Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Zelda, only the essential plot line I have written here
The Flames of Time
Chapter Fourteen: The Giant Moblin
"We're almost there..." Link advised Tessa and Navi. The fairy sighed and collapsed on Link's head. It had taken longer than any of them had predicted to reach the Forest Temple. As Tessa looked up at the sky she could see a faint tint of pink start to spread through the sky. They hadn't been around many trees at all so the skyline was clear straight above them, but the walls impeded any sort of distant viewing. "Around the next corner there should be a set of stairs that head through the wall. There will be a stretch that will probably have another dog monster."
Navi coughed. "I think they're called Moblins." The fairy corrected him. Link shrugged and peeked around the corner. After a minute he signaled that the coast was clear and they darted towards the stairs. As soon as they turned the corner around them they collapsed and breathed hard. Tessa wiped the sweat from her face.
"So...hopefully we won't see another one." Tessa muttered. Link nodded and waited a few moments to stand back up. She followed his lead and Navi cautiously flew up the stairs ahead of them. "How will we know if she sees anything?"
"She'll turn red." Link frowned. "Navi has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. I'm not sure entirely how powerful she is, but what she has is very useful."
Tessa almost smirked as they continued to walk up the stairway. "I could send her flying for miles with a flick of a finger. I don't care if she's powerful or not, she's still tiny. Size trumps everything."
"You would know from experience then?" Link smirked at Tessa who glared at him.
"I am not short!"
Link didn't pay attention but frowned up ahead. Tessa rolled her eyes and turned her head to look at what he frowned at but saw that Navi's glow had indeed turned a bright red color. She zoomed towards them and halted inches away from Link's nose. "There's another Moblin...it's the biggest one we've encountered yet!"
"They get bigger?" Tessa asked incredulously.
Navi swirled around Link with an alarmed waver in her flight pattern. "It's twice the size as the others!"
"Is that even possible?" Tessa asked. Her voice had wavered from the fright that she felt.
"Well obviously, if I just saw one!" Navi snapped at Tessa. Tessa stuck her tongue out at the fairy and felt herself slow to a stop on the staircase. Link didn't notice for a few seconds, but when he did he stopped and turned to face her; a curious expression decorated his face. For a minute Tessa didn't reply to him, but when she noticed that Link and Navi were giving her weird stares she planted a determined look on her own face and marched right on past Link.
"Are you okay, Tessa?" Link asked. He caught up with her in no time. It wasn't that long until they reached the top of the stares.
"Of course I'm okay! I mean, here I am with absolutely no fighting ability, and up there is a gargantuan monster that will probably chew me up and spit me out as a light snack. Everything is perfect!" The sarcasm that dripped from Tessa's words sent chills up Link's spine, but her expression stopped everything he had thought to say. Tears were just barely visible at the corners of her eyes.
"You've been fine up until now." Link patted Tessa's shoulder. It had taken him a moment to unfreeze himself. "If you want to know something, when I started out I had absolutely no experience with weapons or fighting and I had no other fighters to help."
Tessa's eyes widened. "Are you for real? I thought you had trained with swords your whole life."
The Hero of Time nodded, a slight grin on his face. "As much as staying in the forest overnight freaks me out, we need to stop for the night before we go into the Temple anyway. I don't trust going into a place that is probably more dangerous than the Lost Woods at night." Link reached back for his sword as she started to walk forward again. "If you would like, I can start to teach you how to use that sword properly. I will have to find you a shield somewhere though."
Tessa almost smiled, and jogged up the stairs after him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, we should get rid of that Moblin." Link stated as they reached the top of the stairs. What they saw made both of them gasp. Navi simply began to shift into her red state again. The Moblin was just as big as Navi had told them, and instead of a spear it carried what appeared to be some sort of giant club.
Navi zoomed forward. The Moblin glanced at her briefly but just grunted and left her alone. The fairy cautiously flew around the dog's body, careful to avoid too much attention from the monster. After a while she zoomed back to them as fast as she could possibly fly. "Its entire body is pure muscle. I don't think that just attacking it will work." Navi informed Link. "I noticed that it shifts its weight constantly though. All of its weight must be hard on its ankles. If I were you I would aim there and try to get it to fall."
Link nodded to show that he understood. He looked at Tessa and pointed at her sword. Tessa gulped and drew out the Kokiri Sword from its sheath and held it ready with her right arm. Link held the Master Sword in his left arm and his shield in his right arm.
"On the count of three we charge. Avoid its club at all costs and swing at the ankles." Link instructed Tessa. The girl nodded and for a moment the two were quiet as they prepared charging stances. Tessa could feel her heart pound in her chest. Technically this would be the first battle she would go into. She still couldn't explain what had happened with the Deku Scrubs, and she knew it wasn't her that had produced all of that flame. It would take a lot for her to be able to think straight throughout the battle and not panic. "One." Link began. Tessa rubbed her hands on her tunic briefly. "Two." The trio seemed to gulp in unison. "Three!"
Tessa bolted forward as if she had heard a gun shot as her feet. She raised her sword up. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. The Moblin didn't seem to be surprised that there were two people charging him, but seemed almost bored. It raised its club and brought it down with a magnitude of force. With a jolt Tessa felt the earth shake before she went flying back. Link landed a little bit ahead of Tessa since he was heavier. They both jumped up and ran towards the Moblin at full speed again. The distance between them and the monster seemed massive. Once again the Moblin brought up his club and brought it down on the ground. "Jump!" Link shouted, and Tessa did, though a second too late. She still flew back but somehow she managed to shift her weight and landed on her feet and hands. Link had been more lucky and he continued forward. With a grunt Tessa jumped back up and ran again.
This went on for a few minutes. Sweat poured down both fighter's backs, and Tessa could feel more bruises begin to pile on her rear end than she ever had in her entire life. Now she wasn't even scared of the Moblin, but she was frustrated at their failure to even reach the creature.
"Tessa!" Link called out. "Let's head back to the stairs." He turned his back to run and that was when Tessa saw the Moblin begin to charge. It held its club as high in the air as it could and roared after them. Link turned around and charged for the Moblin.
"Link are you crazy?" Tessa screamed. Link seemed to ignore her and kept running. After she looked at the Moblin once again Tessa gulped and began to run towards the Moblin as well. She gripped her sword as tightly as she could and watched as the Moblin swung his arm forward towards Link. The guy just dove and rolled underneath the Moblin's feet. Tessa felt her heart pound in her chest as Link jumped back up to his feet and slashed his sword through the monster's ankles. A gigantic howl of pain resounded through the forest and the monster started to collapse forward. Tessa shrieked as she noticed that it would fall on her and began to backpedal before she turned and ran harder than she had ever ran in her life. The Moblin hit the ground with a sickening thud and continued to howl in pain. However, the impact of the fall sent Tessa flying forward and she rolled a couple of times before she stopped.
The sound of Link's shout and his sword slicing through the Moblin vaguely caught Tessa's attention. She felt a little dazed and dizzy, and part of her stomach flipped over on itself. "Ugh." Tessa lied there until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Link's voice entered her ears.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Tessa felt Link roll Tessa over towards him onto her back. She frowned and looked up at the Hero of Time. "You do know that if I do get sick this is probably the worst position for it? I could drown in my own vomit." Tessa sat up and rubbed her neck.
"Well...it would also be bad if you rolled the other way and fell down the stairs." Link motioned towards Tessa's other side and she looked at what he had talked about. The staircase was very close, and Tessa looked up at Link thankfully.
"The Moblin is dead, right?"
"Yes." Link offered his hand to the girl and she took it gratefully. He lifted her up and it took a moment for Tessa to feel secure on her own feet again.
"That thing is too heavy for its own good." Tessa grumbled as they began to walk towards the Mobling. Link only nodded as they began to edge around the fallen monster. When they got all of the way around it they looked ahead to see another set of stairs. "Wow...Link, how many more staircases are there?"
"This is the last one. I hope there aren't any more Moblins." Link admitted and started to climb the stairs. Tessa sunk her shoulders and followed after him.
This set of stairs was shorter than the previous one and they scaled it in what appeared to be no time at all. When they reached the top they about collapsed in relief. There were no monsters to be seen, only a clearing with nothing but grass. Some sort of stone platform sat in the middle of the clearing, and towards the end was a wall with a giant tree.
"We're here." Link motioned to the top of the tree and Tessa saw what appeared to be a platform that hosted what appeared to be an entrance to some place that Tessa couldn't see. She noticed that Link seemed to direct his attention towards a stump that seemed rather pathetic compared to the rest of the area. His face seemed anguished as he walked towards the stump. "Saria's not here..."
Tessa felt her emotions twist for the guy and she walked up behind him. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." For a moment the two stared at the stump in silence.
"Link, don't worry about Saria. She's inside of the Forest Temple."
END OF CHAPPIE
Wee! Another chappie! Wow, you know that goal I had? It got thrown out the window. Too much stuff. I have to pack today also, for both my trip I leave on tomorrow and I think I'm going to start gathering my things for college. There's only three weeks left! Holy cow! I'll try to get as many chapters as I can out. If i don't have internet, I'll write things down in a notebook that I'm going to bring. I miss Word that way.
Well, please review!!