Chapter 4. Home

It took most of the morning to get to the Kokiri Forest from Kakariko. Epona didn't seem to mind either being left alone for so long, or the feathered passenger we'd picked up. She's such a good horse.

It was very strange, riding in under the trees of my home. It only seemed like a few days since I'd been there last but…so many things had changed. I knew things now that I hadn't known before, that no child should have to know. I had seen the closest thing I had to a father die, despite having done my best to save him. I had said good-bye to my best friends, many of whom thought I would die just by leaving. I had seen a girl that I felt closer to then anyone else I had ever known ride away in terror from an evil man I had failed to stop. And in trying to save that girl I had unknowingly allowed that evil man to take over the land I was just getting to know.

My Kokiri friends hadn't had nearly that much trouble. Sure, they lost the Deku Tree, but most of them probably blamed me for his death, and for all they knew I was dead too.

Dammit. I should not have to put up with all this by myself.

I resigned myself to the fact that this was all very weird and stepped onto the bridge into the forest.

Just as I did, Cojiro, who was following me, crowed. I didn't take much notice of it, cuccos crow all the time, but then Navi said, "Isn't he not supposed to crow much?"

"Huh?" I had gotten myself lost in a fantasy involving the blonde from my dream, the bridge, and adult situations.

"That cucco," Navi repeated. "Isn't he not supposed to crow much?"

"Cojiro?" I picked him up off the ground. "You're right, the cucco lady did say something about that." I shrugged. "Maybe he just likes the forest."

Navi just floated there. I got the feeling she was staring at me.

"I like the forest," I said.

"So do I," Navi said. "I'm just trying to figure out what connection you made between that cucco liking the forest and crowing."

I ignored her, but she had a point. Why had Cojiro crowed? My answer didn't make much sense, but what other reason could there be?

Before I could come up with a good answer, I realized where I was. This was the bridge where Saria had given me her ocarina, the same ocarina she had taught me to play on when I was younger. Saria was my best friend, almost like a big sister to me, and I was sure she was worried sick about me, especially if she thought I was dead.

Navi was forced to bump into my head a couple of times before I snapped out of my reverie and finished crossing the bridge. She can be so annoying sometimes, but it's surprising how much I like her. Sure she's a nag, but that's just one aspect of her. The biggest aspect. Whatever, back to the story.

The second, I mean the exact second, we got into the Kokiri village some stupid little Mad Scrub beaned me with a seed. And while I was disoriented from that this enormous Deku Baba almost snapped my leg off!

So it was "To battle brave hero!" for awhile as I fought my way through a ridiculous number of monsters to nearest house. Navi helped out, drawing my blows to the monsters, but as soon as I reached the door she hid in my hat and stayed there.

Two small Kokiri children stared at me. I stared right back. I recognized them. That was Sodo and Lado, two of my friends! But they hadn't changed one bit since the last time I'd seen them! What the hell is going on!

"Who are you mister?" Sodo asked.

For a moment I couldn't say anything, I was too shocked. How could my friends have stayed exactly the same for seven years? Oh sure, they'd looked pretty much the same for most of my childhood, but most of my childhood was a happy blur anyway. I could barely remember my growing up, much less theirs.

"What happened here?" I asked. "This place used to be so peaceful."

"Yeah," Lado agreed. "But then the Deku Tree died and Link left and the meanies started appearing."

"Meanies," I repeated incredulously.

"Uh-huh," Lado nodded. "Now it's too dangerous to go outside. Everyone's hiding. Except Mido and Saria."

"Saria!" Reminded suddenly of her I turned and ran out of there, with Lado and Sodo staring after me.

Moments later (I would have been faster but I had to dodge/chop "meanies" all the way there) I burst through Saria's front door.

"Where's Saria?" I asked the girl who sat there.

"She's gone," Redo said. "She went into the Lost Woods 'cause she said there was a…thing," she couldn't seem to remember what Saria had said, "anyway, she went to the Sacred Forest Meadow and Mido followed her."

"Mido did!" I stared. "So Mido actually went into the Lost Woods?"

"Yeah," Redo nodded. "I thought Mido was too scared to go in there too, but he did." She shrugged.

"But what about the monst- er, meanies? Aren't the Woods even more dangerous now?"

"Probably," Redo shrugged again. "But Saria was really worried about something, and Mido's totally crazy about her, so they went."

"I'm going too," I announced, more to Navi then Redo, and went back outside.

Where do all those monsters keep coming from?

Cojiro crowed again as we entered the first clearing of the Woods. I picked him up again and started shushing him, until I noticed the dead guy sitting under the Skull Kid's stump.

Oh wait, he's not dead, he's that scary zombified carpenter's son and he's sound asleep. That scared me for a second.

"Hey, um, guy," I leaned over him. "You okay?" He didn't look so good. "Hey, wake up." I prodded his shoulder. "Wake up!" It wasn't working and I was fairly certain he shouldn't be sleeping in the middle of the Lost Woods.

"Okay," I grabbed Cojiro, who was still following me, and held him in front of the guy. "I know you don't crow much," I said to the bird, "But -"

Cojiro interrupted me with a crow loud enough to wake the dead (bad idea), as well as, apparently, that guy.

He stirred, then opened his eyes. "Cojiro!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing with this guy?"

"He's waking you up," I answered. "What are you doing in here?"

The guy ignored me and took Cojiro. He examined him carefully, then stared into his beady cucco eyes for a few seconds. "He seems to like you," the guy said to me. "You must be a good guy."

I shrugged. "I try. What are you doing in here? The Woods are dangerous for everyone, especially those who don't know their way around."

"I was looking for this." The guy took out a small packet containing what looked like a mushroom. "It's an important ingredient for…something I need. But I don't know if I can get it to Kakariko in time."

"In time?" I repeated. "In time for what?"

The guy smiled sadly. "Well, as soon as this mushroom leaves the Woods it will start to spoil, and I can barely move. I'll never get it to that old potion woman before it rots."

"Well, that sucks…" I was conflicted. I was worried about Saria, and I knew Navi was too, but this guy was obviously in trouble. "Give me the mushroom.," I said. "I'll run it to Kakariko and be back before you know it."

"Are you sure?" the guy looked at me gratefully.

I nodded. "Yup, just hang on to Cojiro for me, kay?"

The guy nodded silently. I took the mushroom and started running.

"Link!" Navi bobbed along after me. "What are you doing?"

"That guy is really sick Navi," I said, dodging a Scrub. "And he's in the Lost Woods, I've got to help him."

"But I know about forest mushrooms Link," That could be true, Navi knew a lot of stuff. "There's no way you can run to Kakariko in time."

"I can't," I ran across the bridge, "but Epona can."

Epona was quite willing to gallop all the way to the village, surprisingly enough, and that, coupled with my mad dash through town, was enough to get the mushroom to the old potion lady with plenty of time.

"Hey," I panted to her, "this guy in the Lost Woods told me to give this to you." I thrust the mushroom at her.

"That fool," the woman said. "I told him it was much too dangerous, now it may be too late."

"Too late!" I exclaimed, but the old woman wasn't paying any attention to me.

"Wait here," she ordered. "I'll make the potion for that fool, but I'll need you to run it back to him." She disappeared behind the curtains in the back, and I settled on the counter to wait.

"Hey!"

I ignored her.

"Hey!"

Nope, not listening.

"Listen!"

I said no.

"There's a strange wind coming from the Sacred Forest Meadow. We should check it out!"

"We're going to Navi," I said, giving up. "I'll just help this guy out on the way."

Navi sighed angrily and slipped under my hat to sulk.

The old woman returned with the potion after about ten minutes and gave it to me with instructions.

"Get it to that fool as fast as you can," she said. "And remember, even I can't heal a monster."

"No problem," I said with a smile. This was not true, I was sure Epona was still tired from the gallop over here, but I didn't want to worry the lady. I wasn't really sure what was going on between this lady and that guy, but I would do my best.

After that it was another mad dash, another pounding gallop, and another sprint through meanies to get the odd potion to that guy.

He wasn't there.

Standing where he had been was Tido, another Kokiri girl. I walked up to her and asked what had happened to the sickly guy.

"That guy isn't here anymore," she said. "All who enter the forest will be lost. Everybody will become a Stalfos. Everybody, Stalfos."

Okay, Tido was seriously freaking me out now.

"So that guy isn't here anymore," she continued. "Only his saw is left." She giggled.

"Well, I was supposed to give him this potion," I took it out, "so if you know where he went-"

"Hey!" Tido grabbed at the potion. "That was made with things stolen from this forest, give it back!" She snatched it from my hand. "You can have this." She pressed the poacher's saw into my hand.

"But-"

Tido looked up at me with a strange look in her eyes, then she giggled. "Are you going to be…too?" She giggled again, wildly.

Tido had always been a little…off, but she was really scaring me, so I high-tailed it out of there in the direction of the Meadow.

Most of the Woods seemed not to have changed, or at least not to have changed any more than woods normally do over seven years. That was a comforting thought; at least Ganondorf hadn't screwed with all the areas of my childhood. But my best friend could be in a lot of trouble, so I didn't waste time looking at the scenery.

A couple of clearings away from the meadow, Mido blocked my way.

"Move it short stuff," I ordered, thoroughly enjoying bossing him around.

"No way," he said stubbornly. "No one gets through me without proving they're worthy. I promised Saria I would never let anybody go through here."

"Look," I rolled my eyes. "I'm a friend of Saria's and-"

"What are you? Though you wear Kokirish clothing, you can't fool me!" Mido shook his head firmly. "None shall pass."

I resisted the urge to smack his swollen head off his little shoulders and took out the Ocarina of Time.

"I'll prove I know Saria," I said, and I played her song.

Mido listened in awe as I played. "That melody! Saria plays that song all the time," he said once I'd finished. "Saria taught that song only to her friends..." He stepped aside. "You can go."

"Thank you," I said smugly, and started to march past him.

"When I see you," Mido said softly, sadly. "I don't know why, but I remember...him..."

I said nothing and went on my way to the Forest Temple.