Me again. I decided not to take reader suggestions (not that I've had many reader suggestions) and am doing this my way. Hope you like Forestfall Temple!
Disclaimer: Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada.
Chapter 3
Skull Kid and Tael looked at the entrance hall of the temple. It was big, with five trees growing from the grass-covered floor far below and towering to the ceiling. Skull Kid and Tael were sanding on top of a pillar in front of the entrance. A pair of ladders led down the pillar to the floor below, which was covered in darkness. Three trees scattered around the room had their tops chopped off and had Deku Flowers sprouting from them. Across the room was a jutting ledge with stairs leading to a door beneath a triangular carved overhang. Hideous stone faces stared from the wall. A Deku Flower was just to Skull Kid's left. Skull walked over to the edge of the pillar. "I wonder what's down there." He said.
Tael flew in front of him. "Don't even think about it, Skull Kid! I can sense evil down there. There's a whole pack of Black Wolfos, Wolfos that camouflage with the darkness of many rooms in this gloomy old temple. You don't want to fight them on their own turf."
Skull Kid noticed the Deku Flower next to him, and the sawed-off tree across from him. "Hey Tael, we should probably go over there, right?"
"I guess so." Skull Kid waddled over to the flower, burrowed, and popped out, flying to the next tree stump. He repeated the process until he was on the stump that would take him to the room's exit, but then he noticed that the wall right behind him was covered with vines that could be used for climbing. The stump was leaning on the wall, so he was in no danger by going to the vines. He climbed up, and noticed that the vines continued to the left, where he could drop onto one of the branches of the taller trees. He walked across the treetop to another branch and saw a treasure chest on top of another tree. Unfortunately, the branches wouldn't reach. He walked to the end of the branch and got an idea. He pulled off his mask, returning to his normal impish self. Tael was worried. "Skull Kid, what if the tree isn't strong enough to support your weight?"
"Don't worry Tael, it's okay." He pulled out his hookshot, targeted the chest, and fired, pulling himself over to it. He opened the chest, and found...a key? "That's it?" asked Skull Kid in disgust. "A key?" He sighed, stowing it in his pack. He used his hookshot on the branch he had come from, pulling himself over to the tree. He made his way across the branches, down the vines, and back to the stump. He turned into a Deku Scrub and flew over to the ledge. As he did, he barely avoided being struck by a pair of Skulltullas. He barely managed to fly between them, dropping onto the ledge. He ran up the stairs and through the door. He found himself in a corridor. At the other end was a door with the symbol of the temple (the Deku seal with the four blades of the Forest Symbol in the background) and another Skulltulla hanging from the ceiling. Skull Kid carefully approached. As he did, it dropped from the ceiling. Skull Kid knew he would get hit if he approached. He couldn't
remember how to kill it. "Tael, how do I kill the Skulltulla?"
Tael flew over to it. "To kill the Skulltulla, you have to attack it when it turns its back to you. But if you approach with a head-on attack, it'll hit you. Use a ranged attack." Skull Kid took that advice to heart. When the Skulltulla turned around, Skull Kid spat a bubble at it, killing it. Once it was dead, he crossed into the next room. He was on another ledge. A ramp to the left led down to a platform on the west wall with stairs leading to a door. On the east wall was another ledge, but it had no door. Instead, it supported the pillars holding up an upper ledge at the same height as the ledge Skull Kid was on. On the same platform that supported the ledge was another pillar, a bit lower, with a torch on it. The ledge held a single door. It led nowhere else around the room. Directly across from Skull Kid, on the floor level, was a wide ledge with another staircase and door. On either side of the staircase, near the room's corners, was another set of doors. The room had
no floor. Instead, it was a pool of freshwater. The ceiling had a hole in it with a ladder leading to some upper floor. In the middle of the room was a big wooden flower raised at ceiling height with a lit brazier in the center of it. It looked like it could reach the ladder. Surrounding the wooden flower was four flowers just like it, but smaller, organic, and had teeth. However, they also had braziers in the middle, except the flames were colored. One was orange, one was blue, one was green, and one was purple. He took a step forward. Suddenly, the flames sputtered out. In their place were four...things. They looked like a cross between Gekkos and the four Poe sisters. Before Skull Kid could ask what Tael they were, the things floated off their torches, long legs unfolding. Holding torches with flames of the same color as the flames they had just changed from and their robes, each spun around and vanished. The wooden flower lowered until it was the height of the ledge
Skull Kid was on. Then the brazier went out. The flower lowered into the water until only the blossom was sticking out. Its wooden petals folded up slightly, and suddenly the water was poisonous. Skull Kid blinked. "What was that?' he asked Tael.
"I don't know, but I'm guessing we're going to have to be able to light all those braziers before we can reach that ladder. Those Gekko/Poe things must be around here somewhere. Where should we start?"
Skull Kid looked around. "I guess we should try that door on the far side of the room. It's just a feeling, but my instincts have never failed me." They started down the ramp, when a Deku Baba popped out of the ground right next to them and waved its head in the air, jaws snapping, and its neck rigid. Skull Kid spun into it, killing it immediately. It left a Deku Stick behind. Skull Kid stuffed it into his pack, figuring it might come in handy. He continued down the ramp until he reached the platform with the west door. Suddenly, another Deku Baba sprung up, but this one seemed more hostile. It lunged at Skull Kid, trying to get a good bite. Skull Kid spun out of the way then spun into the Deku Baba. It squealed, then lunged again. Skull Kid spat a bubble while jumping out of the way, killing the plant. It left a Deku Nut as it died. Skull Kid put that in his pack as well. He skipped across the water to the first flower/brazier. Sing it as a platform, he skipped to the next
to the north, then skipped to the northern platform with the three doors. He walked up the stairs to the middle door and entered it, finding himself in another corridor. Instead of a Skulltulla, this corridor contained a Blue Bubble! Skull Kid quickly shielded himself as the flaming skull flew straight towards him. It bounced off his shell, its flame dissipating. Skull Kid retracted his shell and spun into the Bubble, killing it. "Hey Tael, why do they call these things bubbles if they're just flaming flying skulls?"
"I have no idea." Said Tael.
"Some guardian fairy." Muttered Skull Kid.
"What?" asked Tael.
"Nothing, nothing." Said Skull Kid. "Let's go through that door." They went down the corridor and into the next room. It had a high, vaulted ceiling. There seemed to be nothing in there. As he took a step forward, iron bars slammed down on the door behind him. Skull Kid ran to the bars and tried to bend them or something. "We're trapped!" he yelled.
`That isn't the worst thing we have to worry about!" yelled Tael. "Look!"
Skull Kid turned around. Two monsters had dropped down from their hiding place on the ceiling. They were completely unfamiliar. They looked like Dinolfos, but had a shield and were completely skeletal. "Tael, what are those things?"
"They're Staldinolfos! They are skeletal Dinolfos. They have a shield and breath fire. If you kill one, but don't kill the other in less than three minutes, the first Staldinolfos regenerates!" The Staldinolfos circled Skull Kid, their shields raised. Skull Kid knew that his Deku Scrub form couldn't survive fire, so he pulled off the mask and whipped out his shield and knife. One of the Staldinolfos let loose a blast of fire. Raising the mirror shield, Skull Kid deflected the flaming breath back at the monster. Since it couldn't block fire with it's dented old normal shield, it caught on fire. It dropped its weapons and ran around the room, screeching. The second Staldinolfos also used fire breath, which was easily deflected. Now both monsters were screaming and burning. Skull Kid ran in front of one of the Staldinolfos and stabbed it through where its heart would normally be. It died. He did the same thing with the other Staldinolfos, and it crumbled as well. The bars
blocking the exit lifted. A treasure chest materialized. Skull Kid opened it and found...another key? He groaned. Tael applauded. "Skull Kid, that was great work with those Staldinolfos."
"Yeah, but I would've thought I would get something better than a key. Let's go." They made their way back to the central room. Skull Kid decided to go to the door in the northwest corner of the room, on the same as ledge as him. He opened the door and found himself in a courtyard. It had a path across a bridge over a freshwater stream. There was a well full of water to his left. There was a Deku Baba far to his right and an Octorock in the pool. He saw a wall with vines at the corner of the courtyard with the Deku Baba. He charged it, knife out. The Deku Baba lunged forward, trying to get a good bite, and impaled itself on the knife. Skull Kid pulled the knife from the dead plant and started climbing. At the top was a balcony with a door. He went through the door and entered a small room with a Blue Bubble. He put out the flames using his shield and killed it with a single thrust from his knife. When it crumbled, a treasure chest appeared in the middle of the room.
"It's another treasure chest." Said Tael, stating the obvious.
"It better not have another stupid key." Said Skull Kid. He opened the chest and found...a map of the temple! "Okay, this is just slightly better than a key." Said Skull Kid, stowing the map away. He went to the door on the other side of the room and ended up on another balcony in a courtyard exactly the same as the first. The door in the northeast corner of the main chamber probably led here. Skull Kid saw an alcove on one of the walls with a hookshot target. He used the hookshot to pull himself over. In the alcove was a switch, which he pressed. The water in this courtyard's well drained away. Skull Kid jumped down from the alcove, landing in the stream. Swimming away from the Octorock, he pulled himself ashore and ran over to the well. He knew he shouldn't just jump in, because it was pretty deep. Fortunately, there was a ladder. He climbed down the ladder and found himself in a long dark tunnel. As he walked down it, he stumbled into something that hurt his foot. After
yelping for a moment, he found the thing was another chest. He opened it and found...another key! Skull Kid was getting sick of these keys. He continued down the tunnel and found another ladder. He climbed up and pulled himself out, discovering he had just climbed out of the well in the first courtyard. He had just made a big circle. He sighed and headed back to the main chamber. Once inside, he put on the Deku Mask and skipped from flower to flower until he reached the west platform. He walked up the stairs and used one of his keys to unlock the door. He entered a corridor with a Skulltulla. He killed it as he had the one before and entered the next room. He was immediately confronted with a Blue Bubble. Once he killed it, he took a look around. It was large and confusing and involved a lot of pushing and pulling blocks, and poisonous water, and getting attacked by Blue Bubbles, and lighting torches, and getting attacked by ravenous moths, and...how about I just skip this
room, okay? I'm not sure how to go into detail on it. Anyway, he got to the room's top, where he burned away the web blocking a door, and then he unlocked it with another key and entered. He found himself in a corridor that led to a set of stairs. He went up the stairs and entered a blank room. There was nothing there. He took a step forward and was suddenly attacked by a large pack of Black Wolfos. He would have been killed immediately if it weren't for two things: one, Black Wolfos didn't have the hard fur of their normal cousins. Two, he remembered the magic spinning knife attack Farore had taught him. He used said spin attack to immediately wipe out all the Black Wolfos. He then went to the door on his right side and found himself in a rectangular room. To his right was a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a strangely familiar painting. It looked just like one of those things that had come out of the brazier in the main chamber! As he approached to take a
closer look, the picture vanished, leaving an empty frame. He blinked. He decided he was just seeing things, and walked down the stairs. He reached a landing with another painting, just like the first. As he approached, the picture vanished once more. Skull Kid was starting to think something was wrong. He turned to go down the next set of stairs and saw another painting just like the first two hanging from the ceiling just in front of him. As he started down the stairs, the picture vanished again! He went down the stairs and found himself in a small room. There was another painting. He knew what would happen. Sure enough, the picture vanished. He ignored it and opened the only door in the room. Inside was a room that looked just like the one where he had battled the Staldinolfos before, except large tree roots descended from the ceiling. There was a door on the other side of the room. As Skull Kid stepped forward, iron bars shut both doors. A single Staldinolfos jumped down
from the ceiling and attacked. Skull Kid easily dispatched of it. Suddenly, two more Staldinolfos dropped down! Skull Kid disposed of them as well. Both doors unlocked. A treasure chest appeared. He prayed to his mother that it wasn't another stupid key. He opened it. It wasn't. It was a crossbow and a full quiver of fifty arrows! Skull Kid saw immediate uses for it. He decided to go back to the room he had just left and test it out on those weird paintings. He went back through the door he had originally come through, ending up back in the staircase. He saw the weird painting. Arming his crossbow (and thanking Farore for teaching him how to use it), Skull Kid fired an arrow at the weird painting. It burned up and disappeared. He then carefully walked up the stairs. When he could see the second painting, he shot it, causing it to burn up as well. He knew it was too late for him to shoot the one hanging from the ceiling, so he went all the way up the stairs to the first
landing. Just at the top of the stairs, Skull Kid shot the painting. Once more, it burned up. He ran back to the second landing and shot the final painting, the one hanging from the ceiling. As it burned up, the strange creature emerged from what remained of the painting and flew down the stairs to the room just before where the Staldinolfos had attacked. He ran after it. He was soon face-to-face with the hideous creature. "Tael, what is that thing?"
Tael, who had been enjoying a long rest in Skull Kid's hat, flew out and was surprised. "Isn't that one of the creatures that appeared from the brazier at the beginning?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so. What is it?' asked Skull Kid, looking the monster over. It had the tattered robe of a Poe, but the face and limbs of a Gekko. It's legs dangled uselessly from the bottom of the cloak. Spines grew from its back. Its yellow eyes peered out from across its squat ugly face. It held a torch with an orange flame.
Tael jingled. "That's a Pekkoe! It's like a Poe and a Gekko. It spins and vanishes like a Poe, but hops around insanely like a Gekko." The Pekkoe spun towards Skull Kid. Tael Z-targeted the ghost frog. Skull Kid deflected the thing. It spun around again and vanished. Its torch was still visible, so they knew where it was. When it reappeared, Skull Kid shot it with a crossbow bolt. The Pekkoe screeched and spun into invisibility. When it reappeared once again, Skull Kid shot it. It vanished. When it reappeared, it was shot once more. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It screeched and poofed out of existence. Its torch fell to the floor and shattered.
"Well, that was easy." Said Skull Kid.
"Yeah, I thought it would be harder." Admitted Tael.
"Hey, a treasure chest just appeared where the ghost died! Let's see what's in it." Skull Kid opened the chest and found..."Oh no, not another small key!" he groaned.
"At least we're using them as we go." Said Tael.
Grumbling, Skull Kid went back through the Staldinolfos room to the next hallway. It was identical to the one he had just left, except there were four paintings on the wall next to the stairs. These paintings were of a blue Pekkoe. "This is too easy." Said Skull Kid. "Get ready, Tael."
"I'm ready." He said.
Skull Kid shot an arrow at each painting. When each one was destroyed, the blue Pekkoe from the painting and the temple's main chamber appeared. The Pekkoe started a spin attack. Skull Kid deflected while Tael kept it Z-targeted. As the Pekkoe made itself invisible, Skull Kid readied his crossbow. When the ghost frog reappeared, Skull Kid shot it. It screeched and vanished. It reappeared. Skull Kid shot it. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. The Pekkoe screeched and poofed out of existence. Its torch fell to the ground and shattered. A treasure chest appeared in its place. Skull Kid sighed. "And let me guess, the reward for an easy battle such as this is another Small Key." He opened the chest.
"It's a compass!" said Tael.
"Well, it's better than a key." Said Skull Kid, cheering up a little. He walked up the stairs to the first landing and continued to the second. He opened the door with a key and entered a room with a hole in the floor and a Wallmaster. It was easy to dodge and slay the Wallmaster, but there seemed to be nothing else they could do but jump down the hole. They did. Fortunately, the drop did not hurt Skull Kid. (I've always wondered why Link can drop three floors and not get hurt but can get hurt if he falls from lesser heights. Weird.) He was in a room with a pool of poison water in the middle. Inside the pool were five pillars, four rotating a central one with a torch. The pillars were cleverly designed to look like the wooden flower from the main chamber. On the wall across from the torch platform was an ice-encased eye switch that would probably open the door at the other end of the room. The only way to hit the switch would be to shoot an arrow through the torch and
directly hit the ice, melting it and opening the eye. The problem was that the torch was on the edge of its pillar, so the only way to shoot through the flame would be to fire it from one of the circling platforms. Skull Kid had to make a jump to the rotating platforms by climbing a ladder to a ledge, then jumping over. He readied his crossbow. "Tael, I need you to target the switch for me so I'll know when to shoot it."
"I`m on it!" said Tael. He flew over to the switch. Skull Kid pointed his crossbow to a point just over the brazier so he would know where to shoot. When the switch came around with Tael, Skull Kid fired his arrow. It went right through the brazier and hit the switch, activating it. The door at the end of the room opened. Tael flew over to Skull Kid. "Nice shot! Are you ready to move on?" Skull Kid's response was to jump off the platform to the ground, barely missing the poison water, and run for the door. "I'll take that as a yes." Said Tael, as he quickly flew after the imp.
As soon as they entered the next room, iron bars slammed shut on the door. They looked around. They were on a small ledge in a fairly empty room. Hanging from the ceiling were five blocks with pieces of a picture painted on each side. There was a door to their right, but it was shut as well. Directly in front of them was a painting of the green Pekkoe. Skull Kid shot it. It burned up. The five blocks fell from the ceiling. A guttural, slightly feminine voice croaked out. "If you want to fight me, you must assemble a block portrait of me in sixty seconds, starting...now! Ahahahahahahahahaha!" Skull Kid jumped down from the ledge and frantically started moving the blocks. He knew one of the five wouldn't have the right picture on top, but he couldn't see the tops of the blocks to tell which was which. Fortunately, Tael was able to help by flying high enough to see which blocks were which. He gave Skull Kid directions, and together they completed the puzzle just before time ran
out. The blocks sunk into the floor, and the green Pekkoe appeared, looking peeved. It spun into Skull Kid. As usual, he blocked, and it became invisible. When it reappeared, he shot it with his crossbow. It screeched and became invisible once more. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It screamed and poofed out of existence. Its torch fell to the floor and shattered. The doors opened. They waited to see if a treasure chest would appear. It didn't.
"Huh! I would've thought we'd receive another stupid key." Said Skull Kid.
"Oh well." Said Tael. "Let's use the door." They went through the door and found themselves on the previously inaccessible east ledge in the main chamber. Three of the four colored braziers had been relit with the defeat of three Pekkoes. There was only one more to go. Where could it be? Skull Kid noticed a switch, and stepped on it. A ladder appeared, leading to the lower platform. Tael suddenly had an idea. He saw the torch on the pillar in front of and just below the platform they were on now. He saw the unlit brazier on the wooden flower. He saw how the two torches were lined up if you looked down at them from the current platform. He turned to Skull Kid, who had also noticed the brazier. He grinned. "Hey Skull Kid, you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Tael.
Skull Kid smiled. "Of course I am." He whipped out his crossbow. "Tael, please target the brazier. Tael obliged. Using Tael's targeting, Skull Kid lined up with the torch in front of him and shot an arrow. It passed through the fire and into the brazier on the flower, lighting it. The flower's petals unfolded, purifying the water. The flower then elevated until it was at the same height as Skull Kid's platform. It started to rotate. Several Deku Flowers popped from the now-pure water. Another Deku Flower popped up right next to him, providing him with a means of transport to the wooden flower. Having no other leads, Skull Kid slapped on the Deku Mask. He then burrowed into the flower, popped out, and flew to the flower. He dropped onto one of its pinning petals and took off the mask. Looking up, he sighed. There seemed to be no way to get to the ladder and whatever was upstairs. He walked towards the center of the flower. As he did, the fourth and final Pekkoe, this one
purple appeared. It cackled and split apart into four purple Pekkoes, which vanished. They suddenly reappeared and started circling Skull Kid. Skull Kid had no way of telling which Pekkoe was which, and the flower's spinning didn't help. He ran through the circle, surprising the Pekkoes, and jumped off the flower, landing in the water. He swam over to the nearest platform (the east one) on climbed up. The Pekkoes flew down and started circling him once more. They didn't attack, they just circled. Skull Kid knew three of them were probably fake, but he had no way to tell which one was real. "Tael, any ideas on how I can figure out which Pekkoe is real?" he asked hopefully.
Tael thought. "I think I saw one of them spin around when it first appeared. That's probably the real one."
"Great! Which Pekkoe spun?"
"I have no idea."
Skull Kid groaned. "I'll have to find out the old fashioned way then." He shot an arrow at one of the Pekkoes. It faded away. He tried another ghost. It was the wrong one as well. There were two left to choose from. As they circled, Skull Kid paused, listening to his instincts. He shot one of the Pekkoes. It screeched and vanished, showing it had been the right one.
"Nice job!" said Tael.
"Yeah, but I want to be more careful next time. Tael, fly high so you can see the spinning Pekkoe as it appears so I can shoot it."
Tael obliged. The four Pekkoes reappeared. Tael saw one of them spin. "Okay Skull Kid, it's coming. Wait...wait...fire!" Skull Kid shot the Pekkoe. It screeched and vanished. There was a pause, then the Pekkoes reappeared again. Tael called out. "Skull Kid, the one on your immediate left is the right one. Shoot it!" Skull Kid hit the Pekkoe. It screeched, but did not vanish. All three false Pekkoes faded away. Tael flew back to Skull Kid.
"Tael, what's happening?" asked Skull Kid. The Pekkoe was just floating there, cackling to itself.
"Uh oh." Said Tael. "Gekkos never fight alone."
"What about the last three ghosts?" asked Skull Kid.
"These things are half Poe, so they fight like Poes. However, this one might be a little more Gekko then Pekkoe. And as I said, Gekkos never fight alone. They always call on a big, dangerous sidekick whenever they need help."
"So that means..."
"We're in trouble."
Indeed they were. The Pekkoe turned around and let loose a hideous cry. In the room's northwest corner, the ground shook then exploded outward as something erupted from the floor. It looked like a Giant Snapper, a turtle that spins into people with its hard, spiked shell, but it was skeletal. The Pekkoe flew over to the Snapper. "Tael, that looks like an undead Giant Snapper."
"I think it is. It can probably fly, so we won't be safe if we climb up to the top platform. I don't remember how to kill Snappers. I'm sorry, Skull Kid."
Skull Kid thought back to a decade ago, when Link described how he had defeated a Giant Snapper and Gekko in Woodfall. "Don't be sorry, Tael. I know how to stop it!"
"You do?"
"Yes, I do." With that Skull Kid slapped on the Deku Mask, transforming once again. By that point, the Pekkoe had reached the Undead Giant Snapper. Hopping onto the Snapper's back, the Pekkoe pointed towards Skull Kid and Tael. The Snapper nodded and pulled into its shell, sprouting its spikes. It started spinning, then floated a few inches into the air. Spinning, it flew over the water. Skull Kid quickly hopped across the water and flower braziers to the nearest Deku Flower. He burrowed inside and waited for the Snapper. Since this thing could fly, he knew he had to time his jump perfectly. Just as the Snapper and Pekkoe started to spin over his flower, he popped out, knocking the Snapper onto the water, where it hovered, stunned, and the Pekkoe off the Snapper's back. Skull Kid quickly dropped from his flight and took off the mask. "Tael, target the Pekkoe!" Tael flew over to the Pekkoe, who was making its way back to its stunned steed. Skull Kid hit it with an arrow. The
Pekkoe screeched and began spinning, which would prevent Skull Kid from using any more arrows this round since they would all be easily deflected. Skull Kid slapped the mask on and burrowed back into the flower. When the Pekkoe hopped back onto the Snapper, it recovered, and spun over Skull Kid's flower, smashing into the wooden flower. They turned around, then spun back over to Skull Kid's flower. Just as they went over him, Skull Kid popped out, knocking the Snapper unconscious again and hurling the Pekkoe in the air. Skull Kid ripped off the mask, targeted the ghost frog, and fired an arrow. The Pekkoe screeched and started spinning. Skull Kid slapped on the mask and burrowed into the flower yet again. The Pekkoe jumped back onto the Snapper, and spun over Skull Kid's flower, smashing into a wall. Skull Kid waited until they were almost on top of him, then shot out again, stunning the Snapper and knocking off the Pekkoe. However, when it was knocked off this time, it was
thrown right at the stem of the wooden flower, bashing its head. As it floated around dazedly, Skull Kid peeled off the mask, targeted the Pekkoe, and fired one last arrow. It pierced the ghost frog's heart. It screamed. The Giant Undead Snapper shrunk to nothingness. The Pekkoe screamed again and burned up, its flesh crumbling and peeling away, splashing into the water, until nothing was left but the purple flame from the torch. It flew over to the final brazier and lit it, completing the set. The flower stopped rotating. Skull Kid pumped his fist. "Oh yeah! I am unstoppable!" He high-fived Tael. (Sort of) "Now, let's see if we can get to that ladder." Said Skull Kid. He put the mask back on and skipped over to the east platform. He climbed the ladder to the upper part, and prepared to burrow into the flower when Tael got his attention.
"Skull Kid, a treasure chest is on the flower now." Skull Kid took a look and saw it was so. But this was no normal chest. This one was done in gold with blue paint. There was obviously something important in it. Skull Kid flew over to the flower and landed on it. He ran over to the chest and opened it, finding...another key! But this was no ordinary key. It was the Boss key!
"Finally, the second most important thing in this whole temple!" said Skull Kid. He stowed it in his pack. "Tael, how do we make this flower rise?" asked Skull Kid.
"I think I've found the answer." Said Skull Kid. "Come over here!" Tael was floating over a plaque in front of the brazier with a hole just below it. Skull Kid ran over. He read the plaque out loud. "Insert key to raise flower." Skull Kid pulled out one of his small keys and inserted it in the hole. The flower shook, then rose to the ceiling. Skull Kid pulled out the key. The flower shook and went back to the level of the upper platforms. He put the key back in the hole, raising the flower to the top once again. "Why did you do that?" asked Tael.
"I was just testing it to see if it would still work after we leave." He moved for the ladder, then thought of something. He pulled off his mask, then pulled a long piece of string from his pockets. He tied it to the handle end of the key, then started for the ladder. As he began to ascend the ladder, the string grew taught. He gave the string a sharp tug, pulling the key from the hole. The flower started to descend. Skull Kid let go of the string, letting it fall onto the flower so anyone who came to the temple would be able to get up here the same way he had. He continued up the ladder, reaching a ledge with a locked door. He opened the door with his last small key and went inside. He found a corridor. The door at the other end was locked with a different kind of lock. Skull Kid paused. "Tael, are you ready?"
"I'm ready for whatever is behind this door." Said Tael bravely. Skull Kid pulled out the Boss Key and was about to open the door when Tael stopped him. "Skull Kid, before we go in and face the first of Majora's four demon servants, I wanted to say it's been great knowing you. Just in case we don't make it out of here, I want to say beforehand that you're my best friend."
Skull Kid smiled. "I know. You're my best friend too, Tael. But we're going to make it out of here. I promise you that."
"But if we don't..."
"We'll just go up there. You know. We'll still be together. We'll be safe from whatever Majora or his father cooks up while we're dead, since we'll be in the one place he can never go to." Skull Kid sighed. "But I can't die before the quest is over. I'll have let everyone, including myself, down. So let's do this. I'm going to do my mother proud. This is one demon that does not live to see the sunset. We'll beat him as a team, like we've done throughout this temple." He put the key in the lock, opening the door. "Let's go." They ran through the door, which locked behind them. A huge pillar took up most of the round room. The ceiling was fifty feet high and vaulted, and covered in strange colors, all green and red and blue. There was nothing around the pillar. There was a staircase leading up to the top of the pillar. Skull Kid walked up. At the top, he stepped off of the stairs and onto the pillar. The pillar top was maybe fifty feet in diameter. He noticed that the pillar
edge had a railing to keep people from falling off. On the walls surrounding the pillar were several paintings, all of which showed the same drab scenery. Skull Kid walked forward a few steps and suddenly noticed two figures hanging from the ceiling, at opposite sides of the room. They were held in place by vines tied around their hands. They hung just a few feet over the pillar. One was a girl with green hair and a green tunic. She had a fairy sleeping on her shoulder. The other figure was a female Deku Scrub, just like the two that Skull Kid had shared a room with, except for a few things. She had two white dots over her eyes, earrings, long sleeves, and a flower growing from the end of her ankle-length hair/leaves. They appeared to be asleep. Skull Kid immediately recognized them. The girl was Saria, Sage of the Forest. The fairy was her guardian fairy, Patch. The Deku Scrub was the Deku Queen, Deku squeak squeak squeak squeak burp burp heeeep. Since she had been
kidnapped as well, Skull Kid had no doubt that she was one of the new Sages. Of course, now that the lands had combined, her title was unknown. "Tael, fly up and wake them up." He said.
Tael flew up to Saria and Patch and started jingling until they woke up. He did the same thing with the Deku Queen. Patch was the first to fully wake up. He flew off Saria's shoulder. "Saria, someone's here to rescue us!"
Saria and the Queen fully woke up at once. "Link?" asked Saria.
"Deku squeak squeak burp squeak burp heeeep?" asked the Queen.
They both noticed Skull Kid. "You're not Link." Said Saria.
"And you're not my hero!" said the Queen.
"Where's Link?" asked Saria.
"Where's my Deku?' asked the Queen.
Skull Kid addressed the Queen first. "Your majesty, your hero is back at the village, trying to make relations between the Kokiri and Deku Scrubs with the monsters of the forest."
The Queen seemed somewhat relieved. "He'll succeed that. He's a great hero and a great diplomat."
Skull Kid turned to Saria. "As for Link, I'm surprised you haven't heard. I would have thought your captor would have told you Majora captured him, along with Navi, Princess Zelda, and my fairy's sister."
Saria was disappointed. "Odolwa did tell me, but I was sure he was lying. I was sure Link was stronger. I guess I was wrong."
Skull Kid tried to cheer her up. "It's okay Saria. Link and the others are still alive. I'm the one who's been sent to rescue you and the other captured Sages. That includes you, Deku Queen."
The Queen was surprised. "You mean I'm actually a Sage, just like my friend Saria?"
"Yes, your ancestor built Woodfall temple."
The Queen suddenly realized what Skull Kid had said a moment ago. "Wait a minute, you're the one here to save the world? We're all doomed, then. You're just an imp!"
Skull Kid wasn't happy with that. "The gods themselves chose me for this quest! They must have thought I would be able to do this, don't you?"
The Queen shrugged, which was no easy feat since she was hanging from her wrists. "You're still just an imp."
Saria took a closer look. "Hey, we've met before, haven't we? Oh, I remember! You were in the Chamber of Sages a week ago, before...he came. I met you in the Sacred Forest Meadow ten years ago as well, didn't I? You and Link were searching for Navi with two fairies following you? Link told me all about your adventures on the way to Mesmoria! I met you a hundred years ago also, our first meeting. I taught you my song. Do you still remember it?"
Skull Kid grinned. "Of course I remember it. But we don't have time to reminisce. Where is the demon?"
Saria and the Queen exchanged glances. "We don't know." Said Patch.
"The last time we saw him was late last night, when he finished torturing us for the day." Said Saria.
"What kind of torture? I've faced all kinds in my day." Said Skull Kid.
Saria grimaced. "He made us watch his karaoke."
Skull Kid shuddered. "That's it? He made you watch karaoke? What kind of torture is that?" asked Tael.
"It's torture when the person doing the karaoke is a bad dancer, a bad singer, and sings bad songs." Said the Queen.
"After finishing another bout of karaoke that lasted till midnight, he left. We finally went to sleep after forcing the horrifying image of Odolwa's dance from our heads." Said Patch.
Skull Kid pulled out his crossbow. "Well, you'll never have to see demons doing karaoke again, because I'm getting you out of here. Saria, you can blast open locked doors, right?"
"Um, I think so." She said.
"Good. Now just hold still while I use my trusty crossbow to get you both safely to the ground."
He aimed at the vine on Saria's right hand when he was suddenly interrupted. "Don't even THINK of pulling that trigger." Everyone looked up to see Odolwa! He had been hiding on the ceiling the entire time, his tattoos and green skin camouflaging him from sight! He must have been there the entire time, listening to their conversation. Odolwa let go of his grip on the ceiling and backflipped, landing on the ground feet-first. Skull Kid looked over the fearsome creature from Hell. He had obviously been freed from mask imprisonment the same way Majora had, using the Triforce of Power. He was twelve feet tall with green skin. He was covered in red and blue tattoos. He wore wooden slippers and a loincloth that completely wrapped around his privates by going underneath his legs. He wore a blue, square bracelet on either hand. He wore purple shoulder pads, also decorated with red and blue symbols. He had a necklace with a blue stone. In his right hand he wielded a huge machete and
in his left he wielded a big green-and-blue diamond shaped shield. To all appearances he seemed to be wearing a mask, but it was actually an organic shell to protect his face from damage. It did look a lot like a mask though, but only because the demon wanted it to. Two triangular projections stuck out from either side of the shell, with diamond earrings hanging from them. Three tattered streamers waved about the top of the shell. The shell had holes for Odolwa's mouth and eyes, allowing everyone to peer into his blood-red orbs. The mouth looked like a frown with jagged teeth, Because of the shell, whenever the demon spoke, it gave a sort of echoing boom to his voice. War paint was all over the shell, making it look even more like a mask. He howled and raised his sword. "My master has placed me in charge of this temple and the surrounding forest/swamp. I sense that you have slain my servant, the Master Stalfos, and freed my slaves. This is intolerable! I shall kill you and
present your head to my master on a pike!" He bellowed in a loud wailing keel.
ODOLWA: DANCING DEMON WARRIOR
Skull Kid unsheathed his dagger and raised his Mirror Shield. He wished he had some light magic, but of course he had none. Tael targeted the demon. Odolwa started dancing and singing in the demon language. Skull Kid backed away. He knew that the dance was just to lure victims in. If anyone got close, Odolwa would lop his or her heads off. Skull kid readied his crossbow. He knew if he shot now, Odolwa would merely block it. When he stopped dancing for a moment, Skull Kid shot him with an arrow. Odolwa howled and stumbled, stunned. Skull kid ran up and performed multiple strikes with his dagger, hurting the demon greatly. On the sides, the prisoners cheered him on. As Odolwa recovered, Skull kid tried to back away, but he was too slow. Odolwa knocked him away with his shield then started dancing over to Skull Kid. When he was close enough, Odolwa performed a massive jump attack, shaking the ground as his sword slashed down, barely missing Skull Kid. However, his attack was a
little too strong and the sword was now stuck in the floor. Odolwa struggled, trying to pull it out. Skull kid ran behind him and performed a few jump attacks. The demon was really angry now. He pulled his sword from the ground and swung it, trying to chop off Skull kid's head. Fortunately, the imp was too close for the swipe to affect him and performed several more jump attacks. Odolwa roared and backflipped away. He switched to a different dance, jumping from one foot to the other, singing something else as well. A group of huge cockroaches swarmed onto the pillar, making a beeline for Skull Kid. As Skull Kid killed them off with his spinning knife attack, Odolwa formed a Ring of Fire around him. Odolwa kept dancing outside of the ring. Skull Kid shot the demon with an arrow, stunning him. As the ring lowered, Skull Kid ran over and performed some more jump attacks. When Odolwa recovered, Skull Kid quickly jumped away before he could get hit. Odolwa danced some more,
summoning even more cockroaches. Skull Kid spun them to death as well. He looked up, just in time to dodge another massive jump attack. Before Odolwa could turn around, Skull Kid stabbed him in the back. Odolwa screamed and spun around. Skull Kid backflipped away from Odolwa's chop. The demon summoned another Ring of Fire around Skull Kid and did a different dance, stomping the ground hard. His stomping caused rocks to fall from the ceiling, which Skull Kid quickly blocked with his upward-raised shield. When the ring dissipated, Odolwa ran towards Skull Kid, waving his machete. Skull Kid ran forward as well. He rolled beneath the demon's legs, spun around behind him, and stabbed him a few more times. He backflipped as Odolwa frantically tried to cut off Skull Kid's head. Then, he did his bug-summoning dance. Instead of cockroaches, this time he summoned a huge swarm of flesh-eating moths, which began to chase after Skull Kid as Odolwa danced around, occasionally lashing out
with his sword. Skull Kid reached into his pack and pulled out the Blast Mask. Slapping it on, he ran towards Odolwa, rolling under his sword, still chased by the moths. Raising his shield, he activated the mask's power, triggering an explosion that damaged and stunned Odolwa and killed the moths. While Odolwa was stunned, Skull Kid performed multiple jump attacks. As Odolwa recovered, Skull Kid quickly got out of the way. Odolwa was even angrier now. He bent over, his sword pointing straight outwards. Then, he started spinning, his blade becoming even deadlier. As Odolwa spun towards Skull Kid, he raised his shield in anticipation. His shield was able to block the demon's spin attack, but he didn't know how to hurt him. Using the Blast Mask, Skull Kid set off another explosion, stunning and hurting Odolwa, not to mention stopping his spin attack. Skull Kid pulled off a quick dozen jump attacks. Odolwa screamed. Skull Kid almost didn't dodge the swipe that time. Odolwa
looked extremely mad. He backed away to the far end of the pillar and did another bug-summoning dance. However, he kept doing it. And doing it. And doing it. Droves of cockroaches crawled onto the pillar, as giant swarms of moths flew out of cracks in the walls. Odolwa stood back and laughed. "Pathetic imp! Did you really think you could defeat a mighty demon and master of interpretive dance such as myself? My insect minions will chew the flesh from your bones!"
Things looked bad. The prisoners had stopped cheering. Tael flew over to Skull Kid. "Tael, what can we do?" asked Skull Kid.
"I-I'm really sorry Skull kid. I don't know." Said Tael. "I guess you were wrong. We're not getting out of this one alive."
The bugs swarmed in, coming closer, closer, eager to eat the flesh of the imp foolish enough to challenge their master. As he had so many times before, Skull kid cleared his mind and listened to his instincts. He reached into his pack and pulled out a mask, putting away the Blast Mask since it wouldn't work on this many bugs. The mask he had pulled out was Odolwa's Mask, the mask Odolwa had been imprisoned in over a thousand years ago by Skull Kid's sisters, the Golden Goddesses, along with Majora and the three other demons that served him. The mask was supposed to be powerless, yet his instincts had told him to use it. And his instincts had never been wrong before. He put on the mask. Nothing happened. No transformation, no new power, nothing. It seemed to be just a normal mask. It looked like his instincts had failed him in the end. As the bugs approached, about to devour him, he screamed, "It can't end like this!" The bugs stopped. Skull Kid, Odolwa, Tael, and the
prisoners were quite surprised. Skull Kid looked at the bugs for a moment, then said, "Roll over." The roaches rolled over. The moths somersaulted sideways. "Take one step forward." The bugs moved forward, then stopped. Skull Kid suddenly realized that this mask gave him the power to control insects!
Odolwa realized this as well. "No! No! Attack him! Eat him!" The bugs didn't respond.
Skull Kid pointed towards the demon. "Get him." He said. The bugs swarmed over a surprised Odolwa, who tried to stomp them or shake them off, but to no avail. As the bugs swarmed onto him, they dug their mandibles into the demon's flesh. Odolwa screamed. Skull Kid ran over to Odolwa, made a high jump, and stabbed his dagger right through Odolwa's heart. Odolwa shrieked and fell to the ground. The bugs swarmed off of him, going back to the cracks and holes they had come out of. All that was left of the demon were his bones. In a moment, they burned up, returning Odolwa's spirit to Hell. A portal opened up. Skull Kid ignored it for the moment and turned to the prisoners, who were awestruck by his victory.
Finally, Saria spoke up. "That was incredible." She said.
"Wow." Said Tael.
"Yeah," said Patch at a loss for words. The Queen said nothing. Skull kid shot them down with his crossbow, then put the mask and said bow away. After a moment, the others recovered from their amazement.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Said the Queen. "Thank you for saving us."
Skull kid shrugged. "It was nothing. Come on, I've got to get you two to the Chamber of Sages." He escorted the girls into the portal.
In a flash, they were in the Chamber of Sages. Skull Kid was in the middle of the Triforce platform, while Saria, Patch, and the Queen were on the altered Forest platform. Rauru was on the Light platform, smiling and nodding approvingly. "Well done, well done!" said Rauru. "You are proving yourself as a hero, young imp. Now, I believe the ladies would like to reward you."
Saria looked at Skull Kid. "It's surprising that I've met you again after all these years, my friend. You've still kept my song in your heart, and I'm proud of that. As a reward for saving the forest and my friends, I give you this Forest Medallion." She tossed Skull Kid a green medallion with a Triforce symbol on the back and four swirling blades on the front. Saria smiled. "If you see Mido, tell him I've decided on his proposal. The answer is yes."
The Deku Queen looked at Skull Kid. "I am sorry I misjudged you. I thought an imp would not be strong enough to beat a demon, and I was wrong. You proved yourself most admirably back there. For saving my people and the rest of the forest, I give you this Jungle Medallion, as I am now Sage of the same." She tossed him a dark green medallion with the Deku Scrub emblem on it. "Oh, and when you see my beloved Deku, tell him it's time. I will wed him when this is over."
Rauru cleared his throat. "You three will have to stay in the temple until this is over. You should both know how to summon the dragon, and will do it when Skull Kid gives the signal in a few weeks." He turned to Skull Kid and Tael. "Skull Kid, I will now tell you of the next temple's past and of it's dragon. Listen carefully."
Well, so ends another chapter. Get ready for next time, when Rauru reveals info on the next temple and where Skull Kid has to go next. He had completed one-forth of the quest, will he be able to succeed the other parts? Find out next time!
Disclaimer: Yada Yada Yada Yada Yada.
Chapter 3
Skull Kid and Tael looked at the entrance hall of the temple. It was big, with five trees growing from the grass-covered floor far below and towering to the ceiling. Skull Kid and Tael were sanding on top of a pillar in front of the entrance. A pair of ladders led down the pillar to the floor below, which was covered in darkness. Three trees scattered around the room had their tops chopped off and had Deku Flowers sprouting from them. Across the room was a jutting ledge with stairs leading to a door beneath a triangular carved overhang. Hideous stone faces stared from the wall. A Deku Flower was just to Skull Kid's left. Skull walked over to the edge of the pillar. "I wonder what's down there." He said.
Tael flew in front of him. "Don't even think about it, Skull Kid! I can sense evil down there. There's a whole pack of Black Wolfos, Wolfos that camouflage with the darkness of many rooms in this gloomy old temple. You don't want to fight them on their own turf."
Skull Kid noticed the Deku Flower next to him, and the sawed-off tree across from him. "Hey Tael, we should probably go over there, right?"
"I guess so." Skull Kid waddled over to the flower, burrowed, and popped out, flying to the next tree stump. He repeated the process until he was on the stump that would take him to the room's exit, but then he noticed that the wall right behind him was covered with vines that could be used for climbing. The stump was leaning on the wall, so he was in no danger by going to the vines. He climbed up, and noticed that the vines continued to the left, where he could drop onto one of the branches of the taller trees. He walked across the treetop to another branch and saw a treasure chest on top of another tree. Unfortunately, the branches wouldn't reach. He walked to the end of the branch and got an idea. He pulled off his mask, returning to his normal impish self. Tael was worried. "Skull Kid, what if the tree isn't strong enough to support your weight?"
"Don't worry Tael, it's okay." He pulled out his hookshot, targeted the chest, and fired, pulling himself over to it. He opened the chest, and found...a key? "That's it?" asked Skull Kid in disgust. "A key?" He sighed, stowing it in his pack. He used his hookshot on the branch he had come from, pulling himself over to the tree. He made his way across the branches, down the vines, and back to the stump. He turned into a Deku Scrub and flew over to the ledge. As he did, he barely avoided being struck by a pair of Skulltullas. He barely managed to fly between them, dropping onto the ledge. He ran up the stairs and through the door. He found himself in a corridor. At the other end was a door with the symbol of the temple (the Deku seal with the four blades of the Forest Symbol in the background) and another Skulltulla hanging from the ceiling. Skull Kid carefully approached. As he did, it dropped from the ceiling. Skull Kid knew he would get hit if he approached. He couldn't
remember how to kill it. "Tael, how do I kill the Skulltulla?"
Tael flew over to it. "To kill the Skulltulla, you have to attack it when it turns its back to you. But if you approach with a head-on attack, it'll hit you. Use a ranged attack." Skull Kid took that advice to heart. When the Skulltulla turned around, Skull Kid spat a bubble at it, killing it. Once it was dead, he crossed into the next room. He was on another ledge. A ramp to the left led down to a platform on the west wall with stairs leading to a door. On the east wall was another ledge, but it had no door. Instead, it supported the pillars holding up an upper ledge at the same height as the ledge Skull Kid was on. On the same platform that supported the ledge was another pillar, a bit lower, with a torch on it. The ledge held a single door. It led nowhere else around the room. Directly across from Skull Kid, on the floor level, was a wide ledge with another staircase and door. On either side of the staircase, near the room's corners, was another set of doors. The room had
no floor. Instead, it was a pool of freshwater. The ceiling had a hole in it with a ladder leading to some upper floor. In the middle of the room was a big wooden flower raised at ceiling height with a lit brazier in the center of it. It looked like it could reach the ladder. Surrounding the wooden flower was four flowers just like it, but smaller, organic, and had teeth. However, they also had braziers in the middle, except the flames were colored. One was orange, one was blue, one was green, and one was purple. He took a step forward. Suddenly, the flames sputtered out. In their place were four...things. They looked like a cross between Gekkos and the four Poe sisters. Before Skull Kid could ask what Tael they were, the things floated off their torches, long legs unfolding. Holding torches with flames of the same color as the flames they had just changed from and their robes, each spun around and vanished. The wooden flower lowered until it was the height of the ledge
Skull Kid was on. Then the brazier went out. The flower lowered into the water until only the blossom was sticking out. Its wooden petals folded up slightly, and suddenly the water was poisonous. Skull Kid blinked. "What was that?' he asked Tael.
"I don't know, but I'm guessing we're going to have to be able to light all those braziers before we can reach that ladder. Those Gekko/Poe things must be around here somewhere. Where should we start?"
Skull Kid looked around. "I guess we should try that door on the far side of the room. It's just a feeling, but my instincts have never failed me." They started down the ramp, when a Deku Baba popped out of the ground right next to them and waved its head in the air, jaws snapping, and its neck rigid. Skull Kid spun into it, killing it immediately. It left a Deku Stick behind. Skull Kid stuffed it into his pack, figuring it might come in handy. He continued down the ramp until he reached the platform with the west door. Suddenly, another Deku Baba sprung up, but this one seemed more hostile. It lunged at Skull Kid, trying to get a good bite. Skull Kid spun out of the way then spun into the Deku Baba. It squealed, then lunged again. Skull Kid spat a bubble while jumping out of the way, killing the plant. It left a Deku Nut as it died. Skull Kid put that in his pack as well. He skipped across the water to the first flower/brazier. Sing it as a platform, he skipped to the next
to the north, then skipped to the northern platform with the three doors. He walked up the stairs to the middle door and entered it, finding himself in another corridor. Instead of a Skulltulla, this corridor contained a Blue Bubble! Skull Kid quickly shielded himself as the flaming skull flew straight towards him. It bounced off his shell, its flame dissipating. Skull Kid retracted his shell and spun into the Bubble, killing it. "Hey Tael, why do they call these things bubbles if they're just flaming flying skulls?"
"I have no idea." Said Tael.
"Some guardian fairy." Muttered Skull Kid.
"What?" asked Tael.
"Nothing, nothing." Said Skull Kid. "Let's go through that door." They went down the corridor and into the next room. It had a high, vaulted ceiling. There seemed to be nothing in there. As he took a step forward, iron bars slammed down on the door behind him. Skull Kid ran to the bars and tried to bend them or something. "We're trapped!" he yelled.
`That isn't the worst thing we have to worry about!" yelled Tael. "Look!"
Skull Kid turned around. Two monsters had dropped down from their hiding place on the ceiling. They were completely unfamiliar. They looked like Dinolfos, but had a shield and were completely skeletal. "Tael, what are those things?"
"They're Staldinolfos! They are skeletal Dinolfos. They have a shield and breath fire. If you kill one, but don't kill the other in less than three minutes, the first Staldinolfos regenerates!" The Staldinolfos circled Skull Kid, their shields raised. Skull Kid knew that his Deku Scrub form couldn't survive fire, so he pulled off the mask and whipped out his shield and knife. One of the Staldinolfos let loose a blast of fire. Raising the mirror shield, Skull Kid deflected the flaming breath back at the monster. Since it couldn't block fire with it's dented old normal shield, it caught on fire. It dropped its weapons and ran around the room, screeching. The second Staldinolfos also used fire breath, which was easily deflected. Now both monsters were screaming and burning. Skull Kid ran in front of one of the Staldinolfos and stabbed it through where its heart would normally be. It died. He did the same thing with the other Staldinolfos, and it crumbled as well. The bars
blocking the exit lifted. A treasure chest materialized. Skull Kid opened it and found...another key? He groaned. Tael applauded. "Skull Kid, that was great work with those Staldinolfos."
"Yeah, but I would've thought I would get something better than a key. Let's go." They made their way back to the central room. Skull Kid decided to go to the door in the northwest corner of the room, on the same as ledge as him. He opened the door and found himself in a courtyard. It had a path across a bridge over a freshwater stream. There was a well full of water to his left. There was a Deku Baba far to his right and an Octorock in the pool. He saw a wall with vines at the corner of the courtyard with the Deku Baba. He charged it, knife out. The Deku Baba lunged forward, trying to get a good bite, and impaled itself on the knife. Skull Kid pulled the knife from the dead plant and started climbing. At the top was a balcony with a door. He went through the door and entered a small room with a Blue Bubble. He put out the flames using his shield and killed it with a single thrust from his knife. When it crumbled, a treasure chest appeared in the middle of the room.
"It's another treasure chest." Said Tael, stating the obvious.
"It better not have another stupid key." Said Skull Kid. He opened the chest and found...a map of the temple! "Okay, this is just slightly better than a key." Said Skull Kid, stowing the map away. He went to the door on the other side of the room and ended up on another balcony in a courtyard exactly the same as the first. The door in the northeast corner of the main chamber probably led here. Skull Kid saw an alcove on one of the walls with a hookshot target. He used the hookshot to pull himself over. In the alcove was a switch, which he pressed. The water in this courtyard's well drained away. Skull Kid jumped down from the alcove, landing in the stream. Swimming away from the Octorock, he pulled himself ashore and ran over to the well. He knew he shouldn't just jump in, because it was pretty deep. Fortunately, there was a ladder. He climbed down the ladder and found himself in a long dark tunnel. As he walked down it, he stumbled into something that hurt his foot. After
yelping for a moment, he found the thing was another chest. He opened it and found...another key! Skull Kid was getting sick of these keys. He continued down the tunnel and found another ladder. He climbed up and pulled himself out, discovering he had just climbed out of the well in the first courtyard. He had just made a big circle. He sighed and headed back to the main chamber. Once inside, he put on the Deku Mask and skipped from flower to flower until he reached the west platform. He walked up the stairs and used one of his keys to unlock the door. He entered a corridor with a Skulltulla. He killed it as he had the one before and entered the next room. He was immediately confronted with a Blue Bubble. Once he killed it, he took a look around. It was large and confusing and involved a lot of pushing and pulling blocks, and poisonous water, and getting attacked by Blue Bubbles, and lighting torches, and getting attacked by ravenous moths, and...how about I just skip this
room, okay? I'm not sure how to go into detail on it. Anyway, he got to the room's top, where he burned away the web blocking a door, and then he unlocked it with another key and entered. He found himself in a corridor that led to a set of stairs. He went up the stairs and entered a blank room. There was nothing there. He took a step forward and was suddenly attacked by a large pack of Black Wolfos. He would have been killed immediately if it weren't for two things: one, Black Wolfos didn't have the hard fur of their normal cousins. Two, he remembered the magic spinning knife attack Farore had taught him. He used said spin attack to immediately wipe out all the Black Wolfos. He then went to the door on his right side and found himself in a rectangular room. To his right was a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a strangely familiar painting. It looked just like one of those things that had come out of the brazier in the main chamber! As he approached to take a
closer look, the picture vanished, leaving an empty frame. He blinked. He decided he was just seeing things, and walked down the stairs. He reached a landing with another painting, just like the first. As he approached, the picture vanished once more. Skull Kid was starting to think something was wrong. He turned to go down the next set of stairs and saw another painting just like the first two hanging from the ceiling just in front of him. As he started down the stairs, the picture vanished again! He went down the stairs and found himself in a small room. There was another painting. He knew what would happen. Sure enough, the picture vanished. He ignored it and opened the only door in the room. Inside was a room that looked just like the one where he had battled the Staldinolfos before, except large tree roots descended from the ceiling. There was a door on the other side of the room. As Skull Kid stepped forward, iron bars shut both doors. A single Staldinolfos jumped down
from the ceiling and attacked. Skull Kid easily dispatched of it. Suddenly, two more Staldinolfos dropped down! Skull Kid disposed of them as well. Both doors unlocked. A treasure chest appeared. He prayed to his mother that it wasn't another stupid key. He opened it. It wasn't. It was a crossbow and a full quiver of fifty arrows! Skull Kid saw immediate uses for it. He decided to go back to the room he had just left and test it out on those weird paintings. He went back through the door he had originally come through, ending up back in the staircase. He saw the weird painting. Arming his crossbow (and thanking Farore for teaching him how to use it), Skull Kid fired an arrow at the weird painting. It burned up and disappeared. He then carefully walked up the stairs. When he could see the second painting, he shot it, causing it to burn up as well. He knew it was too late for him to shoot the one hanging from the ceiling, so he went all the way up the stairs to the first
landing. Just at the top of the stairs, Skull Kid shot the painting. Once more, it burned up. He ran back to the second landing and shot the final painting, the one hanging from the ceiling. As it burned up, the strange creature emerged from what remained of the painting and flew down the stairs to the room just before where the Staldinolfos had attacked. He ran after it. He was soon face-to-face with the hideous creature. "Tael, what is that thing?"
Tael, who had been enjoying a long rest in Skull Kid's hat, flew out and was surprised. "Isn't that one of the creatures that appeared from the brazier at the beginning?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so. What is it?' asked Skull Kid, looking the monster over. It had the tattered robe of a Poe, but the face and limbs of a Gekko. It's legs dangled uselessly from the bottom of the cloak. Spines grew from its back. Its yellow eyes peered out from across its squat ugly face. It held a torch with an orange flame.
Tael jingled. "That's a Pekkoe! It's like a Poe and a Gekko. It spins and vanishes like a Poe, but hops around insanely like a Gekko." The Pekkoe spun towards Skull Kid. Tael Z-targeted the ghost frog. Skull Kid deflected the thing. It spun around again and vanished. Its torch was still visible, so they knew where it was. When it reappeared, Skull Kid shot it with a crossbow bolt. The Pekkoe screeched and spun into invisibility. When it reappeared once again, Skull Kid shot it. It vanished. When it reappeared, it was shot once more. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It screeched and poofed out of existence. Its torch fell to the floor and shattered.
"Well, that was easy." Said Skull Kid.
"Yeah, I thought it would be harder." Admitted Tael.
"Hey, a treasure chest just appeared where the ghost died! Let's see what's in it." Skull Kid opened the chest and found..."Oh no, not another small key!" he groaned.
"At least we're using them as we go." Said Tael.
Grumbling, Skull Kid went back through the Staldinolfos room to the next hallway. It was identical to the one he had just left, except there were four paintings on the wall next to the stairs. These paintings were of a blue Pekkoe. "This is too easy." Said Skull Kid. "Get ready, Tael."
"I'm ready." He said.
Skull Kid shot an arrow at each painting. When each one was destroyed, the blue Pekkoe from the painting and the temple's main chamber appeared. The Pekkoe started a spin attack. Skull Kid deflected while Tael kept it Z-targeted. As the Pekkoe made itself invisible, Skull Kid readied his crossbow. When the ghost frog reappeared, Skull Kid shot it. It screeched and vanished. It reappeared. Skull Kid shot it. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. The Pekkoe screeched and poofed out of existence. Its torch fell to the ground and shattered. A treasure chest appeared in its place. Skull Kid sighed. "And let me guess, the reward for an easy battle such as this is another Small Key." He opened the chest.
"It's a compass!" said Tael.
"Well, it's better than a key." Said Skull Kid, cheering up a little. He walked up the stairs to the first landing and continued to the second. He opened the door with a key and entered a room with a hole in the floor and a Wallmaster. It was easy to dodge and slay the Wallmaster, but there seemed to be nothing else they could do but jump down the hole. They did. Fortunately, the drop did not hurt Skull Kid. (I've always wondered why Link can drop three floors and not get hurt but can get hurt if he falls from lesser heights. Weird.) He was in a room with a pool of poison water in the middle. Inside the pool were five pillars, four rotating a central one with a torch. The pillars were cleverly designed to look like the wooden flower from the main chamber. On the wall across from the torch platform was an ice-encased eye switch that would probably open the door at the other end of the room. The only way to hit the switch would be to shoot an arrow through the torch and
directly hit the ice, melting it and opening the eye. The problem was that the torch was on the edge of its pillar, so the only way to shoot through the flame would be to fire it from one of the circling platforms. Skull Kid had to make a jump to the rotating platforms by climbing a ladder to a ledge, then jumping over. He readied his crossbow. "Tael, I need you to target the switch for me so I'll know when to shoot it."
"I`m on it!" said Tael. He flew over to the switch. Skull Kid pointed his crossbow to a point just over the brazier so he would know where to shoot. When the switch came around with Tael, Skull Kid fired his arrow. It went right through the brazier and hit the switch, activating it. The door at the end of the room opened. Tael flew over to Skull Kid. "Nice shot! Are you ready to move on?" Skull Kid's response was to jump off the platform to the ground, barely missing the poison water, and run for the door. "I'll take that as a yes." Said Tael, as he quickly flew after the imp.
As soon as they entered the next room, iron bars slammed shut on the door. They looked around. They were on a small ledge in a fairly empty room. Hanging from the ceiling were five blocks with pieces of a picture painted on each side. There was a door to their right, but it was shut as well. Directly in front of them was a painting of the green Pekkoe. Skull Kid shot it. It burned up. The five blocks fell from the ceiling. A guttural, slightly feminine voice croaked out. "If you want to fight me, you must assemble a block portrait of me in sixty seconds, starting...now! Ahahahahahahahahaha!" Skull Kid jumped down from the ledge and frantically started moving the blocks. He knew one of the five wouldn't have the right picture on top, but he couldn't see the tops of the blocks to tell which was which. Fortunately, Tael was able to help by flying high enough to see which blocks were which. He gave Skull Kid directions, and together they completed the puzzle just before time ran
out. The blocks sunk into the floor, and the green Pekkoe appeared, looking peeved. It spun into Skull Kid. As usual, he blocked, and it became invisible. When it reappeared, he shot it with his crossbow. It screeched and became invisible once more. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It vanished. It reappeared. It was shot. It screamed and poofed out of existence. Its torch fell to the floor and shattered. The doors opened. They waited to see if a treasure chest would appear. It didn't.
"Huh! I would've thought we'd receive another stupid key." Said Skull Kid.
"Oh well." Said Tael. "Let's use the door." They went through the door and found themselves on the previously inaccessible east ledge in the main chamber. Three of the four colored braziers had been relit with the defeat of three Pekkoes. There was only one more to go. Where could it be? Skull Kid noticed a switch, and stepped on it. A ladder appeared, leading to the lower platform. Tael suddenly had an idea. He saw the torch on the pillar in front of and just below the platform they were on now. He saw the unlit brazier on the wooden flower. He saw how the two torches were lined up if you looked down at them from the current platform. He turned to Skull Kid, who had also noticed the brazier. He grinned. "Hey Skull Kid, you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Tael.
Skull Kid smiled. "Of course I am." He whipped out his crossbow. "Tael, please target the brazier. Tael obliged. Using Tael's targeting, Skull Kid lined up with the torch in front of him and shot an arrow. It passed through the fire and into the brazier on the flower, lighting it. The flower's petals unfolded, purifying the water. The flower then elevated until it was at the same height as Skull Kid's platform. It started to rotate. Several Deku Flowers popped from the now-pure water. Another Deku Flower popped up right next to him, providing him with a means of transport to the wooden flower. Having no other leads, Skull Kid slapped on the Deku Mask. He then burrowed into the flower, popped out, and flew to the flower. He dropped onto one of its pinning petals and took off the mask. Looking up, he sighed. There seemed to be no way to get to the ladder and whatever was upstairs. He walked towards the center of the flower. As he did, the fourth and final Pekkoe, this one
purple appeared. It cackled and split apart into four purple Pekkoes, which vanished. They suddenly reappeared and started circling Skull Kid. Skull Kid had no way of telling which Pekkoe was which, and the flower's spinning didn't help. He ran through the circle, surprising the Pekkoes, and jumped off the flower, landing in the water. He swam over to the nearest platform (the east one) on climbed up. The Pekkoes flew down and started circling him once more. They didn't attack, they just circled. Skull Kid knew three of them were probably fake, but he had no way to tell which one was real. "Tael, any ideas on how I can figure out which Pekkoe is real?" he asked hopefully.
Tael thought. "I think I saw one of them spin around when it first appeared. That's probably the real one."
"Great! Which Pekkoe spun?"
"I have no idea."
Skull Kid groaned. "I'll have to find out the old fashioned way then." He shot an arrow at one of the Pekkoes. It faded away. He tried another ghost. It was the wrong one as well. There were two left to choose from. As they circled, Skull Kid paused, listening to his instincts. He shot one of the Pekkoes. It screeched and vanished, showing it had been the right one.
"Nice job!" said Tael.
"Yeah, but I want to be more careful next time. Tael, fly high so you can see the spinning Pekkoe as it appears so I can shoot it."
Tael obliged. The four Pekkoes reappeared. Tael saw one of them spin. "Okay Skull Kid, it's coming. Wait...wait...fire!" Skull Kid shot the Pekkoe. It screeched and vanished. There was a pause, then the Pekkoes reappeared again. Tael called out. "Skull Kid, the one on your immediate left is the right one. Shoot it!" Skull Kid hit the Pekkoe. It screeched, but did not vanish. All three false Pekkoes faded away. Tael flew back to Skull Kid.
"Tael, what's happening?" asked Skull Kid. The Pekkoe was just floating there, cackling to itself.
"Uh oh." Said Tael. "Gekkos never fight alone."
"What about the last three ghosts?" asked Skull Kid.
"These things are half Poe, so they fight like Poes. However, this one might be a little more Gekko then Pekkoe. And as I said, Gekkos never fight alone. They always call on a big, dangerous sidekick whenever they need help."
"So that means..."
"We're in trouble."
Indeed they were. The Pekkoe turned around and let loose a hideous cry. In the room's northwest corner, the ground shook then exploded outward as something erupted from the floor. It looked like a Giant Snapper, a turtle that spins into people with its hard, spiked shell, but it was skeletal. The Pekkoe flew over to the Snapper. "Tael, that looks like an undead Giant Snapper."
"I think it is. It can probably fly, so we won't be safe if we climb up to the top platform. I don't remember how to kill Snappers. I'm sorry, Skull Kid."
Skull Kid thought back to a decade ago, when Link described how he had defeated a Giant Snapper and Gekko in Woodfall. "Don't be sorry, Tael. I know how to stop it!"
"You do?"
"Yes, I do." With that Skull Kid slapped on the Deku Mask, transforming once again. By that point, the Pekkoe had reached the Undead Giant Snapper. Hopping onto the Snapper's back, the Pekkoe pointed towards Skull Kid and Tael. The Snapper nodded and pulled into its shell, sprouting its spikes. It started spinning, then floated a few inches into the air. Spinning, it flew over the water. Skull Kid quickly hopped across the water and flower braziers to the nearest Deku Flower. He burrowed inside and waited for the Snapper. Since this thing could fly, he knew he had to time his jump perfectly. Just as the Snapper and Pekkoe started to spin over his flower, he popped out, knocking the Snapper onto the water, where it hovered, stunned, and the Pekkoe off the Snapper's back. Skull Kid quickly dropped from his flight and took off the mask. "Tael, target the Pekkoe!" Tael flew over to the Pekkoe, who was making its way back to its stunned steed. Skull Kid hit it with an arrow. The
Pekkoe screeched and began spinning, which would prevent Skull Kid from using any more arrows this round since they would all be easily deflected. Skull Kid slapped the mask on and burrowed back into the flower. When the Pekkoe hopped back onto the Snapper, it recovered, and spun over Skull Kid's flower, smashing into the wooden flower. They turned around, then spun back over to Skull Kid's flower. Just as they went over him, Skull Kid popped out, knocking the Snapper unconscious again and hurling the Pekkoe in the air. Skull Kid ripped off the mask, targeted the ghost frog, and fired an arrow. The Pekkoe screeched and started spinning. Skull Kid slapped on the mask and burrowed into the flower yet again. The Pekkoe jumped back onto the Snapper, and spun over Skull Kid's flower, smashing into a wall. Skull Kid waited until they were almost on top of him, then shot out again, stunning the Snapper and knocking off the Pekkoe. However, when it was knocked off this time, it was
thrown right at the stem of the wooden flower, bashing its head. As it floated around dazedly, Skull Kid peeled off the mask, targeted the Pekkoe, and fired one last arrow. It pierced the ghost frog's heart. It screamed. The Giant Undead Snapper shrunk to nothingness. The Pekkoe screamed again and burned up, its flesh crumbling and peeling away, splashing into the water, until nothing was left but the purple flame from the torch. It flew over to the final brazier and lit it, completing the set. The flower stopped rotating. Skull Kid pumped his fist. "Oh yeah! I am unstoppable!" He high-fived Tael. (Sort of) "Now, let's see if we can get to that ladder." Said Skull Kid. He put the mask back on and skipped over to the east platform. He climbed the ladder to the upper part, and prepared to burrow into the flower when Tael got his attention.
"Skull Kid, a treasure chest is on the flower now." Skull Kid took a look and saw it was so. But this was no normal chest. This one was done in gold with blue paint. There was obviously something important in it. Skull Kid flew over to the flower and landed on it. He ran over to the chest and opened it, finding...another key! But this was no ordinary key. It was the Boss key!
"Finally, the second most important thing in this whole temple!" said Skull Kid. He stowed it in his pack. "Tael, how do we make this flower rise?" asked Skull Kid.
"I think I've found the answer." Said Skull Kid. "Come over here!" Tael was floating over a plaque in front of the brazier with a hole just below it. Skull Kid ran over. He read the plaque out loud. "Insert key to raise flower." Skull Kid pulled out one of his small keys and inserted it in the hole. The flower shook, then rose to the ceiling. Skull Kid pulled out the key. The flower shook and went back to the level of the upper platforms. He put the key back in the hole, raising the flower to the top once again. "Why did you do that?" asked Tael.
"I was just testing it to see if it would still work after we leave." He moved for the ladder, then thought of something. He pulled off his mask, then pulled a long piece of string from his pockets. He tied it to the handle end of the key, then started for the ladder. As he began to ascend the ladder, the string grew taught. He gave the string a sharp tug, pulling the key from the hole. The flower started to descend. Skull Kid let go of the string, letting it fall onto the flower so anyone who came to the temple would be able to get up here the same way he had. He continued up the ladder, reaching a ledge with a locked door. He opened the door with his last small key and went inside. He found a corridor. The door at the other end was locked with a different kind of lock. Skull Kid paused. "Tael, are you ready?"
"I'm ready for whatever is behind this door." Said Tael bravely. Skull Kid pulled out the Boss Key and was about to open the door when Tael stopped him. "Skull Kid, before we go in and face the first of Majora's four demon servants, I wanted to say it's been great knowing you. Just in case we don't make it out of here, I want to say beforehand that you're my best friend."
Skull Kid smiled. "I know. You're my best friend too, Tael. But we're going to make it out of here. I promise you that."
"But if we don't..."
"We'll just go up there. You know. We'll still be together. We'll be safe from whatever Majora or his father cooks up while we're dead, since we'll be in the one place he can never go to." Skull Kid sighed. "But I can't die before the quest is over. I'll have let everyone, including myself, down. So let's do this. I'm going to do my mother proud. This is one demon that does not live to see the sunset. We'll beat him as a team, like we've done throughout this temple." He put the key in the lock, opening the door. "Let's go." They ran through the door, which locked behind them. A huge pillar took up most of the round room. The ceiling was fifty feet high and vaulted, and covered in strange colors, all green and red and blue. There was nothing around the pillar. There was a staircase leading up to the top of the pillar. Skull Kid walked up. At the top, he stepped off of the stairs and onto the pillar. The pillar top was maybe fifty feet in diameter. He noticed that the pillar
edge had a railing to keep people from falling off. On the walls surrounding the pillar were several paintings, all of which showed the same drab scenery. Skull Kid walked forward a few steps and suddenly noticed two figures hanging from the ceiling, at opposite sides of the room. They were held in place by vines tied around their hands. They hung just a few feet over the pillar. One was a girl with green hair and a green tunic. She had a fairy sleeping on her shoulder. The other figure was a female Deku Scrub, just like the two that Skull Kid had shared a room with, except for a few things. She had two white dots over her eyes, earrings, long sleeves, and a flower growing from the end of her ankle-length hair/leaves. They appeared to be asleep. Skull Kid immediately recognized them. The girl was Saria, Sage of the Forest. The fairy was her guardian fairy, Patch. The Deku Scrub was the Deku Queen, Deku squeak squeak squeak squeak burp burp heeeep. Since she had been
kidnapped as well, Skull Kid had no doubt that she was one of the new Sages. Of course, now that the lands had combined, her title was unknown. "Tael, fly up and wake them up." He said.
Tael flew up to Saria and Patch and started jingling until they woke up. He did the same thing with the Deku Queen. Patch was the first to fully wake up. He flew off Saria's shoulder. "Saria, someone's here to rescue us!"
Saria and the Queen fully woke up at once. "Link?" asked Saria.
"Deku squeak squeak burp squeak burp heeeep?" asked the Queen.
They both noticed Skull Kid. "You're not Link." Said Saria.
"And you're not my hero!" said the Queen.
"Where's Link?" asked Saria.
"Where's my Deku?' asked the Queen.
Skull Kid addressed the Queen first. "Your majesty, your hero is back at the village, trying to make relations between the Kokiri and Deku Scrubs with the monsters of the forest."
The Queen seemed somewhat relieved. "He'll succeed that. He's a great hero and a great diplomat."
Skull Kid turned to Saria. "As for Link, I'm surprised you haven't heard. I would have thought your captor would have told you Majora captured him, along with Navi, Princess Zelda, and my fairy's sister."
Saria was disappointed. "Odolwa did tell me, but I was sure he was lying. I was sure Link was stronger. I guess I was wrong."
Skull Kid tried to cheer her up. "It's okay Saria. Link and the others are still alive. I'm the one who's been sent to rescue you and the other captured Sages. That includes you, Deku Queen."
The Queen was surprised. "You mean I'm actually a Sage, just like my friend Saria?"
"Yes, your ancestor built Woodfall temple."
The Queen suddenly realized what Skull Kid had said a moment ago. "Wait a minute, you're the one here to save the world? We're all doomed, then. You're just an imp!"
Skull Kid wasn't happy with that. "The gods themselves chose me for this quest! They must have thought I would be able to do this, don't you?"
The Queen shrugged, which was no easy feat since she was hanging from her wrists. "You're still just an imp."
Saria took a closer look. "Hey, we've met before, haven't we? Oh, I remember! You were in the Chamber of Sages a week ago, before...he came. I met you in the Sacred Forest Meadow ten years ago as well, didn't I? You and Link were searching for Navi with two fairies following you? Link told me all about your adventures on the way to Mesmoria! I met you a hundred years ago also, our first meeting. I taught you my song. Do you still remember it?"
Skull Kid grinned. "Of course I remember it. But we don't have time to reminisce. Where is the demon?"
Saria and the Queen exchanged glances. "We don't know." Said Patch.
"The last time we saw him was late last night, when he finished torturing us for the day." Said Saria.
"What kind of torture? I've faced all kinds in my day." Said Skull Kid.
Saria grimaced. "He made us watch his karaoke."
Skull Kid shuddered. "That's it? He made you watch karaoke? What kind of torture is that?" asked Tael.
"It's torture when the person doing the karaoke is a bad dancer, a bad singer, and sings bad songs." Said the Queen.
"After finishing another bout of karaoke that lasted till midnight, he left. We finally went to sleep after forcing the horrifying image of Odolwa's dance from our heads." Said Patch.
Skull Kid pulled out his crossbow. "Well, you'll never have to see demons doing karaoke again, because I'm getting you out of here. Saria, you can blast open locked doors, right?"
"Um, I think so." She said.
"Good. Now just hold still while I use my trusty crossbow to get you both safely to the ground."
He aimed at the vine on Saria's right hand when he was suddenly interrupted. "Don't even THINK of pulling that trigger." Everyone looked up to see Odolwa! He had been hiding on the ceiling the entire time, his tattoos and green skin camouflaging him from sight! He must have been there the entire time, listening to their conversation. Odolwa let go of his grip on the ceiling and backflipped, landing on the ground feet-first. Skull Kid looked over the fearsome creature from Hell. He had obviously been freed from mask imprisonment the same way Majora had, using the Triforce of Power. He was twelve feet tall with green skin. He was covered in red and blue tattoos. He wore wooden slippers and a loincloth that completely wrapped around his privates by going underneath his legs. He wore a blue, square bracelet on either hand. He wore purple shoulder pads, also decorated with red and blue symbols. He had a necklace with a blue stone. In his right hand he wielded a huge machete and
in his left he wielded a big green-and-blue diamond shaped shield. To all appearances he seemed to be wearing a mask, but it was actually an organic shell to protect his face from damage. It did look a lot like a mask though, but only because the demon wanted it to. Two triangular projections stuck out from either side of the shell, with diamond earrings hanging from them. Three tattered streamers waved about the top of the shell. The shell had holes for Odolwa's mouth and eyes, allowing everyone to peer into his blood-red orbs. The mouth looked like a frown with jagged teeth, Because of the shell, whenever the demon spoke, it gave a sort of echoing boom to his voice. War paint was all over the shell, making it look even more like a mask. He howled and raised his sword. "My master has placed me in charge of this temple and the surrounding forest/swamp. I sense that you have slain my servant, the Master Stalfos, and freed my slaves. This is intolerable! I shall kill you and
present your head to my master on a pike!" He bellowed in a loud wailing keel.
ODOLWA: DANCING DEMON WARRIOR
Skull Kid unsheathed his dagger and raised his Mirror Shield. He wished he had some light magic, but of course he had none. Tael targeted the demon. Odolwa started dancing and singing in the demon language. Skull Kid backed away. He knew that the dance was just to lure victims in. If anyone got close, Odolwa would lop his or her heads off. Skull kid readied his crossbow. He knew if he shot now, Odolwa would merely block it. When he stopped dancing for a moment, Skull Kid shot him with an arrow. Odolwa howled and stumbled, stunned. Skull kid ran up and performed multiple strikes with his dagger, hurting the demon greatly. On the sides, the prisoners cheered him on. As Odolwa recovered, Skull kid tried to back away, but he was too slow. Odolwa knocked him away with his shield then started dancing over to Skull Kid. When he was close enough, Odolwa performed a massive jump attack, shaking the ground as his sword slashed down, barely missing Skull Kid. However, his attack was a
little too strong and the sword was now stuck in the floor. Odolwa struggled, trying to pull it out. Skull kid ran behind him and performed a few jump attacks. The demon was really angry now. He pulled his sword from the ground and swung it, trying to chop off Skull kid's head. Fortunately, the imp was too close for the swipe to affect him and performed several more jump attacks. Odolwa roared and backflipped away. He switched to a different dance, jumping from one foot to the other, singing something else as well. A group of huge cockroaches swarmed onto the pillar, making a beeline for Skull Kid. As Skull Kid killed them off with his spinning knife attack, Odolwa formed a Ring of Fire around him. Odolwa kept dancing outside of the ring. Skull Kid shot the demon with an arrow, stunning him. As the ring lowered, Skull Kid ran over and performed some more jump attacks. When Odolwa recovered, Skull Kid quickly jumped away before he could get hit. Odolwa danced some more,
summoning even more cockroaches. Skull Kid spun them to death as well. He looked up, just in time to dodge another massive jump attack. Before Odolwa could turn around, Skull Kid stabbed him in the back. Odolwa screamed and spun around. Skull Kid backflipped away from Odolwa's chop. The demon summoned another Ring of Fire around Skull Kid and did a different dance, stomping the ground hard. His stomping caused rocks to fall from the ceiling, which Skull Kid quickly blocked with his upward-raised shield. When the ring dissipated, Odolwa ran towards Skull Kid, waving his machete. Skull Kid ran forward as well. He rolled beneath the demon's legs, spun around behind him, and stabbed him a few more times. He backflipped as Odolwa frantically tried to cut off Skull Kid's head. Then, he did his bug-summoning dance. Instead of cockroaches, this time he summoned a huge swarm of flesh-eating moths, which began to chase after Skull Kid as Odolwa danced around, occasionally lashing out
with his sword. Skull Kid reached into his pack and pulled out the Blast Mask. Slapping it on, he ran towards Odolwa, rolling under his sword, still chased by the moths. Raising his shield, he activated the mask's power, triggering an explosion that damaged and stunned Odolwa and killed the moths. While Odolwa was stunned, Skull Kid performed multiple jump attacks. As Odolwa recovered, Skull Kid quickly got out of the way. Odolwa was even angrier now. He bent over, his sword pointing straight outwards. Then, he started spinning, his blade becoming even deadlier. As Odolwa spun towards Skull Kid, he raised his shield in anticipation. His shield was able to block the demon's spin attack, but he didn't know how to hurt him. Using the Blast Mask, Skull Kid set off another explosion, stunning and hurting Odolwa, not to mention stopping his spin attack. Skull Kid pulled off a quick dozen jump attacks. Odolwa screamed. Skull Kid almost didn't dodge the swipe that time. Odolwa
looked extremely mad. He backed away to the far end of the pillar and did another bug-summoning dance. However, he kept doing it. And doing it. And doing it. Droves of cockroaches crawled onto the pillar, as giant swarms of moths flew out of cracks in the walls. Odolwa stood back and laughed. "Pathetic imp! Did you really think you could defeat a mighty demon and master of interpretive dance such as myself? My insect minions will chew the flesh from your bones!"
Things looked bad. The prisoners had stopped cheering. Tael flew over to Skull Kid. "Tael, what can we do?" asked Skull Kid.
"I-I'm really sorry Skull kid. I don't know." Said Tael. "I guess you were wrong. We're not getting out of this one alive."
The bugs swarmed in, coming closer, closer, eager to eat the flesh of the imp foolish enough to challenge their master. As he had so many times before, Skull kid cleared his mind and listened to his instincts. He reached into his pack and pulled out a mask, putting away the Blast Mask since it wouldn't work on this many bugs. The mask he had pulled out was Odolwa's Mask, the mask Odolwa had been imprisoned in over a thousand years ago by Skull Kid's sisters, the Golden Goddesses, along with Majora and the three other demons that served him. The mask was supposed to be powerless, yet his instincts had told him to use it. And his instincts had never been wrong before. He put on the mask. Nothing happened. No transformation, no new power, nothing. It seemed to be just a normal mask. It looked like his instincts had failed him in the end. As the bugs approached, about to devour him, he screamed, "It can't end like this!" The bugs stopped. Skull Kid, Odolwa, Tael, and the
prisoners were quite surprised. Skull Kid looked at the bugs for a moment, then said, "Roll over." The roaches rolled over. The moths somersaulted sideways. "Take one step forward." The bugs moved forward, then stopped. Skull Kid suddenly realized that this mask gave him the power to control insects!
Odolwa realized this as well. "No! No! Attack him! Eat him!" The bugs didn't respond.
Skull Kid pointed towards the demon. "Get him." He said. The bugs swarmed over a surprised Odolwa, who tried to stomp them or shake them off, but to no avail. As the bugs swarmed onto him, they dug their mandibles into the demon's flesh. Odolwa screamed. Skull Kid ran over to Odolwa, made a high jump, and stabbed his dagger right through Odolwa's heart. Odolwa shrieked and fell to the ground. The bugs swarmed off of him, going back to the cracks and holes they had come out of. All that was left of the demon were his bones. In a moment, they burned up, returning Odolwa's spirit to Hell. A portal opened up. Skull Kid ignored it for the moment and turned to the prisoners, who were awestruck by his victory.
Finally, Saria spoke up. "That was incredible." She said.
"Wow." Said Tael.
"Yeah," said Patch at a loss for words. The Queen said nothing. Skull kid shot them down with his crossbow, then put the mask and said bow away. After a moment, the others recovered from their amazement.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Said the Queen. "Thank you for saving us."
Skull kid shrugged. "It was nothing. Come on, I've got to get you two to the Chamber of Sages." He escorted the girls into the portal.
In a flash, they were in the Chamber of Sages. Skull Kid was in the middle of the Triforce platform, while Saria, Patch, and the Queen were on the altered Forest platform. Rauru was on the Light platform, smiling and nodding approvingly. "Well done, well done!" said Rauru. "You are proving yourself as a hero, young imp. Now, I believe the ladies would like to reward you."
Saria looked at Skull Kid. "It's surprising that I've met you again after all these years, my friend. You've still kept my song in your heart, and I'm proud of that. As a reward for saving the forest and my friends, I give you this Forest Medallion." She tossed Skull Kid a green medallion with a Triforce symbol on the back and four swirling blades on the front. Saria smiled. "If you see Mido, tell him I've decided on his proposal. The answer is yes."
The Deku Queen looked at Skull Kid. "I am sorry I misjudged you. I thought an imp would not be strong enough to beat a demon, and I was wrong. You proved yourself most admirably back there. For saving my people and the rest of the forest, I give you this Jungle Medallion, as I am now Sage of the same." She tossed him a dark green medallion with the Deku Scrub emblem on it. "Oh, and when you see my beloved Deku, tell him it's time. I will wed him when this is over."
Rauru cleared his throat. "You three will have to stay in the temple until this is over. You should both know how to summon the dragon, and will do it when Skull Kid gives the signal in a few weeks." He turned to Skull Kid and Tael. "Skull Kid, I will now tell you of the next temple's past and of it's dragon. Listen carefully."
Well, so ends another chapter. Get ready for next time, when Rauru reveals info on the next temple and where Skull Kid has to go next. He had completed one-forth of the quest, will he be able to succeed the other parts? Find out next time!