Repaying a debt
Disclaimer: Well, as far as I know, since the time between writing the last chapter and this, I haven't suddenly been offered the job as the leading director of Nintendo...that would be cool...but, as such, none of the characters, apart from dear old Alexis, are actually mine. Such a shame...[takes off cat burglar outfit] now I can't even go and try to steal them and pretend...dang...
Oh, I just realised the initials of this story spell 'RAD'. Heh - I've been watching way too much American TV recently - damn you FRIENDS! [Mutters about stupid catchphrases, and how nice Joey looks...cough].
Well, in the last chapter, all our lovely hero people met up, Navi and Alexis are ever thinking sarcastically to one another, and Sheik seems to be a little suspicious, and has acquired a semi-grudge against Alexis...I dunno why I did that - it just happened. Alexis is also under the alias of Blaise, so when the others talk to her, that's what they'll call her, OK? You can handle it, I know you can!
Well, anywho, they went and saved the Ranch, and now they're off to save the rest of Hyrule - what fun.
And lastly:-
[] = Alexis' thoughts
{} = Navi's thoughts
~/*\~/*\~/*\~
With the rescue of the Ranch and the girl Malon still fresh in our minds, we went forward with slightly lifted spirits. The forest was in the South, and I suddenly remembered the state of disrepair I had found it to be in. All those monsters, and the Kokiri...gone. I caught up to Link, still leading the horse Epona, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes?" he queried, looking down at me from his great height.
"I feel I should warn you - the Forest will have changed more than you think," [Talk about understatement.] "There are a multitude of monsters, and when I walked through, I did not glimpse any Kokiri." He looked thunderstruck, and seemed incapable of speech. Navi, however, thought to me frantically.
{None? What, none at all? What about Saria, and Mido, and all the other fairies? Surely, there are-}
[I saw NONE, Navi.]
{Oh Goddesses...}
[Don't fear, I think they are only hiding until the monsters leave.]
"What were you doing in the Forest?" Sheik asked.
"It was where I first arrived in Hyrule," I answered, without really thinking it through.
"How? Are the ports not to the west?"
"Yes, they are," I paused, thought for a second. "But I was transported here by an elvean sorcerer." That seemed to be a good enough cover-up of yet another blunder. Sheik nodded, still looking a little suspicious, and we walked in silence once again.
The trees of the Forest came into focus before us, shadows against a sky of deepening blue. A few constellations of the stronger stars twinkled down upon us. A void of light showed the tunnel to the village, and we padded towards it.
Sheik went through first, creeping like a shadow along the swaying bridge. I followed close behind, imitating the fluid way in which the Sheikah moved. A loud whinny sliced through the silence and I turned to see Epona rearing up. Sheik turned as well, moving to stand behind me; he was so close that I could feel his cool breath as he spoke. "Let the horse stay in the field, Link. She obviously wants to go no further."
Link released his grasp on Epona's reins, and she backed away, turning her graceful body and galloping away into the open field. Link looked after the horse wistfully, and I knew he saw Epona as his link to Malon. "Come on - we must move quickly and with more stealth than a Wolfos cub now," I called quietly to him, reaching out a hand to tap his shoulder.
He jumped at the contact and whirled around to pad just as silently as I had across the bridge. "Hey!" Navi spoke out loud. "We should go to the Sacred Meadow. I remember the Great Deku Tree - may he rest well - telling me of a temple there." She zoomed around Link's head, sending a rosy light on the hero's skin.
"Good call Navi," Link grabbed her from the air, "but please stop doing that. You're making me feel dizzy." She giggled apologetically {oops!} and sat upon his shoulder, glowing gently. "Right - the entrance to the Lost Woods is on the left, up a semi-cliff. We'll get to there, and then find the Sacred Meadow."
"OK," Sheik nodded, now falling in behind Link - it was his territory now - his lead to follow. I grabbed both of them by the backs of their shirts.
"Wait. You'd best take it at a run; there are creatures in the village too." Link's face was set in a scowling anger at this news, coupled with an intense fear. Sheik seemed to shrug it off, the vermilion eyes as composed as always. So, we headed forwards once more, me bringing up the rear.
The two before me broke into a run as soon as they got out of the tunnel. I sprinted after them [Great, more running!]
{I take it you don't like running?}
[In no uncertain terms, I'd say I hate it!] I scowled as I felt the usual tightening pains in my chest. Finally, finally, I reached the cliff, and was able to scramble up the vines growing upon it. At the top, I crawled forwards and lay on the grass for a few seconds to catch my breath.
The mad-scrub I had killed when I was going the other way through the Forest had been replaced by another. It fired deku-nuts in a steady barrage, and Link deflected one back at it with his shield, killing it instantly. It's brightly coloured body turned to dust before our eyes.
The woods were as quiet as I remembered them on my arrival. Link was standing at the centre of the first clearing looking a little perplexed. Then, suddenly, something seemed to click, and his face lit up. Surely, he marched forward through the trees, and we followed him. Over the next hour, Link led us through a myriad of pathways. To me, they all looked the same, apart from the few punctuations consisting of pools and grassy banks which separated each path from the next. [He's lost, isn't he?]
{Have faith, Blaise. He knows what he's doing.}
[Are you sure?]
{Perfectly.} Navi answered, and her tone said that the matter was closed. And, when we entered a hedged maze leading to the Sacred Meadow a few minutes later, I knew she had been right.
"All we need to do now is walk through this maze, and we'll come to the Meadow!" Link said, grinning happily and rubbing his hands together. Nonchalantly, he walked forwards. Navi, who seemed to have fallen asleep, suddenly flew in front of his face, and flew repeatedly into his nose.
"Go back, go back!" she trilled, and he did as he was told, flying backwards and ducking behind one of the entrance hedges. Sheik was already there, and I wondered what on earth was wrong.
I felt a jerking sensation, and I fell backwards against Sheik's chest. He put one arm around my waist and the other over my mouth. I was about to protest when a loud, grunting roar sounded, so close by that I thought some monster was telepathising with me. Eyes wide, I saw the shadow of a huge creature fall across the light of the gap which was the entrance to the maze. It seemed to be carrying a spear, and I watched the shadow as the huge beast rotated its body slowly, looking around.
Then, the shadow was gone, and great pounding footsteps walked away. Sheik finally relaxed his grip on me, and I moved to lean against the hedge. "What was that thing?" I hissed in a low voice.
"A moblin," Navi answered before Link had a chance. "They're very stupid and easy to kill. But, if they see you, they'll charge, and with those spears, a charge would hurt!" Her little pixie face was set darkly, and her small arms were crossed over her chest. As she flew before my face, I noticed how much she resembled my mother - or how my mother would have looked had she lived long enough. A long trailing gown that seemed to made of the stars themselves, and a lithe body with graceful curves; strong eyes set into a classical face.
I blinked back unbidden tears, glad of the glasses I wore which hid my watery eyes. "So, how do we kill them without them seeing us?" I asked, and was glad when she flew away to flutter where all three of us could see her.
"Well, Blaise, I don't think you'll be able to do anything as you have no long range weapons." I nodded, a little peeved. "Link, you can use your hook shot, and Sheik, your bow and arrows. Shoot them once in the back, and they shall fall, for there they have no armour." Link and Sheik nodded their understanding, and we advanced cautiously into the maze.
*
Finally, we had reached the end of the maze, where a great stairway led upwards. Navi scouted ahead, and came back with some bad news. "There's a huge moblin with a club there!" she told us, and we were downcast. "Each time it hits the ground, it sends a shockwave directly forwards," Navi told us after a second scout.
We thought over possible strategies. Feeling a little unsure about the idea, I voiced it anyway. "If we weave from side to side, we can avoid the worst of the shockwaves; then, when we get close enough, we can kill it." They didn't look so sure, but as Sheik so aptly put it,
"Well, it's the best plan we've got."
We ran from side to side, the roars of the huge moblin as it hefted its club deafening us. When he was close enough, Link whipped the Master Sword from his scabbard and slashed its great knees. The creature howled in pain, and we hurried past before it recovered enough to smash the club down again.
As one, we flew into the Sacred Meadow, skidding to a stop to look around at the beautiful scene in awe. The air was alive with the sparkling lights of the Forest spirits. High above, were the remnants of a broken staircase. "See what's up there, will you?" Link asked, and Navi fluttered upwards.
She came back down, looking excited. "It's the temple all right! And, there's a tree branch you can fire your hook shot into to get up." She flew back up, and buzzed around the said branch, glowing a bright green to point it out.
"OK. Looks like I'm going up first," Link said. He pulled out the contraption known as a hook shot, aimed, and fired it into the branch. There was a dull 'thwack' as it bit into the wood, and Link pressed a button on the side of it. He whizzed upwards, and within two seconds was standing atop the ancient, broken stairway.
"Here, you come up next," Link called, dropping the hook shot into Sheik's outstretched hands. He did just as Link had done, shooting the hook into the branch. There was a loud howl behind us, and all three of us turned to see the huge moblin meandering towards us, swaying of its injured legs.
For the second time, Sheik grabbed me around the waist. With his free arm, he held the hook shot and pressed the button to raise us up. The sensation was strange, almost like flying, and over almost instantly, leaving us on top of the stairway. "Go, go!" Sheik pushed Link forwards and practically carried me, his arm still clamped firmly on my waist.
We crashed through a screen of vines, and a heavy iron door, slamming it closed and shutting out the howls of the moblin. Sheik let go of me, and both he and Link turned to work at the rusty bolt on the door. I however looked at the small courtyard. "Uh, guys..." I said, nudging them both. They turned around, and took in the same sight I had. Three Wolfos, strings of drool hanging from their yellow teeth, amber eyes burning with hunger. [This isn't our day.]
{Obviously} Navi thought, her mind-voice sounding shaky. The lead Wolfos howled, and they leapt at us. All of us took out our weapons, and Navi flew around them to confuse and distract them. I killed the one who came at me swiftly, before turning to help Sheik with his. Link's fell at the same time, and we stood, hands on knees, panting heavily.
"Well, wasn't that fun?" I said dryly, and Link let out a derisive laugh. Sheik patted me heartily on the back.
"Shall we?" he bowed towards the door on the other side from which we had entered, indicating that I should go first. Shaking my head disbelievingly at him, I picked my way around the slowly disappearing bodies of the three dead Wolfos, and walked up the three steps to the door. Tentatively, I reached out a hand and turned the handle - locked.
"Oh. Crap." I exclaimed. "I don't believe this!" Angrily, I turned around to see the hysterically laughing Sheik and Link. [Grr] I thought as I heard Navi laugh too. Sighing, I let out a nervous chuckle myself, looking upwards around the courtyard. "Up there!" I pointed. "There's a chest - it probably has a key in it."
Link took the hint, and still chuckling slightly, used his hook shot to get to it. We heard the click of the latch, and then Link's triumphant cheer. "Yup, there's a key!" He lowered himself down, and out the key into the lock of the door. Sure enough, it turned, and the door swung open to show a dark hallway.
"We're in," he said, suddenly serious once more. "Let's get going."
~*~*~*~
[Talk about your fixer uppers] I thought, looking around at the tunnel through which we travelled. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and dead leaves scattered the floor. Reaching out to the wall to step over a fissure in the floor, I felt the slimy tendrils of some moss or other beneath my fingers. "Gross," I breathed, wiping my slime-covered hands on the front of my tunic.
Ahead, Link smashed a giant skulltula out of the way and I watched with fascination as its body turned to dust. I wished dark creatures on the other worlds would do that - it would make killing them a little more savoury at least. Sheik and I were content enough to follow him through the corridor to the metal door at the other end. He leant his shoulder against it, and shoved. It scraped a little way before stopping. "Help me out - it's stuck," he grunted, and I moved forward to put my palms flat on the door. Sheik leant on the last part of it, close to the hinges.
"On three?" I asked, and they nodded. "OK - one," we set our feet firmly. "Two," we leant our weights on the door. "Three!" as one, we pushed, and the door burst open, throwing all three of us to the floor of weed-riddled paving. "Ow..." I was the first one up, surprised to find my glasses still intact. I gave each of them a hand and pulled them from the floor too.
There was a weird fluttering sound, as though of many birds taking flight at once, behind us. We turned to see a strangely immaculate courtyard, in which four torch sconces were ablaze with flame. One green, one blue, one purple, one orange. They surrounded a strange skeletal box, which as we watched, sank so that its top was level with the floor. Even as we looked on, four Poes appeared, one at each sconce. I made to draw my sword, but Sheik put his arm in front of me, looking down and shaking his head. I dropped my arm, and observed the four Poes disappeared in much the same way as they had appeared.
The courtyard was silent once more, apart from a slight sound of dripping water from somewhere. "That was odd," I said, now daring to remove my sword from my back. Sheik nodded musingly, whilst Link looked around the empty courtyard. Deciding to take the initiative, I moved forwards and dropped over the railings into the sunken courtyard. Cautiously, I moved to where the cage-like box had sunken into the floor. Bending down, I tried to find a crack between the roof of the cage and the floor. It sat flush, and only a thin line discerned it from the rest of the floor.
I heard the other two pad up behind me, and I stood up again. "We should split up - we'll get through this place quicker that way." I made to walk away, when two hands clamped down on my shoulders.
"No - we travel together," Sheik's hand was on my left shoulder.
"It's too dangerous otherwise," Link's hand rested on my right shoulder. I slumped and turned to see that their faces were set - there would be no point trying to argue the time factor to them.
"Fine," once more, we fell into a line, Link at the front, Sheik in the middle and little old me bringing up the rear. After a last look at the immaculate courtyard, I followed through the only unlocked door into a yard with a resident giant deku-baba and octorok in the small stream running through it.
*
The whole place was dark and dank, and I was glad of the thick wool of my clothes. Link had managed to acquire a 'fairy bow', to add to his extensive arsenal of weaponry, and was walking along studying it. Sheik held the old map of the Temple, trying to decipher where on earth we had to go next.
I held my sword up in front of me to inspect the blade (which I had just wiped clean of blood), and glimpsed a movement on the stairs. Refocusing my eyes, I looked upwards a little more - for an instant, I was sure that there had been a picture within the frame on the first landing. "Did you see...?" I pointed at the now empty frame, and the other two looked up at it, before looking at me quizzically. "Never mind..." I shook my head, to try and clear it - I must have been going crazy.
As we ascended the stairs, there was a strange sound that I was sure I'd heard before. Ahead of me, I could see Link looking around, his pointed ears pricked. "Hey, that picture wasn't...huh?" All three of us saw the picture fade away. "What in all Hyrule is going on?"
{It's a Poe! It must have found way to hide in the pictures - we need to get it out, it must know something about that cage thing.}
[Yeah - hey, it's the one with the orange flame...but, how do we get it out?]
{I dunno - shoot it maybe?}
The idea of shooting a picture was incomprehensible to me, but Navi suggested it to Link anyway, who obediently strung an arrow into the bow, and fired at the frame. Before the arrow hit, the picture had disappeared, and reappeared in the one on the landing above. There was a small laugh, "You'll never get me!" and the arrow just thudded dully into the frame and bounced back onto the floor.
I reached up, and pulled Link down so I could whisper into his ear. "Don't let her see you - hide behind the banister and wait for her to appear." He looked at me, nodded, and did just that - I stuffed myself into a small crack in the wall, and Sheik used his shadowing technique to blend in with the darkness of the place.
The laugh came again, and the orange Poe appeared in the frame nearest to Link - he silently drew his bow, and sure enough, the arrow hit the frame dead centre. There was a shriek, and the picture burst into flame, dropping a trickle of ashes to the floor. "I don't know how you did that, but you won't do it again!" The shrill voice came, and looking upwards, I saw the Poe had inhabited the frame on the second landing. She disappeared, and I hissed to Link,
"The third landing. Go!" And, he went, taking the steps three at a time, and managing to keep the noise of hit feet on the stone to just a soft whisper. Within a few seconds, there was another shriek, and the orange Poe appeared in the only remaining frame, phasing in and out. Link came back down, and didn't even need to bother hiding as he shot down the last picture.
The shriek this time was extremely high-pitched, and with Hylian ears, it was excruciating. From where the last picture had been, the orange Poe appeared through the wall, and whirled down the stairs. "Come and face Joelle of the four sisters, Heroes, and prove your worth!" she screamed up at us, and we did just that.
This time, I managed to lead the group down the stairs, landing at the bottom and skidding a few feet forwards. The orange Poe was floating, casually swinging her lantern from side to side. When she noticed me, she lifted the lantern up, and smirked at me, swinging it slowly upon her outstretched hand. I heard Navi whisper instructions to the two behind me, and soon enough, she gave me them as well.
{You have to wait until she is fully materialized before you strike her - and be careful of her lantern!} I turned my head slightly, and nodded to the other two, before slowly advancing. I drew closer to Joelle, my sword poised to strike. Her body phased out, leaving only the lantern, which began swinging violently, making its way towards my head. I ducked down and around, seeing the lantern turn also.
Sheik was on the other side, and Link was off to the right - on the left, Joelle was hemmed in with a wall. With a hiss, she came back into focus, and both of the others let off arrows from their bows - then, I jumped in with my sword just before she disappeared again. The hiss again, and her body disappeared.
This time, I did not escape so well from the lantern, feeling the burn of it on my forearm even as I whirled away. [Ow, demons!]
{Are you OK?}
[Yeah, mostly pride hurt, and pissed off is all.]
The hiss - this time, I did not need to leap in with my sword. At the combined attack from the arrows of Link and Sheik, she let out another of those dreaded piercing shrieks, and combusted just as the pictures had. The lantern hung suspended in the air for a few moments, before falling to the floor and smashing into a thousand, thousand tiny shards of glass and metal.
The bright flickering orange fire that had been contained it, crept along the floor in a contained ball, and into the torch sconce. There, it leapt into a merry flame, as though it had always been there. A circle of sparkling lights signified the apparition of a chest, and I stepped back hurriedly so that it wouldn't appear on top of me. When it had fully materialised, I kicked the small chest open, to find another small key within it.
"Here, give it here," Sheik said, and I threw it to him. He caught it, and put it with the other keys we had gathered so far on his belt. "I think I saw another of those paintings on the east staircase - that must be where another of those Poes went."
"Let's go then," Link still held his bow in his hand, and kept it out as we ran up the staircase, and across the room in which we had fought the Stalfos earlier. Then, we entered the east staircase - and were shocked out of our skins by a screech like an owl's. My ears were throbbing with all the sudden sounds that had occurred in the last few minutes, and now my nerves were at breaking point.
Flexing my fingers, I reached forwards and grabbed both bow, and an arrow from Link, notched the arrow, and fired it straight into the frame before us. As I suspected, the Poe had been coming up to inspect the newcomers and tell us how futile our mission was - and so, had fallen into a perfectly timed trap of mine.
The frame fell to the floor in flames, and this time, there was only a soft screech, sounding as though it came from levels below. Link stared at me, and I handed back the bow. "Sorry - the screeching really annoyed me." I pushed past him still gawping at me, and trudged down the stairs. [I'm glad that worked, or I would have looked like a fool!]
{What worked?}
[The shooting - I guessed the Poe would come up here when we came in, so I just shot, and she appeared.]
{That was a pretty good idea. And, I think you just shocked Link.} I turned around, and saw that Link was looking down at his bow, and then tilting his head to look up at me. When he saw me looking, he looked back down again guiltily. I flashed a quick smile at Sheik, who was looking pensive again, and practically skipped to the first landing, where the blue Poe was residing in a frame.
We played the hide and seek game for about two seconds, just having Link at one frame and Sheik at the other. Again, the Poe exited the wall, and flew down to the area at the bottom of the stairway. "Beth commands you to fight!" she had a lower voice than her sister Joelle; more sinister. We hurried down, to see her floating just as Joelle had, lantern arm outstretched.
She took longer to defeat, as she spent less time visible. There was one instance where Sheik was being backed into a corner by the flying lantern, and I had to cut across its path so that it would follow me instead. Eventually, however she was defeated, and the torch sconce in the room was filled with a stuttering blue flame.
This time, a large circle of blue sparkling lights appeared under Link, who didn't have enough time to move, and ended up standing on top of it, his head brushing the ceiling. Carefully, he climbed off the large chest, and heaved it open. Inside was a small circular object, covered in dust and a swathe of partially decayed cloth. "What is it?" I asked, moving closer to see.
He unwrapped it, and showed it to be made of a blue painted metal, with a glass front, and a spinning arrow within it - a compass. "That'll help a lot with this map," Sheik said, accepting his fate as map-reader for the rest of the Temple very well. He relieved Link of the compass, and looked to the map again. "What in all Hyrule?" he exclaimed, holding the map up to the light of the newly lit sconce to see it better.
"What?" Navi flew over to sit on Sheik's arm and look at the map.
"These symbols suddenly appeared - and all the rooms we've been in are filled with colour. And..." he seemed to stare in disbelief. "There are symbols showing where there are chests - this one though. I don't understand this one..." Link padded over, and peered quickly at the map.
"Temple guardian chamber."
"How'd you know?"
"I've been through places like this before, when I searched for the three sacred stones. This is what all maps do in these places." He looked around, and rubbed his arms vigorously. I wondered how on earth he could be mad enough to wear a short-sleeved tunic here, with only a thin shirt on underneath. However, he seemed happy enough as he took the map, and pored over the picture on it, to try and decide where to go next.
"Well, this sign means the key into the chamber of the Temple guardian. We'll need that for later on. And, it's very close to where we are right now. All we need to do is go through that twisted hallway, and shoot the eye switch in the room where the blue bubble was. At least, I think that's what we have to do..." he trailed off, looked at us both. When neither of us protested, he rolled the map up and put it into his belt, looked down at the compass, and then put that away too.
We followed the path we had originally come down to reach the eastern and western staircases, and came into the room of the blue bubble, which had regenerated. Link quickly disposed of it, and looked around for the eye switch that he had remembered. When he found it, he let off an arrow towards it, causing the stony eye to grate closed.
*
"Look out!" Navi's voice rang out, and there was a whoosh of air as the ceiling literally fell down before us. I jumped back and let out a yell of shock, and watched as the ceiling raised again into the shadowy heights of the room, before coming crashing down again about ten seconds later. The other end of the room was so far away; there was no way we'd be able to sprint across it in that short time.
"What are we going to do?" Link asked Navi, who was flying backwards and forwards, parallel to the falling ceiling. "Navi?" he called when she didn't answer, and she shushed him half-heartedly. He scowled, but didn't say anymore, just watching the fairy fly up and down. When the ceiling next came down, I looked out across it, and could notice squares on the floor where there was no stone. If we could remember where they were, and use them as shelter from the falling ceiling, we could get to the other end.
{That's exactly what we'll do} Navi's voice came, and I jumped in both mind and body. {Sorry, I thought you were thinking to me - didn't mean to-}
[Oh, don't worry - I sometimes leave the channel open by mistake. But, that should work, shouldn't it?]
{I hope so - you'll just have to watch and see where the spaces are.}
"Uh - Navi and I have a plan," Link looked at me, and Sheik gave me a patronising look that he had perfected within the last few hours for me. Ignoring it, I carried on. "Well, you see those gaps in the falling stone," they turned and looked at the ones I pointed out. "If we map some of those, we can run across and use them for shelter when the ceiling falls." I glared at Sheik. "After all, it is the best plan we've got," I mimicked his voice, resulting in a snort from Link, which was quickly turned into a hacking cough as Sheik glanced at him.
"A bit dusty," Link said, red-faced, and covering his face with his hands, as he faked more coughs. Sheik just glared, nodded, and then began to run as the ceiling was just lifting up. "Hey, Sheik!" he called, and was about to run forwards himself, when I grabbed him by the back of his belt (being the only thing I could actually reach) and yanked him back before the ceiling came down on his head.
"Be a bit more careful will you - there are still four more temples after this," I said, letting go, and then running to the same square that Sheik was waiting for us on, Link following close behind. Again, the ceiling came down, and as it began to rise up, we went to the next square. And so it carried on; down, up, run, stop, down, up, run, stop and so on until we reached the other side.
"Goddesses, I'm glad that's over," Link breathed, looking back at the room, and flinching as the ceiling crashed down. "Come on - whatever's next can't be as bad as this, can it?"
[I hope you're right, Link.]
{Me too...}
The room, which we next entered, was bare, apart from an empty sconce, which I took to mean an encounter with another of the four sisters. Turning around, we all saw a huge portrait taking up the whole wall. Link fired an arrow into it, and this time, there was no shriek, or screech. A smooth voice chuckled, and called calmly, "Make into my likeness these stones, and the duty of battle shall be my own. I'd move out of the way," there was a deep rumbling, and we all stepped back to the door through which we had come.
From high above, a bunch of blocks (the number of which evades my memory) fell. The voice chuckled softly again, then left us in silence. "What in all Hyrule are we supposed to do with those?" I said, running my hands along the edges of the closest block.
"They make up a picture - the one on the wall," Navi said, flying over them. "I suppose you have to push them together to make the picture."
"Great, more menial labour," Link muttered. "OK Navi, which blocks to go where." Navi began directing where each block needed to be placed, and between the three of us, we managed to push each one where Navi told us to.
Soon enough, there was a soft click as the last block slid into place, and the third sister appeared. "Amy the Poe, and fight I suppose we must," she sighed, before taking up the same fighting stance as the two before her. And, just as with the two before her, we managed to dispose of her quickly enough.
By walking through the next hallway, we came out into the courtyard that we had first come into within the Temple. Three of the torches were lit - the green, orange and blue. And the fourth Poe was waiting there for us, perched atop her own unlit lamp. Link and Sheik had just lifted their bows when she spotted us, and flew upwards, the arrows missing her completely. Then, four Poes came back down, each identical, but we all knew only one was real. The question was, which one.
"I'm Meg, and you shall not defeat me," she stated, as though it was an unquestionable fact.
"A bit sure of yourself," I growled.
"I have reason to be," all four of the Poes disappeared, and then one appeared right behind us, swinging its lamp. We dodged out of the way, and it went flying back to the centre of the courtyard. "Come and fight, why don't you? We need something to do."
I hopped over the railings happily, drawing my sword, which was beginning to rust from lack of use. Sheik remained upon the walkway, and Link moved around to the other side of it. Both had arrows strung into their bows, and with my sword, I advanced even further.
All four of the purple Poes materialised at once, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that one of them span as she appeared. Whirling around, I clipped that one with my sword, and at the yell of pain, and I knew I had struck true. [The one that spins when she appears is the real one.] I thought to Navi, who passed it on to Link, and then whizzed around to do the same to Sheik.
In watching the orb, my concentration was broken, and I didn't notice the lantern flying at me until it hit me in the back of the head. "Blaise!" Navi, Link and Sheik screamed in unison, and I rolled over, rubbing the back of my head. Bringing the hand away, I saw that there was blood there. The lantern came again, and this time I was ready. I waited until it was almost upon me, and then rolled to the side and jumped up - the Poe materialised again, and I struck with all the force I could muster.
She fell in a soft slide of ashes to the floor, and her flame returned to its torch. I put a hand to the back of my head again. "Ow! Stupid bloody Poe got me," I kept my hand there, applying some pressure over the wound.
"Are you OK?" Link asked, just as I was bringing my hand back down to check the blood flow. His eyes widened at the sight. "Goddesses! Sheik, do you have some spare bandages or something?"
"No, I'm fine, really!" I protested, wanting nothing less than having to walk around with a great swathe of bandages over my head.
"The least you can do is take some red potion - here," Sheik removed a bottle from his pack, and handed it to me. I pulled open the stopper, and took a quick swig of the liquid within, before handing it back and pulling a face.
"Eurgh, that's disgusting!"
"It's healed your head though," he pointed out, and reaching my hand back, I saw that he was right. "Be a bit more careful will you - there are still four more temples after this," he mimicked. "Sound familiar?" I glowered up at him; he seemed taller than usual - in fact, he seemed to be growing. Then, looking down slightly, I saw that the cage from earlier was rising out of the floor. "Huh?" he said, looking down in surprise.
"Killing the Poes must have opened up that cage again - I think it's an elevator," Navi said. Sheik sat down on the roof of it, and jumped off, landing cat-like on the floor. The cage didn't move at all, and I wondered if it was broken. "You have to stand in it to make it work!" Navi laughed, and I managed to crack a smile too. My head throbbed slightly, but it was good to lighten the moment for a bit.
"I think it'll only hold one of us," Link said, looking doubtfully at the small box, "if that." Unsurely, he walked forwards, and into the cage. Immediately, it began to sink downwards, and he smiled at us bravely, before he disappeared from sight altogether.
The cage came back up, Link-less, and Sheik went in next. I looked around the empty courtyard, shivering slightly, though not from cold. I could sense something nearby - something I had met before, but didn't know well. I couldn't put a name to it...I was jerked out of it by the cage coming back up. I stepped in too, and was carried downwards.
Eventually, it stopped in a gloomy room, where my fellow travellers stood waiting for me. Before us was the door to the chamber of the Temple Guardian, which I understood they had uncovered in the short while it took me to come down. "This is it," Link said, trying to inject a bit of joviality into his voice, and falling just short of the mark. So, instead, he wiped the half-assed smile off his face, and said sombrely, "Be careful, both of you - watch each other's backs, and I'll watch yours."
"And we yours," Sheik jumped in before I had a chance, so I just had to nod dumbly.
"Alright." Link slipped the key into the lock, turned it, and opened the heavy door with trepidation. We all stepped in, and it slammed itself shut behind us; I heard the lock click, and knew we were stuck until we killed the guardian - or it killed us. Again, I felt that shiver of almost de-ja- vu run through me - I just didn't know what the feeling of de-ja-vu was for.
*
Through the door was a sort of paint gallery thing - looking around, I noticed with a slight sense of shock that all of the pictures were the same. I shivered just looking at them. They were of a dark night sky, a long winding path fading into the distant background, and skeletal trees to both sides.
There was a path marked by thick ropes leading to a large ring at the other end, and we walked slowly down it, all three of us looking around, straining both sight and hearing to discover where the guardian of the Temple was. It was eerily silent. {I don't like this.} Navi's small voice quavered in my head, and I said the same back. {It's too quiet...}
[I know - but shush - I must keep listening.] She was silent, and I was able to put full attention to listening. Listening to the silence, listening to the lack of sound apart from our soft footfalls, and the faint echoes of breathing. Silence, silence. It reminded me - it always did. The silence after I killed him - seven years ago. I steered away from there; I had to concentrate after all.
It's always harder to concentrate when you are with others; I usually fought alone.
I cut my losses - after all, there were benefits of travelling in a group. If you fall from injury, there are ones there to help you. If you are weary, they will help you; travellers help one another.
We made it into the large ring at the end of the roped walkway. It was surrounded by eight-foot high railings, on which the pictures hung in a strange circle, a repeat of the same scene over and over as I turned to look at them all. Finally, the silence was broken by the Hero, "Maybe this isn't it - look for a secret panel or something back the way we came."
He turned, and made to exit the railing encircled room. A gate flew upwards out of the floor, just as tall as all the other railings, blocking our escape. "Ah; I guess this is it then," he said, pulling out the Master Sword with a grim face. Before us, there was a flash, and when my eyes had cleared from it, I saw a figure that made my blood run cold and my cheeks turn fiery hot.
Ganondorf himself flew above, upon a long staff sparking with magic. He came closer, and my heart beat at what felt to be twice the regular rate. It was then that I noticed his hands - grey and scabbed, nothing like the dark, sinewy hand that had lifted me from the ground. [His hands; it cannot be him. But it looks so.]
{What do you-} But she saw exactly what I meant when the creature that looked like Ganondorf ripped off a mask, to show it's real, hideous face. It was a phantom, I recognised by the dark glow of its eyes. Assuring myself that my glasses were firmly placed upon my nose, I charged towards the beast, driving it back against the wall. To no surprise, it retreated within the painting, and I knew what to do from previous experience with the Poe Sisters.
"Shoot the paintings as you did with the Poes," I told the others, retreating to stand with them. "It is a phantom, so it will have it's own twin phantom rider also - aim at both the pictures he comes through, and shoot together."
They stepped forwards and notched arrows into their bows. "How do you know all this?" Sheik asked, and the old suspicion was back in his voice.
"You think Hyrule is the only land with monster troubles?" I snapped, grabbing one of his throwing daggers from his belt, and poising myself to attack.
The two phantoms appeared as I had predicted, and they fired as one. The painting to which Link fired was the real one, and the phantom howled in pain as it was sent back. The next one, both of them aimed at the same painting without realising it was the wrong one, so I had to pivot and throw the knife with great speed to stop the real phantom swooping out of the painting upon us.
"Unless you want your fate to be a phantom yourself, you will aim at different paintings!" I exclaimed, grabbing another dagger just in case. The third time, it worked, and Link struck the right painting again. With a yell of outrage, the phantom launched itself high above, and took the staff of magic within its hand. "The fun's just beginning," I breathed, readying my sword like a bat.
[He will fire energy at us from the staff - we must hit it back to him with our swords - the only way to kill them is by their own magic.] I gabbled to Navi hurriedly, and then I heard her small voice whisper it to the other two who were behind me. I did not dare turn around - I was in no mood to go through the painful process of healing after a phantom wound again. It had happened once before, and I intended it to never happen again.
The phantom did as I expected, and I batted the first bolt easily. It sent it flying back, and I ducked as Link swung the Master Sword. This carried on, each of us taking it in turns to swing, until the damned ball hit the phantom. It fell down, and we all three ran forward to slash at it.
This carried on until I could see the creature visibly shuddering with pain and exhaustion. "Here come the big energy blasts," I said warningly. "I'd move out of the way of the blue magic unless you desire to be incinerated." The blue blast came, and we scattered to all sides, waiting for the creature to reach desperation and use the quicker, green magic.
When it resorted to that, we were ready with our batting skills; it was over quickly, the creature to tired and weak to move fast. It fell one last time, and one last time, we attacked it with our already bloody swords. There was a crackle, then a sizzle, and the body exploded into flame, combusting into nothingness.
I felt the de-ja-vu again, and a shiver run through my as I clipped my blood dripping sword onto my back. A chill breeze ran through the place, even though there was nowhere any wind could possibly enter. I looked around; suddenly, I could feel a new presence. No kidding, I could almost see the outline of one before me. The other two just looked in the same direction that I was, a little bewildered at my staring at what they must have believed to be empty air.
But when that steely voice came through the renewed silence, I knew I had been right. "Hey, kids, you did quite well...It looks like you may be gaining some slight skill..." There was a chuckle, and peripherally, I spied Link and Sheik twirling around on the spot to look for the owner of the voice.
"But, you have defeated only my phantom... When you fight the real me, it won't be so easy!" And with a deep laugh, the presence left - but not after flying right through me where I stood. I gasped and fell to my knees as the icy feeling of his soul crept through me - and then was surprised when I found a flame of warmth.
"Blaise?" the worried tinkle of Navi's voice. I looked up from where I knelt, and uncrossed my arms from around my torso.
"Hey, we won," I said, straining a smile. "You guys were pretty good!" Link laughed at this, and Sheik let out an odd sort of cough, which I suspected had been to hide a snort. Noticing the odd look I was giving him, he pointed to the blue circle of the portal near where the phantom had fallen.
"I take it we walk through that?" he asked, and Link nodded, also placing the Master Sword into its sheath. Sheik clipped his curved scimitar to his waist, and we all traipsed to the pulsating portal of sky blue. I felt the familiar feeling as we were transported, and immediately fell over as I always did at the other end.
*
Looking around, I saw that we were once again in the main forest. There was the large greying skeleton of an old dead tree. {The Great Deku Tree,} Navi's sad voice came in my head, and she landed on the green ground. As her wings stopped beating, so the glow about her faded, and I could see silvery tears running down her tiny face as she looked up at the deceased guardian of the Kokiri.
I noticed that there were only two bodies - myself, and the blue clad Sheik. He was standing up and dusting himself off disdainfully. He even took the time to pull out a rag and clean his scimitar. I shook my head, and wiped my own sword on the grass. "Where's Link?" I asked offhandedly, looking around again in case I had missed him first time. Sheik looked up, and turned his bandaged self in a full circle, before declaring,
"Not a clue."
He sat back down, laying scimitar across his lap, and closed his eyes. I supposed he was meditating, as I could hear a slight lulling tune being hummed. I lay back on the strangely sweet-smelling grass, and looked up at a sky that was just beginning to gain the colours of dawn. I wondered how long we had been within that Temple. [Navi?]
{Yes?} Her voice was a little softer than usual.
[How long were we in there for? I can't remember.]
{Oh - three days I should think - it is little wonder you're tired.}
[Thanks.] I was shocked by the amount of time - and realised that I was indeed exhausted. A growl of my stomach also protested the case that I was hungry. Without further ado, my body decided to sleep, and have food later.
*
I woke up to a scream of surprise, and then let out my own of pain as something landed on top of me. "Hey, Sheik, where's Blaise?" a familiar voice came, then seemed to notice that the ground he thought he was sitting on was moving. He looked down, and his eyes opened in shock. He jumped up, going bright red, and held out a hand to help me up. "Uh, sorry..." he said sheepishly. "The portal just kinda dropped me."
"That's - OK," I wheezed, drawing the air back into lungs that had suddenly been crushed. The stars were out by now, and I asked, "Where by the Goddesses were you?"
"In the Chamber of Sages," he said simply, holding out a medallion of vibrant green. Then, he said quietly to Navi, "It was Saria." I knew it to be his childhood friend, but said nothing. To know too much would be suspicious, especially for one who is supposed to have lived across the great sea for most of their lives.
All of a sudden, a young sprout looking much like the dead tree before us, exploded from the earth, and Link went flying. It looked kind of sweet, and Navi was going mad over it. "A new sprout, a new sprout Link, LOOK!" He rose up off the ground groggily, and walked over to it.
"Perhaps we should let them talk alone..." Sheik hinted, and I followed him as he walked off to the far end of the clearing.
"Damn, and I so wanted to talk to the tree," I said sarcastically, and he made an annoyed sound, before sitting down to begin his meditation again. I just glared at him for a little while, until it got so dark that I couldn't see him anymore. Then, I leant against the stone edges of the clearing, and waited for the soft sound of voices to quiet, to signal that we could leave. It took a very long time indeed, and I was having trouble staying standing.
Link himself looked shattered, and managed to murmur, "Sleep here - sprout will watch us," before collapsing in a heap to the floor, snoring gently. I thought for a while, then lifted my glasses up - since it was dark anyway, there was no likelihood that anyone would see my eyes. Everything became a few shades brighter, and I was able to see that Sheik too was asleep. I put my glasses back upon my face, and dropped to the ground as well. Curling up, I whispered humouredly, "May as well follow the crowd."
Then, to sleep I went - dreamless - blissful.
~/*\~/*\~/*\~
There we go - that chapter was a bit long, and I'm sorry about the rushed battle scene. I was trying to get across the speed of battle, but I think it just looks like I can't be bothered. Oh well, [grin] at least I wrote something!
Poor little Alexis - or I suppose its Blaise now. Sheik is still being mean to her - she'll prove him wrong. And she'll have to snap out of the Ganondorf fixation soon, or I may have some unrequited love things to write...ah, unrequited love, I know thee so well. [Damn you Sheik, for being a pixellated character!]
Oh well, have made a fool of myself again, so you just have to review to make me a little saner. Thank you!
From Soda - SDOC (Seriously deprived of coffee).
R+R - Or I'll write some smut! Wait - scratch that - it would be so bad you'd burn my house with flames...
Disclaimer: Well, as far as I know, since the time between writing the last chapter and this, I haven't suddenly been offered the job as the leading director of Nintendo...that would be cool...but, as such, none of the characters, apart from dear old Alexis, are actually mine. Such a shame...[takes off cat burglar outfit] now I can't even go and try to steal them and pretend...dang...
Oh, I just realised the initials of this story spell 'RAD'. Heh - I've been watching way too much American TV recently - damn you FRIENDS! [Mutters about stupid catchphrases, and how nice Joey looks...cough].
Well, in the last chapter, all our lovely hero people met up, Navi and Alexis are ever thinking sarcastically to one another, and Sheik seems to be a little suspicious, and has acquired a semi-grudge against Alexis...I dunno why I did that - it just happened. Alexis is also under the alias of Blaise, so when the others talk to her, that's what they'll call her, OK? You can handle it, I know you can!
Well, anywho, they went and saved the Ranch, and now they're off to save the rest of Hyrule - what fun.
And lastly:-
[] = Alexis' thoughts
{} = Navi's thoughts
~/*\~/*\~/*\~
With the rescue of the Ranch and the girl Malon still fresh in our minds, we went forward with slightly lifted spirits. The forest was in the South, and I suddenly remembered the state of disrepair I had found it to be in. All those monsters, and the Kokiri...gone. I caught up to Link, still leading the horse Epona, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes?" he queried, looking down at me from his great height.
"I feel I should warn you - the Forest will have changed more than you think," [Talk about understatement.] "There are a multitude of monsters, and when I walked through, I did not glimpse any Kokiri." He looked thunderstruck, and seemed incapable of speech. Navi, however, thought to me frantically.
{None? What, none at all? What about Saria, and Mido, and all the other fairies? Surely, there are-}
[I saw NONE, Navi.]
{Oh Goddesses...}
[Don't fear, I think they are only hiding until the monsters leave.]
"What were you doing in the Forest?" Sheik asked.
"It was where I first arrived in Hyrule," I answered, without really thinking it through.
"How? Are the ports not to the west?"
"Yes, they are," I paused, thought for a second. "But I was transported here by an elvean sorcerer." That seemed to be a good enough cover-up of yet another blunder. Sheik nodded, still looking a little suspicious, and we walked in silence once again.
The trees of the Forest came into focus before us, shadows against a sky of deepening blue. A few constellations of the stronger stars twinkled down upon us. A void of light showed the tunnel to the village, and we padded towards it.
Sheik went through first, creeping like a shadow along the swaying bridge. I followed close behind, imitating the fluid way in which the Sheikah moved. A loud whinny sliced through the silence and I turned to see Epona rearing up. Sheik turned as well, moving to stand behind me; he was so close that I could feel his cool breath as he spoke. "Let the horse stay in the field, Link. She obviously wants to go no further."
Link released his grasp on Epona's reins, and she backed away, turning her graceful body and galloping away into the open field. Link looked after the horse wistfully, and I knew he saw Epona as his link to Malon. "Come on - we must move quickly and with more stealth than a Wolfos cub now," I called quietly to him, reaching out a hand to tap his shoulder.
He jumped at the contact and whirled around to pad just as silently as I had across the bridge. "Hey!" Navi spoke out loud. "We should go to the Sacred Meadow. I remember the Great Deku Tree - may he rest well - telling me of a temple there." She zoomed around Link's head, sending a rosy light on the hero's skin.
"Good call Navi," Link grabbed her from the air, "but please stop doing that. You're making me feel dizzy." She giggled apologetically {oops!} and sat upon his shoulder, glowing gently. "Right - the entrance to the Lost Woods is on the left, up a semi-cliff. We'll get to there, and then find the Sacred Meadow."
"OK," Sheik nodded, now falling in behind Link - it was his territory now - his lead to follow. I grabbed both of them by the backs of their shirts.
"Wait. You'd best take it at a run; there are creatures in the village too." Link's face was set in a scowling anger at this news, coupled with an intense fear. Sheik seemed to shrug it off, the vermilion eyes as composed as always. So, we headed forwards once more, me bringing up the rear.
The two before me broke into a run as soon as they got out of the tunnel. I sprinted after them [Great, more running!]
{I take it you don't like running?}
[In no uncertain terms, I'd say I hate it!] I scowled as I felt the usual tightening pains in my chest. Finally, finally, I reached the cliff, and was able to scramble up the vines growing upon it. At the top, I crawled forwards and lay on the grass for a few seconds to catch my breath.
The mad-scrub I had killed when I was going the other way through the Forest had been replaced by another. It fired deku-nuts in a steady barrage, and Link deflected one back at it with his shield, killing it instantly. It's brightly coloured body turned to dust before our eyes.
The woods were as quiet as I remembered them on my arrival. Link was standing at the centre of the first clearing looking a little perplexed. Then, suddenly, something seemed to click, and his face lit up. Surely, he marched forward through the trees, and we followed him. Over the next hour, Link led us through a myriad of pathways. To me, they all looked the same, apart from the few punctuations consisting of pools and grassy banks which separated each path from the next. [He's lost, isn't he?]
{Have faith, Blaise. He knows what he's doing.}
[Are you sure?]
{Perfectly.} Navi answered, and her tone said that the matter was closed. And, when we entered a hedged maze leading to the Sacred Meadow a few minutes later, I knew she had been right.
"All we need to do now is walk through this maze, and we'll come to the Meadow!" Link said, grinning happily and rubbing his hands together. Nonchalantly, he walked forwards. Navi, who seemed to have fallen asleep, suddenly flew in front of his face, and flew repeatedly into his nose.
"Go back, go back!" she trilled, and he did as he was told, flying backwards and ducking behind one of the entrance hedges. Sheik was already there, and I wondered what on earth was wrong.
I felt a jerking sensation, and I fell backwards against Sheik's chest. He put one arm around my waist and the other over my mouth. I was about to protest when a loud, grunting roar sounded, so close by that I thought some monster was telepathising with me. Eyes wide, I saw the shadow of a huge creature fall across the light of the gap which was the entrance to the maze. It seemed to be carrying a spear, and I watched the shadow as the huge beast rotated its body slowly, looking around.
Then, the shadow was gone, and great pounding footsteps walked away. Sheik finally relaxed his grip on me, and I moved to lean against the hedge. "What was that thing?" I hissed in a low voice.
"A moblin," Navi answered before Link had a chance. "They're very stupid and easy to kill. But, if they see you, they'll charge, and with those spears, a charge would hurt!" Her little pixie face was set darkly, and her small arms were crossed over her chest. As she flew before my face, I noticed how much she resembled my mother - or how my mother would have looked had she lived long enough. A long trailing gown that seemed to made of the stars themselves, and a lithe body with graceful curves; strong eyes set into a classical face.
I blinked back unbidden tears, glad of the glasses I wore which hid my watery eyes. "So, how do we kill them without them seeing us?" I asked, and was glad when she flew away to flutter where all three of us could see her.
"Well, Blaise, I don't think you'll be able to do anything as you have no long range weapons." I nodded, a little peeved. "Link, you can use your hook shot, and Sheik, your bow and arrows. Shoot them once in the back, and they shall fall, for there they have no armour." Link and Sheik nodded their understanding, and we advanced cautiously into the maze.
*
Finally, we had reached the end of the maze, where a great stairway led upwards. Navi scouted ahead, and came back with some bad news. "There's a huge moblin with a club there!" she told us, and we were downcast. "Each time it hits the ground, it sends a shockwave directly forwards," Navi told us after a second scout.
We thought over possible strategies. Feeling a little unsure about the idea, I voiced it anyway. "If we weave from side to side, we can avoid the worst of the shockwaves; then, when we get close enough, we can kill it." They didn't look so sure, but as Sheik so aptly put it,
"Well, it's the best plan we've got."
We ran from side to side, the roars of the huge moblin as it hefted its club deafening us. When he was close enough, Link whipped the Master Sword from his scabbard and slashed its great knees. The creature howled in pain, and we hurried past before it recovered enough to smash the club down again.
As one, we flew into the Sacred Meadow, skidding to a stop to look around at the beautiful scene in awe. The air was alive with the sparkling lights of the Forest spirits. High above, were the remnants of a broken staircase. "See what's up there, will you?" Link asked, and Navi fluttered upwards.
She came back down, looking excited. "It's the temple all right! And, there's a tree branch you can fire your hook shot into to get up." She flew back up, and buzzed around the said branch, glowing a bright green to point it out.
"OK. Looks like I'm going up first," Link said. He pulled out the contraption known as a hook shot, aimed, and fired it into the branch. There was a dull 'thwack' as it bit into the wood, and Link pressed a button on the side of it. He whizzed upwards, and within two seconds was standing atop the ancient, broken stairway.
"Here, you come up next," Link called, dropping the hook shot into Sheik's outstretched hands. He did just as Link had done, shooting the hook into the branch. There was a loud howl behind us, and all three of us turned to see the huge moblin meandering towards us, swaying of its injured legs.
For the second time, Sheik grabbed me around the waist. With his free arm, he held the hook shot and pressed the button to raise us up. The sensation was strange, almost like flying, and over almost instantly, leaving us on top of the stairway. "Go, go!" Sheik pushed Link forwards and practically carried me, his arm still clamped firmly on my waist.
We crashed through a screen of vines, and a heavy iron door, slamming it closed and shutting out the howls of the moblin. Sheik let go of me, and both he and Link turned to work at the rusty bolt on the door. I however looked at the small courtyard. "Uh, guys..." I said, nudging them both. They turned around, and took in the same sight I had. Three Wolfos, strings of drool hanging from their yellow teeth, amber eyes burning with hunger. [This isn't our day.]
{Obviously} Navi thought, her mind-voice sounding shaky. The lead Wolfos howled, and they leapt at us. All of us took out our weapons, and Navi flew around them to confuse and distract them. I killed the one who came at me swiftly, before turning to help Sheik with his. Link's fell at the same time, and we stood, hands on knees, panting heavily.
"Well, wasn't that fun?" I said dryly, and Link let out a derisive laugh. Sheik patted me heartily on the back.
"Shall we?" he bowed towards the door on the other side from which we had entered, indicating that I should go first. Shaking my head disbelievingly at him, I picked my way around the slowly disappearing bodies of the three dead Wolfos, and walked up the three steps to the door. Tentatively, I reached out a hand and turned the handle - locked.
"Oh. Crap." I exclaimed. "I don't believe this!" Angrily, I turned around to see the hysterically laughing Sheik and Link. [Grr] I thought as I heard Navi laugh too. Sighing, I let out a nervous chuckle myself, looking upwards around the courtyard. "Up there!" I pointed. "There's a chest - it probably has a key in it."
Link took the hint, and still chuckling slightly, used his hook shot to get to it. We heard the click of the latch, and then Link's triumphant cheer. "Yup, there's a key!" He lowered himself down, and out the key into the lock of the door. Sure enough, it turned, and the door swung open to show a dark hallway.
"We're in," he said, suddenly serious once more. "Let's get going."
~*~*~*~
[Talk about your fixer uppers] I thought, looking around at the tunnel through which we travelled. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and dead leaves scattered the floor. Reaching out to the wall to step over a fissure in the floor, I felt the slimy tendrils of some moss or other beneath my fingers. "Gross," I breathed, wiping my slime-covered hands on the front of my tunic.
Ahead, Link smashed a giant skulltula out of the way and I watched with fascination as its body turned to dust. I wished dark creatures on the other worlds would do that - it would make killing them a little more savoury at least. Sheik and I were content enough to follow him through the corridor to the metal door at the other end. He leant his shoulder against it, and shoved. It scraped a little way before stopping. "Help me out - it's stuck," he grunted, and I moved forward to put my palms flat on the door. Sheik leant on the last part of it, close to the hinges.
"On three?" I asked, and they nodded. "OK - one," we set our feet firmly. "Two," we leant our weights on the door. "Three!" as one, we pushed, and the door burst open, throwing all three of us to the floor of weed-riddled paving. "Ow..." I was the first one up, surprised to find my glasses still intact. I gave each of them a hand and pulled them from the floor too.
There was a weird fluttering sound, as though of many birds taking flight at once, behind us. We turned to see a strangely immaculate courtyard, in which four torch sconces were ablaze with flame. One green, one blue, one purple, one orange. They surrounded a strange skeletal box, which as we watched, sank so that its top was level with the floor. Even as we looked on, four Poes appeared, one at each sconce. I made to draw my sword, but Sheik put his arm in front of me, looking down and shaking his head. I dropped my arm, and observed the four Poes disappeared in much the same way as they had appeared.
The courtyard was silent once more, apart from a slight sound of dripping water from somewhere. "That was odd," I said, now daring to remove my sword from my back. Sheik nodded musingly, whilst Link looked around the empty courtyard. Deciding to take the initiative, I moved forwards and dropped over the railings into the sunken courtyard. Cautiously, I moved to where the cage-like box had sunken into the floor. Bending down, I tried to find a crack between the roof of the cage and the floor. It sat flush, and only a thin line discerned it from the rest of the floor.
I heard the other two pad up behind me, and I stood up again. "We should split up - we'll get through this place quicker that way." I made to walk away, when two hands clamped down on my shoulders.
"No - we travel together," Sheik's hand was on my left shoulder.
"It's too dangerous otherwise," Link's hand rested on my right shoulder. I slumped and turned to see that their faces were set - there would be no point trying to argue the time factor to them.
"Fine," once more, we fell into a line, Link at the front, Sheik in the middle and little old me bringing up the rear. After a last look at the immaculate courtyard, I followed through the only unlocked door into a yard with a resident giant deku-baba and octorok in the small stream running through it.
*
The whole place was dark and dank, and I was glad of the thick wool of my clothes. Link had managed to acquire a 'fairy bow', to add to his extensive arsenal of weaponry, and was walking along studying it. Sheik held the old map of the Temple, trying to decipher where on earth we had to go next.
I held my sword up in front of me to inspect the blade (which I had just wiped clean of blood), and glimpsed a movement on the stairs. Refocusing my eyes, I looked upwards a little more - for an instant, I was sure that there had been a picture within the frame on the first landing. "Did you see...?" I pointed at the now empty frame, and the other two looked up at it, before looking at me quizzically. "Never mind..." I shook my head, to try and clear it - I must have been going crazy.
As we ascended the stairs, there was a strange sound that I was sure I'd heard before. Ahead of me, I could see Link looking around, his pointed ears pricked. "Hey, that picture wasn't...huh?" All three of us saw the picture fade away. "What in all Hyrule is going on?"
{It's a Poe! It must have found way to hide in the pictures - we need to get it out, it must know something about that cage thing.}
[Yeah - hey, it's the one with the orange flame...but, how do we get it out?]
{I dunno - shoot it maybe?}
The idea of shooting a picture was incomprehensible to me, but Navi suggested it to Link anyway, who obediently strung an arrow into the bow, and fired at the frame. Before the arrow hit, the picture had disappeared, and reappeared in the one on the landing above. There was a small laugh, "You'll never get me!" and the arrow just thudded dully into the frame and bounced back onto the floor.
I reached up, and pulled Link down so I could whisper into his ear. "Don't let her see you - hide behind the banister and wait for her to appear." He looked at me, nodded, and did just that - I stuffed myself into a small crack in the wall, and Sheik used his shadowing technique to blend in with the darkness of the place.
The laugh came again, and the orange Poe appeared in the frame nearest to Link - he silently drew his bow, and sure enough, the arrow hit the frame dead centre. There was a shriek, and the picture burst into flame, dropping a trickle of ashes to the floor. "I don't know how you did that, but you won't do it again!" The shrill voice came, and looking upwards, I saw the Poe had inhabited the frame on the second landing. She disappeared, and I hissed to Link,
"The third landing. Go!" And, he went, taking the steps three at a time, and managing to keep the noise of hit feet on the stone to just a soft whisper. Within a few seconds, there was another shriek, and the orange Poe appeared in the only remaining frame, phasing in and out. Link came back down, and didn't even need to bother hiding as he shot down the last picture.
The shriek this time was extremely high-pitched, and with Hylian ears, it was excruciating. From where the last picture had been, the orange Poe appeared through the wall, and whirled down the stairs. "Come and face Joelle of the four sisters, Heroes, and prove your worth!" she screamed up at us, and we did just that.
This time, I managed to lead the group down the stairs, landing at the bottom and skidding a few feet forwards. The orange Poe was floating, casually swinging her lantern from side to side. When she noticed me, she lifted the lantern up, and smirked at me, swinging it slowly upon her outstretched hand. I heard Navi whisper instructions to the two behind me, and soon enough, she gave me them as well.
{You have to wait until she is fully materialized before you strike her - and be careful of her lantern!} I turned my head slightly, and nodded to the other two, before slowly advancing. I drew closer to Joelle, my sword poised to strike. Her body phased out, leaving only the lantern, which began swinging violently, making its way towards my head. I ducked down and around, seeing the lantern turn also.
Sheik was on the other side, and Link was off to the right - on the left, Joelle was hemmed in with a wall. With a hiss, she came back into focus, and both of the others let off arrows from their bows - then, I jumped in with my sword just before she disappeared again. The hiss again, and her body disappeared.
This time, I did not escape so well from the lantern, feeling the burn of it on my forearm even as I whirled away. [Ow, demons!]
{Are you OK?}
[Yeah, mostly pride hurt, and pissed off is all.]
The hiss - this time, I did not need to leap in with my sword. At the combined attack from the arrows of Link and Sheik, she let out another of those dreaded piercing shrieks, and combusted just as the pictures had. The lantern hung suspended in the air for a few moments, before falling to the floor and smashing into a thousand, thousand tiny shards of glass and metal.
The bright flickering orange fire that had been contained it, crept along the floor in a contained ball, and into the torch sconce. There, it leapt into a merry flame, as though it had always been there. A circle of sparkling lights signified the apparition of a chest, and I stepped back hurriedly so that it wouldn't appear on top of me. When it had fully materialised, I kicked the small chest open, to find another small key within it.
"Here, give it here," Sheik said, and I threw it to him. He caught it, and put it with the other keys we had gathered so far on his belt. "I think I saw another of those paintings on the east staircase - that must be where another of those Poes went."
"Let's go then," Link still held his bow in his hand, and kept it out as we ran up the staircase, and across the room in which we had fought the Stalfos earlier. Then, we entered the east staircase - and were shocked out of our skins by a screech like an owl's. My ears were throbbing with all the sudden sounds that had occurred in the last few minutes, and now my nerves were at breaking point.
Flexing my fingers, I reached forwards and grabbed both bow, and an arrow from Link, notched the arrow, and fired it straight into the frame before us. As I suspected, the Poe had been coming up to inspect the newcomers and tell us how futile our mission was - and so, had fallen into a perfectly timed trap of mine.
The frame fell to the floor in flames, and this time, there was only a soft screech, sounding as though it came from levels below. Link stared at me, and I handed back the bow. "Sorry - the screeching really annoyed me." I pushed past him still gawping at me, and trudged down the stairs. [I'm glad that worked, or I would have looked like a fool!]
{What worked?}
[The shooting - I guessed the Poe would come up here when we came in, so I just shot, and she appeared.]
{That was a pretty good idea. And, I think you just shocked Link.} I turned around, and saw that Link was looking down at his bow, and then tilting his head to look up at me. When he saw me looking, he looked back down again guiltily. I flashed a quick smile at Sheik, who was looking pensive again, and practically skipped to the first landing, where the blue Poe was residing in a frame.
We played the hide and seek game for about two seconds, just having Link at one frame and Sheik at the other. Again, the Poe exited the wall, and flew down to the area at the bottom of the stairway. "Beth commands you to fight!" she had a lower voice than her sister Joelle; more sinister. We hurried down, to see her floating just as Joelle had, lantern arm outstretched.
She took longer to defeat, as she spent less time visible. There was one instance where Sheik was being backed into a corner by the flying lantern, and I had to cut across its path so that it would follow me instead. Eventually, however she was defeated, and the torch sconce in the room was filled with a stuttering blue flame.
This time, a large circle of blue sparkling lights appeared under Link, who didn't have enough time to move, and ended up standing on top of it, his head brushing the ceiling. Carefully, he climbed off the large chest, and heaved it open. Inside was a small circular object, covered in dust and a swathe of partially decayed cloth. "What is it?" I asked, moving closer to see.
He unwrapped it, and showed it to be made of a blue painted metal, with a glass front, and a spinning arrow within it - a compass. "That'll help a lot with this map," Sheik said, accepting his fate as map-reader for the rest of the Temple very well. He relieved Link of the compass, and looked to the map again. "What in all Hyrule?" he exclaimed, holding the map up to the light of the newly lit sconce to see it better.
"What?" Navi flew over to sit on Sheik's arm and look at the map.
"These symbols suddenly appeared - and all the rooms we've been in are filled with colour. And..." he seemed to stare in disbelief. "There are symbols showing where there are chests - this one though. I don't understand this one..." Link padded over, and peered quickly at the map.
"Temple guardian chamber."
"How'd you know?"
"I've been through places like this before, when I searched for the three sacred stones. This is what all maps do in these places." He looked around, and rubbed his arms vigorously. I wondered how on earth he could be mad enough to wear a short-sleeved tunic here, with only a thin shirt on underneath. However, he seemed happy enough as he took the map, and pored over the picture on it, to try and decide where to go next.
"Well, this sign means the key into the chamber of the Temple guardian. We'll need that for later on. And, it's very close to where we are right now. All we need to do is go through that twisted hallway, and shoot the eye switch in the room where the blue bubble was. At least, I think that's what we have to do..." he trailed off, looked at us both. When neither of us protested, he rolled the map up and put it into his belt, looked down at the compass, and then put that away too.
We followed the path we had originally come down to reach the eastern and western staircases, and came into the room of the blue bubble, which had regenerated. Link quickly disposed of it, and looked around for the eye switch that he had remembered. When he found it, he let off an arrow towards it, causing the stony eye to grate closed.
*
"Look out!" Navi's voice rang out, and there was a whoosh of air as the ceiling literally fell down before us. I jumped back and let out a yell of shock, and watched as the ceiling raised again into the shadowy heights of the room, before coming crashing down again about ten seconds later. The other end of the room was so far away; there was no way we'd be able to sprint across it in that short time.
"What are we going to do?" Link asked Navi, who was flying backwards and forwards, parallel to the falling ceiling. "Navi?" he called when she didn't answer, and she shushed him half-heartedly. He scowled, but didn't say anymore, just watching the fairy fly up and down. When the ceiling next came down, I looked out across it, and could notice squares on the floor where there was no stone. If we could remember where they were, and use them as shelter from the falling ceiling, we could get to the other end.
{That's exactly what we'll do} Navi's voice came, and I jumped in both mind and body. {Sorry, I thought you were thinking to me - didn't mean to-}
[Oh, don't worry - I sometimes leave the channel open by mistake. But, that should work, shouldn't it?]
{I hope so - you'll just have to watch and see where the spaces are.}
"Uh - Navi and I have a plan," Link looked at me, and Sheik gave me a patronising look that he had perfected within the last few hours for me. Ignoring it, I carried on. "Well, you see those gaps in the falling stone," they turned and looked at the ones I pointed out. "If we map some of those, we can run across and use them for shelter when the ceiling falls." I glared at Sheik. "After all, it is the best plan we've got," I mimicked his voice, resulting in a snort from Link, which was quickly turned into a hacking cough as Sheik glanced at him.
"A bit dusty," Link said, red-faced, and covering his face with his hands, as he faked more coughs. Sheik just glared, nodded, and then began to run as the ceiling was just lifting up. "Hey, Sheik!" he called, and was about to run forwards himself, when I grabbed him by the back of his belt (being the only thing I could actually reach) and yanked him back before the ceiling came down on his head.
"Be a bit more careful will you - there are still four more temples after this," I said, letting go, and then running to the same square that Sheik was waiting for us on, Link following close behind. Again, the ceiling came down, and as it began to rise up, we went to the next square. And so it carried on; down, up, run, stop, down, up, run, stop and so on until we reached the other side.
"Goddesses, I'm glad that's over," Link breathed, looking back at the room, and flinching as the ceiling crashed down. "Come on - whatever's next can't be as bad as this, can it?"
[I hope you're right, Link.]
{Me too...}
The room, which we next entered, was bare, apart from an empty sconce, which I took to mean an encounter with another of the four sisters. Turning around, we all saw a huge portrait taking up the whole wall. Link fired an arrow into it, and this time, there was no shriek, or screech. A smooth voice chuckled, and called calmly, "Make into my likeness these stones, and the duty of battle shall be my own. I'd move out of the way," there was a deep rumbling, and we all stepped back to the door through which we had come.
From high above, a bunch of blocks (the number of which evades my memory) fell. The voice chuckled softly again, then left us in silence. "What in all Hyrule are we supposed to do with those?" I said, running my hands along the edges of the closest block.
"They make up a picture - the one on the wall," Navi said, flying over them. "I suppose you have to push them together to make the picture."
"Great, more menial labour," Link muttered. "OK Navi, which blocks to go where." Navi began directing where each block needed to be placed, and between the three of us, we managed to push each one where Navi told us to.
Soon enough, there was a soft click as the last block slid into place, and the third sister appeared. "Amy the Poe, and fight I suppose we must," she sighed, before taking up the same fighting stance as the two before her. And, just as with the two before her, we managed to dispose of her quickly enough.
By walking through the next hallway, we came out into the courtyard that we had first come into within the Temple. Three of the torches were lit - the green, orange and blue. And the fourth Poe was waiting there for us, perched atop her own unlit lamp. Link and Sheik had just lifted their bows when she spotted us, and flew upwards, the arrows missing her completely. Then, four Poes came back down, each identical, but we all knew only one was real. The question was, which one.
"I'm Meg, and you shall not defeat me," she stated, as though it was an unquestionable fact.
"A bit sure of yourself," I growled.
"I have reason to be," all four of the Poes disappeared, and then one appeared right behind us, swinging its lamp. We dodged out of the way, and it went flying back to the centre of the courtyard. "Come and fight, why don't you? We need something to do."
I hopped over the railings happily, drawing my sword, which was beginning to rust from lack of use. Sheik remained upon the walkway, and Link moved around to the other side of it. Both had arrows strung into their bows, and with my sword, I advanced even further.
All four of the purple Poes materialised at once, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that one of them span as she appeared. Whirling around, I clipped that one with my sword, and at the yell of pain, and I knew I had struck true. [The one that spins when she appears is the real one.] I thought to Navi, who passed it on to Link, and then whizzed around to do the same to Sheik.
In watching the orb, my concentration was broken, and I didn't notice the lantern flying at me until it hit me in the back of the head. "Blaise!" Navi, Link and Sheik screamed in unison, and I rolled over, rubbing the back of my head. Bringing the hand away, I saw that there was blood there. The lantern came again, and this time I was ready. I waited until it was almost upon me, and then rolled to the side and jumped up - the Poe materialised again, and I struck with all the force I could muster.
She fell in a soft slide of ashes to the floor, and her flame returned to its torch. I put a hand to the back of my head again. "Ow! Stupid bloody Poe got me," I kept my hand there, applying some pressure over the wound.
"Are you OK?" Link asked, just as I was bringing my hand back down to check the blood flow. His eyes widened at the sight. "Goddesses! Sheik, do you have some spare bandages or something?"
"No, I'm fine, really!" I protested, wanting nothing less than having to walk around with a great swathe of bandages over my head.
"The least you can do is take some red potion - here," Sheik removed a bottle from his pack, and handed it to me. I pulled open the stopper, and took a quick swig of the liquid within, before handing it back and pulling a face.
"Eurgh, that's disgusting!"
"It's healed your head though," he pointed out, and reaching my hand back, I saw that he was right. "Be a bit more careful will you - there are still four more temples after this," he mimicked. "Sound familiar?" I glowered up at him; he seemed taller than usual - in fact, he seemed to be growing. Then, looking down slightly, I saw that the cage from earlier was rising out of the floor. "Huh?" he said, looking down in surprise.
"Killing the Poes must have opened up that cage again - I think it's an elevator," Navi said. Sheik sat down on the roof of it, and jumped off, landing cat-like on the floor. The cage didn't move at all, and I wondered if it was broken. "You have to stand in it to make it work!" Navi laughed, and I managed to crack a smile too. My head throbbed slightly, but it was good to lighten the moment for a bit.
"I think it'll only hold one of us," Link said, looking doubtfully at the small box, "if that." Unsurely, he walked forwards, and into the cage. Immediately, it began to sink downwards, and he smiled at us bravely, before he disappeared from sight altogether.
The cage came back up, Link-less, and Sheik went in next. I looked around the empty courtyard, shivering slightly, though not from cold. I could sense something nearby - something I had met before, but didn't know well. I couldn't put a name to it...I was jerked out of it by the cage coming back up. I stepped in too, and was carried downwards.
Eventually, it stopped in a gloomy room, where my fellow travellers stood waiting for me. Before us was the door to the chamber of the Temple Guardian, which I understood they had uncovered in the short while it took me to come down. "This is it," Link said, trying to inject a bit of joviality into his voice, and falling just short of the mark. So, instead, he wiped the half-assed smile off his face, and said sombrely, "Be careful, both of you - watch each other's backs, and I'll watch yours."
"And we yours," Sheik jumped in before I had a chance, so I just had to nod dumbly.
"Alright." Link slipped the key into the lock, turned it, and opened the heavy door with trepidation. We all stepped in, and it slammed itself shut behind us; I heard the lock click, and knew we were stuck until we killed the guardian - or it killed us. Again, I felt that shiver of almost de-ja- vu run through me - I just didn't know what the feeling of de-ja-vu was for.
*
Through the door was a sort of paint gallery thing - looking around, I noticed with a slight sense of shock that all of the pictures were the same. I shivered just looking at them. They were of a dark night sky, a long winding path fading into the distant background, and skeletal trees to both sides.
There was a path marked by thick ropes leading to a large ring at the other end, and we walked slowly down it, all three of us looking around, straining both sight and hearing to discover where the guardian of the Temple was. It was eerily silent. {I don't like this.} Navi's small voice quavered in my head, and I said the same back. {It's too quiet...}
[I know - but shush - I must keep listening.] She was silent, and I was able to put full attention to listening. Listening to the silence, listening to the lack of sound apart from our soft footfalls, and the faint echoes of breathing. Silence, silence. It reminded me - it always did. The silence after I killed him - seven years ago. I steered away from there; I had to concentrate after all.
It's always harder to concentrate when you are with others; I usually fought alone.
I cut my losses - after all, there were benefits of travelling in a group. If you fall from injury, there are ones there to help you. If you are weary, they will help you; travellers help one another.
We made it into the large ring at the end of the roped walkway. It was surrounded by eight-foot high railings, on which the pictures hung in a strange circle, a repeat of the same scene over and over as I turned to look at them all. Finally, the silence was broken by the Hero, "Maybe this isn't it - look for a secret panel or something back the way we came."
He turned, and made to exit the railing encircled room. A gate flew upwards out of the floor, just as tall as all the other railings, blocking our escape. "Ah; I guess this is it then," he said, pulling out the Master Sword with a grim face. Before us, there was a flash, and when my eyes had cleared from it, I saw a figure that made my blood run cold and my cheeks turn fiery hot.
Ganondorf himself flew above, upon a long staff sparking with magic. He came closer, and my heart beat at what felt to be twice the regular rate. It was then that I noticed his hands - grey and scabbed, nothing like the dark, sinewy hand that had lifted me from the ground. [His hands; it cannot be him. But it looks so.]
{What do you-} But she saw exactly what I meant when the creature that looked like Ganondorf ripped off a mask, to show it's real, hideous face. It was a phantom, I recognised by the dark glow of its eyes. Assuring myself that my glasses were firmly placed upon my nose, I charged towards the beast, driving it back against the wall. To no surprise, it retreated within the painting, and I knew what to do from previous experience with the Poe Sisters.
"Shoot the paintings as you did with the Poes," I told the others, retreating to stand with them. "It is a phantom, so it will have it's own twin phantom rider also - aim at both the pictures he comes through, and shoot together."
They stepped forwards and notched arrows into their bows. "How do you know all this?" Sheik asked, and the old suspicion was back in his voice.
"You think Hyrule is the only land with monster troubles?" I snapped, grabbing one of his throwing daggers from his belt, and poising myself to attack.
The two phantoms appeared as I had predicted, and they fired as one. The painting to which Link fired was the real one, and the phantom howled in pain as it was sent back. The next one, both of them aimed at the same painting without realising it was the wrong one, so I had to pivot and throw the knife with great speed to stop the real phantom swooping out of the painting upon us.
"Unless you want your fate to be a phantom yourself, you will aim at different paintings!" I exclaimed, grabbing another dagger just in case. The third time, it worked, and Link struck the right painting again. With a yell of outrage, the phantom launched itself high above, and took the staff of magic within its hand. "The fun's just beginning," I breathed, readying my sword like a bat.
[He will fire energy at us from the staff - we must hit it back to him with our swords - the only way to kill them is by their own magic.] I gabbled to Navi hurriedly, and then I heard her small voice whisper it to the other two who were behind me. I did not dare turn around - I was in no mood to go through the painful process of healing after a phantom wound again. It had happened once before, and I intended it to never happen again.
The phantom did as I expected, and I batted the first bolt easily. It sent it flying back, and I ducked as Link swung the Master Sword. This carried on, each of us taking it in turns to swing, until the damned ball hit the phantom. It fell down, and we all three ran forward to slash at it.
This carried on until I could see the creature visibly shuddering with pain and exhaustion. "Here come the big energy blasts," I said warningly. "I'd move out of the way of the blue magic unless you desire to be incinerated." The blue blast came, and we scattered to all sides, waiting for the creature to reach desperation and use the quicker, green magic.
When it resorted to that, we were ready with our batting skills; it was over quickly, the creature to tired and weak to move fast. It fell one last time, and one last time, we attacked it with our already bloody swords. There was a crackle, then a sizzle, and the body exploded into flame, combusting into nothingness.
I felt the de-ja-vu again, and a shiver run through my as I clipped my blood dripping sword onto my back. A chill breeze ran through the place, even though there was nowhere any wind could possibly enter. I looked around; suddenly, I could feel a new presence. No kidding, I could almost see the outline of one before me. The other two just looked in the same direction that I was, a little bewildered at my staring at what they must have believed to be empty air.
But when that steely voice came through the renewed silence, I knew I had been right. "Hey, kids, you did quite well...It looks like you may be gaining some slight skill..." There was a chuckle, and peripherally, I spied Link and Sheik twirling around on the spot to look for the owner of the voice.
"But, you have defeated only my phantom... When you fight the real me, it won't be so easy!" And with a deep laugh, the presence left - but not after flying right through me where I stood. I gasped and fell to my knees as the icy feeling of his soul crept through me - and then was surprised when I found a flame of warmth.
"Blaise?" the worried tinkle of Navi's voice. I looked up from where I knelt, and uncrossed my arms from around my torso.
"Hey, we won," I said, straining a smile. "You guys were pretty good!" Link laughed at this, and Sheik let out an odd sort of cough, which I suspected had been to hide a snort. Noticing the odd look I was giving him, he pointed to the blue circle of the portal near where the phantom had fallen.
"I take it we walk through that?" he asked, and Link nodded, also placing the Master Sword into its sheath. Sheik clipped his curved scimitar to his waist, and we all traipsed to the pulsating portal of sky blue. I felt the familiar feeling as we were transported, and immediately fell over as I always did at the other end.
*
Looking around, I saw that we were once again in the main forest. There was the large greying skeleton of an old dead tree. {The Great Deku Tree,} Navi's sad voice came in my head, and she landed on the green ground. As her wings stopped beating, so the glow about her faded, and I could see silvery tears running down her tiny face as she looked up at the deceased guardian of the Kokiri.
I noticed that there were only two bodies - myself, and the blue clad Sheik. He was standing up and dusting himself off disdainfully. He even took the time to pull out a rag and clean his scimitar. I shook my head, and wiped my own sword on the grass. "Where's Link?" I asked offhandedly, looking around again in case I had missed him first time. Sheik looked up, and turned his bandaged self in a full circle, before declaring,
"Not a clue."
He sat back down, laying scimitar across his lap, and closed his eyes. I supposed he was meditating, as I could hear a slight lulling tune being hummed. I lay back on the strangely sweet-smelling grass, and looked up at a sky that was just beginning to gain the colours of dawn. I wondered how long we had been within that Temple. [Navi?]
{Yes?} Her voice was a little softer than usual.
[How long were we in there for? I can't remember.]
{Oh - three days I should think - it is little wonder you're tired.}
[Thanks.] I was shocked by the amount of time - and realised that I was indeed exhausted. A growl of my stomach also protested the case that I was hungry. Without further ado, my body decided to sleep, and have food later.
*
I woke up to a scream of surprise, and then let out my own of pain as something landed on top of me. "Hey, Sheik, where's Blaise?" a familiar voice came, then seemed to notice that the ground he thought he was sitting on was moving. He looked down, and his eyes opened in shock. He jumped up, going bright red, and held out a hand to help me up. "Uh, sorry..." he said sheepishly. "The portal just kinda dropped me."
"That's - OK," I wheezed, drawing the air back into lungs that had suddenly been crushed. The stars were out by now, and I asked, "Where by the Goddesses were you?"
"In the Chamber of Sages," he said simply, holding out a medallion of vibrant green. Then, he said quietly to Navi, "It was Saria." I knew it to be his childhood friend, but said nothing. To know too much would be suspicious, especially for one who is supposed to have lived across the great sea for most of their lives.
All of a sudden, a young sprout looking much like the dead tree before us, exploded from the earth, and Link went flying. It looked kind of sweet, and Navi was going mad over it. "A new sprout, a new sprout Link, LOOK!" He rose up off the ground groggily, and walked over to it.
"Perhaps we should let them talk alone..." Sheik hinted, and I followed him as he walked off to the far end of the clearing.
"Damn, and I so wanted to talk to the tree," I said sarcastically, and he made an annoyed sound, before sitting down to begin his meditation again. I just glared at him for a little while, until it got so dark that I couldn't see him anymore. Then, I leant against the stone edges of the clearing, and waited for the soft sound of voices to quiet, to signal that we could leave. It took a very long time indeed, and I was having trouble staying standing.
Link himself looked shattered, and managed to murmur, "Sleep here - sprout will watch us," before collapsing in a heap to the floor, snoring gently. I thought for a while, then lifted my glasses up - since it was dark anyway, there was no likelihood that anyone would see my eyes. Everything became a few shades brighter, and I was able to see that Sheik too was asleep. I put my glasses back upon my face, and dropped to the ground as well. Curling up, I whispered humouredly, "May as well follow the crowd."
Then, to sleep I went - dreamless - blissful.
~/*\~/*\~/*\~
There we go - that chapter was a bit long, and I'm sorry about the rushed battle scene. I was trying to get across the speed of battle, but I think it just looks like I can't be bothered. Oh well, [grin] at least I wrote something!
Poor little Alexis - or I suppose its Blaise now. Sheik is still being mean to her - she'll prove him wrong. And she'll have to snap out of the Ganondorf fixation soon, or I may have some unrequited love things to write...ah, unrequited love, I know thee so well. [Damn you Sheik, for being a pixellated character!]
Oh well, have made a fool of myself again, so you just have to review to make me a little saner. Thank you!
From Soda - SDOC (Seriously deprived of coffee).
R+R - Or I'll write some smut! Wait - scratch that - it would be so bad you'd burn my house with flames...
