Chapter 55
As soon as Link and his friends entered the Water Temple, they found themselves at a dead end. The path they were taking led to a solid wall. Link looked around.
"Where do we go now? Does this wall move inwards or something?"
Link began to push hard on the wall. Brad looked around and happened to stare upwards. He shook his head.
"Stop pushing on that wall, Link. Just look up!"
Link stopped what he was doing and stared up. He smacked his forehead.
"How did I miss that? I feel dumb for not noticing that."
Charlie laughed and patted him on the back.
"Don't worry about it, pal. None of us saw it either."
Brad pointed upwards.
"Well, let's swim up there and see what this place looks like."
He looked over at the three fairies. They all had magical blue orbs surrounding their bodies. They seemed to be breathing normally. Their water breathing spell seemed to be working well. He waved at them.
"Are you guys alright? I hope your spell keeps on working. I don't want to see you guys drown."
Navi smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, Brad. You are so thoughtful thinking about us like that. Don't worry about us. We should be fine right, Izzy?"
Izzy looked at her nervously.
"I hope so, Navi. I've never tried this spell for very long before. Let me know if you have trouble breathing."
Valerie gasped in alarm.
"You idiot! Are you telling us that the spell might fail? Why didn't you tell us this sooner?"
Brad stepped between the two fairies.
"Guys, try to stay calm. If anything happens, let me know right away and we'll figure something out. Until then, let's explore this temple."
Valerie was still hesitant.
"B-but what is the spell fails and there's no way to get out of the water? Why am I the only one that's concerned about this?"
Izzy sighed.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If the spell does fail, I'll just recast it again, okay?"
Valerie sighed.
"I guess that will have to do. Let's get a move on then."
Link and friends swam upwards and out of the water. They climbed out and walked forward. They were faced with more water. They looked down into the water. They could barely see the bottom. There were also a number of underwater passages. There was a huge square pillar that was situated around the center of the room. It had ledges all over it above and under the water. Link turned to his friends.
"I think we should dive down into the water. Maybe we'll figure out our next move after that. What does everybody else think?"
Charlie and Brad both nodded in agreement. Navi and Izzy both nodded in agreement as well. Valerie felt differently. She shook her head nervously.
"I'm too nervous to dive down into there. I'm afraid I'll drown."
Brad sighed.
"I understand your fears. If you'd like to stay here, nobody will stop you. We won't force you to do something you don't want to do."
Valerie sighed with relief.
"Thanks, guys. I'm sorry I'm being such a burden in here. I have a strong fear of water. Maybe I should have mentioned that earlier."
Navi whispered in Izzy's ear.
"Let's hope we can cast spells without her help. She has been helping us control our magic."
Navi whispered back.
"I guess we're about to find out if we learned anything from her."
Everyone waved farewell to Valerie and dived in. Link was feeling great. Being a zora was so amazing to him. He knew he was going to find it difficult to be a human again. It was so much easier to swim as a zora. He was practically gliding though the water. Being able to breath underwater was the biggest advantage of all. He thought of Princess Ruto and giggled. If only she could see him now! He continued swimming downwards, not realizing that soon he was about to meet with Ruto face to face after seven years. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as something big and long swam by. When they reached the bottom, Link looked around for the object. He turned to his friends.
"Did anybody else see that?"
Brad nodded.
"Yes I did. I didn't like the look of it either."
Charlie laughed nervously.
"What the heck was that thing?"
Navi gulped nervously.
"I don't know, but I hope we don't see it again."
Izzy looked over her shoulder nervously.
"I know what it looked like to me and I hope I'm wrong."
Brad glanced at her.
"What do you think it was, Izzy?"
Izzy's face was a grim mask of fear.
"It looked like a sea serpent! I've only seen them once before. I saw one in my homeland of Termina when I was young. I was flying around neat the ocean in Great Bay when suddenly, a huge creature jumped out of the water and right back in again. I asked the locals and they told me it was a sea serpent. They also had another name for it. They called it an eel!"
Brad laughed nervously.
"An eel? Are they dangerous?"
Izzy nodded.
"Yeah. They also told me that the eel was eating the local sailors. They have razor sharp teeth."
Brad turned to Link and Charlie.
"Then I'd better show you two some attacks and a strong defensive move before that thing bothers us again."
Link was hesitant.
"But we're zoras! What else can we do except glide through the water and breathe underwater?"
Brad grinned.
"I've got a few interesting things to show you that would even make Ralis jealous. First of all, these fins on our arms have a sharp edge on them, making them the perfect weapons for close combat situations. Who needs a sword when we got these fins? They are not quite as sharp as a blade, but I've had to use them before and they served me well."
Link looked at the fins on his arms. They didn't look like anything special. He ran his finger along on of them and pulled it back quickly. He was right. They did have a sharp edge on them. Her smiled at Brad.
"Very nice, pal. What other abilities do we have?"
Brad grinned.
"Can't wait to see the rest? I don't blame you. Next is a strong defensive move. We actually have the ability to create a magical shield around our bodies. It just takes a small amount of concentration. Observe!"
Brad closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Before long, a bright blue barrier surrounded his body. Link, Charlie, Navi and Izzy gasped with awe. Brad opened his eyes.
"This shield is invulnerable to attacks. The only problem is that it doesn't last long. It might last about thirty seconds altogether, but it's still useful for when you're in trouble."
Link was awestruck at the shield. He had no idea that he actually had the ability to create something like that! He looked over at Charlie and he too was staring at the shield
Brad looked at Charlie and Link. They both had their eyes glued on the magical shield he created. He laughed.
"Quite the impressive shield isn't it? Don't just stand there staring at it. Give it a try!"
Link closed his eyes and began to concentrate. It wasn't long before he too had a magical shield created. Shortly after, Charlie created one around his body as well. Brad held out his arms.
"Nice going, guys. Isn't that neat? There is one more thing I'd like to show you. You know that fin I was telling you about earlier? Well if you hold it sideways, you can use it as a shield! Well, now that I've shown you guys these abilities, let's get a move on!"
Link nodded in agreement and was about to say something when suddenly, he saw the big long shape swimming up behind Brad. He yelled a warning.
"Brad! Look out behind you!"
Brad turned around and he was face to face to a giant sea serpent! It was black with red spots all over it's long sleek body. It's tongue flickered in and out of it's mouth rapidly. It bared it's rows of razor sharp teeth. Then, it did something that shocked the travelers beyond words. It actually spoke to them!
"Foood at lassst! S'kaan finally gets to eat! Say your prayerssss, zorassss. I will devour every lassst one of you!"
Brad snapped out of his shock and stood ready to fight.
"You're not going to eat us, you vile beast! Not while I'm still alive! Prepare to fight. I will fight you with every last ounce of strength in my body!"
The serpent reared and hissed viciously at him.
"Sssso be it, but I warn you.. I am not about to fail my massster!"
Brad turned to Charlie and Link.
"Guys, I'm going to need your help with this beast. We cannot let it win!"
They ran over to Brad and waited for the serpent to make a move. It hissed and swam towards them with surprising speed. They dodged his attack, while at the same time, they swung their arms hoping to harm to giant eel. It hissed in agony. One of their fins scored a hit on it's side. The water began to get cloudy. Brad groaned.
"It's good that one of us hit him, but we've got a new problem. The serpent's blood got the water cloudy. Keep your eyes and ears open!"
The three zoras kept alert. They could hear the eel hissing angrily, but they couldn't figure out where it was. Navi swam in front of them.
"I have an idea! I will try to light up the water for you. It might help you see better."
Navi concentrated and within seconds, she was glowing very brightly. Brad looked around and he still couldn't see the vile beast. Link noticed the hissing was getting closer. He trusted his ears and took a chance.
"I think it's behind me!"
Link swam out of the way and they all watched to see if Link was correct. Sure enough, the eel came into view directly in front of where Link was standing. Brad looked at the eel closely. An idea was beginning to form in his mind.
"I think I know how we can take care of this eel. We need to grab a hold of it. If we can do that, then all we have to do is keep swinging our arms at the eel. With enough cuts from our fins, that eel won't stand a chance! I'll try to distract him. You two see if you can grab onto him."
Link was hesitant.
"But what if he ends up hurting you? I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. We've been through so much together."
Brad patted him on the back.
"I know, bud. I'll be fine. You just have to trust me!"
Link nodded.
"Okay. Let's do this."
Brad swam over in front of the eel. It looked at him and bared it's teeth.
"Sssso, have you decided to ssssurender ssso sssoon? Your attack wassss pathetic"
Brad glared at it.
"I'll never surrender to you. You're so slow, a snail could likely move faster than you!"
The eel bared it's teeth in anger.
"You will pay for that insssult!"
Brad swam away with the eel following close behind. It had it's mouth wide open as it chased him. Link and Charlie swam beside the eel and they managed to get a grip on it's tail. It was hard to hold on. It was so slimy and slippery. They both began to climb the giant eel. They managed to get near the center of the eel's body. They took their fins and began to slash at the eel. They could hear the eel hissing in pain.
"Drat! Thisss wasss a trap!"
It began to move around left and right in an attempt to shake Link and Charlie off. It succeeded in loosening Charlie's grip. He let go and fell to the ground senseless. Link on the other hand was able to stay on. He looked at the large gash that he and Charlie had made. It looked painful, but it wasn't enough to kill the beast. He had to get to his head and start slashing. He started to carefully climb towards it's head.
Brad was literally swimming for his life. The eel was even more determined to kill him now. They were swimming around the large square pillar. His mind was in a blind panic. He hoped greatly that Link and Charlie were trying to kill the beast before it had him for dinner.
Link was almost at the beast's head. Just a few more inches and he was there. He started to climb faster, knowing that Brad's life was at stake. After a long agonizing climb, he finally made it to it's head. He got his fins ready and shouted a farewell message.
"Say goodnight, S'kaan!"
Link started to hack and slash at the beast's head. It screamed in agony and it's vision started to blur. It uttered a weak cry.
"Nooo! I mussst not fail my massster..."
A few seconds later, the beast let out one final cry and went still. Brad was still swimming, thinking the eel was still after him. Link shouted to him.
"Brad! You can stop swimming now. The beast is dead."
Brad stopped and turned around. The eel was floating lifelessly in the water. He sighed with relief.
"Not a moment too soon, Link. I thought that thing was going to catch me! I still find it hard to believe that it could actually speak. By the way, where's Charlie?"
Link looked down. He was down below shaking his head. Link smiled.
"I'm glad he's okay. I saw him lose his grip on the eel before. Hey Charlie, are you okay?"
Charlie looked up and waved at him.
"Yeah I'm just fine. Nice going with that eel."
Navi and Izzy swam over to Link. They both bowed their heads.
"We're sorry we weren't more help in your battle, guys."
Link laughed.
"Don't worry about it. We had everything under control."
Brad motioned everyone to follow him.
"Now that the eel is dead, let's continue exploring this place. Follow me to the bottom again."
Everyone followed Brad to the bottom. They found a passage and decided to follow it. They turned a corner and there was a zora kneeled in front of a shrine. Upon hearing noise, the zora got up and turned around. The zora gasped.
"You startled me! I didn't think any other zoras escaped our home besides me and Ralis."
The zora was a female. She swam over to Link.
"So, what's your name, handsome?"
Link was hesitant. For some reason, this zora looked familiar to him.
"You first. What is your name?"
The zora looked insulted. She glared at him.
"How dare you! You don't even recognize your own princess when you see her?"
A sudden realization hit Link.
"Wait a minute. Is that you, Ruto?"
She stomped her foot down .
"Of course it is? Why don't you recognize me? I've been your princess for a long time now!"
Link shook his head.
"Ruto, you may find this hard to believe, but it's me, Link."
Author's notes.
There we are. I think that chapter came out well if I do say so myself. I was afraid that I was going to make a mess writing about the Water Temple, but I think I'm doing okay so far. In response to people worried that I'm going to quit writing, I plan on finishing this before the end of the year. That means that I've got a lot of writing to do. On another note, I recently created a community on fanfiction called The Zelda Zone (No really I'm serious!) So let me know if you'd like to join. Hopefully I'll figure out how it works lol.
