Chapter 36: Back to the land of the dead

In Zora Cape, Link and the Sages decided to split up for a moment so they could rest and hopefully cool down from their adventure in the lava-filled land and the short encounter against Majora. Link, Saria and Zelda sat together alone on a higher floor, with Impa watching over them from a distance. She could tell that the girls were worried, while Link himself looked as if he was preparing to face death itself once more.
"So, we have to go back to the Stone Tower, where our long trip began in the first place…" Link said.
"Indeed…" Zelda said, remembering the words of the old man well.
"But we can't scale the Stone Tower itself right away; the puzzles there are very complicated, some of which require the use of the 'Elegy of Emptiness' song. I have mentioned this to you back when we were in Clock Town with Ruto and Nabooru…" Link said.
"Yes, I remember you talking about the song, but I've never actually heard of it." Saria said.
"Then I think the time has come that I teach this song to you, since I believe we will need it in the Tower itself." Link said, getting up.
Impa moved closer, deciding to listen in so she could memorize the song herself in case her assistance is needed.
"It's kinda ironic now…" Zelda said, giggling.
"What is?" Link asked.
"Saria and I have been teaching you songs, and now you're teaching us one in turn."
Link chuckled at this, before grabbing his Ocarina, the one that Saria gave him. Saria grabbed her own Fairy Ocarina, while Zelda brandished the Ocarina of Time.
"Alright, listen closely. The Stone Tower Temple is almost like an impenetrable stronghold; hundreds of soldiers of Igos du Ikana himself could not scale it. This is why he gave me, in his words, 'a soldier who has no heart, one who will NOT falter into darkness'. This is the Elegy of Emptiness." Link said, as he then began to play the seven-note intro of the Elegy of Emptiness.
The instant after Link played the song, a glow appeared around him, which became a green-colored pillar that grew smaller and vanished as quick as it came in the span of a few seconds, but once Link moved away, a statue that looked like Link appeared on the place where he once stood. This time, the statue of Link looked a bit different from the one that he had used when scaling the Stone Tower during his first adventure in Termina. Visible on the arms and legs were small lines that represented scars from previous battles, while the grin that first had on the face had turned into a mere smile, one that seemed either more melancholic in nature or had the appearance that, no matter what happened, it tried to look at the bright side of things, as if hoping that the sacrifices he made wouldn't be in vain. Although blinking at this at first, both Saria and Zelda regained their composure and played the Elegy of Emptiness themselves, both of them feeling the same glow around them that Link had experienced before. Upon stepping away, statues of Saria and Zelda respectively appeared on the places where the two once stood. Like the one of Link, the Saria and Zelda statues had a smile on the face, although Zelda's appeared much more melancholic in nature, and here and there on the statues were the same lines that represented scars on the bodies, in particular on the hands, arms and legs. Impa herself blinked at this, wondering how her statue would look like if she played the song herself.
"The only thing that baffles me is that the statues could appear here too; normally we would have to be inside Ikana Canyon for that to happen…" Link said.
"I think the cause is simple…" Impa said, approaching the group.
"And that is?" Zelda asked.
"The three of you actually have been dead not too long ago. While you were resurrected and everything is now apparently fine, I believe these statues represent the state of your former self, perhaps from before your death…" Impa said.
"I see what you mean; the statues that I could form in my Deku, Goron and Zora forms respectively looked more like the bodies of those whose souls I had healed and of which I used their corresponding masks to inhabit their bodies rather than looking like an exact image of yours truly in those forms." Link said, nodding.
"How many of these can actually be made?" Zelda then asked.
"Only one statue of each form of one who plays the song can exist at a time. So while multiple statues can be made, it's limited to one statue per form." Link replied.
"So I can't make two statues of myself in that form?" Zelda asked, pointing to her statue.
"Nope, just one. You can summon a statue at any time you like, but it will always appear on the spot you're standing on while playing the Elegy of Emptiness; any statue you have made previously in that form will automatically be dispelled." Link said.
Zelda, Saria and Impa nodded at this.

Rauru in the meantime was talking with Darunia, while Nabooru was watching Princess Ruto.
"The situation has become more complicated than I anticipated; Ganondorf and Majora are more dangerous than I thought…" Rauru said.
"Indeed; Ganondorf has immense power, while Majora is outright insane and yet also quite strong in his own right." Darunia said, nodding.
"The next few days will without a doubt be the hardest, as we can't afford any failures now…"
"That is true, especially in Ikana Canyon…"
"We all need to remain strong once we traverse through that area; otherwise we'll be joining the lingering spirits to roam around, full of regrets…"
"We'll make it, Rauru. As long as we have the others with us…" Darunia said.
"I guess you're right. Link's courage will help us through…"
"Exactly."
Darunia and Rauru watched as Nabooru went in the water with Ruto, before they were joined by Link, Zelda, Saria and Impa.

After about 30 minutes, the group decided to make a go for it towards Ikana Canyon, so they said their good-byes to the Zora people inside Zora Hall, moving back into Zora Cape where their boat was. Once outside into Zora Cape, Princess Ruto then drew her blade, spinning it around before holding it in the air, invoking the power of the Ether Medallion she received. A bolt of lightning hit her sword as the medallion's power was activated, shooting the bolt back in the air and striking at the clouds surrounding the area. Immediately the darkened clouds began to split open and spread apart, revealing clear, blue sky with here and there a normal cloud around. It was as if the princess herself had cleared the damp atmosphere around the Zora Cape and let in fresh, cool air to restore the climate around the area itself. Link smiled at this, watching Ruto do her job in order to save her people in Termina at least, before joining the group once more as they entered the boat, with Rauru steering it towards the mainland.
"We should call the horses once we get on land, that way we can save up on travel time by far." Link said.
"Great idea, it'll save us energy too." Zelda said, nodding as the coast came in view.
"Hopefully we can decimate some of the enemies underway…" Saria said.
"That gives me an idea; if Darunia goes first with his Spiked Goron Roll, we should be able to follow as he can plow through enemy defenses with ease." Link said.
"Now you're speaking my language. I'll gladly mow down those goons for you." Darunia said, patting Link on the back, making Link yelp a bit at the force of it.

Once the group arrived at the coast and left the boat, Link and Zelda used their Fire Arrows to take out two Like-Likes that could form a potential hinder to them, before Link went to play Epona's Song on his Ocarina. In less than a minute, Epona and the few horses accompanying her came galloping across the sandy coast, taking out a Leever and a Red Tektite along the way before slowing and coming to a halt in front of the group. Link smiled, patting and stroking Epona over her back and manes, making Epona neigh in satisfaction, before Link mounted the horse, with this time Zelda hopping on behind him. Saria took Zelda's spot on Impa's horse, while Darunia himself got ready to take off. While Nabooru had Ruto with her, Rauru sat alone on his own stallion. Once Darunia was given the signal, he charged up his Goron Roll and charged ahead, with Epona and the other horses following behind, taking the other Sages and Link with them. Zelda looked around while holding onto Link, just to be sure no one was trying anything funny. Thankfully, the only sounds that were heard were the sounds of Tektites and Leevers being defeated as the group ran over them without troubles. Zelda held Link from behind as they rode on, following Darunia, which made Link blush with a smile. Eventually the group went to the right past the Fisherman and the Oceanside Spider Houses, going up the sandy path towards Termina Field…

Once in Termina Field, the group simply moved onward, deciding to move straight to Ikana Canyon through the southern route, bypassing the Dodongos and Eenos on the northern part of the field itself, finding the ChuChus easier to deal with. On top of that, moving through the bushes allowed them to snatch some spoils they could find on ammunition for bombs and arrows along the way, obviously being left behind by slain enemies. Zelda looked in the direction of Clock Town, seeing that the town itself remained intact, although the town's walls showed signs of battle damage due to several holes and cracks being present along the wall, here and there were black patches that indicated there was a fire burning there, which had been extinguished. The atmosphere around took on a more darker tone as it began to rain as the group traveled onward, a distinct rumbling being heard in the air as if a storm was passing over. Zelda shivered, which in turn caused Link to shiver as well. Passing by the Astral Observatory, the group then turned to the right as the grass of the field was replaced by the sand/stone-like ground visible in Ikana, with the group entering Ikana Valley.

Upon arriving in Ikana Valley, Link noticed that, where once the fences stood to keep anyone on foot from entering the valley in the first place and thus had to use a horse to jump over them, were gone, being reduced to broken stone and broken and bent metal that stood outward, as if the invasion had come from Ikana itself. Stopping their horses close at the cliff they had to climb at, hiding them from sight, the group then dismounted the horses and proceeded to use their Hook- and Clawshots to climb their way to the higher area using the wooden tree that stood there, helping each other further up as they went. Passing by the boulders and rocks that remained on the path, the group could feel that the air was getting denser and also a bit darker, while at the same time, the stench of death began to creep around the area. It was then that several boulder-like creatures emerged from the ground.
"What's this? They look a bit like Gorons…" Darunia said, noticing the rocky surface on their bodies.
"And they smell like gunpowder…" Saria said.
"WATCH IT! Those are Nejirons; they will explode if they touch you!" Link said, pulling Saria out of the way as one Nejiron rolled by, missing her.
Zelda then shot the Nejiron with an arrow… making the Nejiron explode upon being hit with the arrow!
"YIKES!" Ruto exclaimed, rolling out of the way of another Nejiron whom aimed at her.
"We have to make a run for it, let's go!" Link said, grabbing Saria and Zelda by their hands, the three proceeding to run onward, not looking back as more Nejirons emerged from the ground. The others followed right away, doing their best to avoid the Nejirons as much as they could.

Eventually the group arrived at the bank of Ikana River, being the main part of Ikana Canyon itself. Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru were visibly unsettled, seeing as they have been here before, but moved on nonetheless. Freezing the resident Octoroks with Ice Arrows to encase them in blocks of ice, the group used these to cross Ikana River and, once more using their Hook- and Clawshots, made their way into Ikana Canyon itself, on the area with a now visibly damaged Music Box, the still deserted and ruined Ikana Castle and the monstrous Stone Tower not too far. There were now several Gibdos and ReDeads around in the canyon, accompanied by Blue Bubbles which were flying around.
"Dang, things have definitely changed around here…" Link said.
"Yeah, it's as if this place has gotten worse since the last time we were here…" Zelda said.
"Once this is all over we'll need a vacation." Ruto said.
"You got that right." Saria said.
"Let's check that music house first, it may give us clues as to what has happened here…" Impa said.
"Right, but watch yourself; we have ReDeads and Gibdos around, next to the Bubbles and the Guays…" Link said, intercepting a Guay whom was aiming for Ruto.
The others nodded, before Link knocked on the door of the Music Box house… but no one answered the door.
"Maybe nobody's at home?" Zelda asked, just as the door itself fell down on the ground… as if it had been torn off its hinges before and someone unceremoniously put it back in its place, startling the group.
"Now THAT is what I call 'flattening the door'." Link said, blinking.
"I'll say." Zelda said, blinking as well.

The group then cautiously went inside the house, looking around.
"Anybody home?" Link called in the house, but received no reply.
"Look at this; this place is a mess! Who lived in such a dump?!" Ruto asked, looking around.
"This used to be the home of a man who was researching the supernatural and his daughter…" Link said, moving downstairs to where the research tools were.
Saria and Zelda followed, wondering what could be in the basement. Upon arrival, they could see that the basement by itself was a mess; papers laid scattered across the floor, some of them crumpled, torn, folded or anything in between, as if someone must have had put up quite the resistance against the aggressor.
"Geez, talk about a struggle having taken place here…" Saria said.
"I'll say; it's likely they must have taken the researcher and his daughter captive… or even worse… but there is no blood around…" Link said.
"Could they have been cursed too?" Zelda asked.
"Possibly, which would suit the nature of this area well. Makes me wonder why they actually live here in the first place…" Link said.
"Yeah, field studying here is quite risky…" Saria said.
"Should we actually try to rest here for a moment so we are truly prepared to scale the Stone Tower?" Zelda asked.
"It would be best; scaling the Stone Tower isn't easy at all and if this is the current source of evil in this area, we may need to be refreshed more than ever." Link said.
"We can place a seal around the place that can prevent any malevolent force from coming in and take us by surprise…" Zelda said."
"That's a wise idea. That way we can have some decent rest in too." Link said, as he and the others went back upstairs.

After talking about it with the others, the group agreed to use the house as a temporal shelter, since it apparently was unoccupied. Perhaps this could also give them precious time for a more thorough investigation, to find out what has happened to its regular occupants, where they have gone or been taken to and what relation it has with the goons that were currently occupying the Stone Tower and its Temple. After they placed the door back in its place and put the seal on it to prevent outsiders from coming in, the group prepared themselves to get some rest. Using what was available, they made makeshift beds for Rauru and Impa downstairs, since they opted to watch over the area regardless, while Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru went to occupy the beds of the researcher and his daughter, the latter of which was named Pamela as the group found out from some of the papers they investigated. They also noticed the papers of the father having done his research on the Gibdos and Garo and other supernatural phenomena in the area as those contained their pictures. Link remembered these as he had seen them before after using the Song of Healing to lift the curse on the man was he apparently was going to turn into a Gibdo.

Later on, the group was resting, making sure they would put the things they used back to where they found them so no one would see that they had even been in here. As they rested, Link, Saria and Zelda occupied Pamela's bed, while Nabooru and Ruto laid close by in the father's bed. However, the slumber of Link, Saria and Zelda wasn't easy, trying to find comfort in each other. Thankfully, Ruto and Nabooru were close by and assisted the troubled trio in chasing the nightmares away. Even though they were resting as well, Impa, Darunia and Rauru were being on guard, just to be sure nothing was trying anything funny. Throughout the night, the entire place remained quiet, as if giving the group some peace in turn, even though the overall atmosphere of Ikana didn't ease them overall…

The next morning however, the group woke up as the sun was rising, but its only noticed through the thick air becoming a lighter shade in color, with the Sun itself unable to penetrate through the clouds properly. After getting themselves tidy again, the group set to bring the house back to its state before they entered it to erase any traces of their presence. As they were done with the tidying, the group eventually began to hear a song resonating through the house, as if someone had turned on some kind of music box on.
"Hm? Is someone playing music?" Zelda asked, looking around as if to see where it came from.
"I think so… the tone seems familiar, but I can't exactly bring it back to mind…" Link said, scratching his head as it sounded nowhere near the 'Farewell to Gibdos' song that usually played in the house once it was turned on by the Ikana River…
"It seems rather low in tone…" Saria said, looking around as well.
"Those low piano chords are a bit unsettling to me…" Nabooru said.
"And why do I feel as if something's being sapped from me… as well as from all of you too?" Impa asked.
"Something being sapped?" Ruto asked.
"As if someone is draining our powers?" Darunia asked.
"Not just power… it feels as if it's draining our life force…" Impa said, feeling her legs wobbling, while Saria and Zelda collapsed on hands and knees, gasping for breath.
Link felt his chest getting heavy, but managed to hear Impa's last line…
"Draining our life force… this song… oh no!" Link then said, eyes widening in absolute horror.
"What is it?!" Impa asked, feeling her own chest getting heavier as she was beginning to sweat.
"We have to get out of here right now! This is the Melody of Darkness, a song that will mean our deaths if we keep listening to it!" Link exclaimed in near-panic.
"But the… door still… has the seal!" Zelda said, trying to hold onto Link as her chest felt heavy.
"We can dispel the seal, but with this rate, we won't be able to make it in time." Rauru said
"Allow me!" Darunia said as he charged up a Goron Roll and smashed himself through the door to outside in Ikana River, breaking the seal in the process with his own magic as the door was reduced to splinters, allowing the group to escape the house while covering their ears as best as they could as the song apparently kept growing in volume.

Once they were out of the house, the music itself died down, much to the group's relief, but the effects remained, as if they narrowly prevented themselves from having a cardiac arrest, their chests and bodies feeling heavy, almost as if they had participated in a long distance run without resting once.
"C… Curse you, Majora!" Link said between gasps, struggling to move towards the others, before he looked at an opening in a nearby stone wall, close to the side entrance to Ikana Castle.
"W… where are you looking at?" Zelda asked, trying to get up, but feeling her arms and legs struggling to maintain strength.
"T… there's a… Great… Fairy nearby…" Link said, doing his best to stay upright, helping Zelda and Saria up, while Nabooru helped Ruto up, moving towards Link, Saria and Zelda.
With Link's guidance, the group entered the Great Fairy's Fountain, where the Great Fairy of Kindness helped in restoring the group's health with her magic, much to the group's relief.
"What was that for a song that was draining our life force like that?" Impa then asked Link, being puzzled as to why a mere song could have such a devastating effect.
"That was the Melody of Darkness. It was composed by the composer Sharp here in Termina, intended to let anyone who listens to it 'sleep gently and join the ranks of the dead' as he put it." Link said.
"Wait, you mentioned something about him here…" Zelda said.
"Yes. The reason I didn't recognize the song first hand is, although I did confront Sharp in the Spring Water Cave where he played that song too, I immediately tried to heal his soul with the Soul of Healing, but when that had no effect, I went to play the song that Sharp's brother Flat made me remember: The Song of Storms. It apparently has an increased magic power here as the Song of Storms can cleanse specific curses of its own, as it helped break the curse placed on Sharp and it can help us recover from being jinxed by a Blue Bubble quicker." Link said.
"Jinxed?" Ruto parroted.
"Yes. It's a type of curse that will render the affected victim unable to draw their main weapon, in our case our swords, for a certain amount of time. Only the Song of Storms can wash it away in an instant." Link replied.
"But why did he compose that song?" Saria asked.
"Sharp was on his turn cursed by Majora, having foolishly 'sold his soul to the devil' as Flat told me. Majora apparently has used the song in that house to kill us when we were awake… perhaps Ganondorf could have had a hand in it too." Link said, right before Zelda came up to him and hugged him.
"Zelda?" Impa asked, while Link was also concerned.
"Thank you again, Link. I think I lost count on this, but again you have managed to save our lives…" Zelda said.
"Hey, it's no problem, Zel." Link said with a warm smile, right before Saria and Ruto hugged him as well, much to the amusement of the adults as they saw that Link was getting a bit nervous.
"I almost wanted to ask if there's anything to repay you for it…" Zelda said.
"No need for the payments and all, I just do what I believe is right." Link said, being modest.
The Great Fairy smiled at this affection between the group as they remained in the Fountain for a while to recuperate properly from their near-death experience, before they finally went off to scale the Stone Tower.