Chapter 52
Link and his friends finally reached Lake Hylia. Brad and Izzy rushed ahead of everyone to take a look at the lake. They stopped in their tracks and gasped in shock at what they saw. Brad held up his arms in despair.
"What the? Where is the lake? This is terrible!"
Link and the others rushed over to see what Brad was looking at and they too gasped at the sight. Navi broke the silence with a long sigh
"The water is all gone. We need to find a way to fix this"
Everyone looked at her and nodded in agreement. Brad nodded sadly.
"Yes. We need to enter that temple and find out what caused this. We can't leave the lake like this."
Valerie flew in front of everyone.
"I'm going to scout the lake bed and see if I can find the temple. Just hang tight until I get back, okay?"
Everyone looked at her and nodded silently. She flew off to survey the area. Link nudged Brad.
"So, are you still excited to be here? I want to know why you and Izzy were so excited about being here. Are you going to tell us or not?"
Brad looked at Izzy sadly. He then took a deep breath and faced Link.
"Me and Izzy will show you if and when we find the Water Temple. For the time being, just let it be, okay?"
Brad walked away from Link and sat down on a nearby tree stump. Link scratched his head in confusion. Why was Brad so angry? He just wanted to know what was going on. He sighed and kept watch for Valerie. Navi landed on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.
"Don't let Brad get you down, Link. He will tell us everything when he's ready. Not to worry. It's too bad about the lake. I guess Impa was right when she told us about the lake before."
Link whispered back.
"When did she tell us about the lake? I don't remember."
Navi looked at him oddly. Was she the only one that was paying attention when Impa spoke to them? She cleared her throat.
"She told us before we left for the lake. Don't you remember?"
Link shook his head.
"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention I guess. I hope Brad sheds some light on what's going on with him and Izzy. They are hiding something from us."
Charlie over heard their conversation and walked up beside Link.
"I think Navi is right, Link. He will tell us what's going on when he's ready."
He looked out at the dry lake bed and he saw a green glow. He turned to everyone.
"I think Valerie is on her way back. Let's see if she found anything."
Valerie came in for a landing. She landed on the grass. She was breathing heavily from her flight.
"Wow am I tired! I couldn't find anything high up in the air, so I flew lower to the ground. A frog mistook me for it's dinner. I barely escaped with my life."
Link's face was full of concern.
"You didn't get hurt at all, did you?"
She shook her head.
"No. Thanks for asking though. I escaped without a scratch. It may have been a different story if that frog managed to get a hold of me."
Brad stood up and walked over to Valerie and knelt down in front of her.
"I'm sorry to hear about your ordeal. Were you able to find anything?"
Valerie nodded.
"Yes I did actually. I found a lot of water. If you look out at the lake, there is the walking bridge across three islands. At the bottom of the biggest islands, there is a small amount of water. I guess it's what's left of the lake. I tried to look in the water and I saw a big gate. I think that's where the temple is."
Brad almost jumped with excitement.
"Way to go, Valerie! Can you take us there?"
She nodded.
"Sure, but can somebody please carry me? I'm still tired from my ordeal."
Charlie agreed to carry her and she led them down into the empty lake bed. They didn't have far to walk. Within minutes, the big island with the water below it could be seen by everyone. They ran up to the edge of it and looked down. A big black gate could be clearly seen under the water. There was something else that caught Link's eye. There was a big blue crystal above the gate. He shook his head.
"I can't believe this is all the water left in Lake Hylia."
A familiar voice commented behind Link and the others.
"It's quite a shame isn't it?"
Everyone turned around and shiek was standing there. Link was shocked at his sudden appearance.
"Shiek! What are you doing here?"
Shiek cleared his throat.
"I've been following you and your friends. Impa wanted me to make sure you get into the Water Temple safely. Have you figured out how to get in yet?"
Brad stepped forward.
"Me and Izzy have the solution."
Before anyone could say anything else, Brad began to unbuckle his sword and take off his tunic. Link looked at him oddly.
"Brad, What the heck are you doing? We need a plan before you start diving in!"
Brad didn't replay. He continued taking his tunic off. Afterwards, he unbuckled his boots and took them off. When he was done, he had his shorts left. He looked at everyone and blushed in embarrassment.
"Don't worry. I'm not taking my shorts off. I am about to reveal something quite amazing to you all. None of you realize it, but Izzy has an amazing power she received from the Great Fairy a few years ago. Back then, she went to the Great Fairy's fountain on an errand. She never told me the details of her visit when she returned. But apparently, the Great Fairy bestowed great power into her. I found this out one day when I was alone with her in the Lost Woods. There was a nice little pond in there and I was swimming. Suddenly, I saw something glow under the water and I wanted to dive down to investigate. I tried to dive down, but the pond was far too deep. But that didn't stop me! I kept trying to dive down to the bottom of the pond. On my fifth attempt, I almost drowned. That's when Izzy blasted me with magic. At first, I thought it didn't do anything. Until I started to change into this! Hit me, Izzy!"
Izzy began glowing bright blue and a bolt of blue energy left her and struck Brad. He grunted and gritted his teeth. Suddenly, Brad's skin began to turn very pale in color. Link gasped in alarm.
"Brad! Are you okay? What did Izzy do to you?"
He grunted and glared at Link.
"Ugh. S-stay back, L-link."
Link stayed where he was and continued to watch Brad. His skin started to get a light blue color. Brad roared in pain. Everyone gasped in shock. Something thin was growing out of his arm near his elbow. It continued to grow and get wider. It extended into two points. It resembled a fin. Link was astounded. What was Brad becoming? The same thing started to happen to his other arm. It grew out near his elbow and got wider and extended into two points. Brad gasped and looked up at Izzy.
"Ugh. Izzy, can you use your magic to numb my body like last time?"
Izzy nodded and shot him with a bolt of pink energy. Brad sighed with relief.
"Ah that's better. No more pain."
Something started to grow out of the back of Brad's head. It looked like a small fin. Within mere seconds, it started to get wider and thicker. When it was done growing, it was almost one foot in length. Brad's hair was completely gone and replaced with a new long fin. There were also gills at the side of Brad's neck. Brad's nose began to grow as well. It formed into a point and it was large and scaly. Next were Brad's eyes. They got a lot bigger and they changed into a jet black color. Finally were Brad's feet. They completely changed shape. Brad's toes were large and pointy and his feet were now webbed. Brad sighed and looked at everyone in his new form.
"Well? What do you guys think?"
Everyone, including shiek just stared at him in stunned silence. Link was first to break the silence.
"Brad! Y-your're a zora! This is incredible! So THIS is what you were hiding from us."
He nodded.
"Yes. I'm sorry about keeping this from you. This is how we are going to explore the Water Temple. We will do so as zoras! We won't have to worry about drowning at all!"
Charlie was hesitant.
"But what about my spells and Link's equipment? Are we just going to leave his equipment in a pile for our enemies to take?"
Brad shook his head.
"No we aren't. Izzy will transport them to the fairy realm. They won't be touched there and your spells should work fine."
Link was eager to be a zora. He took his tunic, set down all of his equipment, took his boots off and turned to Charlie
"Well? What are we waiting for? I want to be a zora too!"
Charlie shrugged.
"Let's do it. This might actually be fun."
Brad smiled and looked up at Izzy.
"You heard them. Hit them too! Don't forget the numbing spell. You can disable that on me now as well."
Izzy nodded and shot Link and Charlie with a bolt of blue energy and then a bolt of pink energy. Charlie's transformation was very different and quick. Being a shadow, he simply changed shape until he looked like a zora. Charlie grumbled to himself.
"I don't mind my powers, but I hate being a stupid shadow!"
Link's transformation was nearly complete. He had all the fins and his feet were reshaping. A few minutes later, Link looked just like Brad only taller. Link looked over at Charlie and snickered quietly. He was a shadow zora with glowing red eyes. Unfortunately for him, Charlie heard him and got angry.
"What are you laughing at? This isn't funny! I don't want to be shadow for the rest of my life! Isn't there any way to fix this?"
Link shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but we will ask Impa after we find whatever is causing the water drain in this lake."
Shiek walked up to Link and patted his scaly back.
"Good luck, Link. You should find Ruto in the temple somewhere. I'm glad I came here. Im all my years, I've never seen anything like that. A person transforming into a zora. I will return to the fortress and make my report to Impa."
He backed up and threw something on the ground and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Brad looked at Link and Charlie.
"Well, are we ready to figure out how to open that temple?"
Both Link and Charlie nodded. Navi flew in front of them and interrupted them.
"Sorry to butt in, but I just thought of something. How are we going to travel with you underwater? Are we going to be turned into zoras too?"
Izzy smiled at her.
"Don't be silly! I have a water breathing spell that only works on fairies. We'll be fine!"
Navi sighed.
"Well, that's a relief. Well, let's find a way into the temple."
Without warning, Link, Brad and Charlie dived into the water. Link was astounded. He was actually traveling underwater as a zora! He swam in front of the blue jewel he saw earlier. He punched it hard and suddenly, the gate opened slowly. Brad swam over and patted him on the back.
"Way to go, Link. Let's get back to the fairies and tell them you got the way opened."
They swam up to the surface of the water and floated. The three fairies flew over to them. Link gave them a thumbs up.
"I got the way opened. Being a zora is amazing. When I first arrived in this world, I never imagined I would have such an incredible adventure. Being a zora has made it even more incredible."
Izzy smiled.
"I'm glad to hear your having a good time here, Link. Me and Brad would be lost without you and Charlie. Now, I'm going to transport your things to the fairy realm. If you have need of them, I can transport them back anytime."
Izzy went over to the pile of L:ink and Brad's belongings and zapped them with a bolt of blue energy. Suddenly, they vanished. She turned to Link and smiled.
"There we are. Now, let's get inside that temple. But first, our water breathing spell."
Izzy glowed purple and shot Navi and Valerie and then herself with a bolt of purple energy. She nodded.
"There we are. We should now be safe underwater."
Link, Brad and Charlie dived underwater, along with Nav, Izzy and Valerie and entered the Water Temple.
Author's notes.
There we are. My first transformation. That was harder than I thought it was going to be. I'm really starting to wish I could actually play this as a game. Who's with me? Lol This would be an amazing version of Ocarina of Time in my opinion.
