Chapter 8

Link ran through a long, narrow hallway, looking around desperately for any sign of where he was. It had been only an hour since he had been healed and had broken out of his cell, but he still couldn't find his sword, shield, or Zelda. But that wasn't the only thing Link was looking for; he still had no idea where those Bulblins (if you've played Twilight Princess, you know who they are) had taken him, or even if Ganondorf was nearby.

He continued to run, if he couldn't find Zelda, he could at least find his way out and look for Pikachu. Pikachu's safety had been tugging at his mind ever since they separated. He just couldn't ignore the fact that she was all alone in a world she didn't know anything about.

He rounded a corner, where two Bulblins were waiting. The small, hooded creatures ran toward Link with their clubs raised, but Link quickly leapt over them and continued to run as fast as possible. Normally, Link would've taken them down easily, but without his sword, he was practically useless.

Link was beginning to get desperate, so he looked out one of the many small windows that were lined along the wall. He was quite far from the ground, about forty feet or so, but jumping was a risk he had to take. He kicked the window, shattering the glass, and jumped. The ground quickly rushed up to meet him, and he landed on his feet. He gritted his teeth in pain as his legs shook from the impact. He got up and ran as far away from the fort as possible. He turned around once he was a few yards away and got a better look at where he had been kept prisoner.

To Link's surprise, it was an enormous castle made of sandstone; it reminded Link a lot of the Sprit Temple in the Haunted Wasteland. It had three huge towers, with the tallest one in the middle. A small dark swirl surrounded the tip of the middle tower. Link turned away from the castle to see if he could find where he was, when saw all of Hyrule below him at the edge of a cliff. He was on a huge mountain that overlooked the entire kingdom; even Goron Mountain was far below him. Link knelt down and leaned over the edge of the cliff face; he could only see tiny people in Kakariko and Goron Mountain, when something caught his eye. He saw a small yellow figure run from the entrance of Goron Mountain; Link only knew one other who was small and yellow,

"Pikachu," he said loudly with surprise.

He felt something stir behind him; he whirled around just in time to see a Bulblin hold a wooden tube up to its mouth and shoot out a dart. Link moved his head to the right, the dart just grazing his cheek. Blood trickled down his cheek as he got up and ran. He spotted a small path that led down the mountain, and he bolted down it,

"Don't worry Zelda, I'll come for you, I promise," he whispered as he wiped the blood on the back of his hand.

Once Link was out of sight, the Bulblin walked up to where he had shot the dart. He found it on the ground where Link was just standing; it must have grazed him pretty hard to keep it from going over the mountain.

The Bulblin picked up the dart and saw the end of it was dripping with some of Link's blood. He carefully put some of the blood on his finger and tasted it. He spit it out almost immediately and smiled. The dart had been drenched in poison that Skull Kids in the Kokiri Forest are known for using against intruders. Even the tiniest drop of that poison would affect your body and spread until you die; and a drop had gotten into Link when it grazed him. The Bulblin walked back toward the castle to tell his master of the news; Link wasn't going to last long.

Pikachu gasped in amazement as she looked at the large Lake Hylia. The water was sparkling in the afternoon sun and a gentle breeze made the water ripple slightly.

"It's beautiful," Pikachu breathed.

"Yeah, but unfortunately, it's also pretty dangerous," Tatl said.

"There are lots of monsters living in the water, and around the lake, to tell the truth, the Water Temple Link and I went to was definitely the hardest," Navi agreed, remembering when they ventured through the Water Temple and defeated the boss Morpha to awaken the Sage of Water.

"Wait, the Great Deku Tree said the last temple was beneath a lake, but the Water Temple is at the bottom of this lake," Tael pointed out. "Not to mention that Lake Hylia is the only lake in all of Hyrule too."

Pikachu nodded; there couldn't possibly be two temples underneath one lake could there?

"Maybe the Zoras know something about the Temple of Nayru," Verdo piped up.

Pikachu looked at the green fairy, "Zoras?" she asked.

"They're water creatures who live around here, they can breathe in air and water so they know the lake well," Tatl explained.

"I remember where they live, Link and I went there a couple times during our adventure," Navi offered.

Pikachu nodded, "Lead the way Navi,"

They all followed Navi until the large lake became a river. They went upstream until they came to a huge waterfall. Navi led them to a bridge right in front of the waterfall. The water crashed down with incredible force, it almost blew Pikachu away. Pikachu walked to the middle of the bridge until she found she was standing on a mark that looked just like the Triforce engraved into the ground. Pikachu's Mark of Lightning began to glow and a rumbling came from the waterfall. The water parted, splitting the waterfall in half, revealing a path leading into a cave.

"This is it," Navi announced.

Pikachu and the four fairies walked into the cave and the water closed behind them. It was dark for a minute, until they saw a bright light. They all emerged from the cave, and the sight nearly took Pikachu's breath away.

The inside was round and filled with water, a series of tunnels led around the water to destinations. A small waterfall fell from the back and sunlight streamed through the top, making almost everything glow. Pikachu had never known water could be this beautiful, nothing in all the kingdom of Hyrule could compare to the beauty of this place.

"This is Zora's Domain," Navi said.

Pikachu looked around and saw what looked like humans walking and swimming around in the water. But to Pikachu's shock, they had bright blue skin, somewhat long noses, fish tails hanging on the back of their heads, webbed hands, webbed feet and they all had ocean blue eyes.

"Are these the Zoras?" Pikachu asked.

"Yep," Tatl answered; she had of course seen her share of Zoras during her adventure with Link.

"Wait, but what are those?" Pikachu asked pointing to a large group of creatures near the lake.

The creatures were brown, quite round, and looked like they had rocks growing out of their backs. They looked nothing like the Zoras.

"Those are Gorons, right?" Tael answered, Tatl nodded.

"You mean like Goron Mountain where we fought Helcano?" Pikachu asked.

Navi nodded, "Gorons are the ones who live inside Goron Mountain, we didn't see them when we went because they live in the dormant part of the mountain; they probably fled because of the mountains unusual activity from the Temple of Din."

"Then what are they all doing here?" Pikachu asked.

It seemed pretty odd that creatures that normally lived around fire in the mountain would stay here with all this water.

"They may not look it, but Gorons and Zoras are actually closely related; Gorons can breathe in and out of water just like Zoras, the only difference is that Gorons sink like, well, rocks so they can't swim like the Zoras can," Tatl explained.

"So you guys are saying that the Gorons are here because they're like family to the Zoras?" Verdo asked.

"Right," Navi answered, "But we should hurry and talk to King Zora and see if he knows anything about the Temple of Nayru," she added.

Everyone nodded and they went on their way. They traveled through the maze of tunnels until a Zora that looked like a guard and held a spear approached them.

"Pardon me, but are you the Lightning Warrior?" he asked.

Pikachu hesitated before nodding.

"Come this way, King Zora is expecting you," the guard said, and walked off.

Pikachu and the fairies followed, wondering how the king could've known who she was. The guard led them to a small chamber with a small pond of water inside. A throne was at the back of the chamber, inside it was what looked like a large blue fish with arms and legs, but on top of his head was a small crown. This had to be King Zora. The guard pointed his staff to a small platform that was a few feet in front of the throne.

Pikachu walked onto the platform and stood on two legs, "Your highness," she said bowing.

"Rise little one," King Zora said, and Pikachu did.

"My guard tells me that you are the Lightning Warrior, is this true?" he asked.

Pikachu held up the back of her paw revealing the Mark of Lightning, "Yes," she answered, "May I ask how you know me, King Zora?" she asked.

"A few nights ago, I had a dream; the Sage of Water appeared to me and told me of your quest and that you would soon arrive here," King Zora explained. "I understand that you are searching for three certain temples?" he asked.

Pikachu nodded, "Yes, I'm looking for the Sacred Dais which may hold the power to destroy the evil that threatens Hyrule. Please King Zora, can you tell me where I may find the Temple of Nayru?" she asked.

"Ah yes, the Temple of Nayru; it is a very old tale passed down by the Zoras. According to the story, the temple you seek is somewhere in the Zora's Fountain, and the entrance to that fountain is right behind my throne," King Zora explained, "Come up here and you get to the fountain and hopefully find the Temple of Nayru."

The large fish slid over to the side slightly to reveal a passageway.

Pikachu bowed again, "Thank you very much King Zora!" she said excitedly.

She scampered off the platform and ran into the passage behind King Zora with the four fairies trailing behind her. A few seconds later, they emerged to find another large body of water. It looked quite deep and was a deep royal blue.

"Of course! Now what the Great Deku Tree said is making sense!" Pikachu exclaimed. "He said the last temple was beneath a lake, and all the water in Lake Hylia comes from this fountain which makes it part of the lake!"

Verdo flew up high and looked around the lake, "But how are we gonna find the temple? This fountain is huge and it's too dark and deep to see the bottom!" he asked.

"We may have to swim," Pikachu said.

The four went up to a small deck that overlooked the lake. Just then, the water began to shake. Out of the water emerged a giant fish, with what looked like a giant crown-like object on its head. Pikachu fell over from looking at how big it was,

"What on earth is this?" she asked.

"It's Lord Jabu-Jabu, the Guardian spirit of the Zoras!" Navi exclaimed.

"He may be able to help find the temple!" Tatl said excitedly.

Pikachu got back on her feet and stared at the enormous fish. Zoras certainly had odd looking leaders and dieties, but then again, she should be used to all the strange things she had seen so far in this world.

"Lord Jabu-Jabu, I am the Lightning Warrior. Could you please help me find the Temple of Nayru?" Pikachu asked.

The fish's eyes twitched a bit and its mouth slowly began to open. A whirlwind then came from its mouth and began sucking Pikachu and her four companions inside. They tried to resist, but it was no use.

"Was it something I said!" Pikachu wondered out loud before she and the four fairies were sucked into the darkness of the fish's mouth.

Lord Jabu-Jabu closed his mouth and dove into the fountain. He continued to swim downward, until he reached the floor of the fountain. He swam toward the wall of the fountain and entered a tunnel that was just his size that led even deeper into the water. No one, not even the Zoras could withstand the pressure and freezing temperature down here, except for the Guardian of the temple that was hidden down this deep.

Lord Jabu-Jabu continued down the tunnel until it opened into a clearing where a large sphere of air lay at the bottom. Inside the sphere was none other than the temple. The Guardian Spirit entered his mouth into the sphere of air, opened it, and blew out Pikachu and the four fairies. They landed on the soft sand that cushioned the floor of the clearing.

"Where are we?" Pikachu asked.

"I think we just found the Temple of Nayru," Verdo said as he stared in awe at the giant temple.

Pikachu turned around just in time to see Lord Jabu-Jabu swim away, back to the tunnel that led back to the fountain,

"Thank you Lord Jabu-Jabu!" Pikachu called after him, waving her small paw.

She turned toward the temple and walked toward the entrance. This temple was bound to be the toughest, but Pikachu was ready for anything if it meant helping Link and Zelda.

The Temple of Nayru was anything but simple. Pikachu could see why it was named after the goddess of wisdom; because wisdom was something she desperately needed if she wanted to get through this. There were so many switches that changed the water level to a certain height, and Pikachu had to constantly keep changing them back and forth in order to solve the puzzles.

In one room, Pikachu had to raise the water level so she could swim across a floor-full of spikes to get to a door. But when she opened it, the water level was too high to get to another door that was below the water. Pikachu had to go back through the other room, lower the water level, and find another way around the spikes to get to the door.

Navi and Tatl constantly got stumped when it came to the puzzles, but they were at least helpful when it came to combat. Pikachu almost got eaten by a giant man-eating fish when she was swimming across a room. She made herself a mental note; always check the water before you swim in it.

By the time she finally got the boss key, she was sick and tired of swimming; but she was gonna have to put it behind her since the boss of this temple was bound to be a water-dweller. Pikachu managed to get to the door with the golden padlock on it and open it.

She walked inside to find another round room with a deep pool of water in the middle that took up just about the entire room. The border was the only land in the whole room. Pikachu walked around for a moment before the water began to bubble. Large purple tentacles shot out of the water followed by the body of an enormous purple octopus-like creature with red eyes, a long horn-shaped snout and a small blue crown upon its head.

"What's this one called guys?" Pikachu asked.

"The Octarok Queen, Tetalnia," Navi answered.

Tetalnia lashed out her tentacles toward Pikachu who quickly dodged with Agility. The octopus kept attacking causing Pikachu to jump everywhere, which was quite difficult considering the small amount of space she had. Eventually, Tetalnia brought forth all her tentacles at once. Pikachu decided to take a chance and she jumped over Tetalnia and started to land on the other side, but just before Pikachu could land, the octopus shot a huge boulder out of her mouth. The boulder slammed Pikachu into the wall, leaving a huge dent in the process.

Pikachu fell to the ground, stunned from the sudden impact and looked up just in time to see Tetalnia fire another boulder at her.

"I don't think so," Pikachu muttered.

She powered up her Iron Tail and slammed it into the rock. The rock instantly shattered on impact, but a huge chunk of it hit Tetalnia right in the face. The Octarok wavered a bit from the blow, giving Pikachu the opening she needed. She jumped toward the monster and landed a direct hit with Iron Tail.

Tetalnia was really mad now. She wrapped a tentacle around the small mouse and shoved her underwater. Pikachu knew it was time to end this. Pikachu unleashed a full power Thunder attack, causing the entire room to light up with electricity. Tetalnia shook from the intense attack and finally went limp when the lightning disappeared.

Pikachu quickly swam back to surface, desperate for air. She crawled onto land safely as Tetalnia began to wither and dry up. There was a puff of smoke, and the Octarok Queen was gone. Light shone into the round room and the floor of the deep pool rose up, until it looked like there had never been any water to begin with. Pikachu walked to the middle of the room as the orb of light floated down from above.

Pikachu caught it as it revealed itself to be the third and final slate. It was bright blue, like the skin of the Zoras and emanated an aura of wisdom. Pikachu smiled as she held the triangular slate; her mission was finally complete. They had finally found all three Slates of Balance. Pikachu could tell her four fairy friends were brimming with excitement and happiness, just like she was.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Tatl asked as the bright light appeared a few away from Pikachu.

"Yeah, let's find that Dais!" Tael agreed.

Pikachu smiled and nodded. She stepped into the light, and they were all outside near Lake Hylia; they were soaking wet, but safe and sound.

"Well, let's do it," Navi said.

Pikachu took out slates one by one and laid them on the ground. First, the Slate of Courage on the left; then, the Slate of Power on top; and finally, the Slate of Wisdom on the right. Together, they formed the Triforce, each color representing the goddess that carried each power.

The tri-colored triangle began to glow, as well as Pikachu's Mark of Lightning. The slates rose into the air and faced Pikachu and the four fairies and seemed to grow in size until it was three times the size of Pikachu. The slates were glowing so brightly that they were now all white in color and a deep voice rang from the object.

"O, Hero who assembled the Slates of the Goddesses, enter and ye shall find the ancient Dais where evil cannot touch!"

Pikachu looked at the four fairies and they all nodded. Pikachu walked toward the slates and reached toward it. Her paw went right through; a portal had opened within the slates. Pikachu and the four fairies entered the portal and into whiteness. With only a few steps, they would find the Sacred Dais. They were finally going to learn the secret of how to defeat the Darkness.