Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

Chapter 17.

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"Please King Zora, I beg you!"

"YOU SCORN MY GENEROSITY!?"

"No! We just need to go to the forest real quick, and we'll come pick up your warriors on our way to the castle!"

"INSOLENCE! I SEE YOU DO NOT LIKE ZORA, EH?"

"King Zora," Cardaras walked up to the pedastal of speech so he could speak. "Do you risk your warriors life, by traveling on land all the way to the forest and back? They will dehydrate far too easily. Besides, the forest is small. We will be to pressed together. We also need stealth, and seeing 8000 Zora walk in a forest is peculiar."

The King thought about this...and nodded.

"VERY WELL, I mean very well. Come pick up my warriors when you are ready."

So Link and Cardaras left alone, heading towards Kokiri Forest. They reached the area in no time at all really, and as they entered, they saw a swamp! There was a thick fog. The huts were covered with moss, and saw no sign of people life. Monsters were everywhere, just like what happened in the Forest Temple, only worse. Link got out his sword, Cardaras got out his spear. They hid behind a large rock, and thought up a plan.

"We save my forest, then go to the Lost Woods. When we get to the woods, we need to move FAST. We don't have faeries, so we will turn into a Stalfos if we stay there very long. It is the way of the woods."

Cardaras nodded, "And for these monsters, stay together. They aren't expecting warriors."

"I know this forest, follow me."

Link moved into the corner of the Kokiri forest, and climbed some vines. Cardaras did so as well. They got to the top, just outside the Lost Woods. Link got out his arrows, and shot at any monsters they could see. Eventually, they jumped onto one of the houses, and shot in the new area. Link got out his fire arrows and shot at the dry ivy and vines covering the area, making them disappear. Link saw the cause of the swamp, and waded to the waterfall to examine it. He nodded. And walked back to the boulder that they were hiding behind just an hour ago. Cardaras used his power of Leaping (The power of leaping will be explained sometime later- and no, it isn't a giant jump.) to move the boulder to the source of the waterfall, and put it into the place. Now the waterfall was a controlled drop. Cardaras created a controlled whirlwind to move the fog away, the sunlight could now reach the forest. Sensing this, the Kokiri Children came out. They all thanked them in awe, and said the source was the Great Deku Tree. Though it was now dead, there was a source of evil at it. So they walked over there.

They sliced through cobwebs they found, and got to the Deku Tree's Grove. What they saw made their skin crawl, for there was a giant spider as big as the Deku Tree, resting in the branches!

It hadn't noticed them yet. They got out arrows, and shot. They did next to nothing on it. It jumped down, making the ground shake, knocking them to the ground. It started to breathe in air, a giant suction! They would be swallowed soon. Cardaras was floating up with Link, when he used the power of Leaping to move the boulder from the waterfall to the grove. They were almost in the mouth when the boulder came flying, knocking right into the face of the spider. It started scratching at the boulder, eager for revenge. They Shot at the underbelly, assuming it was the weak point. Their assumption was correct, as Link shot Light arrows and Cardaras shot some unknown attack, the creature fell. It faded away, as Jabu Jabu once did to them. Wordlessly, they left the grove, once again put the boulder into its resting place, and bid farewell to the Kokiri Children. They sat at the entrance of the Lost Woods for a while, catching their breath.

Finally, knowing they had limited time, they race into the Lost Woods.

A/n: End of Chapter 17. Will they turn into a Stalfos before it is too late? How will they get to the gorons? Read the next chapter to find out!