Hey, readers! It's sslamajama97! First off, I'd like to apologize for getting this chapter out two days late. I've had some other stuff going on right now, and I'm also getting ready for Symphony of the Goddesses in Baltimore tomorrow, July 27(If you're going there, try and find me! I'll be dressed as Link!). So, I've had a lot on my plate, and didn't have a bunch of time to write the past couple of days. Sorry.
Anyway, now it's time for Chapter Thirty-Seven! This chapter will be from Samuel's POV, and it'll start up Link and Samuel's journey through the Ancient Cistern. I hope you all enjoy it! As always, thanks to TheSunsetWolf, ToonLink, Skylofti, CassIE-Ray, and 2 Guests for reviewing last chapter! And, of course, big thanks to PhantasmicFire323 for beta reading this chapter for me! So, thanks to you as well! Okay, then! Enjoy! :D
DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo does. I own all OC's I make up.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: That's What Friends Are For
(Samuel's POV)
Once Link and I walked out of the tunnel, we paused for a moment and took a good look around at the place we had arrived in. The Ancient Cistern was basically a huge pond with a few Lily pads scattered around the water. However, I knew there was much more than that. In the center of the room, there was a giant statue, with a slightly-creepy looking face, staring down at us. At the bottom of the statue, there was a locked door that we couldn't access yet.
I kept gazing around the room, spotting a few more things. There were some doors that obviously led to other places, and there were also some branch-like things that I knew could be swung across once Link and I acquired our Whips. I looked upward, and noted a couple of Furnix, or giant birds with chains attached to their tails, flying around the cistern. There was also a waterfall that flowed off to the left of the cistern, but other than that, there wasn't anything too exciting to see.
I noticed a Bird Statue directly to my left, and decided to say a quick prayer at it. Link joined me a second later, and after another moment of silence, he spoke up. "Okay, Samuel. So, where do we have to go first?" he asked. I turned away from the statue, answering him. "Let's head to the right of the temple for now," I responded, waving my arm in said direction. Link nodded, and we went off, following the path along the right side of the cistern.
A couple of regular Chuchus jumped up in our way, but they weren't really much trouble for us to deal with. A couple of sword slashes later, they were completely gone. Link and I continued forward, and eventually came upon a small gate that was locked by a nearby wall switch. A huge Chuchu suddenly decided to spring up in front of us, and we forced to slay it as well. After it dissipated, I ran, jumped up, grabbed the wall switch, and pulled it down with my weight, opening the gate on my left.
After the gate was unlocked, Link opened the door it was guarding, and we walked into a new room. We strode forward to a small ledge, and glanced around the area. The room was pretty small, at least in my opinion. All that it really contained was a water geyser that could lead us up to another platform, and a small pond at the bottom that contained a few Lily pads. The only interesting things I could see were a small chest across the room that I knew contained a small key, and a couple of Skulltulas on the left side of the room. We couldn't get to the chest just yet, so I kept scanning the small room.
After my quick look-around, I jumped off of the ledge Link and I were standing on, and fell towards the Lily pads. I felt my feet hit one, but the momentum from my fall caused it to flip over, sending me underwater with a splash. I still had my Water Dragon's Scale around my neck, so I could breathe just fine. I waited for Link to catch my drift, and he joined me under the water a second later.
Once Link dove into the water next me, we swam out from underneath the Lily pads, and made it back to solid ground. We climbed up onto the ground, and I heard Link speak up. "What was the point of those Lily pads being there? They just seemed to slow us down," he said. Of course, I already knew that the Lily pads weren't just there for decoration, and would play a part in some puzzles later on; flipping them over like we had just done was actually a clue of what we had to do. I didn't want to spoil Link with the exact answer, so I just shrugged. "They'll just help us solve a puzzle later on in the dungeon. They're not super important," I replied simply.
Link gave a small nod. "Oh, okay. I was just wondering about them is all," he said a bit quietly. I nodded back, and we walked over to the two Skulltulas that I'd mentioned before. They were both attached to their own separate webs, and one was in front of the other. So, that meant we could just focus on killing them one at a time, and not be swarmed by both of them. I unsheathed my sword, and slashed at the first web, trying to get the Skulltula to come down. After a few strikes, the huge spider dropped to the ground, and landed in front of me.
I didn't waste any time, and quickly did an upward slash, flipping the spider over and revealing its weak point. I jumped up into the air, swung my sword around, and stabbed down into the Skulltula, killing it with a Fatal Blow. It crumbled into blackness, and exploded. It didn't leave anything behind, so Link took that as an excuse to go after the second one. He got it down off of its web with a couple swings of his sword, and repeated the same technique I used from before.
After Link's Skulltula vanished with a Fatal Blow of his own, he turned to me. "Is that it?" he questioned. I nodded. "Yeah, let's go into the next room," I replied, already knowing the puzzle that awaited us inside the room. Link nodded, turning around, and we both walked into the next room. However, there wasn't much to see inside the room; the only thing that was there was a stone tablet, some grass, and a door that was locked by a gemstone puzzle.
I already knew the combination that would open the door: up, down, left, right. It was a pretty simple combination, even if the method to figure it out took some time. Actually, the combination itself was so simple that my younger brother actually managed to get it right without actually finding the clues; he just did trial and error, and got it after only three or four tries.
I knew that we could either do this puzzle the right way, and waste our time swimming around, finding the clues that led to the combination I already knew, or I could just be cheap, give Link the combination right now, and we could move on. For a second, I considered doing another challenge with Link; maybe he would have to solve the puzzle on his own in a fixed amount of time?
Eventually, I decided against doing that. "No, Samuel. You've got more important things to do right now. Focus on saving Jack," I told myself firmly. I didn't want to just give Link the answer, but when I thought about it some more, I decided that it was for everyone's benefit that Link and I should just get through the temple as quickly as possible, even if it meant being a little cheap. In the end, Jack was way, way more important than doing every single puzzle the right way.
So, I decided to just get the puzzle over with, and turned to Link, who was reading the sign on his left. "Strike the gemstones pointing in four directions wisely. The way will only open for those who the temple's secret order," he read. He then turned to me. "I'm guessing that you already know the order, don't you, Samuel?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah, Link. I already know it. You don't mind if we just skip this puzzle, do you? I'm pretty sure that Zelda and Jack wouldn't mind it, because it means we get to them faster," I replied, facing Link.
Link nodded. "Yeah. It would be stupid to waste any more time than we have to, so I say we should just get to the end of this temple as fast as we can. You'll hopefully be closer to freeing Jack from Ghirahim, and I'll be closer to seeing Zelda again," he replied. I nodded, and turned back to the gemstone switch. I drew my sword, and swung it at the switch four times: downward, upward, to the right, and then to the left, hitting the switch in the correct order.
After my final slash, the gemstone switch spun around a bunch of times, and vanished in a small flash of light, unlocking the door. I leaned down, and lifted the door upwards. Link walked through the doorway, and I followed him into the next room, which was pretty much identical to the other rooms in terms of style: water, Lily pads, and vine walls. However, I looked upward, and noticed a couple of Skulltulas hanging from the ceiling.
I pointed out the giant spiders to Link quietly, and we both pulled out our Beetles to deal with them. I sent mine towards the Skulltula at the far end of the room, and Link went for the one nearest us. After our Beetles cut the Skulltulas' threads, they were both sent plummeting into the water below. When the Skulltulas hit the water, they both sank to the bottom, drowning themselves, and eventually disappeared entirely.
"Follow me," I said. Link nodded, and we both hopped across the Lily pads, eventually coming to a vine wall with a Walltula on it. After Link finished off the small spider with his Slingshot, I told him to wait on the Lily pad we were standing on, because we would be leaving the room in a second. "Alright," he replied. I then climbed up the vine wall, and walked over to my left.
I was standing over another Lily pad, and its roots were blocking the way out of the room. So, I jumped off of the platform, and flipped the Lily pad over using the momentum from my fall. I ducked underwater again, and I heard a splash come from my left, telling me that Link had joined me. I swam over to the exit of the room, and picked up a red Rupee in the process. Link followed me, and we made our way through a small tunnel.
After spin-attacking through a bunch of wooden gates (which felt like going on the worst amusement park ride ever), and nearly losing my glasses once, Link and I made it out of the tunnel, and swam over to a small vine wall. We climbed out of the water, and caught our breaths for a second. I tried to shake away the dizzy feeling that I had gotten from doing all of those spin attacks, and questioned Link if he was alright. "You…okay…Link?" I asked between breaths. He nodded.
"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Actually, I'm the one that should be asking that question, Samuel. You look like you're about to throw up from all of those spin attacks. Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded, and walked over to a wall. I decided to sit down for a minute, and wait for the nauseating spinning to stop. Link sat down beside me, and we both took a small break. Eventually, after about two minutes, I felt like I could stand up again. I slowly stood back up, and Link followed suit. I took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I'm good now. You?" I glanced at Link.
He nodded. "I'm fine. I've been fine. Are you ready to keep going?" he asked, throwing the question back at me. I nodded. "Yeah, let's go," I replied. Link nodded, eyed me for a short moment, and then we walked over to the door in front of us. Link lifted it up this time, and we walked back into the room that was before the gemstone puzzle. However, now we were right in front of the chest. I ran over to it, opened it up, and collected the small key that was inside.
After pocketing the key, Link and I jumped down off of the platform, and walked over to the water geyser that I'd mentioned before. Link was ahead of me, so he jumped into the geyser, and it pushed him upward onto another platform. I copied him, and the water pushed me up onto the platform as well. Once Link and I were both safely on the platform, we continued onward.
A Deku-baba sprung up in front of us, so I whipped out my sword, slashed through it, and earned myself a blue Rupee. I pocketed the money, and Link and I made our way to the door that led out of the room. I opened it up, and we walked back into the main room of the temple. "Come on. We need to get inside that statue," I said, gesturing towards it. Link nodded, and we both dove into the water, swimming over to said statue.
I did another spin attack, and jumped out of the water. I landed right in front of the locked door, and Link followed suit. Then, we walked over to the door, and I stood in front of it for a second, thinking about the Stalmaster that awaited us inside. I was actually slightly scared about fighting the Stalmaster, because they were basically like Stalfos, but much worse. And, the last time Link and I fought one of those didn't exactly go smoothly. "Now I don't think we should've skipped over Skyview Temple again. Three Stalfos at once might've been good practice for this," I thought, scolding myself a little.
Eventually, I calmed myself down, and reached into my pouch. I pulled out my small key, stuck it into the lock, and turned it. The lock clattered to the ground, and Link lifted up the door for us to get through. We walked inside the statue, and I remembered that we wouldn't have to fight the Stalmaster just yet; Fi would tell us about the door at the top of the statue first. I looked upward at the ceiling for a quick second, and then down at the floor below us.
I could see the pile of bones that would form the Stalmaster right in the middle of the floor, which only made me scared again; my stomach started twisting with nerves and fear. After a few seconds, Fi suddenly popped out of Link's sword, right on schedule. "Masters, I have taken the liberty to confirm that a door is located at the uppermost section of this statue. The lock is unfamiliar to me," she stated. Link nodded. "Thanks, Fi," he said, with a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice. Fi returned to his sword without another word, and Link turned to me.
"So, are you ready to keep going, Samuel?" he questioned, thoughtfully. I nodded. "Yeah, let's go," I replied. I took out my Sailcloth, and jumped down to the lower floor. Link did the same, and we both gently landed on the ground, right in front of the pile of bones. I quickly put my Sailcloth away, and drew my sword. When Link noticed what was laying on the ground, as well my sudden action, he copied me.
Link and I stared at the pile of bones for another second before it shuddered to life and rose off of the ground. The bones connected into a skeleton with four arms wearing golden armor, and the Stalmaster that was now in front of us drew two swords. It advanced forward, holding up its swords to block. I quickly stepped forward, and slashed at the skeleton with my own sword. I managed to swing in the correct direction, and I hit it a few times before it attempted a counter slash with both of its swords.
Luckily, I managed to dodge the Stalmaster's strike, and I got away clean. Link was closest to the monster now, so he decided to give it a go. He stepped forward, and started his own onslaught. He swung his sword, and managed to damage the Stalmaster a few times, just as I had done. However, when the Stalmaster tried to counter, Link didn't get away in time. The monster's blades connected with Link, and he was sent backwards onto the ground.
"Link!" I shouted, worried. However, Link obviously wasn't giving up easily. He quickly got back up from the attack, and spoke up. "I'm fine, Samuel. Don't worry," he said quickly, keeping his attention on the enemy. I gave a quick nod, and then I charged at the Stalmaster, who was nearing me again. I looked at which way its swords were pointing, and slashed at the openings again. I connected all of my strikes, and jumped backward before it could do any damage to me. "See, Samuel? It's not as bad as you think. You and Link are murdering this thing," I thought, cheering myself on a bit.
The Stalmaster stepped backward for a second after my attack, and it obviously wasn't going to fool around anymore. It reached to its sides with its two extra arms, and pulled out two more weapons: another sword, and a battle axe. "Awesome," I thought sarcastically. I looked over at Link, who looked surprised at the two new weapons. However, he didn't stay that way for long, because the Stalmaster went for him next.
There was only one opening that Link could hit now, so it would obviously be harder for him to connect with the monster. He took a chance, and swung his sword. However, it clanged against one of the Stalmaster's swords. Link tried again, and this time was successful. He connected once, and the Stalmaster immediately brought all of its weapons to the center of its body, preventing more attacks from Link and simultaneously preparing a counterattack. However, by the time it slashed outward, Link was already gone. He ran away from the Stalmaster, and went past me to the back of the room, where there were some skulls that I knew contained hearts.
I knew Link was damaged from the first attack from the Stalmaster, so I decided to let him heal up for a bit while I took it on. I ran forward, and waited for the Stalmaster to come close. When it did, I noticed that all four directions that I could slash in were blocked. However, there was nothing preventing me from stabbing at its center, so that's what I did.
I stabbed at the Stalmaster, but something unexpected happened when I did; my sword got stuck inside its ribcage. "Crap," I thought. I quickly tried to pull my sword out of the monster, but before I could, I felt huge pain on my chest and arms. The Stalmaster had slashed at me twice in a row, and because I was still trying to get my sword out of it, it connected both times. I was sent backward, and landed hard on the ground. I tried to get up, but the pain was so bad that I wasn't able to.
I could feel myself bleeding in a bunch of different parts of my body, and it hurt like hell. "Samuel? Samuel?!" I heard Link shout from across the room. I opened my mouth, and spoke up after a second. "I-I'm…I'm fine, Link," I managed to say through somewhat gritted teeth. It took every ounce of my energy and willpower to do it, but I managed to get on my feet and stand back up. Almost every part of my body was now aching with pain, and I could still feel my chest and right arm bleeding.
I still needed my sword back, so I raised my left arm, the one that wasn't in complete pain, and held it out towards the Stalmaster. I concentrated with all of my might, and, miraculously, my sword slowly dislodged itself from the monster's ribcage and flew into my hand."Ew. I have to remind myself to wash this when we're done here," I thought, my face scrunching up even more in disgust. The Stalmaster was too far away from me to land a quick blow on me, so I took the chance to try and heal myself as fast as I could.
I hurried over to the nearest skull, and slashed my sword at it. But, for some reason, the skull was completely empty. "Damn it," I muttered angrily. I quickly walked over to the next skull, and slashed at it. But, that one was empty too. "What the freaking hell?! Why are all of these skulls empty?" I thought in disbelief. I could feel the pain in my chest and right arm intensify with every slash I took, and at this rate, finding a heart wouldn't benefit me at all.
I heard a noise, and turned to see the Stalmaster advancing towards me again. Link was running forward, trying to help out, but it looked like the Stalmaster would reach me first. I didn't have anything else to do, so I raised my sword with the last of my strength, prayed to the goddesses, and slashed at the Stalmaster blindly, hoping for some kind of hit. I saw my sword connect with the Stalmaster, but it wasn't enough to defeat it. It was stunned for a split-second, but it quickly slashed back at me.
I knew I wouldn't be able to block the attack with my shield, because I knew there wouldn't be enough time for me to draw it. So, I closed my eyes, and braced myself. I felt a whole new wave of pain wash over me, and I was once again sent backward. I landed on the ground again, and I could barely see what was going on, because my vision was starting to blur. "Oh, goody. Here we go again," I thought.
Through the pain and the blurriness, I could see Link charging at the Stalmaster. He completely let loose, and slashed at that thing like there was no tomorrow. After a bunch of slashes by Link, the top of the Stalmaster's body fell off. "Yes!" I thought hazily.
After my thought, I could feel my strength start to leave me, just as it had in the Earth Temple. A few seconds after the Stalmaster disappeared, my vision completely blacked out. I could hear someone call out my name, but I could barely hear whoever it was through the darkness. I felt myself become weaker and drowsier, but I managed to sustain consciousness, even though I couldn't see anything, and I still didn't know where that voice was coming from.
I felt the pain in my body start to numb, and I started seeing visions of my life again. "Samuel! Hold on, I've got you!" I heard the voice say from nowhere. I heard some sounds that sounded like someone breaking something, but that's the last thing I heard. The visions of my life suddenly died, I felt myself lose consciousness, and I knew no more.
After what felt like two eternities, I felt myself waking up. I opened my eyes, and immediately noticed that something was different; when I had died before, I remembered everything being all white and misty, and I remembered feeling completely weightless. Not to mention, for some reason, I didn't have any clothes on. Now, however, I could see color above me. But, everything was still blurred, for some reason. Also, I could definitely tell that I was solid, and I was pretty sure that I was clothed, which was a relief.
I tried to stand up, but all I could manage was sitting up, because I felt so weak. As soon as I sat up, I heard a voice come from my left. "Samuel! Thank Hylia you're alright!" it spoke with relief. I turned to my left to see a huge green blob. I still couldn't make out what it was, but I assumed that it was the source of the voice I'd heard earlier.
The green blob came closer to me, and looked like it was bending over to get something off of the ground. The green blob walked closer to me, and reached down to my face. The blob put something onto my face, and as soon as it did, my vision instantly cleared up. Everything around me came into focus, including the green blob, which turned out to be Link standing above me. He had just put my glasses on.
"Link? What the-? How did you-? Why are you here? Did you die too?" I asked. Link shook his head, and bent down on his knees to get to my eye level. "No, Samuel. I'm fine. I didn't die, and neither did you. I managed to find a heart in the last of those skulls that were scattered around the room, and keep you from dying at the last second. You're not completely healed from the battle, but at least you didn't die and waste your Fairy," he replied.
As soon as Link said "battle", everything came rushing back to me: the Ancient Cistern, the battle with the Stalmaster, me getting my sword stuck, and all of the pain that he'd inflicted on me. My right arm and chest suddenly erupted in pain, and I cried out against my will. "Ow! Damn it!" I gasped. I couldn't help cursing; it hurt too much not to. I reached into my pouch with my left arm, and searched through it for a second. But, I suddenly remembered that I had wasted my Heart Potion to hold the Sacred Water for Faron. "Well, that's just freaking great," I sulked.
Link looked at me curiously, and guessed what had happened. "Oh, yeah. You had to use up your Heart Potion for Faron, right?" he asked knowingly. I nodded, and Link immediately reached into his own pouch. He pulled out his own bottle of Heart Potion, and held it out. "Here, Samuel. It'll be dangerous for you if you waste your Fairy here, so take it. That way, we'll both still have some kind of healing item," he offered. "Are you sure about that, Link? You'd waste your Heart Potion for me?" I questioned.
Link nodded, and uncorked the bottle. Then, he held it out again. "Of course I'm sure. I'd rather it be that way. Why wouldn't I? That's what friends are for, right?" he asked. I smiled, and he continued. "Now drink that, and let's keep going. Remember, we still need to find the first sacred flame to get to Zelda, and try to free Jack," he said, pushing the bottle into my hands. As soon as Link completed his sentence, I nodded, and chugged the Heart Potion down. After the potion was down, I instantly felt all of the pain in my body completely fade away.
I stood back up, and looked around; of course, we were still in the room where the Stalmaster had been, but now the door leading out of the room was unlocked. I pointed to the door. "Did you already get the whips out of the chest in there?" I asked. Link nodded, and pulled two whips out of his pouch. "Yeah, I think I did. These are the whips, right?" he asked, holding them up.
I nodded, and took one of the whips from Link's hand. My whip was like Link's, but it had some small differences. My whip was mainly made of silver, and I noticed that Link's was made mostly of gold. Other than that, they were exactly the same. I gave my whip a small crack, and answered Link. "Yeah, these are the whips. We can use them to swing across gaps, latch onto certain switches, and steal items. And, of course, we can use them as weapons as well," I said, explaining them a bit.
Link nodded, and gave his whip a crack to try it out. "Huh. That actually seems really cool. I think this might be my favorite item we've gotten yet," he said. I nodded back, and smiled. "Yeah, they are pretty cool. They're not my favorite, but they are awesome," I agreed. After my sentence, Link looked around the room. At the other end of the room, there was a switch that one of us would have to snag with our whip. The switch would create a water geyser that would carry us back up to the main part of the temple.
Link noticed the switch, and walked over it. He held up his whip. "So, if I'm right…" he said to himself, trailing off. He didn't complete the sentence, and swung his whip at the switch. The end of the whip latched onto the switch, and stuck there. Link then pulled back on the whip, and the switch spun around. I could hear water rushing through pipes, and a second later, a huge geyser of water shot out of a pothole in the ground, creating a way back to the rest of the temple.
Link pocketed his whip, and walked over to me. "Well, I guess I was right. You ready to keep going, Samuel?" he asked. I nodded, and put my own whip back in my pouch. "Yeah, let's go," I replied. Link and I walked over to the geyser of water, and I went inside it first. The water pushed me upward, and I was sent back to the middle of the statue. A second or two later, Link joined me.
After Link and I were both back where we started, I walked over to the other side of the statue, where there was another switch. I took my whip back out, and swung it. My whip clung to the switch, so I pulled it back, and another water geyser appeared. I beckoned to Link. "Come on, Link," I said, motioning for him to join me. Link made his way to where I was, and went inside the geyser I'd just opened. He was pushed up to the next floor by the water, and I followed him.
Once we were on the third floor, Link whipped another switch, and created one more geyser. He was going to go up the geyser, but I knew that it only led to the boss door, which we couldn't open yet. So, I spoke up to hold him back. "Hey, Link. Don't waste your time going up there. All that's up there is the boss door, and we can't open that yet. Let's go back outside," I suggested. Link complied, walking back over to me. "Okay. So, where do we have to go next?" he asked.
I strode over to a nearby door, and opened it up. "Out here," I replied. Link gave another small nod, and walked outside the statue with me. We were standing on a small ledge that overlooked the front half of the cistern. However, there wasn't anything else to do there, so I stepped forward and jumped off of the ledge. I fell towards the water, and landed in it with a huge splash. A second later, Link joined up with me, and I bobbed there for a second, thinking.
I knew we should probably go to the outer edge of the temple again and get the Dungeon Map, but I decided that it wasn't super important to get. On top of that, I saw a Silver Rupee glistening on the palm of a large hand underwater, so I decided to get it. "Follow me, Link," I said. I dove underwater, and swam over to the huge hand. When I got there, I did a spin attack, and propelled myself forward. I quickly grabbed the Silver Rupee, and made it out of the hand's reach before it could grab me.
Once I had the Rupee in my grasp, I swam back to the surface, and made my way over to a nearby Lily pad. I climbed up onto it, stuffed the Rupee in my wallet, and noticed that Link followed me. "Okay, now what?" he asked. I looked forward; there was another Lily pad close by, but it was flipped over, which meant that we couldn't jump on it. However, a huge root stuck out of it, which meant that I could latch onto it with my whip and flip it back over. So, that's what I did. I took out my whip, swung it at the root, flipped the Lily pad back over, and jumped onto it. Then, I looked upward, where there was a wall switch that I was looking for.
I swung my whip at the switch, and latched onto it. I pulled downward on my whip, and the switch fell, clicking into place. I heard a rumbling sound, and saw the waterfall to my left suddenly stop flowing. Link looked surprised. "Oh. I guess that answers my question," he half-mumbled. I chuckled, and pocketed my whip. "Okay, Link. You see that hole? That's where we have to go next," pointing to it. Link nodded. "Okay, Fi," he said jokingly before diving into the water. He swam downward, and I jumped in after him.
I swam downward, and followed Link into a small tunnel. We swam through it for a second, and came out in a small room with a gate and a Skulltula. Link and I pulled ourselves out of the water, and I took out my sword. "Hey, Link. There should be 20 Rupees in a chest back there. Go ahead and get that, and I'll kill this Skulltula. Alright?" I asked. Link nodded. "Yeah, alright. I'll be right back," he answered, walking away.
Link walked off to the back of the room, and I turned to the Skulltula. I did a quick upward slash with my sword, and flipped it over on its back. Then, I did a Fatal Blow, and killed it before Link came walking back to me. I stood up from my attack, and Link walked past me, over to the gate. He stared through it for a second, and noticed a wall switch on the other side.
"Oh, okay. I get it," he muttered, more to himself than to me. Link took out his whip, and took a half-step back. Then, he cracked his whip, which went through the gate and latched onto the wall switch. Link pulled his whip back, and the switch clicked into place, opening the gate in front of us. He turned to me, and beckoned. "Come on, Samuel. Let's go," he said. I followed Link into the next room, and took a quick look around.
On our right, I could see a green Bokoblin and a small vine that Link and I could latch onto and swing across with our whips. And on the left, I could see some Blessed Butterflies fluttering about. In the very center of the room was a huge pool of water that I knew would carry us to the basement of the temple. So, I walked to the right side of the room, and Link followed me. The green Bokoblin tried to shoot something at me, but I blocked it with my Divine Shield, and slashed at it with my sword.
The Bokoblin was sent backward, and fell into the dark abyss that was behind it. After it disappeared from sight, Link spoke up. "So, now what do we have to do?" he inquired. I looked upwards at the vine, and retrieved my whip. "Follow me, Link. We still have a couple of things to do," I said. I swung my whip at the vine, and latched onto it. Then, I swung across the small abyss, grabbed onto the vine wall that was across from it, and held onto it tightly. I climbed up the wall, and waited for Link to do the same.
After Link saw what I had done, he took out his whip, and copied me. After Link climbed up onto the platform I was standing on, we looked forward, where there were two Deku-babas. I dashed forward, and killed the one on the left. I slashed through it, and Link did the same with the one on the right. Unfortunately, the Deku-babas didn't drop anything, so Link and I just glanced ahead. There was a huge cylinder covered in vines that rotated counterclockwise. Link walked forward, dashed up the cylinder, and grabbed hold of the vines. I followed him, and we climbed upward so the cylinder could drop us off at another ledge.
Once Link and I came to the small ledge, we got off of the cylinder to catch our breath for a second. After we were both breathing evenly, Link and I climbed back onto the cylinder, and rode it over to another platform that was below us. Link dropped down from the vines, and landed safely on the ground below. However, there was another green Bokoblin to take care of, so he hurried off to deal with it.
I dropped down after Link, and watched as he slayed the Bokoblin with a single swipe of his sword. After he finished, I walked over to him. I saw some Walltulas on the vine wall in front of us, so I took out my Slingshot and swiftly killed them so we could advance. Once the spiders were gone, Link looked ahead. There was the vine wall that we could now climb onto, but there also was a gate at the top of the wall, blocking the way up to the final switch that we would have to pull.
"Okay, Samuel. Can you get to that switch to the left?" he asked, pointing to the switch that would open the gate. I nodded. "Yeah, I can," I replied. I took out my whip, and once again latched used it to latch onto the vine in front of me. Then, I jumped off of the platform, and started swinging myself back and forth.
Eventually, I built up enough momentum to get myself over to the wall switch. I gave my whip a small tug at the end of my swing, and it disconnected from the vine, sending me forward. I flew over to the wall switch, and grabbed onto it. The switch was pulled down from my weight, and it clicked into place, opening the gate on my right.
Link nodded, and pulled out his own whip. "Okay, Samuel. It doesn't look like there's much to do up there, so wait down there for a second, okay?" he asked. I nodded, and let go of the wall switch. I fell, and landed smoothly on the ground. Then, I sat down for a second, and waited for Link to activate the whirlpool. As I sat there, I started to think about Jack, because we were getting closer to the boss battle with Koloktos. I thought about the Temple of Time, and about what Evil Jack had said before.
"As you know, there's one crucial piece to the puzzle that's missing. And the worst part, Jack, is that even if you do manage to tell Samuel the song he needs…" he had said. Obviously, he was referring to the Song of Healing, but I was scared by what he had said afterward. "Actually, I'll keep that a secret for now. I will tell you this, though: you won't be getting rid of me as easily as you think you will. My master has a few tricks up his sleeve to make sure of that."
What did he mean when he said that? Was the Song of Healing not enough to save Jack now? Would we have to do another thing to free Jack on top of what we (including Jack) have already done? I honestly didn't want to think about it. All I wanted to do was free my friend from the mess that he didn't deserve to be in. "He's been through enough already. I don't need any more bullcrap to deal with," I thought bitterly.
My thoughts were interrupted by a noise coming from my right, so I turned to see that the whirlpool had started up. I stood back up, and Link jumped down to join me. "Okay then, Samuel. I'm guessing that's where we have to go next. Am I right?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah. Are you ready, Link?" I questioned back.
Link nodded, and we walked to the edge of the whirlpool. It looked like we were going to drown if we stepped into it, but I knew it would be alright. "Okay, on three, then. One…" I started. "Two…" Link continued. We paused for dramatic effect. "Three!" we shouted simultaneously. Link and I jumped into the whirlpool, and I immediately felt the strong current pull me downward.
I felt myself being dragged downward, and I started becoming dizzy. The only reason I was probably able to stay conscious was because of the Water Dragon's Scale. After about half a minute of pulling, pushing, and what felt like the best and worst water slide ever all at once, I felt myself be pitched out of a pipe, and I knew that Link and I had arrived in the basement of the Ancient Cistern.
I'm so, so sorry to say this, but I might be late with next week's chapter as well, because I have marching band basically all day Monday to Friday next week. So, sorry. :( Okay, then. That's all for now, so I'll see you all next chapter! Bye! :D