Time to return to the Links in the depths of the Water Temple!

Has Blue survived being eaten alive by Gyorxok? Will the Links be able to defeat the boss and reclaim the fourth and final element?

Read on ahead to find out! :D

Chapter Thirty-Six: Strike

Roaring and bellowing out the might of its rage, the waters continued to violently churn forwards, rapidly flowing downwards towards the plummeting falls before them. And while the screams of the shark beast Gyorxok had long faded away after it was sucked away by the pull of the falls, the Links had not stopped shouting, their hearts ripped from their chests as they watched in wide-eyed horror as their friend was devoured by the beast, moments before it disappeared over the edge of the falls.

"N-NO! BLUE!" Green shouted out, his eyes wide as he gasped, hardly knowing what he was doing as he released his grip on their raft, lunging forwards-

And yet, gasping and grunting, Vio's hand jerked out to the side, clasping firmly around Green's tunic. "Green, no! Don't!" the Link cried out as he held onto Green, keeping him from swimming into the very peak of the falls, though his own eyes were wide in terror-stricken grief. However, even though he held back their leader from swimming after the two who had fallen over the waters… There was no stopping them from being carried by the flow of the raging waters, closer and closer to the falls.

"E-everybody, hold on!" Red cried, tears streaming down his face as he gripped tight onto the raft, his eyes squinting shut and his teeth grit firmly as the falls approached, bracing himself for the plummet…

Screaming aloud, the three heroes could do nothing to stop themselves as they reached the very end of the waterfall- and, though scrambling to keep a hold of their raft and of each other, all holds were broken as the three children toppled over the sudden drop, falling down amongst the rushing roar of water…

And, in an instant, the breath was knocked out of them as water once more engulfed them, each of the three plunging deep into the water at the bottom of the waterfall.

Gasping for breath as his head broke the surface, Green's eyes were wide as he looked frantically around, choking out the others' names- and though he breathed a brief sigh of relief upon seeing Red and Vio's heads resurface moments later, he still would not stop. Instead, gasping in a sharp, deep breath, Green instantly dove back underneath the water, he desperately searching the water which they had fallen into.

It was a large, round enclosed lake, with water lapping up at the sides of the walls and sand covering the deep, smooth bottom. It was stirred up in places, and clouded the waters in its murky, grey haze. Frantically, Green whirled around under the water, his eyes wide and his breath held tight as he searched for-

-what was that? He could've sworn he saw something move in a distant cloud of disturbed sand… Without thinking, Green quickly swam downwards, propelling himself as fast as he could through the water to the murky cloud below…

Red and Vio, gasping as they tried to keep afloat in the deep waters, looked at one another briefly before looking around, blinking as they noticed Green had disappeared. Treading water, and their exhaustion growing by the second, the two called out for their leader…

Yet, surprising the two in a quick, fierce jolt, a small explosion burst from the waters behind them, and they each turned around in the waters, eyes wide at what they saw-

"…BLUE! GREEN!"

Swimming quickly over to their two friends, gasping against the exertion, Red and Vio each gathered around the sides of their two friends, looking worriedly at their leader as his arm was wrapped tightly around their friend's limp, unmoving side. Green's eyes were wide and he was gasping for breath, hardly able to support both their weight in the water, and even as Vio moved to try and hold Blue up for him, they were running out of energy…

Eyes wide, Red suddenly gasped sharply- and, wasting not a second more, whipped out from behind him his weapon.

"ICE ROD!"

Shouting aloud, Red ordered the blast of frosty magic to hurtle from the tip of his rod, crackling as it formed a thick sheet of ice over the water in front of them. Wasting not a second more and putting his Ice Rod away, Red quickly swam over to the iceberg, climbing aboard it and turning around, extending his hand.

"Great idea, Red!" Vio gasped, helping Green hoist Blue through the waters over to the iceberg. Grabbing hold of Blue's arm and pulling him half onto the iceberg, Red grunted as he strained with all his might to help their friend onto the platform of ice. And as Green and Vio helped from behind, pushing Blue over into the ice…

Coughing up a storm, his chest heaving and his fingers tightening weakly on the smooth ice beneath him, Blue's eyes squinted shut as his body started to shake and heave, expelling the water from his lungs as the others heaved him onto the ice platform. And though the others breathed a collective sigh of relief- Red extending the ice platform large enough for the others to crawl on top of as well- Blue continued to cough, his body doubling over and his hand clutching painfully at his chest. In worry, the others gathered around him, helping him sit up and pounding his back.

Finally, gasping for breath and shaking his head weakly, Blue's eyes blinked open, groaning as he finally sat up under his own power. He put a hand to his head, wincing in sharp pain as he looked over at the others.

"G… Guys…"

"Don't talk," Vio instantly spoke- though he was incredibly relieved their friend was doing alright, he knew they still had to be serious. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, his voice calm and concerned. "Just rest. You almost drowned, Blue- if not for Green, that is."

Grunting as he pulled himself over the ice, last to sit on the ice platform, Green blinked, looking up as he was mentioned. He shot a glare over at Blue as he knelt on the ice- how much he wanted to shout and yell at Blue for being so headstrong and stubborn and thoughtless, having been terrified beyond words when he saw the creature eat him… yet as Blue continued to cough, trying to get the rest of the water out of his system and still coming to from unconsciousness, the leader merely sighed, shaking his head and giving a weak smile.

Red gave a weak smile, sniffing in tearful joy as he sat beside Blue. "Y-yeah… but… we're okay now, right?" he asked, looking up at Green with hopeful eyes. "That shark thing… Blue got it, didn't he?"

His coughing subsiding enough for him to speak, though still shivering from the cold of the water and his voice wavering, Blue grit his teeth as he snapped shakily, "My… my s-sword… I… I don't… don't kn-know where it is… Must'a still been stuck in that… that d-damned f-fish…"

The others looked at each other, their eyes clearly showing their worry. Blue's sword, plunged inside the head of the gargantuan shark, was now missing, the shark itself gone from their sight… What in the world were they going to do…?

However, a small voice spoke up, and Red, giving a small laugh, grinned as he said, "Heh, Blue, you sound kinda funny…" And though Blue gave him a resentful, angry glare, Red merely smiled, continuing, "Hey, it's okay, Blue. We'll find it, really. I… I know we will!"

Smiling, Green nodded, pushing aside the temporary setback. "Red's right," he said firmly, an encouraging smile on his soaking wet face, "right now, the important thing is that we're all together, and we're all okay. We'll find the sword- but for now, the most important thing is that we're all here."

"Red… You… you can stop that now, you know…"

The three Links blinked in confusion, looking over at Vio. Vio was frowning, looking over at Red and tilting his own head- seemingly just as confused as they were. Red blinked.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly, puzzled. However, as the crackling and hissing sounds grew, an answer was not even needed from Vio- and instead, the heroes all looked around in wide-eyed surprise at what was happening all around them.

Like Red's Ice Rod forming the layer of ice above the water for them to sit on and regain their breath, the ice was slowly yet surely spreading over the entire arena of water… though it was surely not coming from the small Link and his weapon. And as it finally cracked and popped, cementing firmly over the entire surface of the water, the Links looked slowly towards each other, their breaths frozen in their chest as they knew what it could only mean.

And, without a second more given to the Links to think about the ice which had formed over the entity of the lake, that very ice was instantly and suddenly shattered right in front of their eyes- and the four Links watched in terror as, bursting from the water below and enshrined in a armor-like seal of glistening, translucent ice came a massive shell of the creature that had once attacked them.

Leaping forward and crashing through the ice overtop the waters, the water and ice glistening like diamond shards as they flew all around him in a haze, the massive shark's empty, hollow eye sockets stared down mockingly, in a sort of twisted glee, at its trapped prey. For the beast which had attacked them may have been no longer- but what stood in its place was far more terrifying than had first appeared. Its outer body was gone- replaced with a paisley-white assortment of bones, forming the massive skeleton of the shark monster, and though nearly its entire body was covered in the protective ice, there was one place where the ice did not reach- its massive skull, where, still stuck firmly in its center, Blue's Four Sword gleamed out from above them, its blade sunk deep all the way through the bone of the monster's skull.

And as its skeleton body curved horrifyingly in the air, its bestial roar replaced with a terrifying, ghastly screech of the dead, the Arctic Skeletal Ichthyoid, Gyorxok, turned its massive, horrifying skull downwards, its bony jaws separating and its rows of teeth lunging outwards at the children down below. And though the Links all tried to scramble out of the way, their feet slipped on the ice, and the massive skeleton came crashing down all too quickly upon them.

The ice shattered, cracking like lightning as it was struck by the massive force of the skeletal shark monster and splintering into hundreds of cracks and separate floes of ice. However, as the one it had landed upon shattered into trillions of pieces of ice, flying off in every corner of the room, the Links watched, helpless to save the smallest Link of them all as he was sent plunging down into the icy waters beneath the ice, the ground beneath him having caved in the instant Gyorxok had dove right through it.

"N-NO! RED!" Blue shouted, gasping as he stumbled and struggled to his feet, his wide eyes staring in empty horror at the patch of water, devoid of its ice covering, where Red had sunk into the water below. And, in his panic, ignoring the cries of the other two and pushing his way past them, Blue grit his teeth and took a deep, sharp breath- leaping forward and diving head-long into the chilly, frigid waters of the arena.

The water struck him once more as an arctic shock- the temperature had dropped dramatically as the ice had frozen over it, yet Blue ignored it, instead forcing his eyes open, bubbles drifting above him to the water's surface as he looked frantically around for any sight of Red or Gyorxok.

Skidding to a halt just before the hole in the ice, Green gasped as he looked down at the hole in terror, unable to prevent Blue from leaping in after Red. His head jerked up and he looked over at the other Link, still above the water. "Vio! We have to-"

And yet, jerking him out of his own words and stopping him mid-thought and mid-sentence, came a ghastly, almost other-worldly shriek, reverberating off the ice in an ear-splitting cry. The two Links instantly and instinctively covered their ears with their hands, wincing in pain from the loud scream- but, even more importantly, their eyes widened as they looked through the distorting, yet clear ice beneath them- and as the massive, terrifying form of Gyorxok swam underneath them, so they could each see a trail following after its form- dozens and dozens of smaller fish-like creatures, skeleton and resembling the large monster itself, were trailing after them, swarming around and chasing after the two heroes still trapped beneath the ice.

Shouting out, Green ran over the ice, chasing after the skeleton fish and lashing out with his boomerang. The wooden surface of his weapon twirled around in the air, curving down sharply and slicing through the very ice itself. And when it slammed back into Green's fist, Vio was already beside him, his bow raised and arrows flinging off the string in accurate, rapid succession. The thin, yet long trail Green's boomerang had sliced into the ice was just large enough- and Vio gave a grim smile, though continued firing his arrows, as one after another they struck the smaller fish, shattering the skeletons almost instantly.

Vio and Green exchanged wordless, understanding nods as they looked briefly at one another, then back at the fight beneath them. This was all they could do, for now- keep the smaller Gyorxok-like skeleton fish away from Red and Blue as the two did their best to get back above the water, out from under the ice. And, without further hesitation, the duo continued running over the ice, their footwork nimble and their attacks accurate, striking at the smaller Gyorxoks with their boomerang and bow.

From beneath the ice, Blue's eyes were wide, and growing even wider, as he continued to look for Red, but could not find him. His breath was growing short- he could only hold it for so long- and yet, as a cloud of dust was suddenly disturbed off in the distance, a bunch of small, Gyorxok-like fish swarming around it… Blue's eyes widened, then narrowed. It had to be Red! Gritting his teeth and ignoring his lungs' cry for air, he swam forwards with all his might, towards the dust cloud-

And yet, hardly aware of wasting what little breath he had left, Blue found himself shouting out loud, the air bubbles escaping from his muffled voice underwater and flying upwards to the surface as the smaller skeleton fish suddenly swarmed him, slamming him on all sides and setting their small, yet sharp teeth around every limb on his body. He was shouting as he thrashed about in the water, jerking his arms and legs and trying to get them off- they were pulling him down- trying to drown him- his breath was running out, his sword was gone, his eyes were widening in panic-

In the instant before the thought crossed Blue's mind that he might once again drown under the terrifying, chilly arctic waters of the lake, an even colder rush of water suddenly blasted past him, and his eyes widened as a fierce streak of ice shot past and all around him, slamming hard into each of the smaller fish which had attacked him and freezing them almost instantly. Blue's eyes jerked upwards in surprise- and yet, he had barely a second to react before Red's arm was wrapped around his shoulders, his other hand gripping tight onto his Ice Rod, and, gritting his teeth, Blue helped as best he could as they two swam towards the surface of the lake-

Bursting through a crack in the ice, each of them gasping for breath, Red and Blue practically exploded from beneath the water, each of them scrambling for hold on the ice platform around them. Almost instantly, the other two were at their sides, having seen them emerge from the water and each pulling the other up, back onto the massive, if broken and cracked, floes of ice.

"Red, Blue! You guys okay?" Green shouted, hauling back Blue onto the ice as Vio wrapped an arm around a soaking wet Red, getting him to his feet.

Choking out the water, Blue shook his head, squinting his eyes against the chill of the water as he and Red emerged from the lake below. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, just…" Finally catching his breath, the Link opened his eyes, looking over at the others… Red was getting to his feet, giving a smile and a thankful nod Vio's way, his hand still grasped tightly around his Ice Rod. And Blue knew- it wasn't he who had saved Red, but Red who had saved him. If not for Red, he would've been dragged to the bottom of the water by those things… Blue gulped past a lump in his throat, stumbling to his feet and walking up to their smaller friend.

"Red… this may not be the time, or place," Blue grumbled under his breath, slightly hesitating for a second- though quickly shaking his head and saying firmly, "But, I'm sorry. I… I've doubted you more times than I should. You're a great fighter… Thank you for… for saving me, back there." His serious look was quickly replaced with a grim smile, his best effort to deal with the apology. "…I never would've made it if not for you."

Though Vio and Green each knew their time was limited and ticking away, the massive beast Gyorxok swimming around maliciously just beneath their feet and awaiting the moment to strike- each of them were silent, for just this moment, as they knew it was needed between the two.

Red's eyes were slowly welling over in tears, and his smile was growing, spilling all over his face until, unable to hardly take it anymore, he burst out bawling, leaping forward and wrapping his arms tightly around his friend in a massive hug.

"Aww, Blue! Thank you, Blue! Thank you! That means so much to me!"

And though Blue stammered and grumbled under his breath, taking a step back and rolling his eyes in feigned annoyance for the over-the-top display of friendship… a small smirk still tugged at the corner of his lip, and as he moved to pry Red off of him, he also wrapped an arm around his friend's back in return.

"Y-yeah, you're welcome. Now… get off me!"

Laughing despite the terrifying situation, the four Links burst into wide grins as the two Links made up their differences, breaking apart once more and standing safely as a team on the ice.

Giving a wry grin, Vio looked over them all as he spoke quickly and bluntly, "great, now all emotions aside, how the heck are we going to deal with this massive skeleton?"

"Actually," Blue spoke up quickly, grinning from ear to ear as he took a step forward, "While I was down there, I noticed something. My sword's still stuck in his head, did you guys see that?" The others nodded, and Blue gave a dark laugh. "Well, right where my sword is, there's a massive crack in his skull. If we can get it out of there, I'll bet you anything he'll fall to pieces!"

Their time was running out- this was a clear reminder to them as the ice beneath them suddenly heaved and jerked, their feet slipping as they struggled to regain their balance before slipping into the waters below through the multiple cracks in the ice floes. Gyorxok was thrashing about under the waters, its minions destroyed and once again left to swim around in fury under the ice. However, as it was beginning to calm, once more slowly circle the perimeter of the room… each of the Links knew, from its previous attack, that it was preparing for a second leap at them.

"Red," Blue quickly continued, jerking his head over to the other and snapping in a serious, urgent voice, "We need your Ice Rod to freeze it when it jumps out at us. Can you do that?"

Beaming and holding his Ice Rod proudly, Red nodded eagerly, grinning brightly, his chest swelling with pride- overjoyed that finally, Blue was understanding his worth as a fighter, and letting him put himself in danger along with the others to do his part.

"What are you planning, Blue?" Green asked seriously, looking at the drenched Link.

Vio nodded, agreeing. "How can we help?"

Blue hesitated. He had a plan in his mind, foolproof and absolutely perfect… But could he execute it? He knew he was strong, he had a tough determination and an iron will… Already he'd done so much for the Links, on his own and for their sake… However, now, he knew, this was different. He grit his teeth- and forced a grin.

"Can you guys help me?" he asked calmly yet forcefully, looking at each of them in turn, "When Red freezes it, I'll need to pull the sword out of its forehead before it can get out of the hold. I couldn't pull it out by myself earlier- but I think if we all work together, we can get it out."

The three others were silent for just a moment- but only just, and, in an instant following, the three broke into eager grins, nodding enthusiastically, laughing and voicing their approval. Blue gave a proud grin- he may do some things on his own, to help the others and protect them… but, when it got right down to it, he was happiest when he was fighting right alongside them. And he knew, memories or not, that, without a doubt- they were, too.

"Alright, then," Blue said with a laugh, whirling around and facing the shadow of the shark as it continued to glide beneath the surface of the ice. "Get ready!"

"Ready!" Red shouted, his eyes glistening in pride and his Ice Rod held high up in the air.

"Ready!" Green shouted enthusiastically, standing firmly beside Blue and grinning.

"Ready!" Vio echoed, last of them all, though his eyes narrowed and smile grinning in just as fierce determination as the others.

Blue grinned- though he was unarmed, facing the quick-approaching, colossal shadow of the skeleton-monster Gyorxok from beneath the ice as it raced towards them… He was more confident, more unafraid, more ready than he had ever been before.

And when the beast once more burst through the ice, roaring as it lunged viciously upwards and over, its jaws wide open and skull pointed downwards towards them in its malevolent, fierce attack- even then, he was still unafraid, standing firm on the ice and grinning from ear to ear. Why should he be afraid? After all- mere seconds before Gyorxok would have struck them- instead, a loud shout came from behind him, and as Red leapt up, flinging his Ice Rod in front of him, the chilly blast of frost magic hurtled out in front of the heroes, sealing tightly over the approaching enemy and freezing him solidly to the ground beneath, ceasing his motion inches before it would have carried it to its target.

"NOW!" Blue shouted, leaping forward as the others around him joined him in the rush, the four heroes lunging together and attacking as one- unarmed, yet facing the beast unafraid. And as Blue's hands closed tightly around the hilt of his sword which stuck out from the forehead of the beast's skull, so his grip was quickly joined by three others- and as the four Links each grasped their hands tightly around the sword's hilt, pushing against the ice beneath them and the monster in front of them and pulling back with all their combined might… Slowly, the sword began to jerk forward, slowly slipping out of its firmly-sealed hold… The cracks around the sword were widening… The ice freezing the motionless, yet screaming monster to the ground slowly melting…

And, in one final, powerful lunge, the Four Heroes all shouted as they were flung back, the Four Sword slicing clean out of its hold in the skull of the beast before them. And though Blue fell to the ground, gasping slightly as the wind was knocked out of him- he still grinned, the others having let go after it was pulled out, holding firmly in his hands his proud, Four Sword.

In front of them, though still frozen by Red's Ice Rod, the cracks in the center of the beast's head were growing, cracking and splintering, slicing and snaking across the entire bone surface of the skeleton monster… Though the ice was beginning to splinter off of it, from the sheer stress of the cracks in its being, its entire body was also starting to shake and quiver, unstable, breaking down…

Finally, as the cracks completely covered Gyorxok's skeletal body, its bones decorated in the hundreds of blackened slits and crevices, the being screamed out one, final time, its body finally becoming still…

And as the ice froze to its motionless body, the bones itself began to glisten in the white, transparent shine of the ice around it… until, before long, its entire body seemed to be made of the ice which surrounded it… And, in one final blast, the entire creature Gyorxok shattered- as if struck from the inside, the trillions of pieces of ice making up the once-powerful and menacing monster blasted outwards and upwards in a powerful shattering explosion, the countless, miniscule shards of ice blasting upwards into the air, then slowly falling down all around them, like a glistening, diamond rain.

There was a small silence in the calm after the storm, as the four Links slowly stood back up on the ice, looking at the empty spot in front of them where the massive, demonic fish had once leapt at them. And yet, before either of them could even say a word to one another, or crack a smile…

In the center of the ice where the monster had once leapt over, a soft trickling sound was heard as a hole was slowly, yet almost calmly, melted in the surface of the ice. No harsh cracks of slices- instead, a slow, steady melting as an even hole was parted in the ice- and, as a soft, blue light rose from beneath the hole, its glow radiating across the room and shining down luminously upon the faces, the small, delicately-carved stone surface of the Water Element rose from the depths of the water, hovering in air as it awaited its blessing upon the four heroes.

The four were silent for a moment-

Grinning, Red leaned forward, jabbing an elbow playfully into Blue's side. "Well?" he teased, sticking out his tongue. "Go get it, silly!"

Once again, Blue had hesitated- not because he didn't want his memories, however. He wanted them more than ever, and he knew, now, they were there, waiting right in front of him… Yet, slowly, he turned to look back towards the others, giving them a sad smile.

"You guys… you don't think…" He took a deep breath, calming himself and steadying his words. "I won't be… different… when I get my memories back, will I? I'll be my old self… my self right now…? Will I become the person I was… or stay who I am?"

Blinking in surprise, the three Links looked at one another, before returning their gazes to Blue.

Breaking into a wide grin, Green took a step forward, clasping a confident, strong hand over Blue's shoulder. "Blue, no matter who you are after you get that stone," he said with a laugh and a shake of his head, "You'll still always be our friend. No matter what."

Smirking, Vio crossed his arms. "Unfortunately," he said jokingly, his cool voice breaking into a laugh, "We're stuck with you, either way. I'm sure we'll make do with whichever Blue we end up with…" His eyes gleamed, and an honest, friendly smile came across his face. "…Don't you worry about that."

Finally, sniffing away tears and latching onto Blue's arm, Red grinned as he beamed up at their friend, "Blue is Blue! You never changed, Blue, and you never will!"

Grinning widely, Blue looked at his friends, nodding once to show his thanks. And as they each took a step back, giving their friend his room, Blue slowly turned around to face the element…

And, with the wild grin from always returning to his face, laughed as he lunged forward, shouting out triumphantly as his hand wrapped around the smooth stone, "Memories, you're MINE!"

Once more, the brilliant, blue light engulfed their friend, and, grinning and laughing, the others shielded their eyes from the intense, holy light, only lowering their hands when it had finally subsided. They blinked once or twice, grinning in suspenseful tension as they looked at Blue's turned back…

"… Blue?"

The light had faded from all around him, but it only grew brighter and brighter inside of him. The darkness in his mind had been dispersed- he could only see light now, and what had always been there, in his past, in his memories… The life he'd led, alongside his friends…

And though he had at first, and many times before, only reluctantly agreed to be called Blue, the bold and headstrong fighter of the Links grinned as he turned around, facing his friends with that unchanging, characteristic grin on his face. And as Blue laughed, he eagerly balled his hands into fists, shouting loudly and ecstatically while pumping his fist in the air, "Oh, yeah, does it feel good to be back!"

Bursting out into cheerful laughter, the three Links jumped up, leaping forward at their friend and surrounding him in their embrace. And though Blue smirked and grumbled, trying to push the others off in a seeming disgust for their hugs, underneath that he was so incredibly happy to be back to who he was- who he had always been, and who he would always be.

And as the four heroes were wrapped tight in their embrace, the three spoke nearly at the same time, calmly and faithfully reassuring their old friend.

"… You never left, Blue."

Yes, the ending was slightly cheesy, but I had fun with it, so oh well. ^_^

ALRIGHT! After 36 long chapters of battling through five dungeons, crazy mine train rides and owl-flights, rupee-earning tournaments and ten intense boss-battle stages, the Four Sword Links FINALLY have their memories restored!

ONWARDS! To Veran and Onox- To Hyrule Castle- For Zelda and for all of Hyrule!

Chaaaaarrggeeee!

...

TOMORROW. ;)

Get ready for the next installment as our epic saga draws to a close- Chapter Thirty-Seven: Choices!