Hey! Sorry for the lack of Authors notes in the prologue. I forgot to add them. :D Anyway, I hope you will enjoy my story! It has a lot of the original game mixed in with a few ideas all my own.
At this point, I own Jaz, Le, and Jen. Everybody—and everything—else belongs to Nintendo.
At the start of this story, I'm assuming that Link was sent back and lost all of his memories. Yes, I realize that I'm totally skipping over Majora's Mask, but I don't really care.
Please let me know if it reads well. It was really hard to write in present tense, and if it sounds funny I'll go back and change it all to past tense. Let me know if you like the story line! I'm gonna continue it even if you don't, but I always appreciate comments and suggestions!
I think that's all . . . .
Oh, no it's not. Please ignore the occasional grammar mistake. I have a rather old version of Word, and it doesn't transfer to the site very well.
Enjoy!
~~Firebird29~~
Chapter 1
Darkness is all around. I can see nothing more than a hand-span in front of me. All at once, tall flames shoot up, forming a ring around me and casting dull shadows. A sound reaches my ear, and I turn instinctively towards it. A white horse bearing two riders, a woman and a small girl, races by. The girl looks at me like she wants to tell me something, but she can't find the words. As they disappear into the flames, I hear another sound. I look up to see a tall man seated on a huge horse. It is hard to make out his features in the half-light, but it is easy to see his black clothing and the orange jewel placed on his forehead. He pulls on the reigns, forcing the horse to rear backwards, and begins to laugh menacingly. I stand my ground, never looking away from him. He waves a hand at me dismissively, and a ball of black races toward me from it. It blasts me backwards, and I land flat on my back. The evil man watches me fall, then gallops past.
"Ahhhhhh!" I sit up, pushing blankets onto the floor. My hair is sopping wet from my own perspiration, and my clothing has seen better nights. I reach up to shove a lock of hair out of my face, breathing rapidly as I try to calm down my heart.
Goddess! That's the fifth dream this week! They never used to be this frequent. I look out my window, out over the Kokiri village. Seeing the peace and tranquility that lay there, I wonder: Am I the only person here who ever gets nightmares? Am I the only one who has ever wanted something more that this? No matter; I'm so tired that I can't see straight, so I tuck my train of thought into a corner of my brain and lay down to try and sleep some more.
****
"Oh, Navi the Fairy …Listen to my words, the words of the Great Deku Tree …dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this Realm …malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule. For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the World. But … before this tremendous evil power, even my Power is as nothing … It seems that the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey …"
Navi nods in understanding. As she turns to fly off, she takes one last look over her shoulder at the Great Deku Tree, her protector and friend. Then she flies off the find the boy without a fairy.
"Now, if I remember correctly, he lives in the house with the ladder . . . Ah! There it is," she mutters to herself.
She aims herself, and then rockets off towards his house. Unfortunately, she doesn't see the fence in her way, and smacks right into it.
"Oww! Stupid fence," she shakes her head to clear it, before flying through the fence–much slower than before–towards her objective. She flutters through the open door, and stops in mid-air, right above the boy. He was tossing and turning, first one way and then the other. Navi shook her head, then began shouting at the top of her lungs. The noise that emerged was about as loud as a normal speaking voice for someone who was taller than 6 inches.
****
"Hey, Link! Get up, Link! WAKE UP!!!" I snap my head up, and find myself staring at a wall. I was lying on my stomach, as that happened to be the most comfortable position, so I couldn't see much of anything for a moment. Then a blue light flew right into my face, startling me so much that I yelp and fall out of bed.
"What's your problem?! Can't someone get a little quality sleep around here?!" I shout.
"Quality? Please! I saw you tossing and turning. Having a nightmare?" I narrow my eyes at the shiny blue thing in front of me.
"For your information, I—wait. Are you . . . are you a fairy?!?" I ask, stunned that a fairy would come to me after so long. The girl in front of me flipped her hair and smiled.
"Yes. I was sent to fetch you by the Great Deku Tree. My name is--"
"Navi." She gives me a startled look.
"How did you know that?" She demands. I shrug.
"Intuition?" I suggest.
"Humph. Doesn't matter right now. Come on! You don't keep the protector of the forest waiting!"
I stand up, still in a state of shock, and nod. Navi waits for me as I re-make my bed and straighten up my house. I waste almost ten minutes looking for my hat, when Navi flies under my table and pulls it out.
"Thanks," I mutter, a little embarrassed. I stuff it on my head, then exit my house to the platform outside. I back-flip off said platform, ignoring the ladder. Navi shakes her head at me, but I stick my tongue out at her.
What kinda sissy needs a ladder? And why, in the name of the three Goddesses, am I the only Kokiri stuck with one? Every other Tree house in the village opens on the Forest floor. Why doesn't mine?
Because you aren't a Kokiri . . .
I shake my head to rid myself of that nagging voice. That stupid voice that usually says the right--or in this case, true--thing, which is usually something I don't want to hear. Like being told I wasn't a Kokiri.
I turn around and find myself face-to-face with Saria.
"Hi Link. Hey, look! A fairy finally came to you! Now you're a true Kokiri!" I gap at her for a minute, remembering what the little voice in my head had just said, then nod.
"Yeah, she came to me this morning. Navi, this is Saria, my best friend. Saria, this is Navi, my fairy." The two girls look each other up and down, and smile.
"This is great news, Link! We have to have a celebration!" I grin at her, but it slowly falls off my face as I remember what Navi said.
"That would be great, Saria, but I'm busy right now. The Deku Tree wants me." Saria blinks, as if she can't quite believe me.
"He does? Then you shouldn't keep him waiting. Oh, I have a present for you." She holds out a small pouch, with my name and the weird triangle thing that's on my hand carved into it. "It's a special holding pouch. It will hold anything you put in it, no matter how large or small. I made it myself." I take it from her, holding it gingerly in my hands.
"Thank you so much, Saria. It means a lot to me." Saria grinned, then leaned forward and hugged me.
"Happy birthday, Link. You are now officially 11 years old!" I smile at her, then hook the pouch over the back of my belt and head off toward the Deku Tree's meadow. Could this birthday get any better? First, a fairy finally comes to me. Then, I get called to see the Deku Tree, one of my closest friends. And, Saria gives me a fantastic birthday present! Could anything possibly make this day go wrong?
"Hey! You!"
Oh. Scratch that. There is one thing . . .
"Stop right there! No one is allowed into the Great Deku Tree's meadow!" I look up, a scowl etching itself onto my face as I recognize the voice. It was Mido.
"I have to get in there, Mido. The Deku Tree requested me." Mido's face changed from a dark scowl to an astonished look.
"No way! Why would he call you and not the Great Mido? You're already Saria's best friend; now you get the Great Deku Tree too? No fair! Well, it doesn't matter. No one gets in the meadow without the proper equipment. Like a sword and a shield."
I give him a dark and impatient glare. "What about you? Where's your equipment?" He bristled at me for a moment, trying to come up with an answer.
"Its cause . . . I, uh . . . I'm not in the meadow! I'm just protecting the Great Deku Tree!" I sigh, knowing he's not gonna give up, even though I know he came up with that particular requirement on the fly, just to tick me off.
It's not my fault no one likes him! Saria and I have been friends my whole life. It's not like I deliberately became her friend just to piss Mido off!
"Come on. It doesn't look like he's gonna back down," Navi whispered in my ear. I nod, then turn around and stalk off.
He'll see! I tell myself. I'm going to find a sword and a shield, and when he sees me with both of them and a fairy, he'll fall over backward!
"So, where are we going?" I look at my shoulder to see Navi has her head cocked to the side.
"First, we're going to buy a shield. They sell them at the shop, but they're really expensive. It's gonna wipe out my funds." Navi nods.
"And after that? Where are we going to find a sword?" I shrug.
"I dunno. We'll ask around after we buy the shield, see what people have to say." We fell silent for the final few steps to the shop, when one of my friends noticed the blue thing sitting on my shoulder.
"Hey Link! You finally got a fairy!" She shouted. She was sitting on top of the shop, like she always did. I wave at her, then duck into the shop before she can say anything else. The owner of the shop is bouncing behind the counter so he can see over it. He was one of the older Kokiri, and as a result, was much shorter then everyone else.
"Yes? Can I help you?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'd like to buy a Deku shield."
"Ok." He pulls the shield off the shelf and checks the price tag. "That'll be 40 rupees, please." I sigh, and dig around in my wallet to find the only two red ones I have. I flick them onto the counter, scoop the shield up onto my back, and walk out the door.
"See? I told you. Now I barely have 20 rupees left!" I complain. Navi snorts, and flies ahead of me.
"So? It's not that hard to find them, you know. Run through some grass. Now, where would you suggest we start looking for a sword?" I think for a moment before answering.
"Why don't we try the Know-It-All Brothers? They might have an idea or two." Navi nods in agreement, and we set off for the other side of the village.
I poke my head into the KIA Brothers house. "Hey, guys. Would any of you know where I might find a sword?"
One of the brothers shrugged. "Try the training field outside. You never know what you'll find there."
"Great! Thanks," I call, already out the door. The training field is right next to the KIA Brothers house. Instead of making my way around all the fences, I simply leap over all of them until I find myself facing a wall with a small hole in it.
I look at Navi and she looks at me. We both shrug in unison. I turn back to the wall, crouch down, and enter the hole. It's not very long; I would guess 10 or 15 feet. I crawl all the way to the other side, and pop out in a corridor of dirt. I move forward cautiously through the grass, and promptly leap backwards with a yelp of surprise as a huge boulder rolls past.
"What the heck?!" I cry. "Why is there a boulder rolling around here? That's dangerous!!" Navi finishes picking herself off the ground and straightening her tunic and breeches before she answers me.
"I don't know, but I've got this weird feeling that we're going to see things a lot more dangerous than a rolling boulder. Now come on. If we wait for it to come around again, we can follow behind it and not risk getting squished." I nod in understanding, and stand up myself.
We wait for the boulder to come by, and when it passes us we start after it. I follow it around several corners, then come to an intersection where the boulder rolls one way, leaving the other open. I head that way, and come upon a large chest. Luckily, it doesn't require a key, so I push up the lid and reach inside.
"Wow. That Know-It-All Brother was right. You never know what you'll find in here," I mutter. Navi just stares at my hand without making a comment, because in my hand I hold the Kokiri Sword, which is something of a legend among us Kokiri.
****
"Hey, Mido!" I shout. Mido looks up and cracks a slight, but evil, grin.
"I told you, you can't get in without the proper equipme—huh? Is that a fairy?" I cross my arms in my usual cocky gesture, and I can't stop a smug grin from plastering itself on my face.
"Yes, it is. Notice anything else, Mido?" Mido looks at me hard, and his mouth drops open in astonishment.
"You have a shield? And a sword?!?" I nod.
"Boy and you thought you could keep me out of the Deku Tree's meadow. You wanna let me by now, or are you going to come up with some other lame excuse?" He gaps at me for another minute, then grumbles something about me being a jerk before he moves to the side of the opening.
Please! Me, a jerk? I treat him exactly the way he treats me. I wish I was courageous enough to deck the guy, but I'm quite not there yet. Maybe after I talk to the Deku Tree . . .
I walk past him, round a corner, and find myself face-to-face with a monster I've never seen before.
"Quick, Link! Your sword!" Navi shouts as she turns bright yellow and flies around the things head. "It's called a Deku Baba! It only takes a hit or two to kill it!" I only stop for a moment, and then Navi's words register. Before I knew it, my sword and shield were off my back and in my hands. A quick slash and the first one was down. A jump attack silenced the other.
As they both began to wither and die, I notice that they are leaving behind some interesting items. I look at them both, and discover one is a Deku Stick, and the other is a pile of Deku Nuts.
"Nice!" I tell Navi. "Nothing makes a better cover for a quick getaway like the flash from a Deku Nut!" I scoop all of the items into the pouch Saria had just given me. It will be quite handy for anything I need to carry. With those Deku Baba things out of the way, we had a clear shot straight to the Great Deku Tree's meadow. I dash forward, but Navi is even faster.
"Oh Navi, thou hast returned!" says the Deku Tree. "Thank you, Link, for coming. Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless, and full of nightmares. A vile climate pervades this world. Verily, ye have felt it. The time has come to test thine courage. I have been cursed. I need you to dispel the curse with your wisdom and courage. Art thou prepared?"
I am more than a little shocked by the speech just given. I think about saying no, but that nagging little voice in the back of my head tells me to help him out. He is the protector of the entire forest, after all. I look at Navi and see a confusion of emotion on her face. Worry, apprehension, hope, and finally, resolve.
"I want to help him, Link." She says simply.
How can I refuse my fairy? Heck, how can I refuse this force inside of me that seems drawn to the Deku Tree? I look back over at the Deku Tree, and remember all the talks I've ever had with him. He always helped me when I was lonely, upset, angry at Mido, or just plain confused. Now, it was my turn to help him.
"Yes, Great Deku Tree. I am prepared.