CHAPTER 3- THE FOREST TEMPLE
Three hours later, the nine of them collapsed on the stairs in front of where Saria liked to sit and play her ocarina. "Whew, that was close." Link panted.
"I know what you mean. Traveling through the Sacred Forest Meadow is definitely no easy task." Zack answered once he caught his breath. "There are way too many Moblins."
Jeff stood up, "Are you guys ready to go on? Sheik is right up ahead."
"Sheik?" Link jumped up. "You should have told me sooner!" He ran to the place where Saria should have been and everyone else followed. When he was almost at the stump, Sheik appeared out of nowhere, surprising him even though he knew the mysterious teen would be there thanks to Jeff.
Once everyone was there, Sheik spoke, "I figured you eight would be with the Hero of Time when he reached the Forest Temple." He paused as everyone looked at each other. "As some of you should know, Saria is not here." Link jumped. "She felt a disturbance in the Temple and went to investigate. I believe she is now trapped within the Temple, somewhere very difficult to reach. I will now teach you a song to enable you to travel to this place in almost any area of Hyrule." Sheik took out his harp and Link took out the Ocarina of Time.
Sarah leant over to Jessica, "I wonder if that goofy music will sound when he learns the song." Jessica stifled a laugh.
Sheik played the song and Link repeated it. When they were done playing the song, Sheik looked up at Link, "You have learned the Minuet of Forest. I must leave now, but before I do, you eight need a change of clothing." he snapped his fingers and their outfits instantly changed. The girls all wore brown boots with brown leggings tucked inside and different colored tunics. Sarah wore purple, Jessica wore orange, Jacque wore blue, and Shannon wore red. For the boys, they were wearing something similar to Link's outfit but with different colored tunics. Jeff wore blue, Robbie wore red, Zack wore orange, and Glen wore yellow. Sheik nodded in approval. "You don't want to attract anyone's attention." he explained. "Farewell and good luck." The teen then took a few steps backwards and threw something at the ground and disappeared. Link stood there for a few moments, then turned around and faced the others.
"We have to save Saria." Link said urgently but quietly.
"Well duh." Sarah smiled. "Fire your hookshot at the tree branch and let's go."
Link did as Sarah instructed and shot the hookshot and was pulled up onto the ledge. "Whoa. That was different."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sarah demanded, "throw it down so we can get up there!"
*
When everyone was standing on the ledge, Sarah, Jeff and Jessica walked into the Temple and the others followed. "Well, I suggest that you get your swords out, there are two Wolfos just up ahead." Sarah paused, "I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah, one of us has to climb that tree and get the key out of the box. Link, I suggest you do it because I think you're the only one who can jump a big distance." Link nodded and went over to the tree. "Okay, two for each Wolfos. Everyone else stand back."
Glen, Jeff, Zack, Sarah rushed forward and the two Wolfos appeared, as expected. Glen and Sarah took the one on the right as Jeff and Zack took the one on the left. Glen jumped back just in time to avoid being cleaved in half from the Wolfos's sweeping claws. From the distraction, Sarah took the chance to slice at the creature drawing blood. The thing then rounded on her and she parried with her sword and Glen in his turn hit the thing killing it.
Jeff and Zack had the same good luck. Doing almost the exact same thing, Wolfos were not the smartest creatures, they destroyed the creature in no time at all. Link then appeared behind them. "Good job. Let's go in now."
Sarah stopped him by putting up her hand. "There are two Skulltula spiders hanging from the ceiling so be careful. You can use your hookshot to destroy them easily." she then put her hand down and Link continued to the door while pulling out his hookshot. Just as she had told him, the Skulltula spiders were there and he easily dispatched them.
"We are like geniuses here." Glen shook his head.
"No duh, we've beaten this game and we know what happens." Jeff said rolling his eyes. "Link, go straight toward the door with steps leading up to it. When we get inside, there'll be two Stalfos. They're easy to kill but you can only use your sword against them." Link nodded and they went where Jeff had indicated. Sure enough, the Stalfos appeared. "Battle plan. Sarah, Glen, and Zack, you take that one and Link and I'll get that one." as he pointed, they all followed his lead.
The one Stalfos swung at Jeff's head, nearly taking him off guard but he instinctively brought his sword up to meet the attack. The impact made almost made his bones rattle, the creatures had more strength than he thought. Link saw his distraction and took the creature by surprise, hitting it in its torso. It grunted and jumped back. Jeff shook his head to clear his thoughts and charged forward hitting the beast in the shield. Link again came up from behind and swung at it. They repeated that, but sometimes switched jobs and eventually the thing was destroyed.
Glen leapt forward swinging his sword violently. Caught off balance, the Stalfos was about to swing but was blocked by Zack who saw his brother's dilemma and rushed to his aid. Much like Link did, Sarah swung her sword at the distracted creature. It jumped back, grunted, and then leapt at her. She swung her sword up and met its attack giving both Glen and Zack an opening, which was the downfall of their enemy.
"Wow, that was cool!" Jacque praised them.
"Yeah, I'm impressed. Sarah didn't get hit at all." Jessica smiled.
"Nice to have your support." Sarah mumbled.
Glen and Jeff laughed. "Well, you have to admit, it was surprising." Glen pointed out.
"Oh, shut up." Sarah snapped.
Wanting to break the argument, Link asked, "So, where to next?"
Jeff shook his head. "Honestly, you didn't even realize that a chest appeared?"
Everyone looked behind Link and saw the chest. "Oh, yeah." Sarah said. "I almost forgot. A key is in there." They opened the chest and received the small silver key.
Jeff, Sarah and Jessica led the way to a block with a sun carving on it. Link dutifully played the Song of Time and the block disappeared. They entered the door, found the wall of ivy to climb, Link climbed it, then destroyed the Bubble at the top. The treasure chest containing the dungeon map appeared. While he did that, everyone else waited by the well and when Link hit the switch to lower the water, they climbed down and got the key. "Is that all we have to do here?" Link asked Jeff.
"Well, for now anyway. This way." Jeff ran off out the door and to another one. Opening it, they found their way to two blocks they had to move to get further along in the Temple. Link move the one block and then moved the other one. Finally they reached another door and found themselves at the twisted corridor.
"Well, we found the most strange part of this place." Sarah pointed out. "Jeff, I can't remember, do we first walk through it twisted or straight?"
Jessica answered for her, "Twisted." They continued through the corridor, seeming to walk upside down. "Ooh, a Wallmaster is up ahead. I hate Wallmasters." she shuddered. Sarah nodded in agreement. Running through the room to avoid the annoying hand, they reached the door that would take them to the Fairy Bow's hiding place. "Well, we've come upon two more Stalfos."
When they entered the door, they met the Stalfos in the same way they did the others and quickly dispatched them. The Fairy Bow appeared and Link equipped it. "Now you have to shoot the Poe's in the pictures. I have an idea. We'll stay at two of the pictures to lure it out so you can shoot it." They took Sarah's advice and the Poe appeared at the bottom of the staircase near the room where they found the Fairy Bow. It immediately started to swing its lantern in Shannon's direction. She screamed extremely loud and the Poe paused, it had never heard a noise like that before. Sarah took the distraction and placed herself between the flying thing and Shannon, determined to save her terrified friend. Link and Jeff charged the unmoving Poe from the left and Glen and Zack took it from the right. The four different attacks were enough to destroy it completely. The torches were lit. Shannon was panting. "That... was... too close." She sighed.
Finding the next Poe was just as easy and defeating it was quite the same, except this time it went after Jessica. She dove to the floor to avoid the careening lantern and Jeff and Zack ran to her rescue. "Man, I really need a sword." she muttered. The others charged and it was finished when the torch was lit. They came to the room with the rotating pillars, an iced eye and a lit torch in the middle.
Jeff explained to Link, "Stand on one of the pillars and wait until the arrow will fly through the flame and into the eye." Link jumped on the pillar, but took three tries to finally unfreeze the eye switch. The switch activated another twisting corridor in which they followed and jumped down a hole in the ground. They found themselves in a white and black checkered room in which the ceiling fell down. "You have to hit the switch, open the chest, avoid the enemies and get to the end. Look above you to see where the holes are so you can be safe."
Link nodded and ran to the switch and pressed it, waited for the ceiling to fall then ran to the chest, opened it and ran to the end just before the ceiling crashed down again. He gestured for everyone to follow. They made it to the end just barely. "Whew. Glad that's over." Zack muttered. They came to the room with the Poe blocks. "I think we have to form the picture." Glen, Zack, Sarah, Jessica, Jeff, Link, and Robbie each took a block and formed the picture, which didn't take to long. The Poe appeared. Swinging its lantern in Jacque's direction this time, Robbie pushed her out of the way and then ducked himself. The five with the swords closed in on it and it was defeated before it could disappear.
"This way." Sarah and Jessica found the exit and raced back to retrieve the Boss Key by untwisting the first twisted tunnel then made their way to the main room. Just as Sarah had suspected, the final Poe appeared by the three lit torches and one unlit one. "The one that spins is the real Poe!" Sarah shouted. "Hit it! Those without a weapon, punch it or something, just don't let it attack!"
The Poe split into its many forms and circled them. It spun in front of Shannon, she closed her eyes and hit it in the face. "Good one!" Link yelled. When the thing reappeared, it spun in front of Link who slashed it and then Jeff had his turn. When the Poe was defeated, the final torch was lit and they descended in the elevator that popped up. "Spin the walls." Jessica instructed. When they found the right door to Phantom Ganon, they walked into the room.
Sarah took a deep breath. "This is not gonna be easy. He'll shoot electricity at us and we need to block it with our swords. Link, when he comes out of the tunnels on his horse, shoot him with the arrow. We'll watch for it okay?" They walked into the room and the bars closed them in. There was an evil laugh and Shannon screamed her ear piercing scream.
"Oh, my gosh!" she yelled.
"Hush!" Sarah dove at her just as Phantom Ganon rode over their heads. "That was too close." Sarah stood up and gestured for Shannon to stay down and that she did gladly.
"Here!" Jessica cried. Phantom Ganon popped out of a picture near her and Link shot him with an arrow. Jeff spotted him his way and then Jacque spotted him. Finally the ghost was off his horse and floating in the air. "They lightning!" Jessica called just before the lightning streamed at Zack. He deflected it and it hit Phantom Ganon on the first rebound. Those with a sword attacked the fallen phantom and he raised himself in the air again. This time he aimed at Sarah.
"Just like in softball." Sarah muttered as she swung her sword and deflecting the lightning. She deflected it three more times and it finally struck her intended target. They attacked Phantom Ganon and destroyed him.
"You have only defeated a reflection of my powers. When you face me, I will not be so easily defeated." The specter said before it was consumed in flame.
Just after he disappeared, they were all whisked to the Sacred Realm. They looked around them. Suddenly, Saria appeared. "Welcome. Thank you for saving me, but by overcoming this Temple and its guardian, I have awakened as a Sage. Now take this Medallion. I now add my power to yours." She lifted her hands and the Medallion flew down and Link took it. "Farewell, my friend." And as suddenly as they came, they were placed outside the Forest Temple.
"Now that that's done and over with, can we get out of here?" Shannon whimpered from her place on the floor. Everyone laughed and nodded.
A/N- I know it follows the game closely, but later on there's a few changes that are quite interesting. I'll try my best to update soon. I'm almost out of school for the summer so I should have some more free time to write.