Author's Note(s): I hate fight sequences, I really do. Still, this turned out pretty decent. Yup, finally at the Tower of Hera. Even a couple of nods to its original appearance. ^^ I really need to start writing more, though. I've been focusing on work (which is important), but also on my website and on this RPG game (which I should be able to release a demo for in a few weeks...) However, I still haven't finished Chapter 30 yet. I'm nearly there, just need to get some inspiration on what to jot down next. Chapter 31 shouldn't be too hard.
Random Trivia: Although I am including tons of references to other Zelda games, they aren't necessarily intended to hint at future events. For example, the Tower of Hera. It is supposed to be the same tower, but in A Link to the Past it was on Death Mountain. Turtle Rock, on the other hand, was in the Dark World. Well, this story kinda assumes that the Dark World that we know doesn't exist yet, so its possible that Turtle Rock simply gets dragged into it, later. As for the Tower of Hera... well, maybe something happens in the future that gradually pushes the Hylians east, and the Landonians are moved out. They just inherit the same names their ancestors knew. Who knows about that matter?
For the most part, these references are for nostalgia. I haven't really delved into exactly how they fit timeline-wise, but the games are the same way-certain locations constantly move around and migrate to new areas in different titles mostly for gameplay purposes. I included all the key locations from Ocarina of Time, and even added a couple from Twilight Princess. Key locations from other games that are located in Hyrule normally may appear in different areas here. Key locations from other nations, such as Holodrum or Labrynna... well, they may appear in their proper places... :D
You never know...
The Legend of Zelda: The Demon Within
Chapter 29: Turtle Rock
Link, Navi, Shadow, and Baask all made their way up into the mountains, their eyes focused entirely on the large, stone tower standing tall at the top... the Tower of Hera. As they approached, a turtle-shaped rock formation came into view, clearly visible in the taller heights.
"I take it that's why they call this place 'Turtle Rock', huh?" Navi asked.
Baask nodded. "Yes, that is definitely true. Turtle Rock is the defining factor of these mountains. The tower is said to be named after a god. I don't know how much truth is in that rumor, though."
Link directed Epona up to the foot of the tower and then dismounted. She stepped forward a bit and turned to her left, staring at the mighty structure. As she watched, though, the world around her shifted, morphing. Her friends vanished before her eyes and the mountain region seemed to erode away.
She looked around, eying every corner of the environment around her. In the distance she saw Hyrule Castle, and just to the west of it, Kakariko Village. Lake Hylia also came into view with a grand desert just to the west of it, surrounded by mountains.
Link suddenly found herself shorter. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two pendants, a blue one and a green one. She turned back, staring up at the tower, shaking her head. 'What is it that I am seeing here...?'
The green-clad hero walked up the steps of the tower and stared at the ancient-looking door. As she reached out her hand, she suddenly heard her name being called out through the air. "Link! Link!"
Link shook her head and turned around, surprised to find everything back to normal. She blinked for a second, then turned to face Navi as the girl ran up the steps. "Hey, what happened...? You kinda spaced out for a second there..."
She shook her head. "It... was nothing... let's just find this thing. How do we get in here, anyway?"
Navi shrugged her shoulders. "Well, let's read what it says."
Link turned to Navi. "What are you saying? What writing? I didn't see any-"
As she turned around, she saw inscriptions written all over the door. Navi walked up and scoured over it. "Its Hylian... but I think I can make it out. It reads, 'The door only opens to the one who proves his strength. Defeat the guardian and the door shall open to you.'"
The young hero glanced around, at last grabbing Navi's hand. "Get down!" she called out, pulling Navi behind her as the two ran down the stairs.
Baask already had his spear out, glancing around in all directions. He turned to them, nodding his head. "It seems we've got another obstacle before us. Clearly we missed it, but there's something around here."
Shadow stepped forward, pushing his way into the group. "We didn't miss it. The creature is already coming."
The stone turtle suddenly began to crumbling, revealing a monstrous three-headed turtle beneath it. The creature turned and jumped into the air, landing in front of the group of four. The turtle roared out from its central head, screeching out loud. Two more heads, a red one and a blue one, stretched out from the creature's body on either side, all three staring down at the four figures beneath them.
Link stared the creature down, eyes narrow. "Trinexx..." she whispered.
Baask raised an eyebrow. "What...? Where did that come from?"
The hero shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know... it just popped into my head. But I do know its name—this creature is called Trinexx. It is the guardian of Turtle Rock, and likewise, the Tower of Hera."
The creature's left head came forward and opened up its mouth, spewing a column of fire down upon the small group.
Shadow was the first to dash away, while the others quickly spread out. Link pulled out her shield and backed away as the next head came around. A cold, blue mist sprayed out. The young hero put her shield out in front of her, protecting her from the icy blast. Then, though, pain infiltrated her hand and she dropped the shield, rolling to her left. It lay on the ground, frozen solid. She shook her hand, pressuring it between her left arm and her side to try and warm it up.
"Okay, that didn't work too well..." she proclaimed.
Baask ran around to the creature's left side, dodging blasts of fire from its red head as he made his way along. He saw something glowing beneath the creature's shell and promptly raced forward, lunging his spear into its side.
Nothing happened.
The knight captain shook his head, pulling his spear back out of the notch he had found. He hadn't even touched the core. "Its no use," he called back. "We have to find away to destroy its shell!"
The earth suddenly began to tremble as trinexx raised his large feet and smashed them into the ground. Baask lost his balance and collapsed. The monster's giant feet approached him, preparing to smash him into the ground, but an unknown assailant appeared, grabbed the knight, and vanished again.
Baask and Shadow reappeared in front of the creature. "There's no use trying to get behind him... its armor is too thick," Shadow noted. "We're only going to get ourselves killed... We're better off standing her and getting shot at by attacks we can avoid easily."
The being's red eyes glowed bright. Instantly a red beam zapped Navi on the opposite side of the rocky ground, striking her shoulder as she collapsed to the ground. She gritted her teeth, and gripped the small burn, staring back at the dark one before her. "You were saying...?"
Shadow shook his head. "Forget I even said it."
Another blast of fire came spewing out from the creature's left head. Link, Shadow, and Baask all dodged to the side, while Navi just put her hands up and deflected the attack with a barrier. The monster walked another short distance, closing the gap in on them, but it was extremely slow movement. Considering the fact that it was a giant turtle, none of them were too surprised.
"One head spews fire," Shadow noted, stepping forward again.
"While the other sprays ice..." Link added.
Baask scratched his chin. "Do you think there's a way we can reflect his attacks against himself?"
Suddenly, Link's eyes turned to to her female companion. "Navi, can you create a reflecting barrier? We have two heads... an ice head and a fire head. Maybe their weakness is each other..."
Navi narrowed her eyes. "I suppose I can try..."
The blue head came up again, opening its large mouth. A blue mist sprayed out, aiming directly for Baask. Navi then jumped in his way, reaching her right arm off to her left side and swinging it right again. Just as the icy glaze came to strike her head on, a barrier appeared that reflected the attack back off to the right, striking the creature's red head dead on.
The beast roared out as one of its heads froze over for a brief while, thawing soon after, but still remaining slightly scarred. Afterwards, the small group waited for a brief while to see what the monster's next move would be. It soon became apparent as the monster stomped its monstrous feet on the ground, knocking all four of them off their feet.
The monster's eyes glowed bright red again and all four immediately rolled to the side as a beam of light shot through the air. This time, though, the beam did not dissipate. Instead, the turtle turned its head, aiming for the four stragglers. Shadow happened to be nearest to the beam, so he became the first target, until he teleported away. Afterwards, it turned its head right again, focusing on Navi, who found herself at the foot of the tower's steps.
She stood up and ran up the stairs, the laser following her as she ran. Link turned to the creature and ran up to its head, slashing her sword across its neck. The beast was momentarily distracted, giving her enough time to turn and run as it reached out to try and grab her with its mouth.
Shortly after, both of its two heads came out, spraying fire and ice across the rocky plateau. Navi swiftly ran down the stairs and threw up a barrier to her left, dashing by a plume of ice that poured out of the creature's blue head. The icy mist bounced back, hitting the same blue head, absorbing the attack right into itself.
The girl swiftly pulled back and ran over to Link, avoiding the slippery patches of ice on the ground. "Now what do we do?" she called out. "I can't keep this up..."
Shadow at last stepped in, turning to his companions. "Link, Baask... can you two distract it while we take out those heads?"
Baask raised an eyebrow. "And how do you propose we do that?"
Navi lowered her head. "I suppose... my ice magic can be used against the fire head... but how did you know that? And how do you propose to take out the other?"
The dark one nodded. "I've been watching you guys closely, remember? You're supposed to be an ice fairy... you haven't lost any of your magic now that you're just an ordinary kokiri. And I know of a fiery way to tackle this obstacle... Think you can handle it, kid?"
The girl stuck out her tongue. "I'm not a kid... but of course I can! I'm not helpless. I guided Link throughout his... her... adventures. She wouldn't have ever gotten anywhere without me!"
"You don't have to keep reminding me of that subtle fact, y'know?" Link remarked. "Whatever the case, I don't know of any other choice we have. We certainly aren't getting anywhere right now."
The four turned to one another and nodded their heads before spreading out across the stone field. Link picked up her shield again and held it up against a blast of flaming fury, before rolling to the side, picking up a stone, and throwing it at the monster's eye.
Shadow dashed underneath a blast of ice power as Baask taunted Trinexx, ducking and rolling around the freezing bursts of energy. He then ducked to the right, trading places with Link as he then began to goad the opposing head.
After a short while the mouths on the two heads closed again and the monster's eyes glowed red once more. Navi immediately jumped up and brought her two hands full circle, whispering a brief incantation as the magic swirled through her fingertips. "Icicle shards, smite my foe in a furious hail!"
Several shards of ice formed in the air and flew directly towards the left head, hot as magma. They piled on, torturing the mighty beast as it cried out.
Shadow stood at the top of the tower's steps, laughing out. "Hah... not so tough now, are you, monster? Now its my turn..." he proclaimed, vanishing in sight.
The dark one reappeared in the middle of the air, his two hands aimed directly ahead. "Energies of the earth, swarm to me... Spread out in a burst of fiery passion!"
A pillar of fire erupted from his hands, smashing into the blue head of the monstrosity. The power was too much for the creature and it stumbled back. Both of its heads shattered to pieces and a large crack appeared on the turtle's shell. Link and Baask had already dashed along the side, and each one jumped up into the air. Link stabbed her sword into the hollow area where the right head once was, while Baask pierced the skin of the monster from its left.
The monster crashed to the ground, roaring out, beams of red light spraying out from its eyes in all directions. Link and Baask immediately retreated as the creature vaporized into a black powder. It reappeared at the top of the rock where it once was before, a stone again. The door of the tower slowly slid open, and the four regrouped.
"Well, that wasn't so bad..." Link remarked.
Baask laughed. "Heh... that was a nice workout. Sure would've been nice if we had a mirror shield, though..."
Navi shook her head. "What? My magic isn't good enough? Its not often I get to use it..."
"Come to think of it," Link remarked, "when have you ever used magic? You never used any when we were traveling together."
The pink-haired girl shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, give me a break... it was your quest, not mine. Plus, its much more stressful for a small little fairy to use magic... In this form I feel far more fluent with it than I ever have been before."
"Well, its nice to see you three ranting, but I don't have time for this," Shadow proclaimed. "We need to get that Moon Pearl and get back to Aslark as soon as possible. If you want to save your friend Saria, we must proceed as swiftly as possible."
Link nodded. "I know. Let's go... the Tower of Hera awaits."
As she led the way, the rest of them followed. All four of them stepped into the bounds of the tower, before suddenly the door slammed shut behind them.
