Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Nintendo. In this story, Zelda didn't send Link back in time at the end of OOT and he went to Termina as an adult.
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SARIA
Saria was worried.
She sat on top of her tree house, a large Maneya tree that grew near the
entrance to the Lost Woods. The Kokiri had lived in the forest since the
beginning of Hyrule. They had long since come to regard trees as life forms.
The trees and the Kokiri
formed a symbiotic circle. What affected one soon affected the other. As such, the Kokiri lived in naturally hollow trees, so as to avoid the need of destroying trees to build their homes. The Mayena and Burak trees were among the most popular for homes, their soft insides providing wonderful homes for the children of the woods. Most Kokiris preferred to live at ground level, the feeling of height being too great for most of them to handle. As well, the opening to most trees were near the ground. Yet, some of the bolder ones preferred to search for a tree with a hole above the ground. Kokiris choosing this path were considered slightly eccentric.
Saria was a ground dweller, not because she was afraid of height, but because
she had fallen in love with her tree the moment she had seen it. She loved her
tree's broad green leaves with which she made a dye for her hair, the smooth,
grey bark,
speckled with brown spots, and the cool inside where she
lived. The inside was plain, with wooden furniture. She had made most of it
herself, using the wood from dead trees lashed together with grass twine.
Saria watched her fellow Kokiri, playing in the afternoon sun, the rays of light sneaking through the branches of the overhead trees catching dust particles in the air, creating columns of shimmering light. She giggled as she saw Mido making a fool of himself, as usual, as he tried to impress some Kokiri girls. Near the waterfall, the Know-it-all twins were frolicking in the water.
Saria sighed, the Kokiris lived in a dream world; a paradise, cut off from the
harshness of the real world. They knew nothing of misery, hunger, or injustice.
This innocence had been
shaken after the death of the Great Deku Tree and
Ganondorf's attack on Hyrule seven eight years ago.
The seven years of Ganondorf's reign had been a brutal shock to the Kokiri. The peaceful forest-dwellers had been awakened one morning by Moblins attacking their village. A lot of Kokiri had been slaughtered by Ganondorf's troops. Saria and a handful of Kokiri had escaped to the Sacred Meadow, reasoning that the Moblins would never get through the Lost Woods. Unfortunately, when Phantom Ganon took over the Forest temple, the Kokiri had been forced to return to their ruined village. There had been no more attacks and the Kokiri had lived in an uneasy peace for the next few years until Link had returned and awakened Saria as the Sage of the Forest.
Saria had always felt closer to the forest than the rest of the Kokiri. For as
long as she could remember, she had loved to go into the Sacred Meadow to play
her ocarina and listen to the trees. She was very concerned with the fate of
the forest and this
was why, of course, the Great Deku Tree had chosen her as his messenger.
She took out her ocarina. The magical instrument was made of smooth wood and
had several holes that were covered by the fingers to achieve different note
and octaves. It was the one she had given Link when he had left the woods.
Saria had always
had her ocarina. She did not remember when she had acquired it; it had just always been a part of her.
Saria licked her lips and put the instrument to her mouth. She blew a few
tentative notes; they soared from the ocarina and filled the clearing. Saria
smiled, she still had it. She remembered when she had tried to teach Link how
to play the ocarina...
"Come on, Link! You have to try it at least once," said
Saria.
"No, I-I can't,"
said Link.
Saria groaned. Link was sitting on his bed, tears running down his face. He had just come from a bad run-in with Mido, the bossy Kokiri who's life's ambition was to make Link's life a living nightmare. This was not the first time either.
Mido took every opportunity he got to ridicule Link, just because the poor Kokiri did not have a guardian fairy. Saria suspected that some of Mido's antagonism towards Link was due to Mido being afraid of becoming like Link, not having a fairy. She hoped that when Link finally did get a guardian fairy, Mido's taunts would cease.
"Look Link," she said, "I know Mido is mean, but you can't let
that spoil your whole day. What are you going to do, run away and hide every
time he insults you?"
"That's easy for you to say," Link snapped back, "You're strong
and y-you have a fairy." Link burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, Link. I'm sorry," she said as she sat down beside the
distraught boy and put her harm around him, "But will you try to play the
ocarina Maybe it'll cheer you up! And who knows? Maybe you'll be really good at
it. I know
Mido cannot play the ocarina, so you could be better than him at something!"
Link dried his eyes and said, "OK Saria, I'll do it, for you."
Link took the instrument blew with all his might into it. A horrible screeching
sound leapt from the ocarina.
"OK," said Saria, "Maybe we should take this slowly."
Over the next few days, Saria had practiced with Link, trying to teach him her
knowledge of the ocarina. By the end, Link was barely able to play a few
correct notes, but that was great, considering how difficult it was for a
beginner
to play the ocarina.
When Link had left the forest, Saria had given him her ocarina. It had been a
terrible loss for her, but she knew that he would need it more than she did.
When Link had returned, seven years later, not only did he have his own
ocarina, he could play almost as well as she could! He had treasured her ocarina and he brought it back to her, as good as when she last saw it.
Saria put the ocarina back to her lips and played decisively. The notes
emerged loud and clear, ringing through the village. Many of the Kokiri stopped
what they were doing and listened, mesmerized, to the beautiful melody of
Saria's Song. Many of the
Kokiri knew the tune, having heard Saria play it often, but they still listened, enraptured, to the very soul of the Forest Sage. For when Saria played, she did not just scratch out the notes to her song, she played with all her heart, putting her entire concentration into her ocarina.
When the last note had faded, Saria smiled. Her song was her special tie with
Link. Whenever she or Link played the song, they could speak to each other, no
matter where they were. Sometimes, if Saria focused enough, she could see
through Link's eyes, as was happening now. The village was fading away to be
replaced by the lush green of the Sacred Meadow.
So, Link's in the Sacred Meadow. Let's go see what he's up to, thought
Saria.
She broke the contact and the village came back into focus. She placed the
ocarina on her lips and played the Minuet of the Forest. A dazzling shimmer of
emerald green enveloped her and after a bright flash of white light, she found
herself standing on
the Triforce symbol at the entrance to the Forest Temple.
Saria spotted Link, Zelda, and a human-looking figure a little away from her.
She stealthily drew up to them and managed to climb a tree next to them without
being noticed. As she listened, she realized Link and Zelda were telling the
creature about the
fall of Ganondorf.
"This is why I have sworn to protect Hyrule from all threats..." Link
was interrupted by Zelda clutching her head and yelling in pain.
"Zelda! What is it?" Link asked, frightened.
"He grows strong. He is trying to break out." Zelda grunted, still
holding her head. A look of concentration fleeted across her face and she
calmed down. "Ganondorf tried to break the seal and escape from the Dark Realm.
This has happened before,
but it is happening more often now. I fear he will soon succeed." Zelda told Link.
"We must be ready, then. We'll have to unite the sages once more."
said Link "Samus, I do not wish to expose you to peril, so if you can, you
should leave now."
"If there's going to be a war council, I want a part in it." said
Samus.
"Samus, you do not know what Ganondorf is capable of." pleaded Zelda.
"Look," said Samus "I am the best bounty hunter in the galaxy.
Do you think I am afraid? Do you know how often I've been on the brink of
death? You think you can tell me to leave? No. If I say that I stay, I
stay."
Link placed his hand on Samus' shoulder. "It would be an honour to have
you among us in our fight, Samus Aran." he said.
"Good, glad that's settled!" said Saria, falling down from a nearby
tree.
"Saria!" said Link, "What have I told you about eavesdropping on
me?" But there was an amused glint in his eye.
"Come on!" said Saria, "Let's go get the sages!" She paused
as she looked at Samus. "Who are you?" she asked.
"Samus Aran, bounty hunter." Samus replied.
"So what do you do?" asked Saria.
"Less question and more action." Samus said. "I'll explain on
the way kid."
"Kid? I'm over 100 years old!" Saria protested.
"Oh yes, you're one of the Kokiri Link told me about. You never age,
right?"
"Well, we mature in mind, but we conserve the body of children."
As they left the Scared Meadow, they came in front of a humongous wall. It was
easily 9 feet tall and ran from one edge of the clearing to the other, totally
blocking the way. Upon closer inspection, it was possible to see that it was
actually a giant hedge
covered in millions of spikes.
"What's this?" asked Samus.
"The Sacred Meadow's first line of defence.", said Saria "A
giant maze, impassable for those who are not welcome in the forest. If an enemy
of the forest tried to cross, it would become hopelessly lost, never to find
the exit or entrance again and would
die of starvation or bee attacked by the woodland creatures within. The hedges are so prickly that it is impossible to scale them and they are protected by the magic of the Forest Temple so they are indestructible."
"And you know the way through?" Samus asked.
"Of course!" said Saria "It will only take a few minutes."
As they entered the maze, Saria warned Samus, "Don't touch the walls. Some
of the barbs are poisonous and can pierce even the thickest armour."
They walked on, following Saria. Samus was trying to keep track of their
progress, but her compass was scrambled. She guessed it was because of the magic.
She had no concept of time, and it seemed like they had been walking forever.
She could
see how the maze was a great protection. All the walls looked the same and she was positive that they were going around in circles, seeing as how familiar the scenery looked.
As they rounded a corner Samus was sure they had already taken before, Saria
stopped and motioned the others to be quiet. Straining, they could hear
growling ahead.
"Wolfos." whispered Saria.
"At least three," said Link "Enough for everybody. Think you can
handle 'em Samus?"
"What is a Wolfo?" asked Samus.
"A giant dog-like beast with long arms. They can block the most powerful
attacks with their arms so you have to get under their guard." Link said.
"Sounds easy." said Samus.
"Not at all. They are very fast and very fierce. Once they get hold of
you, they never let go."
"OK, I'll take one, you take the other, who's taking the third?"
asked Samus.
"I am." said Zelda.
"Like that? I don't think so princess!" scoffed Link.
Zelda shot Link an evil glare and Samus watched, astonished, as Zelda's female
figure gradually melted into that of a handsome young man dressed in blue clothes
with a while cloth breastplate bearing a red eye. Zelda (Samus assumed it was
still her)
leapt at Link who made to block, but at the last second, his assailant dropped to the ground and swept out with her leg and tripped him.
"Any more comments on my fighting abilities?" she asked, towering
over Link.
"Not a word." said Link. Noticing Samus was staring, he added,
"This is Sheik, Zelda's alter-ego."
"Let's go kick some Wolfo butt." said Sheik.
They all cautiously peeked around the next corner and, sure enough, there were
three Wolfos growling at each other.
Samus leapt out and fired a mega-missile at the Wolfos, but to her great
surprise, one of them batted the missile right back at her. She just had time
to duck and yell, "Take cover!" before the missile flew over her and
exploded on the wall behind her,
leaving no trace. As she looked up, one of the Wolfos jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. Samus hit it hard with her cannon, knocking him off her.
Sheik leapt over Samus and kicked the Wolfo in the chest. She pulled out a
whip-like chain and began circling the Wolfo, lashing out at it.
Link was facing off with the second Wolfo who lashed out with his paw, but Link
sidestepped the blow and hit the Wolfo over the head with the butt of his
sword's hilt. He leapt in the air and brought his sword down on the dazed
Wolfo. The Wolfo
gave a scream of pain and his body immediately was consumed by blue-white fire.
Samus rolled between the legs of the third Wolfo and hit him with her screw
attack. The Wolfo was thrown up into the air. She jumped after it to finish it
off, but the Wolfo, having recovered from the screw attack, twisted his body so
Samus missed him.
Her momentum overtook her and she saw the wall of spikes coming closer. Time slowed to a crawl as Samus twisted around and fired her grapple beam at the opposite wall. It seemed to take an eternity to extend and before it could make contact, she hit the wall, screaming in pain as she felt millions of needles piercing her back. As she fell to the ground, she could tell she was badly hurt. She tried to stand but the pain was too great and she collapsed.
When Link saw Samus hit the wall, he knew it wasn't going to be pretty. When
Samus fell, he saw a big splash of blood where Samus had hit the wall. He also
saw that the back of the suit was all torn up.
"Saria!" he yelled, "Give him this!" He tossed Saria a blue
potion, hoping it would work on Samus.
Sheik meanwhile, was juggling her Wolfo. She high-kicked it, send it up, then
jumped and kicked upwards. The Wolfo was sent even higher and Sheik fired a
dozen needles at it. When the Wolfo hit the ground, it was dead.
Saria ran up to Samus and tried to remove the helmet to administer the potion.
She was panicky since she could feel Samus' life draining. When Saria removed
the helmet, she was shocked as Samus' brown hair tumbled out of the helmet, her
face paling
from copious loss of blood. Saria was stunned for a few seconds until she realized that Samus was a woman. Saria forced Samus' lips apart and managed to pour some of the potion down her throat. Immediately, she saw the wounds in Samus' back healing and felt life come back to Samus' body.
Link back flipped away from the Wolfo who was charging him. As he back flipped,
he knocked an arrow to his bow and leapt into the air. Bouncing off the Wolfo's
back, he turned around in midair and released his arrow. The arrow buried
itself into
the Wolfo's back, killing it instantly.
Samus felt as though she was floating. She felt no pain, only a sense of
deep tranquillity. If this is death, she thought, It's not so bad.
But no, she wasn't dead. She felt a cool breeze on her face and someone was
calling her name.
Samus...Samus...
"Samus, are you alright?" asked Saria as Samus regained consciousness.
"How is he?" asked Link as he came up from behind Saria. Link looked
at Samus and did a double take. He had imagines Samus as a battle-hardened
warrior like himself, but Samus was...a woman?
Samus noticed Link was agape. "What?" she asked. "Is it because
I am a woman?"
"N...no," stammered Link "I just..."
"Expected me to be male." snapped Samus "Well, it's alright, I'm
used to it. Before the Metroids, everyone thought I was a man also. Now, pretty
much whoever knows my name knows who I really am."
"Well, I suspected you were female Samus," said Zelda who had turned
back into herself, "I mean, you move much too gracefully to be a
man."
"Hey! Are you insinuating that I'm clumsy?" asked Link.
"Whoa!" said Saria "Cool it will you? There are more important
things to do. Those Wolfos mean evil is stirring in Hyrule. We need to get the
Sages together."
Suddenly, Saria and Zelda fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
"Zelda!" yelled Link "What's wrong?"
"He's escaping! He's escaping!" yelled Zelda over and over, writhing
in pain.
"Ganondorf!" said Link. He pulled out his Ocarina and played the
Prelude of Light. A white flash enveloped them and they found themselves in a
large white room.
There was a large altar at one end of the room with three indentations in it,
as if something fit in it. Samus noticed the Triforce symbol at the top of a
recess in the wall behind the altar. She guessed this was a door. The Triforce
was also on a giant stone
slab they had landed on.
Wow, thought Samus They weren't kidding about this Triforce being important.
"Samus!" Link said "Watch Zelda and Saria. I have to go get the
Spiritual Stones!"
"Why?" asked Samus.
"If Ganondorf is really back, I need the Master Sword!" explained
Link.
"But isn't that it?" said Samus, pointing at the sword in Link's
scabbard.
"No." said Link "The Master Sword is only to be used in times of
evil. This is a replica. It is a good sword, but it cannot replace the true Master
Sword. I need the stones to access the chamber behind the door that houses the
Master Sword."
Link pulled out his ocarina and played the Bolero of Fire. Bright red flames
engulfed Link and with a red flash, he was gone, leaving Samus alone with Saria
and Zelda in the Temple of Time.
To be continued...
Author's note: First fight scene! How do you rate it?
1-What fight scene?
2-Booooring!
3-OK
4-Pretty good
5-Excellent!
