. "Gannon has attempted to destroy the Sages once again, as he did many years ago. This is why we have to hurry…if we don't defeat him soon, he's going to go after Makar as well…"
Link picked Medli up again in his arms as King reached the shore of Outset. "Well, whatever the case," he called back, "it's too dangerous to take her with us. The Master Sword seems to have retained its power, so I'm guessing that she doesn't need to play her harp anymore. I'm going to take Medli to my Grandma's house…hopefully Aryll will be there too."
King nodded. "Alright, sounds fair enough."
As Link turned to run off, his ship called to him again. "Oh, and Link…"
"Yes?"
"I don't want to rush you, but…Gannon can reach Medli at Outset too."
Link held King's steady wooden gaze for a moment before nodding, muttering a "Yeah," and dashing off towards his small cottage.
