Note: This chapter features a slightly different writing style for the most part. Please don't let that dissuade you: it's mostly because of the narrator of this one, and...well, just read it and tell me if I should use it more often or I should overhaul this chapter like mad.

Enjoy!

To help you along your quest is your sword, forged in the heart of the Terminian Mountains, tempered with the finest gold dust. It alone shall be your ally; no other is to help you, let alone know of the land from whence you came.

And should you accomplish this task, we shall have enough power to return you to your home. You shall find the first step in a forest not too far from where you shall awaken.

So Link...

Awaken!

And wake up Link did, in the strange land far from his own. He found that the goddesses had been true to their word upon finding his Gilded Sword in its scabbard.

Forward he did march to find the forest.

He was then hit by a speeding automobile.

Much later, Link continued the journey through the woods. That swarm of insects had to be some sign from the goddesses that this was the forest that they had spoken of.

The potion he had found, though it had rejuvenated him, was not settling well after he had drunk it. It was odd; they had advertised its healing effects, and yet it was bitter, unpleasant, and did not seem to be healing his wounds quickly like the potions back home did.

He gave a half-sigh, half-groan. It would have to do; it was better to fight with partially healed wounds than with bleeding sores.

After walking for some time, he felt something brush against his face. Absent-mindedly, he rubbed his hand against his face to clear away any remnants of whatever it was, but stopped walking when he realized that his hand had become entangled in the substance. He squinted and looked closely at it, identifying it as some sort of sticky thread…like the web of a Skulltula. He shivered at the memory of those creatures, which he knew all too well from his childhood; when they came out at night, squirming, rustling, beady red eyes glowing against the darkness…

He pushed aside his childhood phobia. This was a completely different land; there was no chance that Skulltulas would be here as well. Hopefully. Maybe.

He looked back at the substance in his hand. So what here could produce this silk? Curiously, he reached out with his other hand and felt more of the string. He started walking again, keeping one hand in the silk to follow it. It weaved along the trees, gaining in thickness as he continued alongside it. Other paths of silk also began to appear, all of them going towards one point. Link looked ahead to see where they would all converge, and saw a light off in the distance.

Excited, he abandoned the silk and began to run forward, leaping over tree roots and fallen logs, and ignoring whenever silk would stick to his face. The light grew larger as he approached, and finally, he leapt into the light and landed in a forest clearing…gaining the attention of the swarm of bugs gathered.

The swarm stared at him, their beady eyes making light clicking noises as they blinked.

He stared back, his hand leaving his stomach and slowly reaching for his sword behind his back. He sized them up; one third of them appeared to be large butterflies with multicolored wings, and another third were fat, purple moths with pupil-less eyes. The final third appeared to be their young; bright red worms that spat the string from their jaws.

As he looked around the clearing, he noticed a large, grey cocoon in the center of the three factions. The worms were clambering over the cocoon and spitting out the silk onto it, gradually increasing its size. It was still, and so most likely not a threat at the moment, unlike the bugs. Their wings had opened and they began to fly slowly over to Link, small clouds of purple dust rising from the moth's wings.

Link pulled out his sword and held it out before him. Some of the bugs fluttered uncertainly at the sight of the weapon, but the rest moved forward just the same. Link took a deep breath. He wasn't used to fighting large groups, but he would have to now.

And as he raised the sword over his head, the worms began screaming.

It was a very peculiar sound, and it caught both the bugs' and Link's attention. Running around like Cuccos, the worms abandoned the cocoon and made for the depths of the forest, the high-pitched shriek slowly fading away as they disappeared.

The bugs ignored Link and fluttered over to where the worms were, obviously in confusion. One moth, after fluttering about for a while, landed on top of the cocoon. Immediately, it took to the air again as though the silk had somehow caught on fire. As it flew away, the other bugs tentatively landed on the cocoon as well, and practically had the same reaction, abandoning the cocoon where it was, and flying off in all directions.

Link was left with the cocoon. Curiously, he went forward and placed his hand on it. As he did, the cocoon moved; barely a twitch, but the action was still noticeable. Link pulled his hand away, raising the other that held the sword. The cocoon was still for a moment; and then it moved again. And again. And again. And each time it did, Link began to hear a faint heartbeat, which grew faster and louder as the cocoon became more active. The twitching grew to writhing, then to shaking, and then to thrashing, as something deep inside wanted desperately to get out and god forbid a silk cocoon should impede its progress.

Link began to step back, sword at the ready. Steam began to rise from the cocoon, and muffled plucking noises came from within, like the strings of a lyre. Finally, with a ripping noise, one of the seams tore open and the wing of a giant moth burst out, oily black in color. Another burst out on the opposite side, and the two straightened out and stiffened in the forest air. There was a pause, and the seams opened a third time between the two, revealing a single, giant eye. The eye stared into Link, and Link stared into it, a horrible memory returning as he recalled where he saw the eye before.

But there was no way; there was no way that this creature could be…

"Gohma?" Link whispered.

At the sound of its name, the rest of the cocoon exploded open, revealing the new, improved Gohma. Her yellow eye remained, as did her vile insectoid nature, but she had clearly been changed. Her body was now that of a black worm, with six vestigial legs along her bottom. The large, black wings opened majestically, some splotches fading away to reveal a demonic skull-and-crossbones pattern.

"Gohmoth," Link corrected.

He didn't have much time to marvel at her new form before she flew into the air, circling Link hungrily. She then tucked her wings in and dived for Link, who barely managed to jump out of the way in time. Shrieking, she flew back up to try again.

As he watched her warily, a plan began to form in his mind. Before she dived for him again, he ran to the edge of the clearing, putting his back against one of the trees. Not taking this into account, she soared down for him. He rolled out of the way at the last second, and with a splintering crack, Gohmoth crashed head-first into the tree, knocking herself unconscious.

Link ran up onto her back, and found Gohmoth's eye wide open and staring up into space. He grinned at the simplicity of it and swung his sword in a downward arc, creating a deep gash within the eye.

Awakened from her stupor, Gohmoth shook Link off of her back, shrieking from the pain in her eye. White hot with rage, she charged straight for Link, beating her wings to propel her across the ground.

Link rolled to her right, and as she passed by him, he reached up with his sword and neatly lopped off her right wing. She didn't even flinch at the pain, and gained more speed by flapping her other wing at an unbelievable rate, turning and charging for Link again. Link only managed to roll away at the last moment, and chopped off her left wing. With no means of directing her movement or slowing down, she skidded along the ground and crashed into the same tree again.

Before Link could climb onto her back a second time, however, something strange happened. Her entire body was engulfed by green fire, obscuring her for a moment. As it cleared, she had been changed again. Horns grew along her back, and the vestigial legs had been replaced by rows and rows of sleek, insect legs that covered her entire underbelly.

"Gohmillipede," Link muttered. "This is ridiculous."

As though she had heard that comment, the hundreds of legs propelled her forward like the arrow from a bow. Link leapt out of the way, and Gohmillipede continued forward, disappearing between the trees.

He watched where she had disappeared, expecting her to burst out at any moment. Suddenly, she did; behind him. Before he could turn around, she flipped him onto her back and charged forward, causing him to roll the spikes and thorns along her body before being deposited onto the ground as she disappeared again.

He pushed himself up, coughing up blood. She could appear from anywhere now; he span around, looking everywhere for any sign of where she might appear. The forest was silent for a moment, giving no hint of where she might have been…wait. Link squinted at one entrance and saw leafs fluttering out of it, as though the air inside was being pushed out – Link leapt out of the way. Just as he did, Gohmillipede stormed through the entrance and disappeared through another, leaving a faint roar of indignation.

Link grinned and watched the other tunnels. Puffs of fog began to bellow out of one, and Link nimbly leapt aside, dodging Gohmillipede as she exited through another one. Leafs drifted out another entrance, followed by the arachnid, which was dodged again. As this pattern continued, she began to build up speed, not truly looking forward, her hatred for this insufferable prey consuming her as she sped forward into the light once more; and had her eye skewered by the little prey's sword.

There was a burst of green flame, which quickly died away, taking all remnants of Gohma – or whatever she had become – and her web. Where she stood was a glittering medallion, which Link took, holding it to the heavens triumphantly with a smile of victory dominating his face.

The smile faded quickly and turned to a grimace. As he pocketed the stone, he grasped his stomach with his other hand, turning pale to the face.

The potion had apparently not forgotten him. And in the aftermath of the fight, after his moment of glory, Link threw up and passed out.

Somewhere in the woods, a Breloom without a spore ball bounded through the forest, angered at the human and the human's fat friend. Its precious spore ball was gone, and it was because of the fat human, the weapon, and most of all, that hated-

It stopped. Its red claws reached up and felt a small dart protruding out of its neck. With that, its eyes rolled back and it fell to the ground. Before its vision completely faded away, it saw two blurry shapes, too dark to make out, and heard:

"Good shot."

"Thanks. Let's bag this one up with the others."

And then all went dark.

Link threw up and passed out.

Write that sometime yourself. It's strangely therapeutic.