Disclaimer: If I'm rewriting an existing character, can I claim co-ownership of it? Watch me, Nintendo…
Day 2, Afternoon, Deku Palace – King's Chambers
After going through a full course meal of trouble and action, Link and Tatl finally reached their intended destination. The cage where the monkey was held in, however, was placed in a very open and visible place of the King's Chambers; which meant the covert operation was still ongoing.
The monkey was tied up high to a white pole, but otherwise, the cage, surrounded by metal bars and with a few loose boxes and crates spread around, didn't have much else of notice.
"Well, here we are," Link said, quietly.
"Look how the poor thing tries to wrestle himself off of the ropes…" Tatl said, noticing that the monkey didn't look very happy or conformed with his situation.
"The way that other monkey put it, he must've been locked in for at least a day or two, right?"
"Probably."
That's some willpower. "Well, let's get him out."
Link took his Deku Mask off, figuring that his smaller Deku figure wasn't doing him any favours here, and scouted the area.
"So how do we get up there in the first place?" Tatl said, looking at the ropes around the monkey.
"We can't attract attention because the Deku guys are standing right next to us," Link said, "Which means we have to avoid noises and too much movement."
"Which means you're too scared to get caught cutting the rope," Tatl said.
"N-No! Of course not? W-Why would you even think that?" Damn this fairy and her sorcery…!
Tatl, ignoring her partner's Lake-Hylia-transparent lie, rose up towards the monkey until they were at face level.
"Hey, chill, chill," she lowered her voice, almost to a whisper, to talk to the struggling primate, "We're here to rescue you."
"… WHO AR—" the monkey started in a booming voice, but Tatl slapped him across the face and hid behind the pole while Link dived behind a crate.
The Dekus, of course, all looked towards the cage, but when they only saw the monkey, they assumed he was throwing a fit and carried on with their businesses.
"What is wrong with you monkeys? Every time you open your damn mouths it only causes pain and suffering!" Tatl hissed in the same low voice.
"I—I'm sorry," the monkey managed to say, finally subduing his anger.
"Now, let's start by asking you a couple of questions," Tatl started, floating left and right like a TV series detective, "First of all… is it true that you were with the victim at the time of her disappearance?"
"Yes, but—"
"And is it not also true," the fairy cut him off by making her tone of voice a little more imposing, "That you also went with her to the temple under the motivation of investigating the temple's 'curse'?"
"That would b—"
"Now isn't that strange?" The monkey was already beginning to turn red in the face, but Tatl carried on, "Why would you, a monkey, an adaptable and developed creature, be so worried about businesses that would only matter to Dekus?"
"Well it's where I liv—"
"Now, I'm led to believe th—"
"SHUT UP FOR A GODDAMN MOMENT!" The monkey, finally angered at Tatl's train wreck of an interrogation and constant interruptions, shouted, prompting Tatl to zoom back to Link's side behind the crate. The Dekus looked to the side again, but only saw the steaming monkey angrily cursing and trying to wrestle himself off of the ropes, so they went back to preparing the execution ceremony.
"Tatl, for fuck's sake," Link started, whispering, "You don't talk with a monkey with clear anger issues and start pointing fingers in his face! I know you're no detective, so stop Law & Order-ing this!"
"But I thought…" Tatl trailed off.
"You keep pressuring him and you'll only make him go apeshit – no pun intended – and we'll get nowhere. Hell, we may even get caught. Let me handle this."
Link looked around, checking his surroundings, and then walked quietly to the pole, looking up.
"Hey. Hey, can you hear me? And please!" Link said, before the monkey could respond, "Keep your voice low, please. I'm here to get you out."
"Really? And how do you plan on doing it?" The monkey responded.
"Like this!" Link jumped to the side, in a ninja motion, then hopped to another loose crate just behind the pole and leapt towards the rope, sword in hand, ready to cut it.
Of course, he didn't.
"I-It didn't… that rope's too thick, damn it," Link grumbled.
"Oh, beautiful…" The monkey grumbled as well, looking to the side.
"Look, I'll figure something out. But can I just ask you some questions? I'm headed to the temple, so maybe if I find something there, I can bail you out…" If you're innocent, that is.
"You're headed to the temple? Don't be foolish," The monkey said, now looking Link in the eyes, "It's been badly cursed. The insides are filled by murderous creatures, poisoned water and traps, all controlled by a monster!"
"A m-monster…?"
"I didn't get to see it very well, but it was huge. Human-shaped, slim, but towering tall. He took the princess and knocked me the fuck away right to this palace's doorstep."
"All the way from the temple?!"
"Yes. The temple's on Woodfall proper, directly across from the palace."
"Hmmmm. Look, I'm going there, cursed or not, so please tell me how to get there."
"Well, if you want to die so badly, then it's not my concern. Near the palace exit, there's a Deku Flower and a cave up on the wall. That's the shortcut to the temple."
"Sure. And I'm not going to die, you can bet your ass on that." I survived a hand coming out of a toilet, nothing can be worse.
"Hmph… Let's hope so. Anyway, the temple's submerged under the poisoned swamp, so you have to pull it out."
Um, what?! "Pull it… out?"
"Yes, with a song. The Deku people have a song that they sing on an altar to bring the temple out from underwater – 'underpoison', in this case."
Oh, fuck this monkey, what a clown. "Well okay, and you know this song?"
"Yes. I'm going to hum it to you, so listen carefully and memorize it…" The monkey said, then quietly sang the melody while Link memorized it.
Hmmmm, maybe I can remix this with some cheap dubstep motif and finally kickstart my musical career… "Okay, I'll be going now".
"Hm. Good luck, I guess… whatever", the monkey replied, looking to the side and gritting his teeth.
You could try and blurt out this "Thank You" that you're saving so badly…
Link motioned for Tatl to leave and she followed suit, both of them exiting from where they came.
Day 2, Afternoon, Deku Palace
The unlikely rescuers, then, backtracked through all of the outer garden – Link would've tried another funny gimmick to get caught and thrown out, but Tatl bumped against his head until he forgot what he was planning to do. Soon enough, they were at the path to the temple mentioned by the monkey.
"Put your Deku Mask on and get going, fairy boy", Tatl ordered.
"I swear, if you keep rushing me like that, I'm going to flip out", Link answered while putting on the mask, then burrowed deep into the flower and blasted to the exit.
Day 2, Afternoon, Southern Swamp
As soon as Link stepped back into the Southern Swamp area, he noticed some enormous yellow platform-like flowers positioned in a line leading to the back of a waterfall.
What's with this place and strings of plants? "Well, what's the plan?"
"Hmmm," Tatl mused, then started, "There's a Deku Flower right in front of you, but you'll not get far enough flying… maybe we should just blast onto that first flower and figure out something, no use standing around here."
"Right. Let's go."
As Link was approaching the center of the first platform, he noticed that another Deku Flower awaited him at the very center. Preparing to land, he lowered himself… and was hit, letting go of his support copters and falling to the ground.
"W-What was that?!" Link shouted, looking frantically around until his eyes locked on to a flying creature a few feet above him. The foe looked like a praying mantis, but with tiny dragon wings and an electric hook attached to the rear end, like a tail.
"That's a Dragonfly, Link! Its weak spot is the tail, but you can't hit it while it's sparking like that!"
"You could've told me that before that monster hit me!" Link angrily said, dodging another tail whipping from the Dragonfly.
"I didn't see it! I was trying to download new filters for my Pictograph Box!"
"Weren't you going to throw it away?!" And how is this thing capabl… ok, never mind, here it comes!
Dodging again, Link set his sights on the Dragonfly's tail, while the monster bzzzz-ed his way towards him. The bubble that flew from his Deku hole – the one that's Safe For Work – hit the Dragonfly, but nothing happened.
And he took another blow to the face.
"Fuck!"
"Link!" Tatl shouted, "Try Plan B!"
"Um, which is…?"
"Burrow underground and surprise it!"
"Don't say that too loud! What if it hears u—OW!" Link was interrupted by a third blow to his face, and now was starting to feel really weak.
Ok… here goes nothing!
Link burrowed underground, but didn't go all the way, leaving part of his head showing. The Dragonfly took notice of it and prepared another strike, coming very close…
And Tatl yelled.
"NOW!"
Link went deeper and blasted upwards, severely hitting the Dragonfly, who fell on the ground, lifeless.
"G-God damn these creatures surprising me…"
"Nice going, Link. Let's go, we can recover later!"
"Easy for you to say, all you do is shout and hurl abuse from afar while I do the painwork…"
"Have you ever seen a coach come onto the pitch to play?"
"Well in 1856 there was this B—"
"THE ANSWER IS NO!" Tatl yelled, "And let's get going, the sun's setting."
"Um, I think it might be a bit too late to try and tackle the temple. Maybe we should give the next area a fair shake and reset time to try from Day 1."
"That… makes sense. Ok, let's go towards Woodfall!" Tatl exclaimed, excitedly.
It turns out that all flowers had a Deku Flower on the center – and Dragonflies around – so the path was pretty much rinse and repeat until our heroes reached the back of the waterfall. In front of Link, there was a stone plate, and to the side, a passage into Woodfall. The stone plate read some notes, but what really caught Link's attention was standing on top of it…
"K-Kaepora?" Link said, looking above to look into the eyes of Kaepora Gaebora, a huge owl that watched over the Kokiri children in Hyrule. Wise and talkative, the bird was a respected figure, even if the conversations about him were not always pleasant.
"Alternate dimension, Link…" Of course, Tatl thought in advance this time and avoided another fiasco. This Kaepora, while as wise as the Hylian one, had no knowledge of Link.
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-hoot! This is a rare sight. You are a fairy child, correct?" Kaepora asked.
"Y-Yes…" Link said, still weirded out over having to talk to an old acquaintance like it had amnesia or something.
"What business might you have in this poisoned swamp?" The owl proceeded.
Why do I feel that it's not really listening to me? "Um, we were going to scout Woodfall and then go back to t—"
"If you dare not venture further, I shall pass no judgment. It is better that you hurry back to town. This swamp you are in has lost its guardian deity. But it was destined to fade anyway."
"Destined to fade anyway…?" Tatl asked, a bit confused.
"If you have the courage and determination to proceed in the face of destiny, then I shall teach you something useful…" Kaepora finished, looking down to the stone plate and the notes below.
"Oh, I get it," Link said, taking his Deku pipes out and blowing the notes inscripted. That was the Song of Soaring, which the plate described as "the song with the power to warp to where the memories lay". Link scratched his head, a bit lost.
"Did you understand all of that?" Kaepora asked, with Link half-paying attention.
"Nope. U-Um, I mean, Y—"
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-hoot! This is a rare sight. You are a fairy child, correct? What business might you have in this poisoned swamp? If you dare not venture further, I shall pass no judgment. It is better that you hurry back to town. This swamp you are in has lost its guardian deity. But it was destined to fade anyway. Hoo-hoot...And that destiny is not solely limited to this swamp... If you have the courage and determination to proceed in the face of destiny, then I shall teach you something useful."
F-F… Nggghh… This is all too familiar…
"Did you understand all of that?"
"Nope!" Tatl said, cheeringly.
"What the hell is wr—" Link started, but…
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-hoot! This is a rare sight. You are a fairy child, correct? What business might you have in this poisoned swamp? If you dare not venture further, I shall pass no judgment. It is better that you hurry back to town. This swamp you are in has lost its guardian deity. But it was destined to fade anyway. Hoo-hoot...And that destiny is not solely limited to this swamp... If you have the courage and determination to proceed in the face of destiny, then I shall teach you something useful."
"Tatl! What's your problem?!"
"Did you understand all of that?" Kaepora asked again, not a change in tone or expression.
"Nope!"
"Tatl, I am going to k—"
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-hoot! This is a rare sight. You are a fairy child, correct? What business might you have in this poisoned swamp? If you dare not venture further, I shall pass no judgment. It is better that you hurry back to town. This swamp you are in has lost its guardian deity. But it was destined to fade anyway. Hoo-hoot...And that destiny is not solely limited to this swamp... If you have the courage and determination to proceed in the face of destiny, then I shall teach you something useful."
…
Day 2, Night, Southern Swamp
"PLEASE STOP." Link said, after listening to Kaepora's speech for the 12th time.
"Hahahahahahahaha oh man, it's so good to mess with you," Tatl said between laughter.
"Did you under—"
"YES I DID!" Link shouted.
"—stand all o—"
"I UNDERSTOOD."
"—f that?"
"YES! JESUS CHRIST, YES!"
"From the first time you play this song, we shall become eternal friends, transcending time and place!" Kaepora Gaebora said, flying away.
Oh, fuck you. Link shook his head and went into the passage with Tatl, finally progressing into the next area…
Day 2, Night, Woodfall
Woodfall proper wasn't much but an overgrown natural basin of water, with stray lilypads, algae and islands. Said islands were connected via woodplank bridges, strewn across the water. Except there was, of course, a catch: all of the water was poisonous.
"Jeez, this is really the source," Tatl stated, "The stench is getting worse by the minute."
"It really is," Link agreed, "If I take my mask off, I'm afraid I'll end up actually poisoning myself from smelling it."
"Well, so this is Woodfall… no real complications or puzzles."
"I see a couple of Mad Scrubs from here," Link said, "Probably guarding Deku Flowers."
"Yup, and that central pillar over there with the carnavalesque aspect… it's some sort of shrine?"
"More like an altar, but yeah, it's probably where we have to go. The monkey told me that the temple was underwater, and the huge blank space in front of the altar makes it even more obvious."
"So, reset time?"
"Yeah. But first… What's with that song and memories?"
"I dunno Link, but if I could guess, I'd say it's a song that can warp us to places we've already known…?"
"You say that like someone else told you about it beforehand."
"Um, no, but I do feel something ominous in the air now."
"Alright, enough of that. Let's reset time."
"Yup."