Disclaimer - I own nothing.
The Chosen Heroes
A Zelda/InuYasha Crossover
Chapter Nine: The Forest Temple
Edited: 19/08/12
Kagome and Link walked in silence through the entranceway into the temple. So far, there was nothing lurking in the corners or in the dark crevices, except for the occasional bug or overgrown piece of flora. Kagome found the entire temple's setting thus far, to be quite peaceful. However, Link was on edge the entire time. When the two walked together for another five minutes, Link came to an abrupt stop and reached for his blade.
"Kagome, be on your toes. We're not alone." He warned.
Kagome gulped and nodded. "Okay." She reached for her swords and slid them out of their sheaths. She clutched them tight and moved a little bit closer to Link.
"It sounds like… growling." Navi gulped and dived underneath Link's hat.
"You're probably right," he agreed and reached for his shield. For reasons unknown to Link, Navi could usually detect the sort of monsters that they would be facing. Whether it was a gift she had been blessed with from the Great Deku Tree, or a trait she had developed over time, Link was thankful for the fairy's ability overall.
"Link, watch out, there's two wolfos approaching!"
"What!" Snapped out of his thoughts, Link noticed a brown blur dash forward. He grunted and gripped his sword tighter, as the wolfo attacked, drawing its sharp claws. He cursed under his breath and began to battle it out with the beast.
On the other side of the room, Kagome fought with another brown wolfo. Currently, she was using both of her swords to block the beast's vicious and ferocious attacks. "You stupid dog!" she cried and attempted to slice away at it. The wolfo jumped back just in time, avoiding her hit. She hissed with displeasure and charged forward, attempting the same attack once more.
Kirara transformed into her larger form and ran towards Kagome, prepared to help her defeat the wolfo. The only member of their group who was not helping was Navi, who was still hiding underneath Link's hat, trembling with fear.
Link grunted and delivered a blow to the wolfo. With a few more hits, the wolfo would be no more. Kagome and Kirara fought against the other one, and appeared to manage quite well with the system they had created. Kagome fought and attacked the beast on the left side, while Kirara on the right. The wolfo did not have enough time or energy to be able to block both of their attacks. Soon enough, after another hard round of attacks from both females, the wolfo fell over and erupted into a puff of flames.
Kagome smiled and slid her weapon away. "Nice work, girl." She complemented her partner and offered her a big hug. Kirara meowed and nuzzled her mistress' face with her own.
Link stared in shock at the sight before him. Kirara was not her usual small form, but rather, a large and fierce cat. He gulped and tugged at his collar. "Kagome," he said his face pale. "What happened to Kirara?"
"This is her other form," she replied simply and shrugged her shoulders. "In fact, this would be her actual form." She then realized.
"So the other form… is a lie?" He sucked a breath.
Kagome titled her head to the side. "I guess so."
Kirara meowed and moved towards Link. He stood still and watched the feline with apprehensive eyes. Kagome giggled and shook her head.
"Link, there's nothing to worry about. Kirara won't hurt you."
He suppressed a frown. "I guess you're right," he said. Kirara then began to brush her head up against his stomach. She purred and looked up towards him. Link's eyes softened. Kirara's bigger form was not scary when he got a better look at her. If anything, it just made her… cuter.
He smiled and patted her furry head. "Nice girl," he said.
"Meow!" she replied and licked his face with her tongue.
He scowled and shook his head, before beginning to smile. Kagome laughed and moved over towards them. "Now that we're all reacquainted again, I suggest we keep moving."
"You're right." Link wiped away the remaining drool with his tunic sleeve and continued to walk forward with Kagome and Kirara… his newest and fluffiest friend following from behind.
Kagome and Link moved through the first set of doors and arrived to a narrow hallway. Link looked around and did not see anything. He assumed the coast was clear. Yet, Kagome knew better. Just as he was about to move forward, she reached out and pulled him back.
He stumbled and bumped into Kirara. "Kagome, what's that for?" He shouted, eyeing her.
"Look up there." She pointed towards a hanging Skulltula. Link's eyes widened. It was the largest one he had ever seen. He gulped. "You would have walked right into that, if you were to go any further," she explained dryly.
His cheeks tinted pink. "Thanks," he coughed and looked away.
"No problem." She withdrew her hookshot and fired it at the unsuspected Skulltula. The hookshot struck it right in its middle back, causing it to fall from its web and onto the ground. Link and Kirara scrambled away when it burst up into flames.
Link blinked and watched as she put away her hookshot. "Now that's it gone, let's keep going." She leaned over and offered him a hand. With a smile, he accepted the gesture and got up onto his feet.
As the two walked into the next room, they appeared in what seemed to be the main chamber of the temple. In all directions, there were doors, and four torches were lit in the room's centre. Each torch was a different colour, with different shades. One a light purple with tones of fuchsia, another a light blue with different tones of seawater reflected on its outer surface. The remaining two were a bright… puke green and neon orange. In the heart of the four torches was a highly ornate, but old rickety elevator.
Kagome studied the elevator for a moment and then moved forward. "It looks like this elevator leads to somewhere." She had just reached out to touch the elevator, when suddenly all four torches went out. In each of its places floated four Poes, who carried lanterns with the torches bright flames. The Poes laughed wickedly and then headed off, vanishing in different directions.
Link's jaw dropped as he then watched the elevator move down into the ground.
"That is not good." He slapped his forehead.
"You're telling me." Kagome groaned, beads of sweat forming behind her head.
"Meow, meow~!" agreed Kirara.
Link pursed his lips together. "From what it looks like, the elevator is the key to leading us somewhere." Kagome nodded. "And since it went down without us, our only shot of retrieving it, might be to capture those Poes and take back the flames."
"It sounds like a plan." Kagome agreed. It made sense and was simple enough. "Then I guess we're going Poe hunting, huh?"
He groaned. "It sounds about right."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Before Link could protest, Kagome had reached for his hand and was leading him towards the door that faced north. When they walked inside, they were greeted with a hallway that led towards another dark and glass door. Yet, before being able to move forward, they had to deal with the Blue Bubbles that flew around and decided to head straight for them.
Both heroes shared a quick glance and reached for their hookshots. Together they fired them in unison and hit the Blue Bubbles, temporarily freezing them. Kirara then moved forward and took care of them for good, delivering the final blows.
Afterwards, once the hallway was clear, they continued to move forward. Link opened the next-door and all walked inside, only to be greeted by two large Stalfos. Kagome groaned and withdrew her blades. Just like with the two wolfos, Kagome and Kirara took care of one and Link the other. The battle for dominance ranged on between the heroes, as the Stalfos put up a good fight. Nevertheless, in the end, Kagome and Link were the victors.
"Look at that." Once the Stalfos had been killed, a small brown box magically appeared by their feet. Link bent down and opened it up. Inside was a small key. He handed it to Kagome. "Here, you keep it. There's no telling when we might need it." Used to this sort of magic from the other temples he had entered when he was younger, he was not the least bit phased by the magical box appearing like it had. Kagome, however, was surprised... very much.
"How did that even happen?" She mumbled, confused. "Boxes don't just appear like that."
Link chuckled. "Let's keep going," he merely replied and headed for the next door.
Door after door, monster after monster and puzzle after puzzle they completed, venturing further and further into the depths of the temple with each turn and twist they made. By the end of what felt to be hours, they had finally located what seemed to be the mini boss chamber.
From experience, Link already knew that once they had killed this mini boss, an item they would need to aid them throughout the remainder of the temple would be in their possession. Withdrawing the Master Sword, he got into a proper stance and moved forward, Kagome and Kirara following from behind. With equal steps, they watched as a group of Stalfos fell from the ceiling.
Kagome groaned and rolled her eyes. "Great, there's more of them." She already hated these monsters the last time they had battled them, and had been hoping to not run into them again. "Just my luck, though." She hissed under her breath. "They just had to show up."
"Kagome, let's go!" Link charged forward and once more battled it out with another set of them.
On the side of the room, Kagome and Kirara took on the other and fought against them viciously. If possible, these Stalfos seemed to be even more equipped than the previous ones. There weapons were far more durable and they put up a much better fight. By the time Kagome had managed to defeat one, she was already drenched with sweat.
"Kagome, I'm coming over to help you." Already finished with his, Link defeated the remaining one with a single slice of his sword. Kagome sighed and shook her head.
"If isn't fair," she thought, watching as the Stalfo died. "Link can kill these enemies so easily, whereas it takes both Kirara and myself to even kill one. It's just not fair."
"Kagome, another chest is appearing." Kagome crossed her arms and watched a large chest form beside them. Link once again opened it up and withdrew… a bow and arrow set.
Her eyes widened. "A bow and arrow," she gushed. "Link, may I see them?" She held out her hands and smiled joyfully, her eyes glimmering. Link smiled and handed them to her.
"There you are." A thought then came to mind. "Kagome, if you would like, do you want to hold onto them?"
Her head shot up. "Are you sure?" She demanded her expression hopeful.
Link nodded and suppressed another round of chuckles. "Yes. I want you to hold onto them." She looked so excited at seeing them, that Link could not resist allowing her to hold onto them. And from her tales of the past, she had said that she knew how to use a bow and arrow set quite well. If it worked out to their advantage, Kagome just might be able to play an upper hand against the Poes with that bow and arrow set. Link smiled at the thought.
"Its perfect," he grinned and watched Kagome examine the quiver.
"Kagome," he coughed, catching her attention. "We need to keep going. We have Poes to catch."
"That's right," her eyes softened. "We do." Sliding the set over her arms, she moved towards the exit with Kirara and Link following behind her. Navi watched them move on and could not help but smile. "Link, you nice guy," she thought and fluttered forward.
After a good hour of running through the temple, and going through various games that each Poe wanted to play, Kagome and Link soon found themselves standing back in the main chamber with all four torches lit. Slowly the elevator that had descended into the ground earlier was now rising back up.
Kagome smiled and turned to watch Link. He was grinning too. "We did it," she said and raised an arm up into the air. "Aren't you proud?"
He nodded. "Very."
After a quick examination of the elevator, both heroes realized that they would need to go down one at a time. Once Kirara had moved away and transformed back into her smaller form, she jumped onto Kagome's shoulder, ready to go.
Feeling courageous – because of Kirara – Kagome volunteered to go first. Although Link had been unsure, he decided to keep his opinions to himself and allowed Kagome and Kirara to venture down the old elevator. When they were safely inside and began to descend, Link tapped at the ground in worry.
"Link, they'll be fine." Navi advised, waiting for the elevator to return. "Really, what could happen to them down there?"
Link bit his bottom lip. "I don't even want to think of that," he replied and shook his head. Just then, the elevator returned. He exhaled a sigh and moved forward. When he was safely aboard and Navi perched on his shoulder, he started up the elevator and descended downward.
"Kagome, I hope you're safe down there…" He thought and then disappeared from sight.
