We return from our previous state of cliff-hanging to Remnants! Welcome back, parting is always such sweet sorrow.
Read on!
Link was torn as he never had been torn before. Zelda was close, so close. He could jump forward and dive for her, but he wouldn't be able to escape the room before it filled with water. Or he could leave Zelda, like she asked him to, and continue his journey to save Hyrule.
The choice was obvious.
Taking in a sharp breath, Link dove under the water, fingers scrabbling along the stones, searching for the touch of life, then reached forward when he felt Zelda's wrist. He pulled her out of the water, clothes soaked through, and tilted her body so she leaned on his shoulder, one arm around her waist, helping her over to the door. The water had crept up to his chest now, and he knew as well as she did they weren't going to make it. The door was close, and Link lifted his feet from the ground and paddled for freedom, barely inching along with Zelda's added weight and the press of fatigue.
"You came back for me." Zelda coughed, and Link let out a short laugh.
"Was there every any doubt? That's what Heroes are for, princess."
She laughed as well, head cradled in his neck, and he leaned his head against hers as the water lifted them to the ceiling, the air slowly leaching from the room, filling their grave.
"I'll always be there for you, princess." He whispered, and they kissed once more, heads pressing against the ceiling, Link breathing in everything Zelda and he wished he had told her everything. Now she would never know who he truly was, and all because he was foolish and prideful.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." The water reached his chin now. He angled Zelda's head upward so she could breathe in the remaining air.
"It's not your fault." She paused, their breaths gasping in the silence. "Link, can I tell you something?"
"Anything, princess." Almost to their lips now. Link strained upward, trying to keep his head above water.
"I think... I think I..."
Before she could finish the water lapped over their heads, sealing their grave.
Pulling Zelda along after him, Link paddled to the door and lunged at it with his feet, kicking out with all his might. The wood was solid under the soles of his boots and didn't give an inch, but he kept kicking, summoning up strength he didn't know he had, putting every ounce of fight he had into the attacks on the door. In an instant the strength rushed out of him and he hovered in the water, arms turning limp as he floated away from the door. A haze lowered over his vision and his lungs contracted, chest lurching as his body searched for air it couldn't find.
So this is how I'll go. But I want to go out fighting. Resolutely he turned himself back to the door, body already turning numb, and he lashed out one last time, his last breath, his last seconds, everything he possessed going into that one kick.
The door stayed firmly shut. And that was that.
As Link's vision darkened he pulled Zelda close, wrapping his body around hers, and waited for the curtain to descend. Of all the places he was to go, at least Zelda was with him.
Some Hero. The words echoed in his mind, and the crushing doubt descended on him again. He tried to kick at the door once more, but his limbs wouldn't obey him, cold as ice and motionless. The only sound in the water was a faint crackling, then a sharp snapping sound.
Link tore his eyes open and stared as the door cracked, light shining in through the fractures, then the wood tore apart and he and Zelda were blown out the door in a rush of water, pouring into the cesspool, which was now filled to his knees.
Choking out water, Link sucked in deep breaths, Zelda coughing beside him. His stomach lurched and he retched out a mixture of water and bile, then swiped at his mouth and turned to Zelda, who looked no better. One hand was clamped around her bleeding side and one was over he mouth, eyes brimming with tears, a weakness inside of her he had never seen before. Kneeling beside her, Link embraced her tightly and she held him with equal tenacity, shivers racking her body.
"Link... Oh, Nayru, I though I was going to die in there..." She whispered, and Link nodded slowly.
"I know, princess, but it's okay now. And guess what, you've just earned yourself a dinner for two: Link tells all!" He spread his hands to imitate a headline and she giggled, the fear in her eyes slowly draining.
"Link, I can't... I can't thank you enough." Her breath hiccuped and she looked down embarrassed. "I was a liability to you in there."
"Nah, it's cool." He waved a hand, then a roguish grin spread over his face. "Although I wouldn't object to one of those kisses again..."
She swatted his arm and laughed, then stood slowly, paling when she leaned to the side the Bokoblin had wounded. Link steadied her and she took a few cautious steps, then examined her side.
"The cut's not deep. Electricity." She seethed, making Link laugh. He suddenly remembered something from the room and glanced at Zelda, curiosity taking over.
"Zelda, you were saying something back there, before the water filled the room..." He began, and Zelda jumped slightly, eyes wide.
"What? Oh, nothing. It was nothing." She shook her head, casting him a smile as if to assure that nothing was wrong. Link wasn't convinced, but he chose not to pry.
"How about that third door?" He asked, pulling the key from his pocket. Thankfully it hadn't been lost in the waterlogged room. "Do you think it'll have something worthwhile? That other room was just a trap."
Zelda shivered and nodded, limping slightly as she walked over to where he stood. "I think if one's a trap the other should be legitimate. Want to go check?"
"Not really, no." Link admitted, but he fit the key in the lock and swung the door open wide.
A flurry of Keese fluttered from the doorway, buffeting Link and Zelda as they passed, then filtered through the trapdoor and out of sight. Link's hair was blown back and he smoothed it down as Zelda walked in, holding her bow at the ready in case of any more attackers.
The room was full of complicated machinery that Link thought only the most learned scholars in all of Hyrule could make sense of. Tubes, wires and pipes lined the walls, and huge hulking blocks of machinery cluttered the space. There were more buttons and knobs along the screens than there were blades of grass in Hyrule Field, or so it seemed to Link. Even Zelda couldn't seem to make heads or tails of it, wandering through the aisles of shelves and screens with a look of wonder on her face.
"Whoever modified this place really took their time. This is some of the most complex machinery I've ever seen!" She announced, then frowned.
"What's the matter? Another trap?" Link tensed, prepared to run if need be, but Zelda shook her head.
"Nothing like that. It's just if Gangstadorf was the one who did all of these upgrades, he has some serious engineers on his side. Maybe that's why that one room was a trap. There was a key to it, meaning it was useful at some point in the temple's existence, but not any more."
Zelda's reasoning made sense, only unnerving Link even more. "All the more reason to get out of here, princess. What should we do?"
Scrutinizing the machines, Zelda's frown deepened. "I think we should deactivate all of the technology. That way we don't have to worry about any traps in the future, and now that the gears are freed up we can open the part of the temple we need to get to."
"Which is?" Link asked, leaning against one of the monitors, scrupulously careful not to touch any of the levers or buttons.
"The top, of course. You saw how it's blocked off? I think there's a room up there." Zelda's gaze was still fixed on the rows of buttons and levers as she spoke. "The problem is figuring out how to deactivate all of this. It's so complex, we could be here forever and not figure out the right buttons to press!"
Link walked over to one of the walls, which was completely covered with wires and cables, then slashed the Goddess Sword down its length, from the top of the room to the floor. With a dying hum the lights of the machines died and everything powered down, bathing the room in blackness.
"Problem solved." He announced, then walked out of the room with Zelda at his heels, speechless and hopefully impressed at his quick thinking. Who wouldn't be?
They used the Hookshots to reach the ground level again, and Link took a quick detour out of the temple to start the water wheel again. When he exited the sun was sinking over the horizon, coating the sky in swaths of purple and red. He wished he could stay longer, but Zelda was waiting, so he crawled through the vent back into the temple just as the gears started to turn again.
The largest cog on the second floor rumbled to life and began to spin faster and faster, mirrored by the sounds below, and slowly Link saw the tiniest flash of movement by the edge of the ceiling. He fixed his gaze on the flicker and his jaw dropped when he saw the ceiling slowly pull away from the wall.
Brick by brick the ceiling retreated to one side of a large domed expanse that had been hidden from view before, each stone stacking on top of each other as it climbed up the walls and lined the ceiling. As soon as each brick had been stacked and the gears slowed Zelda used the Hookshot on them and then aimed for the bricks. Link stared at her for a few seconds before remembering to follow and he landed on the platform beside her. They both aimed the Hookshots at the bricks and dangled from the ceiling before the bricks rumbled, then spread out along the ceiling again, pulling back over the second floor like a blanket, sealed again like it used to be. Link lowered himself to the ground and it was stable – the entire bottom half of the temple was sealed off.
The area formed an enormous half-sphere, and since it had been protected from the elements Link could appreciate the grandeur of the temple's design. Colorful frescoes spread over the walls in explosions of color, bright and blending into each other like tongues of fire, each one more marvelous than the next. Just watching them Link could almost swear he could see them shifting and burning with each other, the paint crackling across the walls like a real blaze.
"Din's temple." Zelda murmured, touching a hand to her lips. Link's eyes were fixed on the paintings, glowing with an ethereal magic. It was beautiful, but everything seemed too still. Too perfect.
"Zelda..." He called out, then his voice was cut off sharply when he felt something touch his mind.
It was the strangest feeling, like someone had brushed up against him in real life, but instead it was a touch to his consciousness, an expanding force that rippled over him. The only think he could liken it to was when the monster below had ravaged his mind, and he bristled, recoiling from the touch. Zelda flinched beside him and he whirled on her, trying to still the slowly growing panic in his gut.
"Did you feel that?" He asked, and Zelda nodded sharply.
The brush came again, this time as if affirming he was really there, and Link grit his teeth, trying to fend it off, and then let out a yelp as whatever it was dove into him, tearing through his memories, his very thoughts.
Whatever it was, it was more gentle than the monster, delving in more slowly, carefully, but racing through his life, and Link was helpless to stop it. Every memory he had was at the thing's disposal, and he felt like a lab rat being examined, laid out on a table to be experimented on. Anger burned in his stomach and he concentrated on forcing the alien being out of his mind.
"Get out!" He roared, and the thing rocketed from his mind, retreating a safe distance.
"What?" Zelda asked, darting to his side. Her eyes flickered from side to side, examining the room for hidden dangers, and Link shook his head.
"It was in my head, Zelda. What is it?" He asked, clutching the Goddess Sword tightly in both hands. The only sound in the room was the dripping of water from their sodden clothes against the bricks, nothing to reveal their invisible assailant.
"I think it's magic. Some creature searching for us." Zelda spoke softly, keeping her voice low so that whatever it was that had come for them couldn't hear. Link didn't know how effective her strategy would be, and he felt her stiffen suddenly, eyes screwed shut.
"Force it out!" He shouted, and Zelda opened her eyes, her gaze dark and angry, then stumbled back. She clenched her fists and scowled, eyes roving about the room again.
"I felt it too. Link, Impa told me about this kind of magic. It's incredibly powerful, and anyone who's tried it can only harness it for a short amount of time. You can search the world for people, invade their minds, pick apart their worst fears."
"What happens if you do it for a long amount of time?" Link wondered, fear chilling to a pit in his stomach.
"You die." Zelda said simply. "The longest anyone, even the Zora, can harness the magic is a few seconds at best."
"So it's not a person. It's not Gangstadorf." Link realized, relaxing slightly. "But it begs the question – who is it that's trying to find us?"
The answer came in the sound of the ceiling being punched in. Zelda shouted in alarm and leaped away, dragging Link after her as bricks and mortar rained down from the ceiling. The dancing frescoes shattered as a massive object crashed through the walls, and Link suddenly recognized the shape as it retracted from the room, then crashed back in again, bringing the room to open air.
Wooden claws slashed through the bricks like a knife through butter, shearing through the paintings and sending the wall plunging to the ground in fragments. Branches knit together to form twisted, powerful arms, moss and grasses crawling up the appendages like veins, dusted with fragments of brick and cement. The disfigured head area bobbed forward into view, the boulders held in place by thick vines and roots that spiderwebbed across the creature's chest. Powerful logs shaped the legs, moss and vines hanging from each dangling limb.
The Forest Golem had returned.
Again Link felt the pressure against his mind and knew without a doubt it was the strange creature that had been searching for them before. He raised the Goddess Sword as a sign of challenge, although he didn't have the slightest idea how he would be able to defeat something of such massive size. The golem reared an arm back and swiped at Link, its sharp talons passing by inches from his chest, and it took out a large portion of the wall when it spun around, carried by its own momentum.
"Does everything in this swamp get into your mind like that?" Link demanded, and Zelda raised her bow next to him, a determined expression on her face.
"Let's take this thing down." She declared, and although it didn't really answer his question her confidence was comforting. That made him the only one fumbling around not knowing what he was doing, though, which wasn't exactly comforting.
The golem roared and swiped again, but its aim was far above Link and Zelda's heads and it missed by a few feet, wooden claws dragging across the paintings on the wall, sending a shower of cement dust and plaster down on their heads. Link ran around the room, trying to get a good view of the golem, but he couldn't see any weaknesses, which was unnerving. Most of the monsters he had faced had giant eyes or something, but this thing was made of rocks and wood. There wasn't anything they could do to stop it.
A completely stupid idea came to Link's mind – which, to be fair, was most of his ideas – and he jumped forward to the middle of the room, waving his arms.
"Hey, ugly! Over here! Give me a headbutt, huh?"
Again he felt the pressure on his mind, stronger now, and this time the creature's emotions leached into his consciousness: anger, determination, and the most frightening of all, a bloodlust. It roared and leaned forward, but before it could get any closer, or in slicing distance, Link tore the Hookshots out and shot towards its head, then scrambled across the creature's back, holding on tightly between its two shoulder blades. When he looked between the two wooden spikes he saw a mess of vines clumped together in the creature's center, pulsating with a purple light. I've got you now.
"Zelda, I know how to kill this thing!" He shouted from his perch, and the golem gave another angry roar and shook him off. For a terrifying moment Link was weightless, then he pivoted and shot the barbs of the Hookshot into one of the walls, slowing his fall and he swung down onto the ground, rolling to lose excess momentum. When he stood Zelda was beside him, face pale.
"Link, we might have a bigger problem."
He glanced up to the golem, who was still reeling from Link's sudden leap, and Link was about to ask Zelda what was wrong before a chilling voice echoed in the room, freezing him in his tracks.
"Did you miss me?"
*is actually Moriarty*
Reviews, favorites and follows go to the Adopt A Forest Golem Association, where friendly mind-manipulating lovable lethal golems find homes with wonderful readers such as yourself. The AAFGA is not responsible for maiming, stabbing, plant-related injuries, murder, abrasions, burns, amnesia, or papercuts.
HELLO THANK YOU FOR READING! Very sudden and caps-lock-y, but it's true! Thank you!
I guess that's all for now...? I'll be on vacation this week, so next update will be on a Saturday. Just an FYI :)
Until next time, then!