Trial of Keys

V.2.3

By: (o'.')o

Disclaimer:

Legend of Zelda and all related characters are property of Nintendo of Japan/America. ( Hey, I gotta sound serious once, don't I? )

Note from the Author ( That's Me. )

I'd like to thank those who have reviewed my fics, those who said it was good and those who said it didn't work. Thanks to all of ya!! This Bud's for you. (v^-^)

This Volume is a continuation of A Kid Named Link V1.1-4. If you want to see them, just click on my pen-name , or search for me on the site. Search: Author = (o'.')o.

This is NOT a Link/Saria romance. It might turn to romance, but it might NOT be with Saria. I'm going to keep you guessing, Links got a lot of pretty choices to consider. He sure is a lucky bastard with all these girls around him, isn't he? ;)

Do you think I should put the Disclaimer and the Authors Notes After or Before the fic???? Please give me an opinion, along with a review ;)

******

Last Chapter:

An emotional confrontation with Mido left Link a bit uncertain with his relationship with the now growing Kokiri, Saria. That weighing on his mind, Saria and Link forged into the Lost Woods. After overcoming the dizziness and disorientation that came with the Woods, Link and Saria had another obstacle to defeat: Two dangerous and depraved Lost Kids. Round 1 goes to them, the Lost Kids disarmed Link, chained themselves to his arms, and subsequently, after a mistake from Link, brutally attacked Saria. This would prove to be the Lost Kids grave mistake as well.

And now, on with the tale.

******

Esea's scream burst through the air, the shrill note drowning out even the maddening tone of the singing in the background. As soon as Saria had hit the ground, the fairy was on her, trying desperately to see how badly she was hurt.

Link could see the blood begin to seep into the damp grass. He stood shocked, arms tied via a long chain to 2 Lost Kids to either side of him, who were jumping in glee. The one to his right, the one that had knocked Saria down ( Lost Kid #1 ) drew out his long Gerudian blade, laughing and clicking his heels in glee. The other Lost Kid, the one to Links left, ( Lost Kid #2). Held the chain fast, tugging it periodically to get some kind of reaction from the stunned elf.

And he got one. Suddenly turned on Lost Kid #1, his face completely emotionless, and he stared at the creature with dead gray eyes.

Links demeanor changed with his eye color. He suddenly became very relaxed, almost as if he were put together with loose string. It seemed like he was lifeless, without energy. Either that, or he looked like he didn't care what the Lost Kids would do to him.

This infuriated Lost Kid #1. With a murderous scream, he lunged at the boy. This was exactly what Link intended. He waited, slowly wrapping the chain around his left hand. He counted the steps Lost Kid #1 was taking as he rushed towards him. One step, two, three, four. Link waited until the creature made its move, and then he made his.

Lost Kid #1 leaped into the air, patches of grass and dirt breaking apart at his heels. He brought the curved blade over his head, intending to slice Link in half.

At the same time, Link braced himself and wrenched the chain that Lost Kid #2 was holding on to. It took it completely by surprise, flinging it at full speed towards the young elf.

Link was in the middle of two Lost Kids that were flying towards him, one on its own merit, and one against its will. Lost Kid #2 reached for his sword, and that's when Link made his final move.

It all took place within seconds. When Lost Kid #2 was close enough, Link reached out and put his hand over the creature's hand, taking over its curved blade. Lost Kid #1 saw what was going to happen, and in mid-flight tried to bring his sword down on Link.

Link was faster. Bracing himself into the dirt, he brought the terrible blade of Lost Kid #2 to bear on Lost Kid #1. The force created by the two flying Lost Kids against each other was too much. The sword crunched against Lost Kid #1's face…and kept on going.

Link's eyes were open and emotionless as he pushed the blade through bone and sinew, renting through the entire body of the creature. Link bent his knees for leverage, and the ground beneath him crumbled with the pressure. Blood sprayed out in every direction as if from a burst pipe, and the two halves of Lost Kid #1 soared by Link , and landed in two gory pieces on the ground behind him.

Lost Kid #2's eyes widened in shock and abstract horror. With a hard thud, he landed on the grass in front of Link. Link now being freed of Lost Kids #2's chain, whipped the chain away from himself and stomped his boot hard on the Lost Kid's sternum.

With a swift movement, Link whipped the sword out of the Lost Kid's hand with the chain, into his own, and brought the tip of the blade right between Lost Kid #2's eyes. The Lost Kid began to sweat profusely, and looked straight into the eyes of his eventual killer. The boys eyes where as cold and gray as tempered steel. Blood and viscera were splattered on his face. Link didn't even blink.

"Plllleease." The creature begged. "No killl mee…."

Link brought his second hand onto the handle of the sword prepared to push, when a familiar and welcome voice pierced through the air.

"Link, stop!!"

Link turned nonchalantly. Saria stood before him, a little weak on the knees, but apparently alive and well. Blood splattered on her face too, and Saria was wiping on it. The two halves of Lost Kid #1 lay on either side of her, only a few feet away. She had seen everything.

"Link." Saria breathed. "Relax." She stepped forward, trying to interfere with his duty as a protector. Apparently, Esea was able to heal her , because the fairy's light was extremely dim; something that shows how weak a fairy is.

Saria took another step forward, then another. She reached out to Link and put her arm gently on his shoulder.

At that moment, for a split-second, Link considered that act hostile. He thought about killing her.

That thought jolted Link back to himself. His knees buckled and he sank to the ground, the physical strain of the battle finally registering to his body. He was panting heavily. Saria sank down and held him close. Link looked at her, Sarai's reflection registering in his brown eyes.

"I'm OK…really." He lied. He couldn't think about the thought that he had had in his head only a moment before. He got up and threw the Lost Kid's blade away, then he slowly walked to pick up his own.

The Lost Kid watched him wild-eyed. "You no kill me??" he asked hopefully.

"No." Link said calmly. Picking up his sword, he walked back to the fallen creature and pointed the blade back at his face again. "Not unless you tell us how to navigate these Woods."

"W---what???" the Lost Kid gasped.

"Tell us how to get to the end of the Lost Woods…or…." Link brought the edge of his sword down to a piece of the Lost Kids torn clothing, and sliced it deftly, demonstrating the sharpness of the blade.

This was enough to convince the creature. "I…It the music!" it gasped, trembling under Link's sword. " Listen to music. Way to End is way of Music. You listen, you no get Lost."

Link shook his head. They had been listening to the music ever since they entered the Lost Woods, and they were still lost. Saria put a hand on his shoulder before Link could get any ideas.

"It means, we have to listen, actually listen to the music. Up until now, it's just been background noise to us." With that, Saria turned her head a little and listened intently. Link followed suit and listened too.

The sound of the chiming of millions upon millions of Lost Kids pierced his brain, coming from every direction. It made him so busy he felt like throwing up, but still he listened. Then, the sounds from all directions but one faded out. Suddenly there was only one direction from where the music was headed from. It was from the tunnel to the east.

Link turned to Saria, who was smiling. She heard it too. Now they wouldn't be lost and become like that Link had killed. He turned to the Lost Kid that was on the ground, but he was gone, already fled into the darkness of the Woods.

Saria and Link resumed their search through the forest. Saria walked close to Link. He was being very wary, sword drawn, always staying close to her. She examined him sadly, gently holding Esea to her chest. She knew he must have felt guilty because she was hurt by him dodging the Lost Kids' attack. That's why he was so violent with the Lost Kids. That's why…..

She tried to believe it, but she couldn't. She saw the look on his face when he attacked, the look in his eyes. It was as if he had completely forgotten about her. He wasn't being vicious because of his feelings towards her, he was being viscous because of something else. Something deep and hidden within the boys spirit. Something dark, and dangerous.

Saria snapped out of thought when she realized Link was staring her right back. "Something wrong?" Link asked, concerned. He reached out and gently placed a hand on her forehead. "You, okay? Really?"

"I'm fine." Saria said. "Esea helped me. She's very weak now, but she'll make it."

Link sighed, not able to look at her. "I'm sorry." He said. "It was my fault. If I didn't move--"

"If you didn't move, you would have been killed. You don't have a fairy with you." Saria chided. "What's done is done. My only concern now is us getting out of these Woods alive."

"Ditto." Link nodded. [ Note from Author: This is not a Pokémon fic, but it might as well be, cause Pokémon is property of Nintendo too. Aww, now I've gone and spoiled the fic. (v^-^) ]

Finally, the duo reached what seemed like the end of the forest. This would have been fine, except that there wasn't any Forest Key here. Instead, a immense briar patch stood defiantly in their way.

Link wouldn't even attempt to cut through this. Each stiff vine was around 10 inches thick, and the thorns were like knives. The patch had to extend for at least 10 feet, and it was 30 feet wide. In other words, impassable.

Link slammed his arms against his sides in frustration. "What the hell do you want from us!?" He screamed into the sky. Then a peculiar sound stopped him in his tracks. He slowly turned to his side and saw Saria…giggling…of all things!

When Saria saw the look in his eyes, she broke into a full laughter. Bringing her bare arms across her stomach in an effort to contain it.

Link stared. "What the fudge is so funny?" he asked the joyful teen.

Saria glanced up at him, laughing a bit more. "Oh…you just sound…so serious." She gasped.

Link arched an eyebrow. "Well, this is fairly serious, don't you think?"

Saria stifled her laughter and looked up at him, smiling prettily. "Yes, but didn't it ever occur to you to ask me for some kind of help?" With that good question, she produced her Ocarina and began to play.

3 soft notes flew from the instrument into the patch. Saria repeated those notes, once and then twice. The patch responded. As if being grasped by a mighty hand, it the briars parted, creating a tunnel through the thick thorns, and to the final tunnel in the Lost Woods.

Link shook his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I should have known." He smiled at the girl, who had finished playing. "What good am I? I'm just the hired sword."

Saria nodded playfully. "Yes. Yes you are." Taking Link's hand, Saria walked into the final part of the Woods.

******

Malon was resting on the trunk of the tree where the girl Link had been so…involved with….was sitting. Epona was grazing a few meters behind her. It seemed like they had been waiting for days…even though the sun still wasn't down yet. Malon knew it would take more than a few seconds to obtain the Forest Key…but for some reason she was made uncomfortable with the wait.

She was just feeling concerned for Link. Malon shook her head. She knew that was garbage. The truth was, she was feeling uneasy about him being alone with this forest girl for so long. Malon sighed. She wished she knew more about the girl and her relationship with Link.

Malon glanced over at Zelda, who was standing at the entrance of the Forest. Malon scoffed. Zelda had been standing for several hours straight, not taking any break. It was like the girl wasn't even elven, and it gave Malon the creeps.

Finally she could no longer take it. "Princess, you should sit down." Malon called. Zelda didn't budge. "Princess Zelda!" she called again, a bit louder this time.

"What?!" Zelda asked gruffly.

"I think you should sit down, Princess." Malon called sweetly. "Epona can sleep standing up, you can't."

Zelda turned and gave Malon a deadly stare. Malon stared right back. She didn't like the Princess, not personally. She was only grateful that it didn't seem like the Princess was after Links affections. If Link was even smitten with the Princess, it was probably because of her drop-dead gorgeous look. She looked like everything the perfect woman should look like, and a small part of Malon was murderously jealous because of it.

That being said, Malon patted the patch of grass next to her invitingly. Zelda hesitated, then strode down and picked a patch of grass for herself. She sat down and said nothing.

Malon glanced at her. "He should be fine." She said, thinking that was the Princesses problem.

"Who said I cared?" Zelda retorted. Apparently Malon was wrong.

Malon eyed her for a moment, the sighed in exasperation. Zelda glanced at her. "Malon…." She started quietly. "I have a lot on my mind these days, this threat over Hyrule, this creature that kind of looks like Ganondorf, the one that attacked you." she sighed. "I have a lot to think about…my country, my family. (This stupid little boy that's been chosen to save them. The one I can't stop thinking about for some reason ) That's why I'm so…"

"Princess, you're not being anything but proper." Malon lied. Zelda gave her a sarcastic smile.

"Don't feed me that crap, Malon." Zelda said. " I know I'm being a bitch."

Malon stared. She didn't expect that at all. "W—Well." She stammered.

"I'll try not to be such an obvious one in the future." Zelda interrupted. She leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. "I'm gonna nap for a while, okay?"

"Of course Prince--"

"And please," Zelda interrupted again. " My name's Zelda." That said, she began her nap.

Malon looked at her for a moment and smiled. "Well, she's not perfect…" Malon thought, looking into the Kokiri Woods. "..but at least she's elven."

******

Link and Saria had finally reached the end of the Lost Woods. It was a tiny glade, with a stump of a huge, long dead tree sitting next to what looked like an ancient building. The building was so besieged by moss, it seemed like a plant itself. Next to the building was a tall, slim tree that reached to the buildings 2nd floor balcony.

The glade was also chock full of Lost Kids.

The creature circled the glade, staring at Link and Saria silently. The two entered the glade cautiously. Link searched the faces…or masks…of all the Lost Kids. They peered back at him, but they didn't look they intended to attack. It looked like they were waiting for something.

The Lost Kids began to stomp their feet into the ground, rhythmically. The ground shook slightly with the impact. Link tightened his grip on Saria's hand, and stepped forward, deeper into the glade.

Out of the building came a 10 foot suit of armor. It came out, armed with a giant ax. The armor had nothing living in it, it was powered by some sort of magic. It crashed out into the glade and stood defiantly in front of Link.

"The Forest Key is yours.." It said mystically. "..if you defeat me."

Link nodded and looked at Saria. Saria hesitated, then went to tree-stump next to the building.

Link began to think of strategies, or at least he tried to. The armor lashed out, slamming Link in the chest with a heavy gauntlet. Link went flying into the grassy side of the glade. He landed on the ground with his feet, head spinning from the attack.

The armor wasted no time. Raising its ax, it lunged at Link for the quick, killing blow. Link barely managed to roll to the side as the armors ax crashed into ground, busting a giant groove into the hard soil.

Link bounded to his feet and rushed to the armor. He slashed sideways, hitting the side of the giant. The armor peered at him, then swung a might backhand that sent the elf flying several feet into the sky. Link landed into the middle of the glade, this time on his back. The Lost Kids cheered enthusiastically. Saria winced, nearly feeling the boys pain.

Link got up wearily, but shook the cobwebs in his brain off fast enough to bring his blade up to block an attack from the giant. The armor swung again, and Link parried. This happened again and again, sparks flying and shockwaves registering from the huge impacts.

Finally the giant had enough. Quicker than Link could dodged, it kneed him in the stomach. Link went down to one knee, the air blasted completely out of him. The armor brought the giant ax crashing down on his head.

Link brought up his blade to block, bracing his left hand against the flat of the blade for extra leverage. The impact was huge, knocking some of the closer Lost Kids onto the ground. Link buckled under the strain, ground giving way underneath him. Sweat poured down his face. The giant maintained the pressure, slowly driving the young elf into the ground. The ground wouldn't break in the end though. The armor knew that the boy would break long before.

Suddenly, a light buzzed around Links head. Link thought he was starting to see spots of light, but a high-pitched voice told him otherwise. "The joints!!", Esea nearly screamed. "That's where it's vulnerable! Hurry up! If you die, who'll protect Saria???"

Link agreed. He pushed his left leg farther behind him, then leapt away. The move wasn't graceful, Link having landed again on his back, but it thwarted the giants attempt to crush him. The armors blade crashed into the ground, burying itself to the hilt, and causing a crack 10 feet in either direction of the soil beneath them.

Link took this chance. He struck first at the giants left elbow, bringing an underhanded high-sweeping blow. The armors arm sheered off easily, crashing into the ground.

The giant abandoned his ax and swung a fist at Link. Link sidestepped the attack, and sent another blow to the giants right elbow in the same motion. The arm was flew from the rest of the giants body, flipping into the air and landing in the crowd of Lost Kids watching them.

The armor reared at Link, preparing to crush him with it's body alone. Link bent himself at the knees and sheathed his sword. Bringing his left foot out for leverage, he spun himself around, quickly bringing out his sword to increase the force of the attack.

He spun around 360-degrees, slashing completely through the giants knees, and re-sheathed his sword in one swift motion. Link bounded out of the way, as the giant suit of armor toppled over, face first into the ground.

Link stood their, panting heavily and sweating just the same. The Lost Kids stood there stunned. Saria let out a sigh of relief. "Nice job." She said silently.

Link wanted to respond, but couldn't find air needed to speak. Esea did it for him though. "Why are you thanking him??!! If it wasn't for me, he would have been pounded to a pulp!!"

He didn't like it, but he had to agree. Link walked over to the torso of the armor, which was beginning to evaporate. "Take it." It grumbled, and then, it was gone.

"There it is!" Saria gasped. Link looked into the air in front of her. Sure enough, a shining green orb hung there, as if placed on an invisible rack.

Link plucked it from the sky. He peered into it intently. It was a perfect orb, with no chips or cracks. It shone with an eerie green glow. It didn't look particularly special, but he was sure this was the deal.

Link smiled and placed it in his tunic pocket. Finally, one down. Saria stepped down from the stump and pointed at the remains of the armor. In its place was a pool of white light. Since the Lost Kids stepped away from it, Link guessed it must have been good for the two of them.

"Let's go." Saria said simply. Together, she and Link stepped into the white light. The universe blinked, and they were no longer in the Lost Woods.

*******

They re-appeared next to Saria's house. Link sank down to his knees, completely exhausted. Saria rubbed his back, trying to improve his state. She looked up suddenly, and saw Mido striding towards them.

"You made it." Mido nodded. "So, I guess he'll be going now."

"Don't talk to him like he's not there Mido!" Saria chided.

"He's not." Mido responded, and gestured at the elf. Sure enough, Link was flat out on the soft grass next to Saria's house, fast asleep, and snoring rather loudly.

"Geez!" Saria groaned. "He's so lazy."

"Yeah…." Mido looked at her and sighed sadly. "Y…you're going with him, to get the other Keys aren't you? Don't try to deny it."

Saria frowned. "Yes…I am."

"Why?"

"I don't know Mido." Saria blurted. " I just…I just feel this is important."

Mido looked at her coldly, not letting any emotion out. "If that's how you feel, I'll have to ask you to leave, immediately."

Saria nodded and bent down to wake Link up. The elf was still fast asleep, but he could walk with Saria's help. Holding on to him, she began to leave the Forest.

"You'll come back…wont you?" Mido thought. He wished he could say it to her, amongst other things…but he simply couldn't. Not now at least. But if not now, then when? Maybe never?

Mido couldn't think that. Instead he asked as Saria left, "What if he doesn't want you with him?"

Saria stopped and looked behind her, at the Kokiri and his fairy. She gave him a melancholy look that seemed to explain everything.

"He doesn't have a choice." She answered. With that, she and Link left to Kokiri Forest.

END

Next: The next Key, Water or Fire? And how will Link feel about Saria joining the party? Screw Link, how will Malon and Zelda take it? See ya next time.