Tired from their battle with the giant Fastitocalon and with Navi resting in Link's arrow holder, Link and Sheik headed for 'home'. As neither Link nor Sheik really had 'homes', this would mean heading for Kokiri Forest. Whenever Link wanted to be alone, time to think or just some peace and quiet, he headed there. But when he and Sheik came closer to the Lost Woods, they heard a cry for help.
"That sounded like a Kokiri! I've got to get over there!"
"Wait, Link..." Sheik grabbed Link by the arm, "You've nearly lost all of your hearts. We should go to the nearest Fairy's Fountain and pick up a few fairies"
"Yeah..." Link reluctantly admitted, "That would be a hole on top of the Lost Wood labyrinth. Let's get going, it sounded pretty urgent."
After navigating their way through the maze that was the Lost Woods, they arrived at the labyrinth in front of the Meadow... To find it overflowing with the weirdest collection of foes they'd ever seen. The usual large spear-wielding guards were gone, as was the 'guy with the club' at the entrance to the Forest Temple. In his place was a large dinosaur-like creature. It had a red skin with pitch-black stripes running across it, short arms and from the look of its mouth, an enormous appetite. It seemed to be pretty strong as all the other monsters seemed to be avoiding it.
"Well, monsters or not, we have to get to that fountain, and the ladder that leads up to that level is right next to that big guy on the other side."
"You're right, Link, that would be a problem."
"Well, at least we'll have the element of surprise, but that's about the only benefit I can see in this situation." Link noted with a grim look on his face.
"I have some weapons that could use that one benefit to the fullest."
Sheik pulled out some weapons from his backpack, until he found what he was looking for. He detached the blaster edge from his right arm, and took up the sniper rifle.
"I'll be back in a sec." was all he said before disappearing into one of the narrow corridors that made up the maze. Perfectly timed, as just when Sheik went around the corner, a wendigo rounded the other one. It didn't see Link, who saw a clean chance to take at least this one monster out without the risk of losing his last few hearts. When the wendigo heard a sound, it turned toward the place where Link had been, just a few moments earlier. The wendigo didn't seem to understand what was happening, until it heard another cracking branch right behind it. When the wendigo turned to see who or what had made the sound, all it saw was a Deku nut being smashed right on its head. In the total confusion that followed, Link powered up his Magic Meter and released a roundabout slash on the foe, followed by some of his more impressive moves. Link rolled over the ground, rose up right in front of his foe and started slashing like wild. When de Deku Flash cleared, all that was left of the wendigo could be stored in a small treasure chest. The rest had been slashed away, evaporated or exploded.
"What was that all about?" Navi asked
"You really don't want to know"
"Would I ask if I didn't want to know? I want to know what woke me up from that well deserved nap!"
"Geez, since when did you have such a short temper?" Link inquired
"Ever since you, or whatever it was, woke me up! Now I want to know what all that ruckus was all about! NOW!"
"Ok, ok, relax!" Link tried to calm Navi, but it was pretty useless. "That was a monster I defeated. I only have three hearts left, and Sheik is getting some fairies to help me up. After that we're going to investigate the cry we heard. I won't be able to do any good until I've got a few more hearts."
At that moment shots were heard, and Sheik barely avoided the big dinosaur's jaw. Sheik had managed to silently dispose of all the monsters he encountered, but their shouts had woken the interest of the large monster. It was now snapping it's jaws at anything that moved and its tail was a force to be reckoned with too. Sheik made his way to the hole in the ground with the monstrosity stamping everything in its path. It was closing in on Sheik at an incredible pace. Ten meters, eight meters, six meters, four... At that time Sheik jumped into the hole and the creature found itself biting air at the entrance to the underground cavern.
"That was a little too close for comfort." Sheik said, heaving.
Sheik was, although safe, pretty much in a tight situation. He knew he couldn't stay there, and the chances of the freak of nature going away anytime soon were slim to none.
"Oh well, while I'm here, I might as well just collect the fairies"
Sheik rummaged through his backpack to find what he was looking for. Four empty bottles, neatly tied together with a piece of rope.
"Heeere fairy, fairy, fairy"
And then all the fairies flew away to the furthest corner of the cave.
"Aah, crap!" Sheik exclaimed in an angry tone. "They always do that to me! Guess I'll have to go hunting again"
After a lot of trouble Sheik finally managed to capture the five fairies he needed: four in the bottles, one for himself, as Sheik was also injured pretty badly when making his way through the maze.
"Now to find a way pas that giant freak-show... How should I do this?"
He looked in his bag to see if there was anything he could use against such a big monster. He'd already flung all of his rockets, along with the launcher, at that giant fishy thingy.
"Let's see that else we've got here... Nunchakus, no. Rifle, no. Whip, no. Gloves, no. Aha, this might come in handy!"
He took the vegetable in his hand.
"Hmm... 'Gysahl Greens - DANGEROUS.' I wonder what's so dangerous about this."
With an uncertain glance to the monster he threw the green at it. The moment it made contact with it's nose, Sheik felt an unusual energy within himself, an energy that wanted nothing more than to come out. He felt a strange green glow grow around himself. At that moment he felt his own presence grow weaker, to be replaced by something gentle, yet very powerful. The moment sheik's presence was completely overcome by the new energy's, it burst out. The monster watched the light with an interested gaze. In the middle of the cave there suddenly was a cute little chicobo just sitting there. The great red monster looked puzzled. A puzzled look that was replaced by fear as the cute little chicobo started to power up. The fear came too late. By the time the monster realized what was going to happen to it, the fact had already happened. In just a few small seconds and a blaze that lit the entire maze, the monster was reduced to a pile of dust. The chocobo made a 'Warrk' sound and then returned to the nothingness it came from. Sheik's presence returned, and he felt the energy fade within himself.
"Ookay, now I understand the 'WARNING' label."
Sheik didn't waste any time and returned to the surface as fast as he could. He sprinted across the top of the maze to find Link waiting for him.
"Sheik, what happened over there?" Link asked, pointing at the scorched soil by the hole in the ground.
"One of Mr. Dincht's tools." He replied simply.
"That was quite a blast, Sheik. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Navi, Don't worry about it... Here you go, Link, four bottled fairies, I already let one heal me, so I'm fine."
"All right!" Link stated "we should go investigate that cry. Let's hurry before we're too late."
So they headed for Kokiri Village, but the silence around them was almost suffocating. No cries were heard. Nobody called for help. Just silence.
"Do you think we're too late, Navi?" Link asked.
"We might be... Let's hurry!"
When they neared the settlement, Link took a startled step backwards as he saw the dark column of dark, black smoke rise up from the direction of the forest. And although it had started to rain, the fiery red glow on the horizon, against the twilight of the evening suggested there was a fire going, a BIG fire.
Chapter 3
"That sounded like a Kokiri! I've got to get over there!"
"Wait, Link..." Sheik grabbed Link by the arm, "You've nearly lost all of your hearts. We should go to the nearest Fairy's Fountain and pick up a few fairies"
"Yeah..." Link reluctantly admitted, "That would be a hole on top of the Lost Wood labyrinth. Let's get going, it sounded pretty urgent."
After navigating their way through the maze that was the Lost Woods, they arrived at the labyrinth in front of the Meadow... To find it overflowing with the weirdest collection of foes they'd ever seen. The usual large spear-wielding guards were gone, as was the 'guy with the club' at the entrance to the Forest Temple. In his place was a large dinosaur-like creature. It had a red skin with pitch-black stripes running across it, short arms and from the look of its mouth, an enormous appetite. It seemed to be pretty strong as all the other monsters seemed to be avoiding it.
"Well, monsters or not, we have to get to that fountain, and the ladder that leads up to that level is right next to that big guy on the other side."
"You're right, Link, that would be a problem."
"Well, at least we'll have the element of surprise, but that's about the only benefit I can see in this situation." Link noted with a grim look on his face.
"I have some weapons that could use that one benefit to the fullest."
Sheik pulled out some weapons from his backpack, until he found what he was looking for. He detached the blaster edge from his right arm, and took up the sniper rifle.
"I'll be back in a sec." was all he said before disappearing into one of the narrow corridors that made up the maze. Perfectly timed, as just when Sheik went around the corner, a wendigo rounded the other one. It didn't see Link, who saw a clean chance to take at least this one monster out without the risk of losing his last few hearts. When the wendigo heard a sound, it turned toward the place where Link had been, just a few moments earlier. The wendigo didn't seem to understand what was happening, until it heard another cracking branch right behind it. When the wendigo turned to see who or what had made the sound, all it saw was a Deku nut being smashed right on its head. In the total confusion that followed, Link powered up his Magic Meter and released a roundabout slash on the foe, followed by some of his more impressive moves. Link rolled over the ground, rose up right in front of his foe and started slashing like wild. When de Deku Flash cleared, all that was left of the wendigo could be stored in a small treasure chest. The rest had been slashed away, evaporated or exploded.
"What was that all about?" Navi asked
"You really don't want to know"
"Would I ask if I didn't want to know? I want to know what woke me up from that well deserved nap!"
"Geez, since when did you have such a short temper?" Link inquired
"Ever since you, or whatever it was, woke me up! Now I want to know what all that ruckus was all about! NOW!"
"Ok, ok, relax!" Link tried to calm Navi, but it was pretty useless. "That was a monster I defeated. I only have three hearts left, and Sheik is getting some fairies to help me up. After that we're going to investigate the cry we heard. I won't be able to do any good until I've got a few more hearts."
At that moment shots were heard, and Sheik barely avoided the big dinosaur's jaw. Sheik had managed to silently dispose of all the monsters he encountered, but their shouts had woken the interest of the large monster. It was now snapping it's jaws at anything that moved and its tail was a force to be reckoned with too. Sheik made his way to the hole in the ground with the monstrosity stamping everything in its path. It was closing in on Sheik at an incredible pace. Ten meters, eight meters, six meters, four... At that time Sheik jumped into the hole and the creature found itself biting air at the entrance to the underground cavern.
"That was a little too close for comfort." Sheik said, heaving.
Sheik was, although safe, pretty much in a tight situation. He knew he couldn't stay there, and the chances of the freak of nature going away anytime soon were slim to none.
"Oh well, while I'm here, I might as well just collect the fairies"
Sheik rummaged through his backpack to find what he was looking for. Four empty bottles, neatly tied together with a piece of rope.
"Heeere fairy, fairy, fairy"
And then all the fairies flew away to the furthest corner of the cave.
"Aah, crap!" Sheik exclaimed in an angry tone. "They always do that to me! Guess I'll have to go hunting again"
After a lot of trouble Sheik finally managed to capture the five fairies he needed: four in the bottles, one for himself, as Sheik was also injured pretty badly when making his way through the maze.
"Now to find a way pas that giant freak-show... How should I do this?"
He looked in his bag to see if there was anything he could use against such a big monster. He'd already flung all of his rockets, along with the launcher, at that giant fishy thingy.
"Let's see that else we've got here... Nunchakus, no. Rifle, no. Whip, no. Gloves, no. Aha, this might come in handy!"
He took the vegetable in his hand.
"Hmm... 'Gysahl Greens - DANGEROUS.' I wonder what's so dangerous about this."
With an uncertain glance to the monster he threw the green at it. The moment it made contact with it's nose, Sheik felt an unusual energy within himself, an energy that wanted nothing more than to come out. He felt a strange green glow grow around himself. At that moment he felt his own presence grow weaker, to be replaced by something gentle, yet very powerful. The moment sheik's presence was completely overcome by the new energy's, it burst out. The monster watched the light with an interested gaze. In the middle of the cave there suddenly was a cute little chicobo just sitting there. The great red monster looked puzzled. A puzzled look that was replaced by fear as the cute little chicobo started to power up. The fear came too late. By the time the monster realized what was going to happen to it, the fact had already happened. In just a few small seconds and a blaze that lit the entire maze, the monster was reduced to a pile of dust. The chocobo made a 'Warrk' sound and then returned to the nothingness it came from. Sheik's presence returned, and he felt the energy fade within himself.
"Ookay, now I understand the 'WARNING' label."
Sheik didn't waste any time and returned to the surface as fast as he could. He sprinted across the top of the maze to find Link waiting for him.
"Sheik, what happened over there?" Link asked, pointing at the scorched soil by the hole in the ground.
"One of Mr. Dincht's tools." He replied simply.
"That was quite a blast, Sheik. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Navi, Don't worry about it... Here you go, Link, four bottled fairies, I already let one heal me, so I'm fine."
"All right!" Link stated "we should go investigate that cry. Let's hurry before we're too late."
So they headed for Kokiri Village, but the silence around them was almost suffocating. No cries were heard. Nobody called for help. Just silence.
"Do you think we're too late, Navi?" Link asked.
"We might be... Let's hurry!"
When they neared the settlement, Link took a startled step backwards as he saw the dark column of dark, black smoke rise up from the direction of the forest. And although it had started to rain, the fiery red glow on the horizon, against the twilight of the evening suggested there was a fire going, a BIG fire.
Chapter 3