**Authors Note** WOO! This was exhuasting/fun to write. The next chapter will probably be the Water Temple and The Spirit temple. Guys, did you like how I got Idalia to say "Hey Listen?" ;D Hehe. I had too. OH and if you catch the Courage the Cowardly Dog reference you get brownie points. No, I didn't write Link going through the entire temple, that would have taken way to long, you would have gotten bored and I don't remember every room so yeah~ I hope you like how I wrote going through the temple though! Don't forget to review!**
Chapter Twenty Five
I was in neutral. I don't know what happened, but after Zelda walked out like that, I felt empty, broken. Why is it you never really understand what someone means to you until their gone? Even Ashia I missed more than I ever thought I would. While the sages were telling me about the new plan, I'd actually glanced behind me half expecting Ashia to be leaning against my chair listening intently. My heart sunk when all I saw behind me was the bare stone wall. I was starting to forget things too; my mind was just somewhere else, and the Sages knew it.
"Link?" All I wanted to do at this point was get them back. I still had no idea where Fior was, and what was so terrible Nokomis had done with Malon. Everyone I seamed to care about, everything that seamed to matter was disappearing, taking part of me with them. "Link." This time Nabooru finally caught my attention, and I looked into her concerned golden eyes. "Did you hear me?"
"Uh- yeah." I lied, and she saw right through it
"I said we have gathered weapons for you to take with you. A bow, hookshot, bomb bag, hammer- you name it. We also are giving you the Ocarina of Time, considering it's belonged to you all along. You'll be leaving in the next two hours for the first temple. The Shadow, considering it's closest. I know you don't want to be escorted there, but the Sages all fought me tooth and nail, so I agreed to be the one to take you." She leaned in. "I'll be leaving you to yourself the moment we leave the caverns. They don't trust you not to take off, but I have faith in you."
"Thanks." I gave her a half-hearted smile. She was the only one that trusted me, and she could. At this point, I was convinced getting myself killed wouldn't save anybody. They'd already turned Ashia into a puppet, Goddess only knows what they did to Zelda. The thought made me sick. I stood from my chair. "I'll er, be right back." I said leaving the room.
I hadn't had any fresh air since we'd arrived here, I missed the breeze. I stood in the hallway a moment, my back pressed against the door, trying to collect my thoughts. What was happening to me? I couldn't focus on anything. I'd placed my hand on the knob, about to return to the room, when I felt an icy hand on my shoulder. Turning, I found Idalia standing before me, her hair piled on her head now, wearing an altered Sheikah uniform. "Hey." She said and I looked into her shining eyes.
"Hi." I responded, my voice weak.
"Hey, Link? Listen.. No one knows what's going on in your mind now; and the Sages are starting to worry.."
"I'm fine." I lied.
"It's funny." She said pausing a moment, gesturing for me to join her as she walked. "Even though I don't remember anything of my past, I still feel close to you." She half-laughed, half-sighed. "You know, I'm not exactly happy either. I was made, without a purpose. I was a mistake. I try to find a reason, but I don't have one."
"Don't say that." I interrupted. "You do have a purpose, without you, we'd probably all be dead by now."
"That was just me doing a good deed. It's not my place. I don't have one. I'd give a lot to be what I once was, when I was your guide; it would have been an honor." I chuckled to myself a bit, thinking of how much of a nag the Sages had mentioned Navi was, but I refused to tell Idalia that. "But you Link.. you have a purpose. You have a reason."
"To be the Hero of Time." I finished blankly as we turned down a passage way.
"You don't understand the meaning of the title yet do you?" She laughed before I could answer. "You're not just the Hero, Link. We need you, we depend on you. Hyrule is alive because of you. You're more important than you think. You can't blame yourself for Zelda and Ashia."
"It sounds great when you put it that way, but-"
"It is great Link. Hyrule needs you, we all do. And I know it seems like a lot of pressure, but you have a place in destiny no one can fill. What are you doing moping around like this? Getting choked up at the mention of Zelda or Ashia? You're a Hero. You need to hold your head up, un-sheath that sword, and prepare yourself to play the role in destiny written for no one else but you. When you can do that, everything will fall into place." I hadn't noticed, but we'd made our way back to the room Nabooru and I had just been in. Rather than me responding, she gestured towards the door.
"Thank you." I said, thinking over her words and she waved off the gratitude, and began walking in another direction. Something in my brain clicked. I opened the door and Nabooru stood, her eyes still full of concern, but mine now determined. "Ready?" I said confidently, catching her off guard.
"I've been waiting for you, Hero." Anyone that heard her, would have thought she was saying she'd been waiting to leave and I was holding her up. What she meant though, was she'd been waiting on me, the Hero. For the Hero to show, take over. I smiled and responded, no longer stuck in neutral.
"Nobody has to wait anymore."
The Shadow Temple
I found myself standing in a room full of recently lit torches. I blew out the flaming deku stick in my hand, and chucked it against the wall, no longer of any use. Reaching in to the pouch that clung to my hip, I retrieved the Lens of Truth. The door that once had bars, was free now. I made my way through the door, and came to what seemed to be a rather large gap in the floor. Staring at it a moment, I realized it wasn't the Lens of Truth I needed at this moment. This, I suppose, was the time when I would use the boots Impa had altered for me.
In the past, there had been two special pairs of boots I carried with me; Iron and Hover. Over time, Impa managed to combine the two into one. They were complicated, and only one pair had been made considering magic had to be used in the making; so one can imagine how pissed Impa was when I pretended they were too small when I went in for fitting. I smirked at the thought, and pressed my heals together, activating a button that sent them into hover. Nearly falling as I glided atop the air, I made a mental note to be more careful and cautious with them on. Transforming them back to my regular boots, I pulled out the lens once more, and passed through the seemingly solid walls of the temple.
I stepped through a door without thinking, and found myself surrounded by redeads. Making an attempt to play the suns song, I fumbled around my pouch looking for the Ocarina. I'd wrapped my fingers around it when I was grabbed from behind, and pulled into a choke hold. I struggled against the grip, until finally, I broke free. How I managed to play the song while out of breath will forever puzzle me, but it worked. And soon the redeads were fading to dust at the mercy of my sword. A chest appeared in the center of the room, and I opened it, acquiring a map of the temple, along with a compass. Examining them both, I found the room the Boss Key would be found in. I smiled, thinking of Ashia as I dug my hand in my pocket, pulling out a thin, long metal tool.
"What in the name of Din are you doing?" Ashia asked, eyeing me as I headed for a door opposite her.
"Going through the door without a giant lock and scary chains blocking my path." I answered sarcastically as she raised an eyebrow at me.
"This is why it took you months in the past to go through the temples." She laughed, pulling out a shiny silver pick and digging it into the keyhole. The lock crashed to the floor with ease, and she turned to me, placing her hands on her hips smugly. "We're thieves Link. We don't need a key to get where we need to go." She tossed the pick to me and I caught it in my left hand.
"Have I ever mentioned you're insane?" I asked, passing her as I opened the newly unlocked door of the Gerudo Training center.
"Once or twice." She smirked and followed.
Passing through the temple without having to worry about getting keys was easy, and it went rather fast. I ran into few enemies, only redeads and keese for the most part. When the bars closed over the door behind me, and a door on the other end of the room, I wasn't concerned. Nothing happened. The room was silent. Was there a mistake? I unsheathed my sword, and circled the room. There was a small puddle near a corner of the room, but otherwise it was empty. Even the roof was clear of monsters.
I made my way to the door I'd entered, and pressed my hands against the bars when suddenly the sound of dripping water caught my attention. Turning, I found myself face to face with a rather tall girl, soaked in water with pitch black hair. Her eyes were hidden by her hair, and something didn't feel right, but I ignored my gut feeling. I approached her, gripping my sword tightly. As I got closer a grin formed on the girls face, and she revealed razor teeth. I rose my sword to attack, but she blocked it with arms that seamed to be solid ice. Her hair whipped back and showed demon like eyes as she blocked.
I struck again, and ice shavings flew up and scraped against my face. I swung for her head, but suddenly she was gone, and all that was left was a puddle before me. I stepped away, and water began to drip from the ceiling. I watched one of the drops, and her face appeared in the water. Jumping back as it hit the ground, the girl materialized from the water once more. I ran against a far wall, debating on how to attack her, considering my sword did little damage with her icy armor. What in the name of Din was she?
Din.. Din's fire. I sheathed my sword and dove my hand into my pouch, pulling out the magical diamond. Just as the grinning girl approached, I threw the magic at the ground, and we were engulfed in flames. She fell to the ground in agony. Taking the chance, I drew my sword and slashed at the evil girl. She disappeared into a puddle after a few strikes but reappeared soon, and I used the same tactic repeatedly. Eventually, she let out a final cry. The bars on the doors lifted, and I took a moment to catch my breath. Entering the next room, I found the Boss Key.
The girl in the former room must have been the Mini-Boss, which made me sort of uneasy. She had a lot of evil about her, so what lies beyond the boss door must be even more difficult to fight. I made my way to the main room, where I'd seen the door with the larger lock. I held my breath as the key broke the chains from the lock and the door creaked open.
The room was dark, and surrounded by a purple haze. There was a high landing at the far end of the room, and a fiery haired woman sat atop it smiling down at me. "Awe, did the little Hero pull himself together?" She dropped down before me, causing me to jump back startled. She laughed. "I begged Master to let me come here and wait for you. I begged him to get the chance smear your blood on the timeline, marking the reign of evil." She drew her long dark blade, and I gripped the Master Sword tighter. "Oh Hero, I wish you could see what we've done with your Gerudo friend. She's lovely you know." There was a sick twist to her voice. Our swords collided and I spun, meeting her sword once more as I did so. "Or maybe you'd like to hear more about what we've done to your little Princess."
My eyes flared, and she laughed as I struck at her again. I backed off, making some space between us. She struck first now, and I knocked her back with my sword. She found her feet quickly. "The Gerudo tolerates pain well, I sorta think she likes it. Heh, she's my favorite." She taunted, and I ran up to her, slashing without end for what seemed like a long moment, until she tried to break the chain and step away. My sword sliced through her fiery hair, leaving more than a foot of crimson on the floor. My face was hot, and adrenaline flowed though my veins, but I had to hold my temper. She turned to me her eyes angered for a moment, but she laughed it off as she felt her now short hair. "And you're Princess, she screams like a banshee."
I ran at her, and as she struck I rolled behind her, slashing an X formation into her back. She stiffened as the blood seeped out of her dark body suit. "You're lying." I said simply, trying to keep her words from getting to me. That's how Nokomis played her games, with people's minds. She faced me now, pain shone clear on her face.
"The mere thought that I might not be makes you sick doesn't it Hero?" Suddenly she vanished. I quickly found a wall and pressed my back against it; I refused to let her catch me off guard. She appeared close to my right, and I swung my sword at her, nicking her arm slightly as she vanished again. She appeared on the platform grasping her arm. "You're no fun!" She shouted down to me. I glanced around the room, thinking of how to attack. I walked towards the platform a bit, nearly tripping over the air. No- air isn't solid like that.
I quickly found the Lens of Truth, and found a set of stairs that lead to the top of the platform. Running up them, I reached the landing with Nokomis. "You're such a stupid boy." She laughed. "Approaching the enemy." Our swords clanked together several times, our skills matching. I smashed my hilt against her sword arm when I sent her strike off course with my shield. She let out a groan and knocked me back off the platform. I landed with a crash against the floor. I was starting to miss Fior about now, I needed her help.
The breath had been knocked out of me, but I found my feet. She dropped down to my level, and our swords clashed again. This time they froze in the air. I pressed against mine as she did hers, our strength being tested. Her wielding arm was weakened however, and soon my sword prevailed, slicing across her collar bones, hardly missing her throat. Her eyes widened when she realized how close the hit had been. I was damaging her, and she'd hardly hurt me. This made her rage, and she began striking at me repeatedly. I slashed my sword to the side, knocking hers from hand. She watched it soar, and while she did so I pushed her to the ground with my shield. I stood over her, my sword above her chest as she heaved, frightened of the blade.
"I will not die at your hand!" She hissed. "Forgive me Master." Just as my sword dove for her chest, she was gone and its blade crashed against the hard ground. The haze in the room cleared, and a light shone from the roof. I glanced up at it. The temple was purified.
I'd won. I dropped to my knees and began vomiting from exhaustion. I'd been holding it in ever since Nokomis had said those things about Zelda and Ashia. I had to pull myself together though. I was one temple closer to their rescue. One temple closer to sealing away Ganon.