The dark figure in the corner rose upwards, jerking sickeningly instead of a graceful bend of the knees or arms. It appeared to be a young girl, but she had no skin; instead, she was a wooden puppet, with dark strings sliding across small slots in the ceiling. The girl approached Link, head bending to hit the wooden shoulders.
The puppet's wide eyes were bright green, glowing in the dimness of the room. They were incredibly wide, and the nose was thin and straight. Its lips were pulled back into a horrific smile, and Link backed up against the grate.
The puppet-girl came closer and tried to pin Link against the wall. Link, terrified of the terrifying monster, jerked away sharply, and he felt a small pain in his arm. Glancing at it, he realized that if he hadn't have moved, the boomerang would have taken his arm off. Instead, he was left with a small gash that barely bled. Steel edged one side of the weapon, and it removed itself from the grate. He saw that this, too, had strings attached to it.
The giggle that escaped the puppet's throat was not the taunting laugh that Midna so often used; it was a high-pitched, little-girl giggle that was all the more fearsome on the mockery of a human. Link rolled to the side and started running along the walls of the room.
"You have to cut the strings, Link!" Midna's voice shouted from his shadow. Link felt like flicking her; how was he supposed to cut the strings? He only had a sword!
"I can't!" Link yelled back, frantic. "I don't have anything to cut them with!"
The puppet yanked upwards and then descended upon Link's back, locking two wooden arms around his neck. The strings made an X, and Link dropped his sword, hitting the monster's arms, to no avail. He remembered when he was first a wolf, and he threw himself on his back; he did the same now. With a hollow crunch, the puppet broke up into dust.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Link picked up his sword slowly. He spied the boomerang, hovering about seven feet in the air, dormant. He sheathed his sword and darted towards it; the weapon would surely come in handy. He saw it drift upwards a fraction, though, and jumped up to grab it, holding on with both hands.
The strings that held the boomerang did not break; instead, they started becoming slack. However, when Link was about two feet above the ground, they became tight again. A slamming noise commenced, and a large piece of the ceiling broke off, falling to the ground in a huge pile.
The most enormous, disgusting creature Link had ever seen was laying face first on the ground. It looked like a large tree; but it had dead branches that turned into strings at the end, and the head was at the top branch. It was a cross between a tree and a human-like creature, but had long since become part of the forest.
Luckily, Link supposed, the thing was dead. With a sigh, he used his sword to cut the heavy strings that had propelled the boomerang, holding it up in front of him to get a better view. It was made of a light-colored wood, with leaf carvings on it. One side had razor sharp steel siding, making a very useful tool. Link noticed the spin-wheel at the top of the grate, and he tossed the boomerang at it. With a small tornado-like wind current, it flew to the wheel and rotated it a few times, making enough room for him to exit.
Thumping sounded from the upper cavern of the temple, and Link knew that that would be his last destination in this ruined place.
With reluctance, he went back into the water room and found that, if he went North, there was a path leading to a larger room. This new room had overgrown grass, brushing against Link's legs and hiding the Deku Babas that had infested the room.
After Link had successfully destroyed the beasts in the room, he moved to the far side of it, where a spin-wheel at the top of a door blocked his way into the next room. He knew that this was the altar room; the ultimate place of worship—the place where whatever Midna sought after was.
Using his newfound boomerang, he spun the wheel three times, and the door lifted up. A long, dark passage awaited him, and he drew his sword again.
As Link walked into the room, he noticed a big change in color. He could see sunlight, peaking through little holes in the ceiling, far above. The room was a large circle, with half covered in that thick, filthy water that Link hated. However, other than that, the room seemed...safe.
Link sauntered forward, confident that there was nothing in this room but an old altar that had long since crumbled into dust. Overgrown grass brushed against him, and he laughed nervously. Something was wrong...very wrong.
Still, Link was surprised when the giant Deku Baba raised up out of the water and roared. Roared? Link thought. That's not a normal Deku Baba...
"Get the hell away from that thing!" Midna screeched, materializing and pulling him by the collar back to the side of the room. Just as they touched the wall, the giant Deku Baba raised up two more of the huge plants. After that, it opened its huge mouth, emitting an acid that burned the ground and incinerated the grass. Link caught a glimpse of an eye-like thing in the mouth; he quickly realized that this was essential to killing it. Rusl, back at the village, used to tell him stories about how his great great grandfather was in the Ancient War, and how he used to say, "whatever's not normal's a weakness".
Using his boomerang, Link picked up a bombling that he had spotted in the grass and hurled it at a smaller Deku Baba. It chomped down on it—Link silently counted to three, and the plant sunk into the water, dead. He repeated the process with the other side, and then he was left with no bombs, and a giant, carnivorous plant.
"Uh-oh..." Midna muttered. The thing had started to emit more acid, disintegrating the land by about two feet. Link dashed forward and back in a quick leap; it hurled its head at him, essentially dizzying itself. The mouth opened, and Link saw his opening.
With a grunt, Link leaped forward, sword in hand, and sliced the eye clean off.
The entire room seemed to shake as the Deku Baba writhed in agony. It threw its head upwards, backwards, side to side, hitting itself over and over again. With one last roar, it shriveled up and sunk into the dark water.
An arrow flew through the air, striking the water. It cleared, and Link looked up to see Zelda on a small platform above the fight.
"I think the puppet was harder to kill, actually," Link added, clearing his throat. Zelda laughed, and Midna emerged from Link's shadow.
"This..." Midna whispered. "This is what I've been looking for," she continued, holding up a strange, stone helmet piece. It had markings on it; similar to the ones on Midna's hands. "The Fused Shadows."
Author's Note: Okay, so I got a little creative with the miniboss. And not so creative with the actual boss. Shame on me XD. Oh, well. I promise, something more interesting shall come...later. Alright, reviews are welcomed. :)
