Apologies folks, I had to go through the Forest Temple again in order to write this chapter. As usual, please read, review and enjoy! ^^

P.S. I do not own Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Zelda.

It didn't take long for Sora, Link and Midna to reach the entrance to the Forest Temple, which was located in an old tree stump. "This is it," Link said before noticing that the door was already open. "Did someone get here before we did?"

"Guess we're gonna find out," Sora said as he prepared to go through the doorway.

The group walked inside and marveled at the surroundings: wooden walls covered with moss and vines with another wooden door leading further into the temple. But before they moved on, Midna came out of Link's shadow and moved into Sora's. "Now this temple is a bit more complicated than I'm sure you're used to. You'd better stay close, and leave any problem solving to Link, since he's already gone through this place."

"It's been a whole year, Midna. It's not like I memorized the temple's layout," the hero said. "That reminds me; have you got all my things? I've been meaning to ask you about that."

"That depends. What do you need?" she asked.

Link thought for a minute, trying to remember what he used to get through the temple the last time. "Hmm… I'll need my lantern, my slingshot, and my Gale Boomerang, please."

"Uh, about that…" Midna paused before speaking again. "You see, right about the time you… fell unconscious, I took the rest of your weapons and managed to send them back to their original places. I felt it was the best way to ensure they didn't fall into the hands of the Heartless."

"Are you serious?!" Link exclaimed. "All my weapons… the Gale Boomerang, the Bombs, the Hero's Bow… they're all gone?!"

"Hey! At least I left the sword and shield!" Midna said. "I couldn't have you completely helpless when you woke up."

"Just how many weapons did you have?" Sora asked, amazed that Link was able to use such a variety of weaponry.

"A lot," the blonde answered before letting out a sigh. "Alright, I guess that means we'll have to go through the temple, find Ook and get the Gale Boomerang back from him."

"See? Your memory's not so bad!" Midna said with a grin. "You're right in assuming that the Boomerang went back to Ook."

"But you at least have the lantern and slingshot, right?" Sora asked.

"Slingshot yes, lantern yes… oil no," the imp replied. "Sorry Link, sounds like you'll need to get your fire elsewhere."

Suddenly, Sora got an idea. "Wait… you need fire to get through the temple?"

"Yes, why?" Link asked, wondering where the keybearer was going with this.

"I didn't mention this before, but I can use magic, and one of my spells is Fire," the brunette explained. "I can use it to get us through the temple!"

Link's eyes lit up at this revelation. "That's perfect! In that case, I'll just have the slingshot, Midna."

"Will do!" Midna said cheerfully before producing a small slingshot and ammo bag and tossing them to Link, who caught them before securing them to his belt. She then disappeared into Link's shadow once again.

The two males moved to a large room with a wooden bridge that led to a platform. On the platform were four lamps, which for some reason were already lit. "Someone's ahead of us, alright," Link said. "It's all coming back to me; last time, I lit these lamps so I could get across." As he spoke, he gestured to some wooden steps leading to another door.

Suddenly, something landed on Sora's back with a loud screech, pulling at his hair and scratching him like crazy. "Ow! Hey! What's going- Ouch! Get offa me!"

"Hey, cut that out!" Link shouted, and suddenly the attack stopped. A brown monkey with a flower tucked behind her ear was clinging to Sora's head. The hero smiled when he recognized the animal. "You're the monkey who helped me before. Do you remember me?" The monkey's eyes lit up and suddenly, she leapt from the keybearer to the hero, giving him a hug and causing him to chuckle.

"Another friend of yours?" Sora asked in a slightly irritated tone.

"This monkey and her pals also helped me get through the temple," Link explained. "Ook the baboon is their boss. Speaking of whom, can you take me to him?" In response to the question, the monkey started chattering and making gestures that the hero couldn't quite understand.

Midna popped out of her hiding place. "Hmm, it sounds like she's saying she can't get to Ook because an intruder has imprisoned him in the temple," she explained. "That must be whoever came in ahead of us."

"Well then, let's go pay this intruder a visit," Sora said before he, Link and the monkey ran through the door.

As they explored the temple, it seemed that Ook wasn't the only one imprisoned; Sora and Link found three other monkeys in cages. Luckily, Sora's Keyblade could open the locks, and the monkeys were able to help them get to the other side of a chasm.

Sora laughed as he swung across to the other side. "Wow, that's fun!"

"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Link laughed as the two males approached yet another wooden door. "This is where I ran into Ook before… I hope he's okay."

Once they were inside, the door slammed behind them and was suddenly barred, preventing their escape. "What the-? Is this supposed to happen, Link?!"

"Unfortunately, yes," the hero said. "And we won't be able to go back until we find the boomerang."

"Oh, is that how it works?" a male voice suddenly said, startling the two. "Wish someone'd told me that sooner." They looked to see a man walk out from behind a pillar. He was thin with short, light brown hair, wearing a blue vest and trousers with a white shirt. A sash with a dagger tied to it was wrapped around his waist, and a blue bandana was tied around his head. "I would've run out in the short time the door was open, but I guess I wasn't fast enough."

"So it was you who broke in and imprisoned the monkeys!" Sora accused, pointing the Keyblade right at the man.

"Guilty!" the man said with a shrug before eying the Keyblade. "Nice weapon. Hope you don't mind me borrowing it?" He then pulled a boomerang from behind him and threw it right at Sora!

Managing to roll out of the way, Sora called, "Link, isn't that your boomerang?"

"Yeah, he must have stolen it from Ook," Link said, drawing his sword.

The thief threw the boomerang again, this time at Link, who also rolled away. "Hold still, would ya!" he shouted before dashing in and attacking the hero with his dagger this time.

Link quickly managed to put up his shield to deflect the blow, but as he did so, he noticed something on the thief's back: a large bug. That's the same kind of bug that made Ook go nuts before! he thought. "Sora, he's being controlled!"

"You know, you really should have your wallet in a less obvious place," the thief commented, holding up a small bag that he had managed to swipe from Link, much to the hero's surprise.

Suddenly, Sora slammed into the man, making him drop the wallet and hit a pillar, stunning him for a minute. "How are we gonna snap him out of it?"

"You keep him busy, I'll try to knock the bug off with my slingshot," Link told him, quickly picking up his wallet and putting it away before taking his slingshot off his belt.

Nodding, the boy told him, "Good luck!" before running at the man again.

While Sora continued fighting the thief, Link loaded a deku nut into the slingshot and pulled it back, aiming it right at the thief. "Come on, hold still…"

The man ran at Sora and scored a hit, knocking the boy back a bit. Leaping backwards, he then held up the good luck charm he swiped. "Huh? What's this thing?"

Link smiled when he realized that the thief had stopped moving. He shot off the nut, scoring a direct hit on the bug and causing it to release its grip on the man.

Sora then rushed in and hit the man with the Keyblade one last time, sending him to the ground. "I'll take that," he said, kneeling down and taking Kairi's charm out of the man's hand. "Nice shot, Link!"

"Thanks," the hero said before walking over to the dropped boomerang. It then levitated and created a small twister, keeping itself suspended in the air.

"I am the Fairy of Winds who resides in this boomerang," a small voice said, coming from the boomerang. "Once again you have freed me from evil, and helped me regain my true power. Please… take it with you, use it to aid your quest, and may both my power and my blessing go with you." The boomerang then spun around the room before heading towards Link, who caught it expertly.

You got the Gale Boomerang!

"Okay, now I see why you call it the Gale Boomerang," Sora said before looking at the thief, who was now sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Oww, my head… what happened?" he groaned before opening his eyes and seeing the two warriors standing in front of him. He did a double-take when he saw Link. "Those clothes…!" He then quickly stood up. "You're Link, aren't you?"

Link didn't say anything, still regarding the man with suspicion. "And you are?"

"I'm Locke, newest member of the Resistance," the man said, bowing his head to the two. "Telma told me about you, but I'm glad to finally meet you."

"The Resistance?" Sora asked, looking over at Link.

"The Resistance was created to fight against Zant, who tried to take over both the Twilight Realm and the Realm of Light," the blonde explained. "I didn't realize they would take a thief in, though."

Locke's expression quickly changed to one of annoyance. "I'm not a thief! The appropriate term is 'treasure hunter.'"

"Uh-huh," Sora said, not convinced. "So what are you doing here?"

"And also, I thought the Resistance broke up after last year," Link added.

"A couple days ago, I was in Telma's Bar in Hyrule Castle Town when I overheard talk about strange black creatures in Hyrule. I asked Telma about it, and she told me that those things had been seen all over the place lately," Locke explained. "I asked her if there was anything I could do, and she said the Resistance needed to get back together. She trusted me, so she made me a member and asked me to pick up a man named Rusl in Ordon Village. I was on my way when I saw the Forest Temple. I thought I might as well take a look, but not long after I went in, everything went blank. Next thing I know, I'm waking up here with you guys."

"So you don't remember what just happened?" Sora asked.

"Not a thing," the man said, shaking his head. "Why, did I do something stupid?" After Link told him everything, Locke sighed. "Boy, do I feel like an idiot… I have an idea: As long as I'm here, I may as well go with you guys. I feel pretty bad locking up the monkeys, so the least I can do is let them go."

"Well, what do you think?" Lin asked Sora.

The young keybearer thought for a minute before making his decision. "You can come with us, but don't try to steal from us again."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Locke said with a grin. "Now, how do we get out of here?"

"With this," Link said, holding up the Gale Boomerang. He turned toward the door, and focused on a fan above the door. Winds drew toward the boomerang, and the hero threw it, creating a small twister which caused the fan to turn, removing the bars on the door.

"Sweet!" Sora exclaimed. "Now let's get going." And with that, the two warriors left the room with their new companion in tow.

Author's note: For those of you unfamiliar with Locke, he first appeared in Final Fantasy VI as a playable character. Despite his status as a thief- er, treasure hunter, he really is kind-hearted, especially towards women. (In addition to my earlier disclaimer, I don't own Locke, either.)

If he were an actual boss in the game, the strategy against him is fairly straightforward: dodge his attacks as best you can until he pauses for a few seconds. This should give you enough time to stun him with the slingshot and get a couple of hits in.

Author's note 2: You'll notice that Locke made no mention of the Twilight in his story. That's because he would've been a spirit while most of Hyrule was covered, so he wasn't even aware that anything happened.