The temple smelled like… well… forest. There was no other way for Ava to describe it. It was dank, and musty and the scent of trees creeped through the wooden walls.
It was also inhabited by monsters who had made themselves at home. It seemed to have been a while since this temple was actually used as a place of worship. Everything was in a state of disarray. Vines crept up on the walls and moss blanketed the floors. Where there was no moss, tall grass grew haphazardly.
She watched Link take in a deep breath before scouring the temple with his eyes. He was drinking in the sights with awe before something seemed to catch his eye. "It's the monkey that helped us!" He was moving towards the center of the hall, where the monkey that did indeed guide them across the purple bog lay trapped within a wooden cage.
He wasn't looking at his surroundings as his attention was on the panicked monkey rattling the bars of the cage. A bokoblin was running at his back.
"Watch out!" Ava called, drawing her bowstring back to let loose an arrow. Before it could club Link, the arrow hit. She scowled as it only knocked the creature to the side, not killing it immediately.
Link's attention was on the creature now, his blue eyes narrowed in concentration as he lunged towards it.
Ava watched with silent surprise as instead of merely slashing at it, he flipped forward and struck it in the heart.
He stepped back, slightly out of breath. He pushed back a strand of hair that was falling in his eyes and nodded in her direction. "Thanks for warning me."
She didn't say anything in reply as he moved to free the monkey, using his sword to break the brittle wooden bars. "What was that technique you just used?" her curiosity caused the question to emerge despite her better judgement.
An almost mischievous look crossed Link's features. "I wasn't just lying there doing nothing, you know."
She blinked, confused at his ambiguity. "You mean when you got knocked out all of a sudden?"
"How do I say this without sounding crazier than you already think I am?" he muttered to himself, before turning his attention fully to her. "That wolf I saw… the one you couldn't see… um… he taught me that sword technique."
Ava covered her mouth to hide her laugh as Link continued to work on the monkey's cage. "I didn't know wolves could wield swords."
"They can't." the tips of his ears reddened. "He turned into a… person."
To the best of his ability, Link explained his experience with the white wolf and the technique he had been taught. While skeptical at first, Ava concluded that if all the stuff with the spirits was possible, then this could be too.
Finally, the monkey was free. And once again, instead of lingering, she fled up the vines behind her. Midna came up from the shadows. "It looks like she's beckoning you." she laughed. "Aren't you two popular?"
Did that imp ever have anything useful to say? Ava found herself irately wondering this as Midna went back into her shadows after saying her bit. "Let's follow her then." Ava said to Link, moving to climb up the same vines the monkey ascended upon.
"She knows this place better than us." Link nodded in agreement and they continued on.
After navigating through a room with a large skulltula and a puzzle involving the lighting of lamps, the monkey led them through a door that led to open air.
What stood in front of them was a rickety rope bridge that the monkey eagerly headed towards. The monkey was halfway across the bridge with Link and Ava about to cross as well when the ropes holding up the bridge were severed by a dark boomerang.
Ava quickly unleashed an arrow at the large baboon that had thrown the boomerang as Link ran to make sure the monkey was alright. To her dismay, the arrow was thrown away by a burst of wind that looked to be coming from the boomerang.
Link and Ava both watched as the baboon turned and slapped his big red behind as a taunt before running off, cackling.
"Don't," the two of them said simultaneously as Midna emerged with a gleeful grin. The monkey was alright and had managed to climb up to the platform they were standing on.
She giggled. "I wasn't going to say anything. Butt," Ava groaned and turned away from the shadowy form of the imp. "It looks like we can't go forward because of this monkey fight so we may as well go back."
Link looked at the severed bridge with a frown. "We'll have to find another way."
"Looks like she's got an idea." Ava indicated to the monkey who was urgently pointing to the door they had just came in from.
They nodded in silent agreement and turned back the way they came from.
The monkey led them through one of the overlooked doors in the one they had just come from. Her motivations soon became clear as she led them to another monkey trapped in a cage.
"There might be more of them." Link pointed out.
"That means we're not gonna get any help until they're all free." Ava sighed.
The monkeys now eagerly took them back the way they had come from. This time on their way back, Link spotted a large rock that looked to be blocking a passageway. With the help of a nearby bombling, the rock became rubble.
"It's just a bunch of pots."
"There could be something useful inside one of them." Link began to inspect the nearest pot.
Ava kicked one over with the tip of her boot. She yelped as something suddenly emerged from the pot.
Link and Ava watched with wide eyes as the thing that came out of the pot propped itself up. It looked like a bird, but with a human head propped on top. "Phew! Out at last!" The voice that emerged was feminine. "Gracious... Once I got in there, I couldn't squeeze back out!"
The bird thing was oblivious to the looks on the humans' faces. "You see it too?" Link whispered.
"Yeah," Ava's jaw was slightly ajar.
The creature had a name: Ooccoo. She was eager to tag along with them and promised to be useful in the way of warping them out of the temple whenever they pleased.
After that interruption, the two monkeys were even pushier about going to the other rooms attached to the main hall. The temple was complex, filled with locked doors that required keys found three rooms away.
Eventually, they freed two more monkeys. "That has to be all of them." Ava was tired of the monkeys' constant chattering by this point. The more that joined only made the collective louder.
The monkey with the flower behind her ear was tugging on the fabric of Link's breeches. He laughed and patted her head. "We're coming, don't worry."
"They like you," Ava pointed out as they followed the monkeys back to the door that led to the severed bridge. They would eagerly crowd around Link and chatter at him. While they didn't run from Ava, they still left her a wide berth. She was still deciding on whether or not it bothered her.
Link rubbed the back of his hat bashfully. "Must be the wolf thing. They probably see me as another… Oh you have got to be kidding me." All of the colour had drained from his face as he saw what the monkeys wanted them to do.
"That's one way of getting across." Ava said with muted surprise. The monkeys were hanging upside down from the single rope that was the only thing left of the bridge. Their position mimicked the way they used each other to jump across long distances. They were eagerly motioning to them.
Ava looked down at the chasm below which now looked much more intimidating. "I don't think we're lucky enough to have a different way across." She bit her lip harshly, looking to the at ease monkeys.
"Can they even hold us?" Link asked.
"They seem to think so." Ava stood up straight and closed her eyes tightly. She took in a deep breath.
"What are you doing?" Link asked as she took in two more deep breaths.
"Calming down. You kind of have to learn how to when you deal with soldiers." She opened her eyes and steeled herself. "Okay… Please don't drop me." She called out to the monkeys.
"Ava!" She heard Link cry out as she jumped off of the edge with a running start. She reached out and grabbed the monkey's hand. Her hands were damp with sweat, so her grip began to slip. The monkey tightened hers, preventing Ava from falling.
She closed herself to all emotion and blocked out Link's panicked shouts as she swung with her legs and let go of the monkey's hands to grasp onto the next ones.
She continued this process until she let go once more and found her body hitting solid ground. The landing was a bit rough, but it was better than falling for thousands of feet.
"Are you insane!?" She heard Link shout from across the monkey bridge. He looked horrified.
Ava's felt her hands tremble as she used them to prop herself up. "Your turn." She hated that her voice was shaking too. At the expression on his face, she called out, "It's not that bad."
"You look like you're about to pass out!" Link protested.
She gave him a withering glare. "This is the only way forward. Do you want to save your friends or not?"
Link's face hardened at that reminder. He looked to the monkeys and swallowed before running forward.
Ava understood the horror of watching someone doing something so stupid. It was even worse for her as Link had his eyes closed as jumped from monkey to monkey. She was biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
She withdrew her teeth from her lip when Link finally landed on the ground in front of her, falling to his knees. "I think you're the insane one!" she snapped. "What were you thinking?"
He raised his head, and she winced at the expression on his face. "It… was easier not to look. And besides, you wanted me to come across."
"I didn't tell you to do it blind." Her voice lost the previous edge of harshness.
"Why don't we agree that you're both unstable idiots?" Midna made her presence known. She wasn't laughing this time. "In the future, don't do anything else extremely reckless until you've gotten what I need."
"Thanks for your concern, Midna." Midna made an annoyed noise and vanished as a response. Link stood up and cast the chasm one last glance. The monkeys had gotten off the rope and were waving in their direction from the other side. He raised a hand and returned the sentiment before turning to Ava and the door that stood in front of them.
Ava was becoming increasingly frustrated with all of this. The temple. Midna. Link. The sooner they were done with Midna's errands, the better.
As they entered the room in front of them, bars fell on the door they had just came in from, blocking their exit.
Before they could turn and face the barred door, a familiar cackle drew their attention to the center of the room.
Ava took her bow in her hands, keeping her eyes focussed on the baboon taunting them in the middle of the room. He was standing atop a pillar amongst several in the room. She heard a sword being drawn beside her and didn't need to look to see that Link was focussing on the monkey as well.
The two of them were forced to jump in opposite directions as a large gust of wind blew in their direction. Ava narrowed her eyes as the baboon screeched out a laugh and turned to slap his red butt.
That taunt was quickly getting old.
Ignoring the baboon himself, Ava focussed on the wind. The source was the boomerang he had clutched in his hand. At that, he threw it again. She prepared to jump out of the way, but didn't have to as the boomerang was not targeting her or Link. Instead, he used it to sever the vines growing on the ceiling, allowing deku babas to fall and slither towards them.
They were quickly taken care of by their respective weapons. By that time, the baboon was aiming his boomerang again. "Ava!" Link called from the other side of the room. "Shoot at him!"
She didn't need to be told that. The arrows were of little use as the baboon either leaped out of the way on another of the several pillars or used the wind from the boomerang to blow them all away.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ava saw Link charge towards the pillar the baboon was standing on and understood. She fired an arrow at him and like she wanted, he readied the boomerang, preparing to throw it in her direction.
Before he could, he stumbled from Link shaking the pillar he was currently standing on. As he was now distracted by Link, Ava's next arrow knocked him off the pillar.
It was easy after that. With a few swipes from Link's blade, the baboon was knocked backwards. He let out a squeal and hobbled away from Link's sword. When he saw Ava walking towards him, he turned sharply, banging his head on one of the pillars.
The impact caused what Ava had initially thought to be a headdress of some sort to fall off of his head. Nearing it, she noted with disgust that it was an insect of some sort. Link looked at it and tilted his head in confusion. "It looks dead."
Ava crushed it with the heel of her boot, causing Link to look away with a slightly nauseous expression on his face. "Just making sure."
They turned their attention to the baboon who was now staring around the room in confession as if he didn't know where he was. He stilled suddenly, stiffening and turned, seeing Ava and Link with their weapons still drawn.
He suddenly screeched in terror, causing Link and Ava to both make noises of surprise. They gave the baboon room as he jumped about the room, looking for an escape route. Finally, he decided on a way out.
Link froze as the baboon leaped in his direction and climbed upon his shoulders. "Gah!" he cried out, stumbling from the weight. "Get off!"
The baboon listened, jumping off of Link and onto one of the tall pillars closest to them, knocking Link to the ground in the process. The baboon leapt from pillar to pillar, until he jumped out of an opening in the wall, leaving Link and Ava in the room.
Link sat speechless and wide eyed from being manhandled, his hands on the ground from catching himself.
Ava couldn't help the laugh that came forward at how ridiculous the situation was. Link's wide eyes turned to her at the sound.
"Hey," Link was fighting a grin, sitting himself up fully. "It's not funny." Saying that, he started to laugh as well.
When the sound of his laughter joined hers, Ava's small laugh turned into a full blown one, causing her to lean against the pillar behind her for support. She recovered eventually, and covered her mouth with her hand to hide her lingering smile. "Sorry," she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Sorry."
Link was still beaming with that grin on his face and opened his mouth to say something else. He was interrupted from a faint humming from the other side of the room.
The laughter in the room stopped. Link took the hand that Ava offered and they went to investigate the sound. "The boomerang…" Ava noted, placing a hand on her sword. She couldn't help but be unsettled. Weapons weren't supposed to move on their own.
Link didn't seem to share any of her cautiousness as he approached the boomerang the baboon had abandoned on the ground.
As he reached to touch it, he was forced to step back as the boomerang rose in the air, suspended in a gust of wind. "I am the Fairy of Winds who resides in this boomerang." A voice came from the boomerang, gentle and feminine.
Ava supposed she should have been used to all this strangeness by this point.
The voice continued, "You have freed me from evil, and I now have my true power back. Please... Take it with you, use it to aid your quest, and may both my power and my blessing go with you."
Ava tensed as the boomerang rose and flew around the room before heading in their direction. Link reached out and grabbed it, stepping back from the gust of wind that accompanied it. "Huh," he looked at it contemplatively before throwing it across the room. As the boomerang flew, it raised gusts of wind in its path. It came back to Link who caught it with more ease this time. "Thank you," he said to the boomerang. The sight would have been strange if Ava didn't know that there was a sentient being residing within.
Midna appeared from the shadows and crossed her arms, looking fairly neutral as she inspected the boomerang.
"Is this what you wanted?" Ava asked.
She scoffed, turning away from the boomerang in Link's hand. "This isn't what I need. Not even close. Keep combing this place. There are places we haven't searched yet."
"It would help if we knew what we were looking for." Link protested.
Midna smirked. "Don't think so hard, Doggy. You'll sprain something."
"Midna…"
"You'll know when you see it." She grinned. "Alright. Off to work with you two." She dismissed herself.
Ava rolled her eyes and went off to inspect the only door to the room they were in. It was still barred with material that looked too strong to be taken down with a few swipes from a sword. "I think this'll help." Link said, holding the boomerang. She watched curiously as he threw it at a fan above the door. With a few throws, the wind propelled it to raise the bars above the door.
"Nice thinking," she said to Link, opening the door. They exited the dank room to the sunshine outside. When she turned to him to discuss their next course of action, she found him watching her with an almost puzzled expression on his face "What?" she demanded when he didn't stop.
She was caught off guard when he smiled at her. "Back there," he indicated to the room they were just in. "I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever seen you smile."
An almost mortified expression crossed her face. "I don't know what you mean." She huffed, turning away from him quickly.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed." He said earnestly.
"I'm not embarrassed!" she protested.
"You're blushing, Ava."
"Let's just concentrate on finding Midna's thing." She ignored him and the rising colour in her cheeks, marching forward to a path they hadn't explored. The boomerang would probably be of assistance with the rotating bridges in front of them.
He chuckled but didn't say anything else. Probably because he didn't want to risk her snapping at him.
She wondered what the hell Link's problem was. So what if she didn't act so damn cheerful all the time like he did. This wasn't a cheerful situation they were in.
And then she wondered what her problem was. Why was she so aggravated by Link pointing something so innocent out? Maybe it was just that. She was furious at how good his intentions were and furious at herself for letting her guard down in front of someone she barely knew.
She concluded that she made a mistake by easing up in front of him and vowed to keep control over herself in the future.
When they found another trapped monkey in their path, they came to the realisation that there may have been even more of them scattered across the temple. "We should help them. They could tell us where to go." Link suggested.
"Who knows how many there are." Ava watched the monkey leap away to wherever he wanted to go.
"They've been useful and know the temple better than us."
Not knowing of a better plan, she nodded in agreement. At the very least, that monkey didn't stick around, which was a relief. She might have gone insane with the constant chatter.
The temple was suddenly easier to navigate with the use of the boomerang. Very quickly, Link had become an expert at throwing the boomerang and have it do exactly what he intended. It opened new ways forward.
And led to new trapped monkeys. They sure were good at getting themselves caught. Working together to search every room they could find in the temple unveiled several new monkeys. They finally reached a spacious room where all the monkeys awaited on platforms built into one of the towering walls.
The giant door across that large chasm in front of them looked intimidating and most likely the place they had to reach.
Link wasn't looking at the door but the platforms where the monkeys waited. "There are two empty spaces."
"Two more monkeys then."
On Ava's suggestion, the two of them split up to search for the remaining monkeys. Ava went back to a door that was locked while Link climbed up to a room they hadn't checked yet.
She sighed upon seeing that the door she was supposed to enter was locked. And as far as she could remember, neither her or Link had encountered a key as of yet. "Let's see if I remember…" she pulled a simple hairpin from her hair and fiddled with it, bending one side harshly.
It took her a few minutes of fiddling with the lock before she heard a click and found the lock and chains falling to the ground with a loud thump. She stared in appreciation at the hairpin and pocketed it. Maybe it was useless for her hair now, but she figured it would come in handy later.
The room she entered had more skulltulas than she was comfortable with. They weren't bad on their own, but as they were together, she was forced to duck around and attack carefully after trying to separate them. She managed to finish them, but not without one of them catching her ankle with its claw.
She frowned at the gash, but otherwise ignored it. It didn't hurt too badly and she didn't twist anything. Now, for the monkey…
Ava had to go to the floor below to find the monkey cowering in a cage the monsters had placed it in. She made quick work of them and freed the terrified thing. She grudgingly rubbed its head as it hugged her leg.
"I saw that," Midna giggled.
"Oh, shut up."
She led the monkey back to the chamber where the rest of the monkeys and the big door were. The monkey immediately left her side and went to one of the empty platforms. He immediately began chattering excitedly with the others.
She waited there for a few moments until she saw Link climbing down the vines from the other side of the room. With him was the last monkey.
As he reached her, the monkey had reached the rest of his friends, competing the array. Link and Ava watched as the monkeys all began to climb towards the center of the ceiling above them.
Ava's eyes widened as she saw what they were doing. Together, they were making a long chain of monkeys. Once they were all in place, they began to swing across the chasm. "Not again…" Link groaned.
They were silent for a moment before Link stepped forward. "I'll go first this time." He offered, smiling nervously as he stared at the chasm.
Ava grabbed his arm before he was about to go. "Don't close your eyes this time." She warned.
"Yes, ma'am." He mock saluted at her before running at the chain of monkeys. He caught onto the hands of the lowest monkey and was swung until he let go and rolled on the ground of the other side. If he was closing his eyes, she wouldn't know as his back was to her.
She took a breath of relief before waiting for the chain to come back to her side. Without giving herself a chance to hesitate she ran at it and grabbed the hands of the monkey. She eased her iron grip as she saw Link growing closer. She let go of the monkey and fell for the ground, rolling to ease her impact as Link had.
Link offered her a hand up, which she took. They turned for the large locked door that awaited them. Link pulled out the large, ornate key that they had found earlier on in the temple and placed it in the lock.
The mechanism in the lock clicked and made it fall in front of them, leaving the door accessible.
"It's up ahead. I can feel it." Midna came out. A distracted expression was on her face as she stared at the door. "Be ready for anything." She warned before disappearing again.
"Ready?" Link asked Ava, pulling out his sword.
She nodded in response and pulled out her own blade. Together, they entered the chamber in front of them.
The air in the room was heavy, clouding the air. In front of them lay a lake with water that looked corrupted in its deep purple colour. There a large tree in the center of the lake, but it looked… wrong. Like it was weakened. Surely the purple water wasn't good for it.
Ava felt incredibly uneasy as she inspected the silence around her. The sound of their breathing was the only noise present.
The silence around them was shattered as two towering creatures emerged out of the water with loud splashes. Ugh. They looked like giant deku babas, but even more feral. Dark green liquid oozed from their open mouths, staining their sharp teeth. They roared at Link and Ava viciously.
"The bomblings!" Ava shouted at Link, rolling to the side as one struck at where she had been standing.
Link ducked out of the way as the other giant beast went for him. He held the boomerang and threw it at an angle, catching a bombling in its path and dropping it the left deku baba's mouth. He grinned victoriously as he caught the boomerang.
Ava watched with satisfaction as the explosion went off, causing it to sink limply back into the murky water.
Using the same tactic, Link took out the other one with the boomerang and bombling. Ava relaxed her grip on her sword, getting ready to congratulate him.
She was stopped as everything shook around them. The two of them exchanged wary glances before looking about the otherwise still room. Then, suddenly…
With an ear splitting roar, a giant creature emerged from the water. Beside it, the two deku babas Link's boomerang had taken care of rose again. They were dwarfed by the thing in the middle. It roared again, revealing a yellow attached to its tongue.
"By the goddesses…" Ava gaped at the ferocious thing that dominated the space around them. She should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.
Link cried out as one of the deku babas lunged at him and knocked him back. "Link!" Ava rain in front of where he had fallen and blocked the creature from attacking again. She was pushed back several steps as the creature retreated.
The boy behind her groaned. She turned her head for a split second and saw him groggily rising to his feet. He looked relatively unharmed, only slightly shaken.
"The bomblings are gone," Link noted, dodging the blow that came for him this time.
"Great." Ava tensed as she saw the central creature dip its head towards them. The two of them hurriedly stepped back as it opened its mouth to unleash a purple acid.
They had to almost press themselves flat against the walls behind them to avoid the acid. Ava had no idea of what it would do to them if they touched it and she wasn't ready to find out. Finally, it seemed to tire and retreated back to its original position.
At this rate, they had no way of attacking this thing. Its position in the water left it well guarded.
Ava looked across the room desperately, willing to find something to end this. Then, her attention was drawn to a platform high up on one of the walls where she saw something round. Could it be a bombling? Well, there was only one way to find out. "Distract them!" she yelled and Link before running to the wall in a sprint.
He must have done as she said, because she wasn't thrown off the wall as she climbed it. She grunted as she pulled herself over the platform. It was dark in the little alcove, but she could see the outline of not one bombling, but a few.
But how to use them? They would explode by the time she got them to Link and his boomerang. If only… yes! She pulled an arrow from her quiver and attached one struggling bombling to it, running to the edge of the platform. She aimed it at one of the deku baba's mouths and launched it, watching as it exploded. The head sunk to the ground once more.
She did the same for the other one, leaving the large creature in the center. Its mouth was ajar, giving her the perfect spot to aim for. There was only one bombling left, meaning that she had to make this last shot count.
The arrow skimmed its mouth as it moved its head to the side last moment, making the bombling explode just in front of its face. It wasn't enough to kill it outright, but it was enough to make it collapse on the ground in front of Link.
From the ground, he was in the perfect position to finish it. And he did. With a few swift slashes and one final stab in the eyeball, the creature roared for the last time and began to flail about, splashing purple water everywhere.
Ava saw it begin to still and shrivel up before she made her climb down from the platform. As she joined Link, the remains of the creature burst into fine dark particles eerily reminiscent of shadow beasts.
The black particles seemed to remain suspended within the air before they pulled together to form a single shadowy object. As it floated downward, Ava saw that it resembled the helmet that Midna wore upon her head.
"Well done," Midna congratulated, taking the object in her hands before they could. She stared at it in a form of awe before turning to them and grinning. "It's exactly what I've been looking for."
"But… what is it?" Link asked.
"It's a Fused Shadow." Midna explained, using her magic to grab and store the dark artifact. "It's what the light spirit called dark power... Don't you remember what that spirit said? About how you had to match the power of the king of shadows?"
Ava's eyes widened. "You're saying this will help take down Zant?"
"If only it were that easy." She smirked at Ava "There're a total of three Fused Shadows. The other light spirits should have the rest."
Link looked warily to the place where the creature they had just fought had resided. "What exactly are these Fused Shadows, Midna?"
"Does it matter?" Ava's mind was whirring now that she could see an actual plan. "If they can truly defeat Zant, then we need them." She felt excitement as she looked from Midna to Link, both who had very different expressions on their faces.
"That's the spirit!" Midna giggled. She flicked Link on the forehead, causing him to flinch and then scowl at her. "Maybe I'll tell you exactly what the Fused Shadows are after you find them all."
Link had a frown on his face as Midna floated away from them. She conjured a shadowy circle with runes similar to the twilight creatures that Ava had seen so far. "Let's not waste any more time then." She announced. "This portal will get you two out of here."
Ava brushed off her partner's silent concern as she thought of the new potential weapon they had against Zant. If Midna was right, then Ava had a way forward. A way to stop all of this chaos.
A way to save Zelda.
