A/N: This is kind of a temple? But it doesn't have any springs or anything.

Reviews are my lifeblood :)


After eating lunch and making a few snacks that could tide them over until they returned from the temple, the group headed out.

Following Ganondorf's lead, they went past Illumeni Plateau and down into the canyon. The opening was sloped, allowing easy access for the horses.

The Zora walked on either side of the horses, staring up at the gradually growing canyon sides.

"There's bound to be a few monsters lurking in here," Zelda said as they walked. "We should be careful."

"We got the Zora on our side," Ganondorf snorted. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Zelda shot an annoyed look at Ganondorf who grinned at her.

The group walked in silence, encountering a few wolves that scattered at the sight of Helltrotter.

Halfway through the canyon, Ganondorf spotted the giant rocks carved into the shape of skulls before anyone else and slowed Helltrotter, holding up his hand so the others did the same.

"What is it?" Sidon asked.

"Two monster camps up ahead, across from each other." Ganondorf slid down and moved to the curved side of the canyon.

The Zora followed him as Link and Zelda slid down from their horses.

From their vantage point they could see two skull camps with a sniper nest beside either one, a red Bokoblin standing on one and a green Lizalfos guarding the other.

Both were keeping watch for potential threats.

"There could be two more snipers on the other sides," Bazz mumbled. "We need to take them out before they alert their comrades."

Ganondorf glanced at Link. "Link?"

Link nodded, taking out his bow and an arrow. He moved quickly to a boulder that was close to the Bokoblin's perch, crouching down when the Lizalfos looked towards him.

Nocking the arrow, Link turned around the side of the boulder and took aim.

The arrow buried itself between the Bokoblin's eyes, dropping it without a sound.

The Lizalfos gave a confused yap when its comrade suddenly collapsed, bouncing on its feet then looking around.

Taking out another arrow, Link nocked it then drew back the bowstring.

The Lizalfos gave a loud yap when it spotted Link leaning around the boulder but before it could pull out its warning horn, an arrow lodged itself in its left eye. With a shriek the Lizalfos crumpled.

Link gave a thumbs up.

"We'll split up," Ganondorf said. "Zora, the left skull. We'll take the right. Loop behind the skulls to see if there are any more sniper nests."

The Zora nodded and headed to the left skull, their weapons pulled from their backs.

Ganondorf, Link, and Zelda took the other skull.

On the other side of the skulls were two more sniper nests with a red Bokoblin and green Lizalfos.

Link shot both of them down.

As Link gathered the arrows the Lizalfos had dropped, Zelda and Ganondorf peeked into the skull to see what enemies they were dealing with.

A black Moblin wielding a dragonbone club, a blue Bokoblin with a boko bow, and a green Lizalfos with a claymore.

"Not too tough," Zelda whispered. "Should we go in?"

Link tapped the two then pointed to the two red barrels that sat in the hideout. He made an explosion gesture.

"Explosive barrels, huh?" Ganondorf mumbled. "That can give us an advantage."

"How?" Zelda asked.

"Hold out two of your knives."

With a confused look, Zelda took out two knives and held them out to Ganondorf.

Ganondorf set his hands on either knife, a flame coming to his palms. When he pulled back, the knives were aflame. "Throw them at the barrels."

With a nod, Zelda moved to the mouth of the hideout and tossed the knives at both barrels.

The second the flaming tips embedded themselves in the barrels, they exploded, enveloping the monsters who screeched.

As the flames cleared, the Lizalfos down for the count and the other two monsters frantically patting out the flames racing across their skin, the three leapt into the den to attack.

The Zora were busy taking down a silver Bokoblin, a black Lizalfos, and a blue Moblin.

Sidon was going one on one with the Moblin while Mipha and Bazz fought back to back, defending the other from the Bokoblin and Lizalfos's attacks.

When the Bokoblin leapt at him once more, sword raised for a downward slash, Bazz lunged his spear forward, catching the Bokoblin in the chest with the sharp tip.

"Duck down!"

Glancing at Bazz, Mipha ducked as he turned around, swinging his spear around and dislodging the Bokoblin where it smacked into the Lizalfos.

With the two entangled, Mipha and Bazz moved forward to finish off the monsters with stabs through the head.

Mipha sighed and looked at Bazz who grinned at her.

"You're an excellent fighter, princess."

"As are you, guard captain."

"Are you two seriously flirting on the battlefield?" Sidon asked as he stabbed the Moblin through the neck and twisted it to quickly end the monster's suffering.

A blue blush crossed both Zora's faces as they snapped, "We are not flirting!"

Sidon smiled as he set his spear across his back, making his way out of the den.

Bazz and Mipha glanced at each other before quickly looking away, following after Sidon.

"Ah, are you guys finished as well?" Sidon asked when Zelda and the others came out from the opposite skull.

Ganondorf nodded as Link went to search the rest of the deceased monsters for parts. "Wasn't too difficult with teamwork."

"Glad to be of service," Bazz said. "We'll help however we can."

Mipha nodded.

"Let's keep going," Zelda said. "We're not too far from the temple."

Once Link had finished gathering dropped arrows, the group resumed their trek.

The entrance to the Forgotten Temple soon loomed in the distance.

Zelda was about to say something but Ganondorf put a hand over her mouth. He pointed to something in the distance.

Zelda looked and saw what had gotten everyone to be so quiet.

Two red Lynel patrolling in the distance.

The group moved back to stay out of the Lynel's sight.

"Why are there Lynel here?" Mipha asked. "Much less two?"

"I thought they traveled alone," Sidon agreed.

"Perhaps these two are mates?" Zelda suggested nervously.

But that wasn't the answer. Lynels didn't mate for life. Nor did mates stay around each other.

Link stared at the Lynels intently before he got the attention of the group, pointing at the Lynel's manes. Shiny.

The group looked and in the manes of the Lynels were a single pair of needles.

"The needles!" Ganondorf gasped. "Why are they all the way over here?"

"It's quite possible crows picked them up," Zelda said. "Crows have a habit of gathering anything shiny."

"We need to retrieve them from the Lynel."

"How?" Bazz asked. "They could have shock arrows."

"One hit from those and we're done for," Sidon said.

"Well, we can't take on two Lynel," Zelda protested.

"How are we going to see the arrows without combatting them?" Ganondorf mumbled to himself, staring at the Lynel pacing beside each other.

We could challenge them from a distance, Link suggested. They'll shoot at us and we'll be able to see what elemental arrows they have.

"We have 1/3rd of a chance of shock arrows," Zelda said, frowning. She nodded. "It's crazy but it seems like we have no other choice. They're blocking the path to the temple."

"And they have the needles that tailor needs," Ganondorf sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is suicidal and dangerous."

"Danger?" Zelda snorted, grinning. "I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha!"

Ganondorf rolled his eyes then looked at the Zora. "We'll give you a signal if it's safe."

"Please be careful," Mipha said as the three slowly approached the Lynel.

Link shot an arrow at the Lynel to get them to look in their direction.

The Lynel stared at the three for several seconds before taking their bows off their backs.

In tandem, the Lynel nocked an arrow and raised it to the sky.

Ganondorf squinted at the arrow tips, seeing a glowing blue and a flaming red.

He gave a thumbs up then jumped to the side with Link and Zelda, avoiding the six arrows that had landed right where they had been.

"No shock arrows!" Sidon said.

Bazz nodded. "Let's go!"

The three Zora charged out of their hiding spot and engaged the Lynel on the right.

Zelda, Ganondorf and Link took on the left Lynel.

The Lynel roared at the intruders, pulling of their swords and shields to fight back.

The Lynel that was battling Zelda and the others raised its sword above its head.

Link shot an arrow at its face and the Lynel shrieked, dropping to its knees from the attack.

While it was stunned from the hit, Zelda and Ganondorf both lunged forward to strike the Lynel with their swords.

Shaking its head with a snarl, the Lynel stood up. It roared, flames gathering in its open mouth.

The three moved in different directions to avoid the fireballs that the Lynel began to launch at them.

The second the fireballs had stopped, Link charged at the Lynel which reacted by raising up its sword. Link slid underneath the beast's legs, the sword slamming into the ground behind him, and stabbed its chest with his sword.

The Lynel reared up with a roar.

Taking advantage of the Lynel's opening, Ganondorf moved forward and crouched down a bit, yelling, "The neck, Zelda!"

Realizing the plan, Zelda nodded and rushed towards Ganondorf who lowered his arm enough to allow her to jump onto it before he thrust his arm up, sending Zelda into the air to get her up at a higher angle and better vantage point to throw her knives which buried themselves into the exposed section of the Lynel's throat.

As Zelda landed on the ground, the Lynel made a gurgling noise as it fell to its knees before it collapsed.

"Good aim," Ganondorf said, grinning at Zelda while Link brushed himself off.

Zelda smiled at the praise then looked over to see how Sidon and the other two Zora were doing with their Lynel.

The Zora were handling the second Lynel with equal ease. Sidon using his stronger form to keep the Lynel's attention on him while Mipha and Bazz circled the beast, stabbing at it with their spears to weaken it.

Once the second Lynel had crumpled, Ganondorf gathered the needles from their manes while Sidon picked up one of the dropped bows.

"This could be useful," he muttered, pulling the string and testing the weight of the bow.

You use a bow? Link asked, appearing surprised.

Sidon nodded. "I usually use my sword or spear, but I am also proficient in archery."

Link grinned.

"Let's keep going," Zelda said. "The temple's up ahead."

The group continued to the Forgotten Temple and entered it, coming into a large open area.

Beyond they could see two more sections. Scattered around the area were strange machinations. Soldier statues wielding maces, a strange machine that traveled back and forth on an invisible path with a single eye and twisting disks beside its head, and stationary machines with a single eye that rotated their heads side to side.

"What are those?" Sidon breathed.

"They look like Skye," Zelda said, pointing to the stationary machines.

"Dinraal mentioned the temple was guarded by Sheikah machines," Ganondorf muttered.

"All these are Sheikah made?" Mipha asked, trying to see past the first section in an attempt to see what they were up against.

"Why are there machines guarding an abandoned temple?" Bazz asked.

"Perhaps there is something of importance at the end," Ganondorf said.

Link's eyes lit up. Treasure?

"Do not run ahead," Zelda said. "We don't know what these machines do."

"What's this?" Sidon asked, gesturing to a dark rock sitting on a pedestal.

"Not sure," Zelda said, moving closer and touching the rock, looking it over.

"Is that the Sheikah symbol?" Ganondorf asked, pointing to the white lines etched into the rock, shaped like the Sheikah eye.

Link stared at the rock intently before he snapped his fingers. Timeshift stone!

"What?" Ganondorf grunted.

It can turn back time a bit if you hit it, Link pointed at the patch of shifting sand blocking them from going on. Could get rid of this.

"Then all we do is hit it?" Zelda asked, taking out her sword to strike it.

"Whoa, whoa." Ganondorf grabbed her wrist. "We don't know if it actually does that or if it's been rigged to explode when struck."

The group stared at the supposed timeshift stone before moving back to the entrance.

Link nocked an arrow and shot the stone.

The stone lit up a bright blue, the flooring of the temple changing to a new stone and the sand pit disappearing, replaced by solid floor.

Link smirked smugly at the group.

"What about the other monsters?" Sidon asked, gesturing to the machines.

Link stared at them before saying, The Beamos are easy. But those…

Link stared at the mace-wielding soldier, frowning.

They were only in silent realms. Not sure how it's here.

"How do we kill it?" Bazz questioned.

Link shook his head. Can't kill.

"Then we just avoid it," Ganondorf said.

I imagine it will start moving the second we move past this section.

Zelda frowned then noticed a lock door off to the side. "Look. Maybe that has something that could help us."

"It's locked, though," Mipha said.

"I see another timeshift stone!" Sidon said, pointing to a stone near the opposite corner of the room.

The stone was close to the stationary machine.

"Okay, what do we do?" Bazz asked.

Take care of the Beamos, Link said, gesturing to the moving Beamos. Slice the blue lines to cut it down then stab its eye.

Sidon nodded and moved to take care of the Beamos. The second he stepped outside the circle the timeshift stone created, the Guardian lifted its head and locked eyes with the group.

"What do we do now?!" Zelda asked as the Guardian charged at them.

Distract it! I'll get the other stone!

The group went into the temple and Link parted from the group, heading to the second timeshift stone.

When he got closer, the Sheikah machine turned its head to face him, a red targeting beam aiming at his chest.

Link took out an arrow and nocked it on his bow, firing it at the timeshift stone.

The second the stone lit up, the Sheikah machine disappeared, a pile of screws and gears replacing it.

The stone's time bubble spread out to the door and the chains covering it disappeared.

Link went inside as the group continued to distract the Guardian, barely avoiding the wide swipes of its mace.

Sidon lunged at the Guardian with his spear, the tip glancing off the armor.

The Guardian turned its head to look at the Zora. Just as it was about to raise its mace to counterattack, a fireball struck the side of its head. It looked towards Ganondorf.

"Over here, you walking tin can."

Link came out, carrying a small square device that had two sticks which moved horizontally and vertically.

Zelda moved closer to him while the rest continued to distract the Guardian. "What is it?"

Link gave a shrug, shaking his head. He pressed a few buttons on the machine, but nothing happened.

"Dead?" Zelda asked, sheathing her sword and taking the machine from Link. She pressed a few buttons.

A small yellow creature appeared on the floor, a blue mask covering its face.

How did you do that? Link asked eagerly.

Zelda shrugged, looking between the machine in her hands and the creature. She pushed one of the sticks up and the creature moved forward. She moved another stick to the left and the creature moved left. "Oh! This controls that thing!"

What do we do with the Bombchu?

Zelda frowned then looked at the Guardian. "Perhaps it's to help us with that."

I told you the Guardians aren't beatable! Link said as Zelda carefully maneuvered the Bombchu towards the Guardian.

The second the Bombchu made contact with the Guardian's leg, it exploded and the Guardian froze, mace raised in the air.

Link's jaw dropped as the others moved around the frozen Guardian.

"How did you do that?" Bazz asked.

"That's what this is for." Zelda held up the controller. "It stops them."

"For how long?" Ganondorf muttered, glancing back at the Guardian.

"Let's move on before we find out," Sidon suggested.

The group moved to the second part of the temple as Zelda inspected the controller, mumbling to herself.

The second room had two Guardians in the middle, two timeshift stones along the opposite walls close to the one-eyed Sheikah death machines. Two Beamos roamed opposite corners.

As the Guardians came to life, Link shot the timeshift stones to turn the stationary machines into piles of screws and gears.

Zelda summoned another Bombchu. "Distract the Guardians and I'll bomb them!"

Bazz moved to one of the Guardians while Ganondorf took care of the nearby Beamos.

Zelda maneuvered the Bombchu and manage to hit one of the Guardians, freezing it. She called another Bombchu to get the second one.

While the second Guardian was distracted, Link went to destroy the other Beamos.

"This thing is awesome!" Zelda exclaimed after freezing the second Guardian. "I wonder if I can keep it."

Oh, no, Ganondorf thought as they moved to the last room, a smaller room laying beyond. She has the same bomb itch Link does.

With a basic plan down, Link shot the timeshift stones to take care of the stationary machines while Ganondorf took care of the nearest Beamos. Zelda aimed Bombchus at the Guardians while they were distracted to get them to freeze.

It took a few minutes to clear the room and the group entered the last area.

All that greeted them was an enormous statue of Hylia, faded with age.

Link searched around for a treasure chest.

"That's it ?" Ganondorf asked, offended that after all their work they were only rewarded with a statue.

"Well this was a place of worship," Zelda murmured.

"But why guard a statue?" Mipha asked. "That seems kind of strange."

"It does," Bazz agreed, crossing his arms. "Perhaps there's something we're missing?"

"Or the Goddesses are liars," Ganondorf mumbled.

All that time wasted when they could have searched for more springs.

"No, they are not liars, my friends," a voice murmured. "I have been awaiting your arrival."

The group turned at the voice, gaping at what they saw.

Standing at the doorway to the room was a youthful woman with long blonde hair that cascaded to her lower back and sea-green eyes. She had on a white dress that went to her ankles and large white wings rested against her back.

"Hylia…?" Zelda asked uncertainly.

She hadn't heard of the Goddess showing herself to people.

Hylia smiled at Zelda gently. "Hello, Zelda."

She looked at Link.

"And Link."

Link avoided Hylia's gaze, but glanced up every so often in awe.

"And Ganondorf," Hylia said, smiling at the redhead. She looked at his swords and tilted her head. "Where is Ghirahim?"

"He disintegrated," Ganondorf snapped sharply.

Why did she want to talk about something like that?

Hylia merely gave a mysterious smile. "Are you quite sure?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Hylia shook her head. "Naydra would never lie to you, Ganondorf. A long time ago, I asked my old friend Impa to create machinations to protect this temple from thieves and vandalizers."

"Wait," Sidon piped up. "You mean you knew they would come here?"

Hylia giggled, her wings shifting. "Of course. I also created the springs and the temples that house them."

"Why?" Mipha asked.

"I knew a cycle would come when Demise—or as you know him now Ganondorf—would want to break out of it."

"Is that why the temples require all three of us?" Zelda asked.

Hylia nodded. "Yes. I knew the three of you would end up traveling together one way or another."

Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link glanced at each other then back at Hylia.

"Then you'll tell us what we need to do with the dragon's scales?" Ganondorf asked.

"Of course." Hylia gave a nod. "But first I wish to tell you all a story."

A story? Link questioned, tilting his head.

"The history of Demise."