A/n: Here is the next "updated" chapter. Sorry it's so behind schedule, but real life sucks like that. Between doing some household stuff, friends and finding a job in today's craptastic economy, life's been busy.
Disclaimer: Don't own Zelda.
Chapter 4: Journey's Start
"I might be going crazy but it feels like we're being watched." Joey muttered, looking around cautiously at the dark room the party had walked into. It seemed somewhat foggy and the air was wet and dense, giving off a muddy smell.
"Um…" Aya shrugged her shoulders a bit before turning to the rest of the group. "I'm with him on this one. I feel like someone's watching us."
"I didn't know the Great Deku Tree had a sun!" Link looked up at the ceiling, an ecstatic and very distracted look upon his young face.
"A sun?" Kaori turned to meet Link's line of vision and let out a horrible shriek at what she saw.
"W-what…is that?" Katara stuttered as the rest of the party turned to look. There was a large, demonic looking orange eye staring at the party from the ceiling.
"That's…..not a sun…" Joey seemed taken aback.
""Thank you, Captain Obvious." Navi said. There was a scratching sound as the source of the orange eye began to move towards the party, making it more easily seen. Standing before the party was a large, grotesque spider, its orange eye staring ominously down at the party.
"Oh…Darn. I thought the Great Deku Tree had sunshine." Link pouted. "Everyone likes sunshine."
"Now's not the time to talk about that." Navi seemed annoyed. "That thing's name is Gohma, a spider queen. Its eye is obviously its weak point."
"So, hit its eye?" Katara turned. "Then, Link and Kaori are our best bets here, since they have the slingshot and the bow."
"Um…" Kaori nervously pulled out an arrow, but before she could do anything, a barrage of seeds flew past her.
"Fly my seedlings fly!" Link declared in a slightly maniacal voice. With luck, several of the seeds hit the spider's eye and it went crashing to the ground in a dazed, stunned heap. Kurama leapt on the chance, slashing the monster several times. Joey followed the redhead's lead, pulling out his sword and slashing it, too. The spider angrily crawled back up the ceiling.
"Again!" Kurama called over his shoulder. Kaori nodded, taking her chance to finally do something. She shot off an arrow while Link threw out another careless storm of seeds. The monster let out another pathetic cry and it slammed back down to the floor.
"Stupid spider!" Katara said in disgust, and from a bottle at her side came a sharp whip of water that slashed the mutated spider with a graceful flick of her hand. Aya slashed her sword a couple of times before the spider climbed back to the ceiling, clearly dazed. Link shot off more seeds, seemingly amused, and the spider went crashing down once more. After a surprisingly coordinated group attack, Gohma let out a horrible screaming noise, crying out in sheer pain as it died, thanks to a killing blow from Kurama. The party took a step back as the spider writhed in pain on the cold ground before dissipating in a red mist. In its wake, it left a blue portal.
"If you want me to be honest, I expected that to be a mess." Navi said, genuinely surprised.
"What do you mean?" Katara turned to the fairy.
"The Deku Tree sent a group of kids all under the age of sixteen, and only half of them had any sort of real combat experience." Navi explained matter-of-factly. "I figured that Aya, Kaori and Joey had no idea how to fight monsters or use weapons."
"I don't." Joey blinked, answering honestly. "I mean, I don't really deal with crap like that on my world. I've never held a sword in my life."
"Same here." Aya gestured between her and Kaori. "Our world is actually peaceful. But it's strange. For some reason, it feels natural to fight."
"Natural?" Katara cocked her head in confusion.
"Yeah." Joey shrugged. "It kinda feels like I already learned it or something. It's hard to explain."
"I don't care!" Link turned, his blue eyes sparkling in excitement. "I thought I was going to be alone, but you all helped me. I'm glad you know how to fight!"
"Link actually has a point." Kurama lifted a finger. "It worked out in the end. Perhaps the Great Deku Tree can shed a little light on the subject. I assume that portal is our ticket out of here."
"Come on, moron." Navi nudged Link in the head.
"What about silver ponies?" Link looked up, as if he were asking a logical question.
"Silver ponies?" Joey asked confusedly.
"Yeah, silver ponies." Link nodded. "I heard something about silver ponies eating cake.
"Just go through the portal, you idiot!" the fairy shoved the boy with a surprising amount of strength, given her size. The rest of the part followed Link. The portal took them to the meadow in front of the Great Deku Tree. Kurama's eyes narrowed and Navi flickered her aura in concern. The others didn't notice, but the large tree's condition hadn't changed much. He was still a grey color and his leaves were now turning brown and falling off, littering the ground.
"Thou hast done it." The Great Deku Tree said somewhat proudly. "But…Thou is also too late. Young ones, I was done before you even started."
"Wait…What?" Joey turned to the tree.
"Huh?" Link's eyes were suddenly wide with shock, concern written all over his face.
"It is true, young ones." The Great Deku Tree said calmly. "Your efforts were brave and valiant, but my fate was obvious before you entered."
"You…mean…" Link's eyes were watery. "But…"
"Sit and listen to what I have to say, young ones." The party complied with his wishes, sitting down on the grassy ground while the tree explained what seemed like the creation story of Hyrule. He explained that, long ago, a group of three goddesses named Din, Farore, and Nayru put their powers together and created the land of Hyrule. After they were done, they left behind a sacred relic called the Triforce as a symbol of the ultimate power.
"Uh…" Joey's eyes were wide in confusion, as were Link's. Actually, everyone but Kurama and Navi seemed confused.
"Now, listen, Link." The Great Deku Tree said, causing the young boy to jump up into a standing position. Suddenly, a glowing green stone appeared in Link's hands. "This is the Kokiri's Emerald, the sacred stone of the forest. That is what the wretched man from the forest sought and killed me for. Take it and go to the Hyrule Castle to find Princess Zelda. There, your journey will become clear."
"O-okay…" Link pocketed the small emerald, big tears falling from his eyes.
"Navi." The Great Deku Tree called out. "Follow this boy on his journey."
"G-got…it. No problem." Navi nodded at her command.
"Now, the rest of you young ones." The rest of the party stood up. "You all have rich destines ahead of thee. I have faith in you all to complete your…duties. Start your journey and follow this boy. Help him…"
"…" the party just nodded.
"Thank…you…" the Great Deku Tree seemed weak. "Now…go on…your journey….young ones….Hyrule….is…in your…hands…Please…save…this….glorious world….I…entreat…ye…."
"Deku Tree!" Navi called out in surprise. The tree suddenly hardened and changed a dark, sickly blackish grey. The leaves of the tree turned an even darker shade of brown and began falling off the tree in big clumps, falling gracelessly to the meadow's ground.
"But…But…" Link's eyes welled up with even more tears and he threw his hands to his face, crying.
"Link." Joey patted the boy's shoulder, rubbing the boy's bony back in an almost brotherly motion. "Let it all out, buddy. You'll feel better."
"We're sorry, Link." Kaori looked sad.
"You did your best." Kurama placed a hand on Link's other shoulder. "But the Great Deku Tree trusted you with this endeavor. Come on; let us not put this to waste. Who knows what else this so-called 'man from the desert' is doing to other people."
"Kurama's right, Link." Navi said, who had changed her voice back to its usual tone of indifference. "Hurry! We need to find the Princess. We'll worry about the details when we leave the forest."
"O-okay." Link sniffled. "Alright! Let's go!" Link had dropped all signs of depression and his eyes twinkled with oblivious determination. He threw a finger forward and began to march blindly out of the Deku Tree's meadow. The party all shrugged and followed after the green-clad boy, all nodding their final regards for the dead tree, as he had helped them.
"What happened back there?" Mido's snotty voice interrupted the party's thoughts. At the exit to the meadow stood the lanky boy, his beady brown eyes scanning angrily over everyone. "What happened to the Great Deku Tree? Tell me now!"
"Calm down. Jeez." Joey rolled his amber eyes before turning back to the angry village leader.
"He's dead, isn't he?" Mido's voice cracked a bit, his eyes flaring up in anger. "You stupid outsider! I always knew you were good for nothing, that you were never a true Kokiri!"
"…" Link took a step back, his blue eyes watering up again at the harsh words.
"You were troublesome enough and then you had to bring you outsider friends and kill the Great Deku Tree! You've ruined everything! You shouldn't even be here! I don't want you here!" Mido screamed at the top of his lungs. "You're a murderer! And I don't want you and your murderer friends to be in this village any longer! Get lost!"
"Well, that's a nice farewell." Aya seemed less than fazed by the brat's temper tantrum.
"I…I didn't kill him!" Link declared. "He died on his own. I wasn't the one who killed him!"
"Quit lying!" Mido yelled. "You're a liar. You're a liar like you are a murderer and an outsider! You don't belong here! You never will!" Mido was about to scream more hateful declarations before Joey's fist prevented him from doing so. Mido fell to the ground clutching the side of his face and the angered blond stood over him, his amber eyes clearly angered.
"Shut your trap!" Joey said, lowering his fist. "No one cares what you have to say."
"Joey?" Link looked up. Joey glanced over his shoulder and just winked. "Thanks!"
"Not a problem, dude." Joey shrugged and turned back to the others.
"Good thing you did that or I was going to shut him up myself." Katara twitched.
"Let's leave before we cause any more problems." Kurama walked casually past the fallen boy, who was glaring up at the party, still clutching his cheek.
"Come on, moron." Navi nudged Link, who began walking. They just left Mido lying there, angered and sad.
"The exit is right there, I presume?" Kurama pointed to a tunnel at the tip of the village, turning to Navi.
"Yup. The exit is right there." Navi nodded. The party walked on and finally passed through the tunnel, leaving the village behind. They were stopped, however, by a girl blocking their path.
"Who?" Joey cocked his head. The girl was small, looking to be around Link's age. She was thin, petite, with pale skin and hair the color of emeralds, a deep forest green. She looked over the group with calm, sad blue eyes. She was dressed in green, as well, like Link.
"Saria!" Link exclaimed. "What's going on?"
"You're leaving, aren't you, Link?" Saria looked sad, looking down. "You're going to leave us?"
"I have to!" Link said proudly. "I'm on a mission with my new friends that I made!"
"I see." Saria looked over the group again. "I'm glad you have new friends. Link…I always tried to make you feel like one of us, but I always knew that you were different. I looked past that because…I liked you, but…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried. It only caused you more pain."
"Actually, things were nifty except for Mido." Link said innocently.
"Right." Saria smiled. "Well, Link…I have a feeling things will be different from now on. But…" Saria pulled out an ocarina, a simple brown one, from her pocket.
"…" Link stared confusingly at the ocarina. "OH! That's the…thing."
"Take this ocarina with you, Link." Saria smiled. "And when you play it, remember the forest, okay?"
"Alight!" Link took the ocarina, pocketing the delicate instrument, taking one last look at the girl. He then turned around to the party, a goofy grin on his face. Throwing his finger in the air, he marched out through the rest of the tunnel proudly. The rest of the party nodded in acknowledgment to Saria before following their de facto leader.
"Link, who was that?" Kaori stopped Link.
"Oh." Link twirled around clumsily to face the rest of the group. "That was Saria. She was my only friend in the village. Everyone else thought I was a freak because I didn't have a fairy."
"Oh." Joey shrugged. "They all seemed like jerks."
"Oh well." Link shrugged. "I have friends now…right? You all are my friends?"
"We're stuck together, so yeah, I guess we're friends." Aya answered. "I mean. We're going to be together for awhile. At least…That's how the tree made it sound."
"It does seem like we're going to be here for a long time." Kurama tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I don't particularly mind. A change is nice."
"Well, you all are getting along well already." Navi said, plopping down on Link's head. "Shall we move on now? The fields of Hyrule are pretty nasty at night."
"What about cabbage?" Link looked up.
"Nothing. Just move, you nincompoop!" Navi ordered and the ditzy boy obliged. The party turned a corner, exiting the forest altogether, and were greeted to the majestic fields of Hyrule. It seemed like an endless terrain of emerald green, stretching far into the horizon ahead of them. The sky was the clearest shade of bright blue that any of them had every seen, free of clouds altogether. The sun's light was warm, just warm enough to be comfortable. There was a gentle breeze.
"Pretty!" Kaori squealed.
"Woooowwwww." Link's eyes were wide, staring at the fields before them. "This is pretty!"
"I have to admit, this is nice." Joey blinked a few times, looking around.
"Hoo-hoot!" a sudden, loud hooting sound causing even Navi and Kurama to jump in surprise. "Hoo!"
"Huh?" Katara looked up with everyone else towards the source of the noise and a large owl was perched on a tree branch above them.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Link let out a bloodcurdling scream that caused everyone to jump again and caused Navi to fall of his head. She flickered her silver-blue aura in annoyance. The young boy made a mad dash, starting to run from the owl in abject terror, but Kurama calmly held the shivering boy in place.
"I am Kaepora Gaebora." the owl spoke, twisting his head around a couple of times.
"It….!" Link screamed again, trying to run away again. Kurama once again held him in place and the young hero clung to the redhead, cowering in melodramatic fear.
"It….spoke." Katara blinked her blue eyes in confusion.
"I see you all are starting off on a grand adventure!" Kaepora spoke gleefully. "You children are looking for the princess, no? Well, you have to make it to Hyrule Castle Town, on the other side of this field!"
"Hyrule Castle Town." Aya took a mental note, glancing briefly at Link, who still clung to Kurama.
"Though, you must get to town before night falls. The fields are crawling with monsters at night!" Kaepora said, joy still in his deep voice. "Getting stuck in the fields at night is dangerous to do!"
"He sounds way too happy talking about us getting stuck in field of monsters all night." Aya said dryly.
"I agree." Katara nodded.
"MAKE IT GO AWAY." Link wailed.
"Well then. We will meet again, children!" Kaepora nodded and flapped his wings a couple of times before flying away.
"I think I'm scarred for life." Joey stated bluntly.
"Tell me about it." Katara sighed.
"Well, then." Kurama, who was being held in a death grip by the terrified boy, seemed less than fazed by the situation. He seemed unusually calm by both the giant talking owl and the young boy hugging him in fear. With a look of complete indifference on his face, he pried Link off of him gently before reassuring him that the owl, in fact, did not want his soul and that everything was fine.
"Oh, okay." Link's goofy smile returned. "If Kurama says so, then it must be true! He seems smart!" With that, the party began walking.
"For a bunch of people who were ripped from their worlds and thrown together by some divine intervention, we seem pretty calm." Aya said off-handedly.
"I noticed that." Kurama coolly placed his hands in his pockets. "It's not in my nature to take things lightly, so this is a bit weird for me."
"This is you taking things lightly?" Joey turned to the redhead. "I haven't seen a fazed expression on you at all, even after the giant spider that tried to eat us."
"If you lived on my world, my attitude would make much more sense, I assure you." Kurama responded.
"You all are so…different." Navi said, taking her place on Link's head again. "I mean, you all look so different, but so are your personalities."
"At least there's an even split of girls and guys." Katara lifted a finger. "Everything's even. And we're all close in age. I'm sure we'll get along nicely."
"Whatever. You already seem impossible." Joey looked off to the side.
"What was that?" Katara glared an icy glare at the blond, whose eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean by that?" With that, the two erupted into an argument that everyone else tuned out.
"Well, we'll all get along except for those two." Aya sighed.
"That cloud up there looks like meatloaf!" Link was looking up at the sky, paying to heed to his two companions verbally biting each other's heads off.
"There are no clouds up there." Kaori had followed Link's line of sight.
"You idiot, keep going!" Navi bonked the boy on the head, earning a whimper of defeat. After awhile of walking and listening to heated arguing, the sun was beginning to set.
"Run!" Navi announced. "The owl wasn't crazy. I don't feel like being stuck in a field of monsters all night! Kick into high gear, kids!" The group took the fairy's warning seriously and began running as fast as they could. Kaori kept a hold of Link's hand, since the boy had proven himself clumsy, and Navi flew quickly near the front of the party. She noticed that Kurama was the quickest of the party, having a good distance between him and the rest. Soon, a large city surrounded by stone walls and drawbridge came into sight.
"The drawbridge will close as soon as night begins to fall!" Navi called to the party. "Hurry!"
"I'm goin' as fast as I can!" Joey yelled. After a few minutes of running, the party was quite close to the city, but heard the telltale creaking sound of the drawbridge.
"Crap!" Joey yelled in frustration.
"Jump!" Navi ordered.
"Jump?" the tall blond asked in exasperation.
"Yes, jump!" Navi yelled "Do you want to spend the night with monsters?"
"I get the point! Jeez!" Joey twitched.
"I don't know if I can jump that high!" Aya said.
"Kurama, can you?" Navi turned.
"Yes, of course." The redhead responded.
"Better yet, can you throw?" the fairy inquired urgently.
"Um…If you insist." Kurama just nodded. Following the fairy's command, Kurama nodded apologetically to Kaori before grabbing her and tossing her as gently as he could over the rising drawbridge, causing her to squeal in shock. Kurama did the same thing with Link, who screamed "WEEEEE I'M FLYING" in pure delight.
"Joey, grab Katara and jump!" Navi ordered the blond.
"Here goes nothing!" Joey grabbed the blue-clad girl, who yelped in surprise. Joey made a clumsy dash forward before making a very ungraceful and even more un-epic leap over the slowly rising drawbridge. Just in time, too, as the drawbridge was almost up. Navi flew over it, and Kurama just simply grabbed Aya and leapt over the drawbridge, landing gracefully on the cobblestone ground.
"My face hurts…" Joey moaned, lying on the ground with his face pressed against the cobblestone, his hand twitching in pain.
"Is everyone alright?" Kurama asked as he stood up brushing himself off. He helped Aya up before turning over the rest of the party. Kaori was standing, dazed, by fine. Link was lying on his back, a goofy but satisfied grin on his face. Katara was on the ground, rubbing her back, twitching in anger. Kurama walked over and pulled Link up into a standing position and apologized to Kaori for throwing her.
"That was fun. Can we do that again?" Link turned to everyone else, who all shook their heads in response.
"Joey, you idiot!" Katara stood up, still twitching.
"I got us over the thingy, didn't I?" Joey stood up too, brushing his face off.
"I hate to interrupt what will be another heartfelt conversation, I'm sure, but it's nighttime and you all need to rest." Navi said, sitting back down on Link's head.
"Where do we do that?" Joey asked.
"Well, our options are limited." Kurama shrugged. "We don't have much money, but it should be enough to buy something to eat tomorrow. So, we just have to find somewhere to sleep."
"Wait…we have money?" Joey's eyes widened.
"Yes. We found it in the Great Deku Tree and in some bushes." Kurama held up a bag. "Navi left me in charge of it after giving me a brief explanation of the currency here."
"Dare I inquire why a divine, talking tree had money inside of it?" Aya turned to Navi.
"There are some things I just don't question." Navi responded dryly. "But yeah. Whatever. I figured if we were stuck together, I might as well let the most reasonable of you kids take care of finances."
"Probably a good idea to leave Kurama in charge of the money." Aya nodded in agreement. "How does the currency work, anyways?"
"We use 'rupees' here as currency." Navi blandly explained. "Green is '1' rupee, blue is '5' rupees, red is worth '10' rupees, and purple is worth '50' rupees."
"Gotcha." Aya nodded.
"Huh?" Link and Joey both said at the same time.
"Ignore it." Katara rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, you all need to sleep." Navi said, looking around.
"We need cloaked sheep?" Link looked up at the fairy. "Why are the sheep cloaked?"
"Link, shut up." Navi sighed. "Hey, look, this alley looks cozy. You all will sleep here. Make yourselves comfortable." The party just shrugged, deciding that an alley was better than a monster-infested field. The sauntered off to the darkest, quietest end of the alley, using their bags as pillows. Luckily, it wasn't a very cold night; just cool enough to be comfortable.
"Well…Uh….Good night?" Katara offered, snuggling against her bag as much as she could to be comfortable. But cobblestones, stone walls, crates and leather bags didn't make for fashionable or comfortable sleeping arrangements. The party made due, anyways.
"Yep. Good night. I mean, it has been a long day? Has it been a day?" Aya turned.
"I lost track." Kaori said confusedly.
"I guess it doesn't matter now, but I'm sure we're all tired." Kurama said calmly, leaning against a wall. "Good night, everyone."
"Don't do anything you might regret, kiddies." Joey said playfully, earning a swift kick to the shins from Katara. He curled up in pain.
"Anything I might regret? Liking eating poisoned cheesecake and dancing with giant spiders in robes?" Link asked honestly.
"Link, just sleep." Navi said dryly, lying on a crate.
"Okay!"
A/n: Okay, there you have it folks, the next updated chapter. I don't have much to say, other than I fleshed some things out to make the chapter longer.
Whatever. Review, please.