Disclaimer: here's chap SEVEn guys lmao its the start of the shit storm hope yall like it! a lil gore warning so if youre uncomfortable w/ blood and goop and stuff then be careful
There's this little area before the Great Deku Tree that we have to walk through before we get to the clearing. We call it the Hallway because that's what the Great Deku Tree calls it, and usually it's really green and all the plants are growing and the flowers are really pretty.
But for some reason, the grass is getting sparser and drier with every step I take and it's turning brown, too. The air feels tense and it tastes nasty.
"N-Navi?" I whisper. There's no reason I should be whispering but I'm really scared right now so I do it anyways. "Are you sure Saria shouldn't-,"
"Yes. I'm sure."
I bite my lower lip and anxiously keep shuffling forwards until I reach the entrance to the clearing.
There's nothing to be worried about! The Great Deku Tree is really strong. This is just… a lack of water. That's it.
I step into the Great Deku Tree's clearing, fiddling with the hem of my tunic. "Great Deku Tree? Are you…"
My jaw drops.
"Great…Deku Tree?"
Instead of the vibrant green leaves and the rich brown trunk that I remember, he has sickly yellow, crumbling leaves and gray bark. The tree tops are half bare and the magic haze is fading in some parts, the grass is completely brown and dry. Blood is rushing in my ears, it's loud and warped and disgusting and the Great Deku Tree-
"Great Deku Tree!?" Navi screams, hands cupped around her mouth. "I'm back! And I brought Link!"
There is silence for a few, and then the rustling of leaves and the groaning of bark twisting.
"Ah…" The Great Deku Tree breathes, voice ethereal and deep. "Link? Is that you, dearest Seven?"
"Y-Yes!" I spit out, shocked. "Great Deku Tree, you-,"
He chuckles slowly, the laughter echoing through the clearing. "No cause for alarm, young Link. I am still alive, albeit not well. Please calm yourself and listen to my story." No, no, it's not time to listen to stories right now, Great Deku Tree, what is happening-
I shout, "B-But, wait, Great Deku Tree, you're-,"
"Not dying." He reiterates carefully, a weak smile curling his bark. "Please, listen to my story."
I sit down on the dry grass and take off my hat, twisting and stretching it in my hands. "O…Okay…"
He rumbles with raspy, deep laughter. "As to begin, I am certain that your slumber as of these past moons must have been restless. Have you been having nightmares?"
I nod because I'm pretty sure I had one this morning. I don't remember what I was having a nightmare about, but I know that I had one.
The wind blows and his leaves rustle as he sighs, discontented. "…How troubling. As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it."
Um. That didn't make much sense.
He laughs again when I purse my lips and cock my head to the side. "As… bad guys, I suppose you would call them, gain power, evil energy enters the land and causes nightmares."
Oh, that makes more sense. But that still doesn't explain why the Great Deku Tree looks like this.
He sees the look on my face and frowns. "I will be straight to the point about this topic, young Seven."
He's staring straight at me, beady, wooden eyes underneath thick eyebrows horribly gray and strangely dead looking. He breathes in and out, slowly.
"I have been cursed."
The breeze dies and the birds stop chirping.
…What?
I force a grin on and stammer, "Great Deku Tree, that's- that's really not funny, don't make jokes like that-,"
"It's not a joke, Link."
Navi?
I look over at her with panic. "What do you mean, Navi? How- How can it not be a joke- G-Guys, it's not funny-,"
"The Great Deku Tree is cursed, Link. That's why I brought you here." Navi says it dead seriously and I want to cry.
No… No way, no, nononononono-
I curl into myself and hold my head in my hands, whispering to myself, "This has got to be a dream. It's a dream! What else would it be?" Why else would I have gotten a fairy, why else would I have found the Kokiri Sword, why else would the Great Deku Tree-
Navi grabs me by the tip of my ear and pinches hard. I squeak and pull back, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. "Ow."
"Snap out of it, Link." Navi snarls, and she sounds angry, angry and boiling and- she's not red? She's worried and purple and scared-
"I need you to defeat the evil inside me, my Seven." The Great Deku Tree says again, quieter this time. I whip around and stare at him with wide eyes, swallowing hard.
"B-But, if you can't beat it, the Great Deku Tree, what can I do?" There's no way any of this is happening because to be honest this is probably the nightmare he was talking about, I'm having it right now, that's why I don't remember any of it-
"Young Seven, please calm yourself down." The Great Deku Tree rumbles and I shut my eyes tight and whimper, "You're hyperventilating."
I don't even know what that word means but I'm getting lightheaded and dizzy, "But there's nothing I can-,"
"Yes, there is, young Link." The Great Deku Tree's picking and choosing what to say really carefully, I can tell, he keeps hesitating in between his words, "I brought you here because I am certain that you are the only one able of saving me. Now please. Breathe."
I listen to the Great Deku Tree and swallow again, trying to even out my breathing. I open my eyes and pick at the grass beneath me.
This is so ridiculous. There's no way.
"There's… There's no way…" I mumble.
He creaks and groans before answering. "Yes, Seven. You can, in fact, help me."
…Really?
"But you're super strong and stuff. What can I do?" I frown and fidget with the hem of my tunic.
The Great Deku Tree twists with laughter, it sounds a bit more hoarse and pained than usual, and says, "Ah, that is for you to determine for yourself. From what I can see, however, you could do a great many things, Link."
"I can?" Really? To be honest, that sounds nice; helping people and doing good things. I already try to do that, but a lot of the time, I mess up too bad and just cause trouble.
"Yes. You can."
Hope flares in my gut and I smile a little bit to myself as I twist some grass into a braid. Maybe I really can help.
"O-Okay, so what do you want Link- us to do?" Navi shouts nervously, interrupting me from my thoughts. She keeps looking back and forth between the Great Deku Tree and me like she's scared and I'm not sure if she's okay.
The Great Deku Tree grumbles a bit and shakes his leaves, it's more like shaking his twigs because he really doesn't have leaves anymore, before answering. "I need you to enter inside me and vanquish the evil there."
I don't really know what vanquish means, but I think it means something about defeating so I'll go with that.
"Do you happen to know what the evil is, Great Deku Tree?" Navi's starting to turn this really interesting shade of purple, I didn't even know that this could be a color, it's so intense, and I heard from Saria that when fairies get brighter the stronger they feel an emotion so wow, Navi must be very worried.
"It's a Gohma."
"Gohma!?" Navi starts flying around in circles and muttering to herself and I can't hear all too well what she's saying, so oh, well, I guess.
The Great Deku Tree clears his throat really loud, or at least makes the harrumph sound because trees don't have throats, that means they can't clear their throats, and Navi looks up at him really abruptly. "Our time is running low. Navi, I need you to help young Link defeat Gohma, and then we can discuss the cause of my curse."
"O-Of course! Yes, Link, I'll help you, so come along. I need you to help me find a way in." Navi says and I just nod and follow her, excited. I can't wait to help the Great Deku Tree.
"Ah, there's no need for that. You see, on my left side, there should be the hole in which the Gohma entered- Yes, Navi sees it." The Great Deku Tree booms after Navi gasps.
I scramble over to where Navi is and recoil because there's a massive hole chewed out of the Great Deku Tree, dripping with sap and covered in goopy yellow-ish green slime. It's dark and smelly and gross inside too; I can barely make out anything five feet in, and it's covered with sticky webs. Rot clings on the edges and drips down on the ground.
My stomach is doing backflips but I try to ignore that.
"Oh, Goddesses above…" She whispers. "It's a big one, isn't it?"
The Great Deku Tree doesn't respond, so Navi turns around and looks at me straight in the eye. "Link?"
"Yeah?" I ask.
"You… You don't have to do this, you know."
What? What's that supposed to mean?
"Do you know what you're getting yourself into, Link?" She asks and there's this hidden meaning behind her words that I'm not getting.
"Y-Yeah?" I say, but I don't really know what that even means. If I say yes, though, Navi'll let me help the Great Deku Tree, and that's all I really want to do right now.
She's this apprehensive shade of lavender, like the flower, and she says, "…Well… alright, then. Just… There's no turning back, Link. You…"
You what?
"… C'mon. Let's go."
I'll always have time to ask her later.
It's way too dark to see anything inside the Great Deku Tree so Navi has to light the way for me. She's extra bright right now so that she's kind of like a… a beacon? I think that's the word.
I'm in these long, winding tunnels carved into the Great Deku Tree; it's like a maze. They're all icky and goopy; Navi told me that it was chewed out by the Gohma. Sometimes it splits into smaller passages and at the crossroads, Navi explores each of them out before telling me which way to go.
"Hmm… Left, this time. C'mon."
I stepped in something earlier, it was kinda slimy and yucky and it's still on my boot but I'm actually really, really scared right now so I'm not really thinking of that. I pull out my sword and shield and hold then close to me.
"This way next."
I trudge along after her in silence and it's so tense and nerve wracking and I wanna say something to her really bad and stuff but what if she just ignores me?
"N…Navi-,"
"To the right."
I bite my lower lip and keep following her.
She leaves to scout out the next room so I'm left all alone in this dark tunnel behind her and I'm really scared-
I hear something to my right so I whip around and point the sword at it.
Nothing's there.
My hands are shaking and I'm certain that I heard something, it sounded like something being chewed on, every breath is too loud and I know it was there-
Skritch. Skritch.
It comes from behind me so I whirl around and hold up my shield, knees trembling and eyes wide.
Skritch.
Something's here. I know it.
It's too dark to see anything without Navi, it's just pitch black darkness, I need her, please come back-
Something brushes up against my leg and I shriek and slash down with my sword before jumping back and smacking into something.
"H-Huh?" It's sticky and webby and oh, no, this is a massive spider web, isn't it.
Skritch.
Skritch.
I scream and rip my arm off the web, swinging the sword wildly at this thing that I can't see. I need Navi here, I need to be safe, I need to leave-
Something glowing and orange catches my eye and I turn to the side and see this shining, blood shot eye staring at me, it's almost as big as my whole head. I take a few steps back, it's still not moving, another few steps but then I trip over something, stumbling to the floor and oh, Great Deku Tree, this is really bad-
The thing hisses and the green iris planted right smack in the middle of its eye turns bright red before it pounces and in a last ditch effort, I squeeze my eyes shut and hold the sword out in front of me to stop it.
I hear a sickening squelch and this disgusting squealing noise and there's this horrible dead weight on my sword now, hanging from the tip of it.
I don't want to look, don't make me look-
I peek open an eye and my sword's right through the center of its eye, pus is leaking out of the edges around my sword and mucous is splattered everywhere, blood is running down its face-
It squeaks and gurgles.
I feel vomit rising in my throat so I throw my sword to the side and turn away, opening my mouth and retching.
No way, no way, calm down, calm down. It's okay. Just turn around and it won't be there-
I turn back around immediately regret my decision because I just end up turning back around and throwing up some more, I'm crying now, this is horrible, I should've taken Navi's offer to go home-
"Link? You still- Oh, Golden Goddesses of Hyrule, you killed a baby Gohma." Navi's back now and it's at the worst timing ever because I just killed a baby. A new surge of sick rises up and I heave again, hacking up bile.
She flies over to me. "Link, Link, look at me. Calm down."
"I just… I just…" I can't find the words to describe what I just did even though I know exactly what I did.
She flies over to me and sits down on my shoulder as I sob and throw up.
A/N: so . that was a ncie chapter REVIEW yall hope u liked it !
