IMPORTANT: Read my Author's note at the end of the story!
Misty and Link ran as fast as they could towards the main part of Kakariko Village. The heat coming from the roofs of the burning houses was enough to make them sweat. Straight down the way, standing in front of the well was Shiek, so that was exactly where they ran to first. As they neared the well Misty fell back slightly, remembering what Shiek had told her about the evil inside the well. Link on the other hand ran right up behind Shiek.
"Get back Link!" Shiek said without even turning around.
The wooden arch that was over the well was suddenly torn off and thrown towards Misty, barley missing her. Rain began to fall as Link turned his head to check up on her, but his attention was drawn forward again at a gasp from Shiek. Shiek had been picked up by an unseen force and was then tossed around for a moment before he too was thrown towards Misty. As soon as he hit the ground Misty was by his side, Link following on foot close behind.
None noticed the shadow that seeped from the well, snaking up the house next to the well and then over the ground before coming back down to the lower ground level they were on, only as it drew near did Link notice it. Standing he drew his sword out to hold behind him as he crouched behind his shield as he waited to face what ever it was.
"Wait Link!" Came Shiek's desperate cry, and then something grabbed Link, and soon all he saw was blackness.
Link came too a couple moments later, slowly opening his eyes to see Misty's worried face. Sitting up gently, he shook his head lightly before turning to look at Shiek.
"Looks like you're coming around….Link….A terrible thing has happened! The evil Shadow Spirit has been released! Impa, the leader of Kakariko Village, had sealed the evil Shadow Spirit in the bottom of the well. But the force of the evil spirit got so strong, the seal of the well was broken, and it escaped into the world! I believe Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to seal it again, but…she will be in danger without any help! Link! Impa is one of the sages, destroy the evil Shadow Spirit and save Impa! There is an entrance to the Shadow Temple beneath the graveyard behind this village. The only thing I can do for you is teach you the melody that will lead you to the Shadow Temple. This is the melody that will draw you into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time….listen to this, the Nocturne of Shadow!!"
As with all the other songs, Link and Shiek began to play together once Link learned the melody, but unlike the other songs, Misty didn't like this one at all. It was evil, bone chilling to listen to, and she prayed she wouldn't have to hear it too often.
"Let me take care of the village!" Shiek continued. "I'm counting on you Link!" With that Shiek again vanished from sight.
The rain began to fall harder, and slowly it seemed as if the fires were beginning to die down. Link turned around to look at Misty, who silently walked towards him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Link gave a small nod of his head, pulled out his ocarina and played the Nocturne of Shadow. They appeared on the rise above the graveyard and without even saying anything Link turned around and walked down the stone steps that were cut into the cliff directly behind them.
Misty paused a moment to look back out across Kakariko Village, pulling a small lens from the pouch she had tied to her belt. While Link had been knocked out Shiek had slipped it to her, calling it the Lens of Truth. According to him there were things hidden in the dungeon by shadow, and the lens would show them the truth of the passage. Placing the Lens of Truth back in her pouch, she turned around and followed Link down the steps.
The room they had entered into was pretty much bare except for a small dais in the center, torches around the dais, ruin markings all around the dais, and a large stone archway at the back of the room with a stone door blocking its path with the symbol of the Sheikha.
"I guess this is a job for me." Misty said quietly as she moved to stand on the dais.
Link moved back and up a couple stairs, taking a seat on one as he watched Misty. Moving her hand to her side as she had done in the Fire Temple, Misty took a step back, brought her arm around and hit the floor with her hand. A circle of fire surrounded her and then spread outward, lighting the torches, but vanishing before it reached Link.
Once the torches were all lit the stone door slowly began to rise, opening the way to the Shadow Temple. Misty stepped down from the dais and together she and Link began to walk down the hall they had just uncovered. Before they got too far though Misty stopped and allowed Link to go forward. Placing her hand to her side again, she brought both arms forward in a circular motion before raising them above her head. A great wind picked up and blew around her as a green light appeared above her head and then shot back towards the entrance of the temple. Misty looked back at the spell know as Farore's wind, and prayed that it did what Shiek had said that it would.
Running a bit to catch up with Link, who seemed oblivious to everything around him at the moment, Misty looked around the corner they had come to. A large gap in the floor blocked their path, but Link grabbed her around the waist and longshot their way over to the other side, having seen a place where the longshot would hook onto. At the end of the new hall way an odd stone face stared back at them and they cautiously approached it.
"It's not real; we can walk straight through it." Misty commented, the Lens of Truth showed her as much, the power giving a red tint to her vision as its magic worked over her.
"Are you sure?" Link asked.
Misty only replied with a small smile before she walked forward and vanished from sight, giving Link no choice but to follow after her. The room they stepped into was as bleak as the hallway had been, though a little more decorative. Lining the walls were more stone faces just like the one they had just passed through. On the far end of the room from them, an archway designed to look like a face lead to another room, though it as closed off by a gate, and another large void in the floor. In the center of the room was a large stone statue of a bird, and around it in a circle were more torches, the heads shaped like skulls.
Link and Misty moved towards the stone statue, Misty's vision tinting red again, and the skulls on top of the torches vanished, all except for one.
"Link, that one is different from the others." Misty said pointing to it.
"Hey maybe you should try moving the statue to point at it Link, it looks like a pointing statue!" Navi chirped in.
"What the hell is a pointing statue?" Link mumbled to himself as he moved to the statue.
Finding a place where it stuck out, Link pushed against it and was surprised when it did in fact move. He pushed it until the beak of the bird was facing the torch Misty was standing next to and stood up. When nothing happened he shook his head and stepped forward. Suddenly the top of the skulls caught fire and the gate under the arch began to slowly rise. Smiling, the two walked over to the edge of the void, and both smiles vanished.
"That's way too far to jump to, and I don't see anywhere to longshot onto, I don't know how we're going to get over there." Link sighed.
Misty looked around at the arch and noticed two torches next to the 'eyes'. Taking out her bow and arrows she knocked an arrow and pointed it at one of the torches. Link looked at her blankly as if she were stupid, that was until she narrowed her eyes slightly and a ring of fire burst out from around the head of the arrow, catching him off guard. She let loose the arrow and caught the first torch on fire and then turned to the other one, doing the same. Once both torches were lit, a white, almost transparent stone appeared at their feet, closing the distance between them and the plateau on the other side enough so they could jump across. Link took a step forward and jumped over the smaller distance and then waited for Misty. Once she was on the other side they made their way down deeper into the Shadow Temple, the heart of darkness.
"Do I even want to know how you can see so much that I can't?" Link asked Misty as they unlocked another door. The room they were in was almost circular in shape, had a higher ledge with another locked door, and according to Misty, random spikes along the floor every now and then.
"It's not that amazing; it's just this lens I found sometime ago." Misty lied as she pulled out the Lens of Truth to show him.
"Ah well that's not so bad then." Link admitted as she put it back in her pouch as they moved through the door they had just opened.
The new room was again circular in shape, though this one had a taller portion in the back with tall stairs leading up to it. Link moved towards the stairs as Misty hung back, knowing he would want to check it out first. When Link reached the top, he moved across it, turned around and jumped backwards to avoid being impaled by the sword of a stalfos that had just appeared.
Dancing around it he managed to score a hit before having to back off once more. The stalfos jumped at him, brining its sword down hard which gave Link the chance to roll around it and score another hit. The stalfos yelled out its furry and charged at Link, but again Link ducked and managed to stab it twice more.
"Link!" Misty's voice cried out from below.
Looking over the ledge, Link realized that another stalfos warrior had appeared, and though Misty managed to shot an arrow into it, she wasn't fairing too well. A shuffling brought Link back to his own fight, and he moved his head just in time to avoid loosing it, though the skeletons blade sliced a neat cut into his cheek. Going with the momentum of the spin, Link dropped down low and jabbed his sword right through the Stalfo's abdomen. The creature gave a soft groan and broke apart to the floor.
With one down, Link jumped down from the upper level to deal with the second one. As Link stepped between her and the foe, Misty backed up a couple steps, placing her bow back over her shoulder. She watched Link dodge, roll, and score hits against the warrior, but something was bothering her, something wasn't right. What she didn't notice was a dark portal opening behind her, until it was too late. A giant hand came out and grabbed her around her waist, starting to pull her backwards into the portal.
Link heard Misty scream and turned to see her fighting a loosing battle against the hand. He tried to get around to her but the stalfos blocked his path, keeping its shield up so he couldn't even strike it.
"Misty!" He cried out in frustration and fear.
"Link, look for the truth!" Misty called back as she dug into her pouch and threw the Lens of Truth across the floor before she was pulled back all the way into the portal.
"NO!" Link cried, and finally managed to slip around the enemy, stabbing it in the back to make it crumble to the ground, and dashed to the portal. It was too late though, it closed just as he reached it. Leaning against the wall he slammed his fists against the stone, and actually let out a soft sob.
"Link…." Navi said flying over to him, speaking in a soft voice. "We've lost her before, I'm sure she'll find her way back to us. Listen to her last words, look for the truth."
Link pushed away from the wall some, hands still in front of him on the stone for a moment before he slowly let his hands drop and turned around to look at the Lens of Truth. Walking over to it he picked it up, shoving it into one of his own pouches, and without another word, walked out of the room.
Link slowly stood up and put his sword away as the stalfos broke apart and vanished in a puff of green smoke. Straightening he watched as a platform appeared to the right of the eerie boat he was riding, floating across nothing but fog.
"Link! This ship is sinking! Abandon ship! Get onto a safe platform!" Navi suddenly cried out.
Link jumped onto the new platform and moved to the edge of it as the boat vanished behind him. To the far right of him was another door that was blocked with bars; across from him was yet another door that was open, a large bird statue stood to the left of it with a bunch of bomb flowers at its base, and to the right of the door was a platform, and higher up on the wall was a balcony. The only problem that he had was that there was a large void in between him and the other part of the room, so large that he wouldn't even be able to reach it with the hover boots he had found in the dungeon.
"I cant' get across, it ends here." Link muttered and dropped to the ground, knees up in front of him to prop up his arms as he ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry Misty, I've failed you." He said softly as he closed his eyes.
With the darkness of his closed eyes came despair, but then he felt a ghostly light pressure around his shoulders as if something were embracing him, and a soft whisper that lifted the despair from his mind.
"See the truth Link; use your mind, see your path."
When Link's eyes shot open the voice and pressure were gone, but he knew what had to be done. Standing up he turned to look at the door on the right, but oddly enough there was a small longshot tower on the other side of the void and one on the higher balcony that hadn't been there before. Walking over to stand across from the small tower on the ground, Link longshot his way over to it and then up to the balcony where he found a golden switch. Stepping on it, the switch raised the bars that had been on the door on the first platform he had been on.
"Now we're talking." He said jumping down. He made his way towards the giant statue where he set off the bomb flowers, making them explode around the base of the statue, destroying the stone. The stone statue slide forward before it fell, lodging into the other plateau, making a bridge from one side to the other. Stepping over it he made his way to the door, determined to find the boss key, cause some serious damage, free Impa, and demand she help him find Misty.
It didn't take Link long to find the boss key. He had made his way around some invisible walls and opened the first door he had come to. To his surprise the room had been empty except for the chest containing the boss key on the right hand side. Once he had the key in his possession though, he didn't even question why it had been so easy or what were behind the other two doors in the main room.
He ran back to where he had jumped off the ship, across the bridge, and through the only other door. He entered into a strange room, at first it looked like the boss door was way beyond his reach across a huge void, but then the red tint that he had learned came from the Lens of Truth showed small platforms scattered across the void, leading to the boss room. Putting on the hover shoes, Link ran from platform to platform, when he reached the boss door he took the shoes off, unlocked the door, and ripped the chains from it. Shoving the door open he walked into the room only to find it empty, except for a large hole in the dead center of it. Without even pausing Link walked over to the edge of the hole and jumped down through it.
When Link hit the ground he was a little caught off guard by his bouncing back up again slightly. He soon learned why though as a giant purple torso with a single red eye and two giant hands appeared behind him. The hands slammed down onto the floor, a thump sound rolling through the air, and Link realized he was on a giant drum. The torso and eye of the creature vanished and the hands began to move around the edge of the drum, still playing it.
Link watched the giant hands that moved around as they slammed down onto the drum and threw him slightly off balance. Suddenly one hand stopped and rose up way above his head. Looking up to follow it Link didn't notice the other hand slam back down onto the drum. Loosing his balance he fell onto his back and watched with wide eyes as the hand in the air came rushing down at him – and suddenly turned blue and moved back to the area of the main body, shaking. The other hand moved up into the air, and that was when Link noticed Misty on the other side of the drum.
Misty began to run towards him, shooting the other hand before it could come down on either of them. The other hand did the same as the first after it was hit, but when it reached the main body area, they balled into fists, lowered, and started to move towards the pair.
"Link quickly; give me the Lens of Truth!" Misty said stepping in front of him.
Link was getting good at getting over surprises with Misty, and handed over the lens right away. Misty put it back in her pocket and fired an arrow between the hands. There was a small monstrous cry, and then the torso and red eye of the monster appeared, seeming to be stunned. Link then understood what was going on.
Pushing himself to his feet he ran towards the red eye, drawing out his sword on the way. As soon as he got to the red eye he began slashing at it. He got in some good strikes before the eye disappeared from his sight. The hands backed off and began hitting the drum again, but Misty didn't give them a moments rest. As soon as they had moved off she shot the right one again, and then the left as it started to come towards them, palm facing her as if it meant to push her off the drum.
Again the hands balled into fists, and Link moved to stand next to Misty this time. She watched through a tint of red as the eye came towards them, and then shot it with an arrow when it was a safe distance away from them, but close enough for Link to get to it fast. Link moved in with his sword again, slashing at it with a determined rhythm. To his amazement, the shadow creature arched upwards and started to beat at the drum extremely fast before it slowed to a stop. Right then it dissolved into a black dust and then seeped through the floor, vanishing.
"Well that was easy." Misty commented as she stood with bow in hand.
Link just put his sword away, turned around, walked over to her, and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I thought I had lost you to Ganondorf this time. If that had happened I don't know what I would have done." He said his voice cracking as he fought back tears.
"Link, I'm so sorry." She said, returning the hug. "I don't know what grabbed me or where I was taken. It looked like a prison, it was really dark, but it was some dungeon of the sorts."
"How did you escape and get back here so quickly?" He asked, pulling away from her but keeping his hands on her shoulders.
"Another spell. I had cast it as soon as we entered this temple. By casting it again I was able to appear here, it's kind of like the songs you play on the ocarina, I just found another path to the boss room."
"You're one smart girl." Link said smiling and hugged her again.
"I hate to break up this precious moment, but Impa is waiting for us." Navi said hovering over them.
Link pulled back again and nodded his head. Taking Misty's free hand he lead her over to the blue portal that would take them to the chamber of the sages.
When their feet touched down on the central triforce in the Sacred Realm, Impa appeared from the dais of the Shadow Sage, looking as stern as ever.
"The boy with the noble Zelda's Ocarina….As I expected, you have come. I am Impa, one of the Sheikah. I am Princess Zelda's caretaker, and I am also the sage who guards the Shadow Temple. We Sheikah have served the royalty of Hyrule from generation to generation as attendants. However…On that day seven years ago, Ganondorf suddenly attacked…and Hyrule castle surrendered after a short time. Ganondorf's target was one of the keys to the Sacred Realm….the hidden treasure of the Royal Family…The Ocarina of Time! My duty bound me to take Zelda out of Ganondorf's reach. When last I saw you, as we made our escape from the castle, you were just a lad….Now I see that you have become a fine hero…There's nothing to worry about…..The Princess is safe now. Soon, you will meet Princess Zelda face to face, and she will explain everything…That is when we, the six wise ones, will seal up the Evil King and return peace to Hyrule. I have to stay here…..You go to Princess Zelda's side and protect her on my behalf. Now I put my power, which should be helpful to you, into this medallion!"
Impa raised her hands and a medallion fell in front of the pair. Misty hardly noticed it turning into a mist and seeping into them though. Impa had said they would be meeting Zelda soon, and Link would be at her side, protecting her. Where would that place Misty? She wasn't jealous about the princess, more heart broken then anything. In fairy tales the Princess always ended up with the hero, and besides, Misty wasn't even from this world.
"Please look out for the Princess!" Impa's last words shook Misty from her dark thoughts and she looked around and realized they were standing in the graveyard again.
"Link, I know where the next temple is; I think we should continue right to it. I want to free the last sage and get rid of Ganondorf!" Misty said before Link could say a word.
Link looked at her for a moment, blinking a couple of times before he could answer.
"Uh ok, sure, lead the way."
Misty gave a small nod and turned away from him, jumped down from the small cliff that lead down to the Shadow Temple and made her way through the graveyard. Link looked to Navi to see if he had said something wrong again, but the fairy simply shrugged her shoulders, so he just followed after Misty.
As Misty walked through Kakariko Village she was pleased to see that Shiek had kept his word, and most of the houses that had been damaged by the fire were mostly fixed. She didn't spend much time looking at the handy work though; she walked straight through the village and down the stone steps that lead to Hyrule field. She smiled when she saw Epona still standing there and walked over to her, pulled herself up onto the saddle, and moved forward for Link who came up shortly behind her.
She gently turned Epona around and nudged her into a gallop. They crossed over the stone bridge, past castle town, and through Hyrule field. Link thought that since nothing was attacking them and no one else was around, that it would be a good time o talk.
"Misty is something wrong? You seem too quiet."
"I'm fine, just thinking about the exact location of the next temple." She answered, barley turning her head so that he could hear her.
Link let the subject drop as they turned onto a small rise, the dirt here red in colour, an odd comparison to the rest of Hyrule Field. They moved up the trail and around a corner away from Hyrule Field. Epona walked over a plank of wood that served as a bridge over a small lake whose water source looked like a small hole in the cliff. Misty slowly walked Epona farther into the valley and down a stone ramp to a bridge that was broken in the center. Far far below a strong river fell down a couple falls before vanishing around a bend. The other side seemed almost bare except for another path leading farther in and a white tent near the edge of the cliff.
"I suggest you hold on tight Link." Misty said as she backed Epona up.
Link knew exactly what she was going to do; they had already proven how well Epona could jump. Backing her up to the wooden plank, Misty nudged Epona into a dead out run. They raced along the red dirt, down the stone ramp and soared over the gap, landing gracefully on the other side. Misty was about to continue on their way when she noticed a guy standing outside the white tent. Steering Epona towards him, she gave a small smile in greeting, which seemed to give the guy a cue to go off on a rant.
"I am a master craftsman. Those Gerudo thieves….they broke the bridge. I want to fix it, but all my workers are gone! They said working as carpenters isn't cool, and they went to the Gerudo Fortress to become thieves…Hey, you! If you're going to the fortress, would you mind finding out what my workers are doing over there?" The over weight guy asked them.
"Sure." Misty said before turning Epona back towards the other path they had been headed to before. "We're going there right now, we'll send them back."
Nudging Epona back into an easy gallop, they moved around another bend in the cliffs, and down a long path that had a man made stone wall to their right, a cliff on their left. At the end of the path was a large stone gate, part of it wooden so they could lower and raise it. Misty turned Epona up another path they had come to after a set of long stairs and before the gate that lead up to the fortress. They didn't get very far though when a voice yelled out to them.
"Halt! Stay where you are!"
Suddenly they were surrounded by guards who pulled them from Epona as another grabbed onto the horse. They hauled Link away from Misty as one guard held her firmly by the arms.
"No! Let me go!" Link shouted, fighting against them.
"Shut up! Keep quiet!" One guard ordered him.
When Link didn't comply they decided that they had had enough with him. One of the guards came up behind him with one of the spears they carried around and waked him over the head with it. He hadn't even had the chance to get a good look at the guards, and the last thing he saw was Misty's wide eyed gaze as she was pulled off somewhere before everything went dark.
A/N: Nothing can stop me once I'm in the mood to write! Not even a sprained tendant in my finger which caused me a great deal of pain writting this! Anyway I hope you all liked the chapter, and may I remind everyone who reads this, I like getting reviews, they help me write faster! I would like to take this time to point out that I've planned for there to be only 5 more chapters left to this fanfic, it's not a long one I know but that's how its playing out. I remind everyone that if there is something they would like me to write about to please go to my profile to get one of my private emails and you can send me your ideas or wishes there. I'm also considering writting another fanfic to follow this one set in the majora's mask game which seems interesting, in my mind at least. I'd like to hear some thoughts on this idea too! If I get some possitive feedback then I'll post the breif summary of it in the next chapter, and maybe even an actual preview of it in the following chapter after that, it all depends on the feedback I get, hope to hear from you all!
