Sword and Shadow
"So you're telling me that you let him get away again?" Saria just shook her head in disappointment. "Since you can't finish him off, we need to go to the Lost Woods and seek out the Great Deku Tree's guidance." She went on to tell them what Navi was told when she went to see him herself. Link sat down to hear her story.
Malon was walking around the pillars, deep in thought wondering why she was still traveling with them. Link noticed her look and interrupted Saria's story and asked her why she was so gloomy. "I have done nothing while travelling with you. You are the chosen Hero to save this land and Saria was chosen to house part of Farore's power. Me...Well, I have done nothing and have nothing to offer." She started to cry as she brought these thoughts to light "What can I do?" Without realizing, Link had gotten up and walked right over to her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder and reassured her "If it wasn't for you, I would not have made it this far without your help. If you weren't there to pick me up when my life was being drained from the fields, I would have died." Malon, with teary eyes, looked up into Link's. "Do you really mean it?" She wiped her eyes as Link continued "Of course. And if you weren't there to keep that queen spider busy, then Saris wouldn't have had time to get her little minions off of me." With dried eyes, she looked away almost in a shy manner "Even so, I think staying here for awhile would be for the best." She turned, Link's hand falling back to his side in shock. "I mean, I might as well clean up a bit. The whole ranch is trashed and I don't want my father to come home to all this."
Saria got up after hearing this "Link, why don't we get the rest of our tribe to help her out? We have to go there anyways." Link snapped out of his shock and finally registered Saria's question. "Well how would they get here if Hyrule field is covered in darkness? If it took holding Dark Link's Sword which was still covered in his shadow, how would we get them across the field?" Both Saria and Link pondered this little set back. Malon finally spoke up, "Well the horses are scattered around Hyrule field. If you can help me round up a few, three or four can fit on one and they can ride them here. The horses know to return here if no one is directing them, so they should be fine." Link agreed to help and they went out to do a little round up. Up on to, the sun was shining brightly and he could clearly see three not too far outside the Ranches perimeter. He called upon Epona and then they were off.
Down below Navi was flying around, anxious for Link to return so they can travel back to Kokiri Village. "I hope we get there in time. The Lost Woods have lost its ability to move itself around." She flew up to Saria in a panic "Even though The Great Deku Tree is alive and thriving, the forest around him was dying. The sanctuary can only hold out for so long." That's when it hit her. "The sanctuary, one of the Goddesses sanctuaries must be there." Saria looked at Navi in shock. She never thought about it but she was right. "That would explain why evil could never touch that place. And that must be why The Deku Tree asked us to bury him there." Saria remembered that she brought her pendant with her. Now she just hoped Link still had his.
Link was on Epona rounding up the last horse while Malon was on another wrangling one as well. Link still had his Pendant hanging around his neck. It started to glow and shake, nearly to the point of scaring him off the horse. "Link, can you hear me?" After catching the reigns of the horse in front of him and stopping, he responded "We have two horses, and Malon is working on the last. What's wrong? Did something happen?" She began telling him how the next Sanctuary is in their 'Sanctuary'. "That would explain why nothing has touched the Lost Woods and the Sanctuary." She continued to tell him how the forest is dying and Lost Woods can no longer hide the Sanctuary and The Deku Tree. "All right, well we both are coming in now. Come back up and be prepared to leave immediately." Link cut the connection and caught up to Malon to tell her what was going on. Although she was staying, he was sure she would want to know what was happening.
They finally arrived back at the Ranch and like he told them to, Saria and Navi were waiting for them. As he approached he saw that Saria was sitting on a crate and Navi was watching out for Link. Finally noticing him, Navi flew up to him as fast as she could. "Hurry up! Let's go!" She flew around him, to get him to quicken his pace. "We have to hook up the horses first. Then we can leave." When he got close enough, he jumped off of Epona, still holding the reigns, and proceeded to tie it to the side satchel. It was too short. Luckily he brought some rope along with him. He tied one end to the satchel and a loop at the other so he could tie the other two with it. After Malon got back, He took the horse she was on and the one she brought in and tied them to the loop as well. "We'll worry about the rest later." Link remounted Epona and Saria hopped on right after. Link tugged on the rope to start the three horses moving and then Epona began to move. Navi sat herself on top of Epona's head and then the rode off towards home. Malon just stood there and watched as they slowly disappeared into the horizon.
The way to the forest was uneventful. Link considered that luck as he was still exhausted from his last battle. He'd get Saria to heal him once they got in the village. They tied the three horses to the tree just outside and proceeded to the forest.
They entered the village and to their surprise, nothing had changed. Navi acted as if there was destruction everywhere. "I said the Lost Woods was dying. I never said anything about home." She zipped up in front of both of them to plead her case. "Besides, we don't have time to worry about everyone right now. We need to get to the Deku Tree." She flew away and started heading towards the entrance of Lost Woods. Lying just outside the entrance was a male Zora that looked to be in his teens. Not even considering why no one had bothered to help him, Saria and Link lifted him up and decided to take him with them and heal him when they reached the Sanctuary.
They walked through the entrance and instead of entering the Woods; they had already reached their intended destination. Navi flew back out but didn't return. Link started to put the Zora down at this point. "Go and find Navi. I'll talk to the tree and find out what Navi was freaking out about. After Saria left, he was finally able to notice the difference since the last time he was there. She was right, the protection had weakened and he saw as the roots that covered the walls and ground were drying up and turning grey. Luckily it hadn't reached the Deku Tree yet. He followed the roots and found that the protector of the forest was no longer a sprout but had yet to become a full grown tree. Although bare, he had braches sprouting high in the air. Everything was quiet. So quiet that he wondered if the Deku Tree was even conscious.
"I see you have returned." He was weak but still able to speak clearly. "By now you have figured out that this is the next sanctuary you seek" The roots and vines that covered the place had begun to recede "I have given much of my life to hold off the evil that threatens this place. But do not weep for me. As time changes; so does Hyrule." New, stronger roots now replaced the dead ones. "Now before you enter the sanctuary behind me, you must head back to Castle Town and enter the Cathedral. Inside, you will find a wall with the image of the three Goddesses holding their piece of the Triforce. As the Hero of time, you still hold your piece. Present that to the mural and the path to the blade that can cut through the darkness, The Master Sword, will open to you."
Link heard panting and looked back and to his surprise, saw Saria again but she was beaten and battered. She walked over and dropped down and started to heal the Zora. Not caring what else the Deku tree had to say, he rushed over to Saria, nearly tripping over himself. "What happened? Are you OK?" Saria stayed quiet and tried to concentrate on healing the boy. "Where's Navi?" still no answer. He decided to sit next to her and wait for her to finish.
As soon as she was finished, without warning, she passed out. The Zora began to wake up. As he sat up, he looked at Link. When he finally came to his senses he jumped back in shock. "What happened? Where am I? Who are you?" He turned his head back and forth to take in his surroundings. "You are in the sanctuary deep in Kokiri forest. I'm Link and we found you passed out just outside the Lost Woods." For some reason, he felt comfortable around Link.
"My name is Zad by the way." He stood up and wiped himself off. "I was sent by King Zora to confide in the Deku tree. Our water has almost all dried up and we are slowly dying off. I was already a little weak when I started my travels." He started to walk towards the tree but was quickly stopped by Link. "I have to warn you that he's not doing well himself." Curious as to what was going on He pushed Link out of the way and proceeded forward. He was right. The tree was slowly dying. He was breathing heavily at this point.
"Link, I will place my knowledge into one last fairy. There is no need of an immobile talking tree in Hyrule's future." A bud appeared and bloomed on the highest branch. In it was a green fairy. It woke up and flew down in front of its creator and waited for him to speak. "You are the last of your kind to be born. I have given you my memory and a little bit of my power. As time passes, that power will grow." One last breath and he was dead yet again. But something strange happened this time. He began to glow and he broke into little balls of light and scattered amongst the trees. This was the final sign that he was really gone. The fairy turned around and saw Link, Zad, and Saria, who must have woken up while Great Deku tree was speaking his last words, crying. The loss of a Great Spirit and protector is felt throughout the whole land. The fairy knew that it was now up to him to protect the forest and, now having the knowledge of his creator, must help Link in his travels. "I know you probably want to grieve a little more but we don't have that kind of time. My name is Pip. Me and Link must travel alone to get the sword. Saria must stay here and protect the sanctuary. I know that she has the ability to heal as well as protect." He flew up to Saria "All you have to do is believe in yourself and you can do almost anything. Her tears stopped and she wiped her face. "By the way, the Lost Woods are acting up. It's too erratic. The paths change too much too quickly. I wasn't able to find Navi either." She got up and walked over to Link. "As soon as you return with the sword and go through the Goddesses trial, we can figure out what's wrong with the forest and save Navi."
"How are we suppose to get out if it keeps changing?" he walked towards the entrance and stared down the path. "I mean we got lucky when we both came through, but you had trouble." That's when Pip started laughing. "Are you forgetting that I have the knowledge of the Deku tree?" He flew to the middle of the open are they were in and he flew around in a circle flying down to the ground. Doing this created a portal. "This will take us to the last dead Deku tree. After that I can take you guys anywhere I myself have been."
"What about me?" Zad was confused as to what he needed to do. He came to ask the Deku tree some questions but the tree died and the only other person was the fairy that created the portal and he was about to leave as well. "You will get the info you need when I return. Right now, we need to do this. Time is running short. The forest needs to be saved." Link pulled himself together and stepped into the light. Before he knew it, they appeared in front of the last Deku tree. As he looked at the lifeless tree, he got a pain deep in his stomach. He just couldn't believe that he was gone.
"Come on we can't waste any time." Pip started flying off towards the village. Link said his final goodbye and followed. Before they left the village, Link stopped off at Mido's house to see if he could get a few other Kokiri together and take the horses just outside back to the ranch and help rebuild. He told him that they wouldn't need to worry about where it was at. The horses would know. Mido didn't like the idea but he went with it anyways. He felt that if Saria found out he refused to do a request from Link, that she would have his head. Outside the village, Link untied the Horses and tied the tree horses to the same tree Epona was tied to. He hopped up on Epona and Pip got on his shoulder and they headed off to Castle Town.
Back in the Sanctuary, Saria was trying her best to put up a force field. Zad was keeping his distance. He may have trusted Link right away for some reason, but he didn't feel the same way about her. "So I'm guessing that you're friends with that Link?" He sat himself against a tree. He still couldn't believe what had just transpired. He just watched as Saria ignored him and concentrated on what she needed to do. She placed her hands straight out in front of herself, She closed her eyes and pushed everything out of her thoughts except what she needed to do. She felt a surge of energy begin to flow through her arms. She opened her eyes to see a small, what was almost transparent, bubble. Sadly it had popped two seconds after she opened her eyes. Knowing what she needed to do now, she closed her eyes once again and concentrated even harder. Again she felt the energy flow through her. She decided to wait a bit to see if it would get bigger. The next time she opened her eyes she didn't see anything in front of her. She looked around to see if it had moved and saw Zad standing under the tree looking up. She did the same and saw the sky was a little wavy. She did it. She put up a field around the Sanctuary. Now she hoped it would hold until Link and Pip returned. "Oh and to answer earlier, yes we're childhood friends." She began to tell him a little of their past and Zad started to trust her as well. He still had no idea why he trusted them so easily but they have shown that they aren't so bad. He had nothing to be scared of.
Link and Pip had eventually reached Castle Town but yet again it was deserted. "What could be going on?" They both thought the same thing to themselves. Pip may have just been born but he was pretty sure that any town wouldn't be this deserted. They looked around to find someone they could ask directions to the Cathedral.
Eventually they came upon a small shop in a back alley. It looked shady but they had no other choice. Inside they found an old creepy looking woman holding a cat behind a counter. "Hmm…You smell of the forest but you are not a Kokiri. How strange" She stroked the cats back as she continued "What business do you have young traveler?" Link slowly walked up to the woman and told her how he came to be there. "So in short, I need to know how to get to the Cathedral." She let out a high pitched laugh. "If that's all you need, then just go back to the main street and head almost all the way to the end. It will be on your right. You really can't miss it." Link and Pip were just about to leave when that creepy woman stopped them. "How about buying a bottle of my special potion before heading out? One hundred rupees and I'll throw in the bottle for free?" Wanting to get out Link threw the rupees to her and she threw him the bottle of potion.
They got to the main street and headed in the direction they were told and like she said, it was on their right. Ahead of them was a long stairway lead to a large set of double doors. Link, being a little tired, walked up while Pip was lazy and sat on the sheath of his sword. On the doors was a giant image of the Goddess Hylia. They were thick and heavy. Link pushed with the last bit of his strength. As they began to open, he could feel the purifying effects. He could feel his strength returning and it was as if the door became as light as air. Inside they saw two rows of benches that lined the left and right. The ceiling was incredibly high with three chandeliers that lined the middle aisle. Link looked up and saw that they had the Triforce designed into it so that when light shown through it, you could see it on the floor. Just as the Deku tree had said, the Mural was at the back and it was much larger than he had imagined. He looked at his right hand and didn't see any marks on him proving himself as the Hero of Time. He put his hand up regardless and faced the back of his hands towards the slab. The bottom right Triforce piece glowed symbolizing it recognized the Triforce of courage residing in Link and on his hand, the same happened to him. The Triforce appeared and his piece began to glow. Behind him, a bright light shown from the middle chandelier and a portal appeared on the floor below. Link turned and walked into the light without any hesitation. Pip immediately followed after.
The next thing they knew they were in a long hallway. On the walls were pictures of what looked like him facing strange enemies? Pip decided to cut the awkward silence "So this must be the gate of time. To whoever enters that holds a piece of the Triforce, shall see their past." Link walked slowly and saw his, what's supposed to be his past selves fighting a wide range of enemies. The one that drew most of his attention was one of the first portraits. It stuck out more so than the rest. He was fighting a slightly taller man with greenish skin and a diamond in his forehead. He felt as if he knew this one. He got closer and the image changed the man to a horrific beast that could not be from this world. Pip was pretty far ahead when he came to his senses. "Hey wait up!"
The hallway seemed to go on forever. And he also though how long of life his soul had gone through. The number of different creatures was shocking. He never knew that there could be so much evil in the world to cause all this. He grew up in the forest and only knew what he saw in the woods. Eventually they reached a large room. In the middle was a pedestal and in it was the Master Sword. Something seemed off about it though. No power was emanating from it. "It was locked away between time itself so evil may never obtain it" Pip flew up to it to get a closer look. It is sleeping. It's waiting for the one with the courage to banish the darkness to come and claim it." He returned to Link "And that person is you. Now pull it out of its slumber and Lets get back to the forest.
Link slowly drew closer to the sword. He felt that it was too easy. As he went to grab the hilt, he heard that familiar laugh. He turned around and saw nothing until his shadow rose out of the ground. His arm had grown back.
"So this sword is the key to defeating me?" Dark Link unsheathed his sword "If I obtain it, you'll be powerless." Before Link knew it he was knocked back and Dark Link was standing where he stood and he was sliding against the floor. He quickly caught himself and jumped back up. He rushed towards the sword as Dark Link went to draw it. Both hands touched and they both drew the sword at the same time. The next thing that happened, none of them expected. Dark and light lightning came from the sword and then it exploded, knocking both Link and Dark Link back to opposite sides of the room. When they woke up, they noticed that they both had the Master Sword. Links was normal while Dark Links was a darker version. The blade was almost black and the hilt was a flat black. Pip had no idea what just happened but knew that it wasn't good. Dark Link stood up first "This is possibly the best thing that could happen. HAHA! Next time you see me, the lord of darkness shall be right by my side. With this power, I can shatter the last piece holding him in his prison." He snapped his fingers and the light that covered the room left and was replaced with darkness. "So until then, have fun with facing your worst nightmare." Dark Link melted into the floor and left once again.
Pip flew over to Link, prepared to face whatever he had planned. It kept getting darker. Eventually they couldn't see or hear anything. Pip was calm but Link was getting nervous. Before he knew it, he felt a giant hand grab him and Pip and drag them down. As Link was dragged down further, he felt himself lose consciousness.
They finally awoke in a room that seemed to go on forever. They were on a large circular platform. He still had the sword in hand and the fairy was right next to him. There was no floor aside from what they were on. If they fall, who knows how long they would fall. Suddenly Link heard something falling. A giant hand, possibly the one that had grabbed them, was coming from above to try and squash them. Link quickly grabbed the still unconscious Pip and just barely dodged. The creature had two large floating hands and an equally large body. There were no legs or feet and instead of a head, there was a giant eye sticking out of what looked like a neck. Another peculiar point was the fact that the hands weren't attached to anything. He put Pip in his pocket for now as he dodged another attack from above. He readied the Master Sword and his shield and prepared for a long battle.
Down in the underworld, Dark Link approached the rift and knelt before it. "Good news lord. Somehow, the Master Sword split and I have obtained its power as well." He stayed down waiting for a response. "You fool. The sword is nothing without the light it carries. The darkness is but only half of its power. Obtain it and you may redeem yourself."
"Yes my lord." Dark Link was about to leave when he got one final response "Though you have only half of its power, it is a power that you already control. Remember this and you will not fail." Dark Link took in that advice and readied himself for his next battle. He decided to round up a small army just to be safe. He knew that if he waited, Link would find him. So instead of searching for him, he went searching for another ring.
Link was getting tired of all this dodging. He couldn't find any weak points. Its attacks were relentless too. That's when he got an idea. The next time it tried to squash him from above, he pointed the sword upward. As soon as the hand hit it, it pulled away in pain. The next hand was attacking with a fist. So hoping for the best, he stuck the sword straight out in front and held it as tight as he could. His plan worked but he was knocked back a bit. The thing got angry and charged at him to try and knock him off. He stuck his sword out like before but this time charged towards it as well. As soon as they were about to clash, he pulled the sword back a bit and stabbed its eye. The creature flailed about in pain for a bit and then finally dropped and dissolved. It didn't turn to dust like the others. His sword dropped to the ground and as he leaned over to pick it up he heard a new voice.
"Well that wasn't much fun." A man in a black suit and a top hat seemed to appear out of nowhere. "You couldn't let it kill you?" Link turned around and readied his sword again. "Who are you?" The man just laughed a bit before finally answering "You can call me the Puppet Master. I am the taker of life and manipulator of death. The dead are mine to control." He waved his hands in an upward motion and three ReDeads rose from the ground. "You just destroyed one of my favorite creations. Poor Bongo-Bongo had a long life of killing ahead of him." He pointed towards Link which gave the command to attack. "Now you must pay"
"Pip" Link grabbed the fairy from his pocket but he was still unconscious. "Oh great" he thought to himself. The zombie like creatures were getting closer and all he could do was back away. He knew nothing about these creatures but had a feeling that they aren't that easy to kill. And after that last battle and little confrontation with Dark Link, he barely had any energy left. Just as he hit the edge, vines appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around the ReDeads and the Master. "What is this?" The Master struggled but the vines were just too tight. Link then looked down and saw Pip making motions with his hands. He was controlling the vines. Pip looked up at Link to see if everything was alright. He put his arms down and began to make a portal to get them out of there. "Come on. I don't know how long the vines will hold them for long." Although shocked at what just happened, Link knew he was right and ran for the portal. The last thing he saw was the Puppet Master breaking the vines and yelling in anger.
The next thing they knew they reappeared in front of the dead Deku Tree. He didn't feel as sad this time around but he still felt a little ache. They started to head back to the village to see if everyone was ok. When they traveled as far as it should have taken them Link noticed that somehow they had ended up in the Lost Woods. Something wasn't right. He urged Pip to create another portal but when he slowed down those enemies, he drained too much of his magic. The forest is a mess and the village and Navi are lost. "What else could go wrong?" He thought as he kept on running, hoping to run into either.