Chapter Six: The Black Leaf Temple

Saja took a step toward them, and all four of them tightened their grips on the handles of their weapons.

"It's okay," the stranger said gently, "I am not your enemy. I'm trying to stop Majora too."

Link, who had been holding his sword up, lowered it. "How do you know who Majora is?" he inquired, incredulously.

"I told you," Saja said with a small smile, "I am the guardian of the sapphires. I have been guarding them for years. Since I am in this profession, I know many things. Including each of your names and details from your life."

Saja didn't seem to be an enemy, but they weren't ready to trust him just yet. Darunia kept his axes raised, ready for anything.

"Where are we?" questioned Zelda, gesturing up at the monstrous structure behind Saja. The entire temple had weeds running along it, like the Forest Temple. It was sort of green tinged, and was made of some kind of brick they had never seen before.

"This is The Black Leaf Temple," was Saja's answer, not taking his eyes off of the group. "It is where one of the three sacred sapphires is located."

"YES!" exclaimed Darunia, grinning broadly. They had found the first sapphire. They were one step ahead of Majora. For some reason, Saja chuckled at this.

"What's funny?" Link asked.

Saja looked calculatingly at Link, as though taking in how smart he was, and said "In all my years, I have never seen someone enter that temple besides me and come out alive."

Darunia immediately stopped smiling, and he did the signature goron groan very loudly.

"We don't care," said Zelda immediately, "we must get the sapphire before Majora does. Please, you must understand!"

"I understand more than any one of you do, except for maybe Link." answered Saja quietly. "I know Majora as well as he, and I know that if he is to get his hand on them, then it will mean destruction of everything. Did you think I would deny you entrance?"

"We don't know what to think anymore," blurted Darunia, who seemed to be annoyed now that things weren't going nicely anymore.

Malon remained quiet, not speaking to anyone. She was watching Saja intently. He was very handsome...she took in his purple hair and deep gray eyes with interest.

"I will assist you in any way that I can in this fight," Saja said, and walked right up to Link, extending a hand. Link hesitated, staring down at the hand, unsure of whether or not he should believe him. But then, he decided that even if he was a traitor, they needed all the help they could get in this fight. He shook it. The sapphire guardian smiled, then turned, and strode toward the entrance of the temple with clean easy strides. Malon noticed he was perfectly balanced on his feet.

"Let's go," called Saja, gesturing for them to follow. The four looked at each other.

"May the gods help us out of there alive," breathed Link gently to all of them. He walked after Saja. Zelda stood still for a second, then hurried after Link, turning into Sheik at the same time. Malon ran after also, followed by Darunia, not wanting to be left behind.

They stopped at the small wooden doors to the temple, and looked up. The temple was so impossibly high and large that no matter how far back they craned their heads, the top was not visible.

"Be forewarned," said Saja, putting his hand on the doorknob and staring back at the team, "I have never been through the entire temple, only the main room that we are about to enter. You should also know that this temple is infested with protective demons put there by the godesses."

"The godesses?" Link replied, puzzled. "You mean Din, Nayru, and Farore? They wouldn't do deals with demons!"

"Correct, Hero of Time. The three godesses did create the sapphires. They thought of them as help to a needy person, not expecting anybody ever to find them."

"But, the moblins found out about them," finished Link with regret.

"Also correct. The godesses found out that the moblins had found the inscription describing the sapphires powers in a far distant land that not even you, Link, have been to. They then decided it was necessary to scatter them in hiding around Hyrule. They were sure that nobody would ever find them. But they also knew of Majora, and of his incredible power. If he ever was to learn from the moblins what the sapphires were, he would stop at nothing to find them," he continued. "And they were sure that he would. They alone could do nothing to stop him, so they thought it also necessary to guard the sapphires, as much as it grieved them to do so with demons. They did so, but know that is not nearly enough to stop Majora. It is a small barrier he can breach easily."

"But so can we!" Sheik said loudly. "Let's go and fight our way through these filthy beasts."

Saja smiled slightly at her determination, and opened the door to the temple.

They walked inside, and came out into a i huge /i room. The bulk of the room was a tremendous floor covered by red carpet that was dotted with leaves and vines. Torches gleamed on the walls. The walls reached all the way up into the darkness and out of sight. A door was on the other side of the monstrous room. The door was at the top of a flight of stone stairs. The entrance they were in front of was also at the top of some stairs. The entire place was fifty yards across and similarly wide, and it was all very dark, save the flickering torches on the walls.

Link, who was in front of the group with Saja, reached over on the wall and grabbed a torch out of it's bracket. Holding it in front of him, it made the vision slightly better.

"So, do we go?" asked Link to Saja. He nodded the affirmative, and they proceeded down the steps, Link holding the torch out in front of him as far as he could. They reached the bottom of the steps, and when Link's boot touched the floor, he was surprised to feel ground under the red carper, not floor. This temple was earthy.

The torch cast long, flickering shadows across the floor in front of them, as though shadows just beyond reach were trying to reach out and touch them. They began the journey to the far side of the room, across the huge open area. The blackness surrounding them gave Link a terrible feeling of openness. They had no cover at all if they were to be attacked here. Therefore, his head kept flicking from side to side, making sure that there were no demons about to attack. Although it didn't matter, for they could only see about ten feet in either direction before it faded into darkness. Link held the torch in his right hand, which also had his shield lashed to it. In his other hand he brandished his sword, keeping it ready for anything. Behind him, Saja had both hands on his long slender blade. When the mysterious elf wasn't keeping his attention fixed on their surroundings, he traced with his finger the inscription carved near the base of the blade. It was his homeland language, and the only connection he still had with it. Everything else was lost in his memory, which was why he kept the sword close at all times. Darunia was at the very back, and he did not like the temple one bit. The darkness irritated and scared him at the same time. His twin axes glinted in the light from Link's torch. The Fire Sage's black eyes swept around, taking in everything he could. He did not want to be caught off guard.

The team reached the middle of the room, still keeping a steady pace. It was now pitch black all around them, and the only thing guiding them now was the dim torch light. Link looked up at the torch, and saw the light flickering. He hoped against hope that it didn't go out, or they could get lost and attacked.

But the torch was gradually dimming. Sheik looked at it wearily.

And that's when they heard it.

A wavering sound faded to life around them. Link held up his blade, ready. They all halted, looking around. The torch dimmed further, only giving them enough light to see to their feet.

The sound got louder and louder. It was a wind, but it was blowing harder than normal wind, and it was pulsating. Link remembered the sound vaguely. But where had he heard it before? He growled, swiping his blade at the blackness in front of him.

A screech echoed around the huge room. A burst of blood mist erupted from where Link had struck, and a lantern lit up, closely followed by many others. Nearly twenty lanterns lit up all around them, encircling them. Malon's heart thumped with pent up tension. What was this new devilry? Darunia bared his teeth. Sheik held her sword up at the ready, holding four long needles in her other hand. Link immediately realized what the lanterns were at the same time that Saja did.

"POE'S!" they shouted together.

Gaunt faces appeared at the top of the lanterns, blank eyes and sharp teeth. Ragged graying clothing hung from the destroyed bodies of the ghosts. They spun their lanterns, cackling wickedly. Link dove forward, swiping at the same Poe he had impaled a second before. He slashed it through the heart, and the Poe disappeared, the lantern dropping to the floor, shattering, and going out.

When this happened, all five immediately jumped into action. Sheik dove forward, slid under the Poe facing her, leapt up behind it, reached under its arm and around its neck, and using both hands, snapped it's head clean off it's shoulders. She ran for another, hurtling her needles. Malon slashed a Poe lantern, and it broke apart. The Poe screeched and flew toward her. She ducked, and it soared over her head, screaming in rage. She stood up and flung her dagger into the Poe's back.. The evil ghost screeched yet again, and disappeared, the dagger falling to the floor with a clang. Malon dove to her dagger, and picked it up, attacking another one. Darunia was vicious with his axes. He cut one Poe clean in half with one axe, shooting dark blood everywhere. Some got in his eyes, and he screamed in pain, trying to wipe the sticky liquid out. A Poe to his left took the opportunity to smash the lantern across the goron's back. Cuts appeared on his skin, and blood ran down his back. He yelled in pain again. He opened his eyes, blood running down his cheeks, and swung his other axe horizontally. The Poe's two halves disintegrated, and the shattered lantern dropped from it's nerveless fingers. Saja and Link battled alongside each other, taking out several Poe's at a time. Link smashed his shield hard into one's face, sending it flying back. It hit the floor, and the lantern incredibly didn't break. Link drew out his bow, notched an arrow and let it fly right into the Poe's forehead. The lantern went out, and the group was engulfed in darkness once more.

A glittering ball of fire came to life, and Link, Darunia, Saja and Malon all turned to see Sheik, covered in Poe blood, holding the ball in her hand. It was the same fire Link had used in the Dead Fortress.

"Nice work, everyone," she commented quietly, looking around at the broken lanterns and glass that littered the red carpet beneath their feet.

"You fought spectacularly!" exclaimed Saja to Link.

"So did you! That was incredible!" he replied, his adrenalin still shooting through him. "Where did you learn to fight?"

"My own land," he said gently, lowering his head to look at his feet. He did not want to go into his past. Link respected this, and did not press him with answers. Instead, he walked over to Sheik, who turned back into Zelda.

"I wasn't able to see you fight," he said, "but I am sure you did perfect."

She blushed, and thanked him.

"So, how did you enjoy a little action?" he said with a grin. Zelda looked up at him with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Loved it," she said sarcastically. "This temple seems pretty lethal. I'm sure we'll be encountering much worse demons before we get to the sapphire."

"No doubt," he agreed. Without really knowing why, Zelda wrapped her arms around Link and lay her head against his chest. She was tired.

Link hugged her back, and they looked at the others. Darunia was wiping the blood off of his axes on the carpet, and Malon was speaking with Saja.

"Where is the sapphire?" asked Malon to him.

"The bottommost floor," was his answer. "I'm not sure how to get there, for I have only glimpsed the sapphire a few select times, and that was before it was put in here. I am sure with your help that we can get there, though."

Malon looked at him. His gray eyes stared back into hers. They did not speak any further, both unsure of what to say. She examined his purple hair, and, to her own surprise, she found it very attractive how it was separated. He was tall, too. About as tall as Link, maybe a bit shorter.

As Saja looked down at her, his thoughts, for the first time since leaving his land, changed from serious matters. For the first time, he saw a beautiful woman. i She's attractive, /i he thought. Her blood red hair was sleek and shiny, and he found it very attractive. He had not ever thought about this. His entire life had been spent in misery and war, but even with all of the turmoil around them, and possibly the greatest threat to elfkind, he was able to see past the battle for once, and look at the ranch girl's beauty.

"Hey," grunted Darunia, "shouldn't we get moving?"

"Yes," agreed Saja, his eyes snapping away from Malon. She too broke out of the trance, and took her dagger back out. Link and Zelda released each other, and Zelda turned back into Sheik. The team started once more across the first room of the Black Leaf Temple.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, each of them with their own thoughts as it had been for the trip to the temple in the forest. It seemed like an eternity to them, the solid thumping of their feet against the carpet, the darkness pressing in around them. But eventually they reached the opposite wall, and ascended the stairs. When they got to the top, they stopped before the door.

"Saja," breathed Link. Saja looked over at him. "Have you been in the next room?"

"Yes, but beyond that, no." he answered.

"What's in the next room?" the elf asked. Saja considered him.

"The last time I was in there was two years ago. Back then it was just a maze of ledges. If you fall off one of the ledges, there's no telling how far down it goes. It's not as large as this room, but I am sure that there will be more enemies in that room."

"Right then," Link said, turning to the other three. "Everyone, be careful, try not to fall. We'll have to battle our way across. Ready?"

They all nodded, gripping their weapon handles tighter, tensing up, ready for whatever was thrown at them next.

Link stared at Sheik for a second, then turned and kicked the door open.

Dust flew from the frame when he did this. He strode purposefully through it, followed closely by the rest.

The room was not as large as the previous one, as Saja had said, but it looked all the more dangerous.

The room had no floor. Instead it was just stone pathways linking together. The pathways were very thin, only wide enough to plant your feet shoulder width apart on. If you were to fall off one of these, you would be lost in the blackness below. The echoing sounds made them certain that it was a very long way down. On the other side of the room was a door, but it wasn't going to be easy getting there. And the door had bars over it.

"No monsters here," commented Saja, looking around. "That's good news, at the very least."

Link grunted, not convinced. He had been through too many temples like this one to rest assured on sight alone.

In this he was wise, for a second after Link grunted, on either side of the room on the thin ledges, rows of Iron Knuckles, Stalfos, and Lizalfos appeared. They stared with gleaming red eyes in the unnatural darkness, tracing the air with their sword points in small circles.

The team stood still, unsure of whether to attack or wait for them to attack.

"Split up!" shouted Sheik. She pushed past Link, and ran along the ledges, toward the enemies. Link sprinted after her. Saja took the left side, with Malon, and Darunia went with Link and Sheik.

The two separate rows of demons charged along the ledges too. Sheik was first to collide with the forces. She slammed an Iron Knuckle to the side, knocking it off the ledge. Right away after that she hurtled two of her needles all the way through a lizalfos head. A second later, she called the needle back to her, and fought on. Link reached the evil tide at the same time that Saja and Malon did. The battle quickly spread out across the ledges. Link punched a Stalfos in the forehead, breaking the skull apart. He bruised his knuckles, but barely noticed it. He ran after an Iron Knuckle and was separated from Sheik. Four other demons followed Link. Saja's sword found it's first victim, and the Knuckle fell beneath the flurry of slashes from the ancient sword. Blood poured from it's injured body as it hit the ground. Saja kicked it off the ledge, and it soared downward, howling, out of sight. Malon was dodging the jump attacks of a Stalfos a few ledges away from him. The Stalfos charged and swung. She dodged to the side and kicked it in the back. It roared, and did another jump attack. Malon ducked, and the Stalfos flew over her, and right off the ledge. i stupid brute, /i she thought savagely, running off towards a lone Lizalfos. Link, who had just cut off the hand of an Iron Knuckle, pushed it aside and saw Darunia being overwhelmed by 5 different enemies. Taking action, Link notched an arrow with lightning fast reflexes and released it. The arrow flew straight and true, hitting it's target, a Lizalfos forehead. The beast toppled to the surface of the ledge. Without that distraction, Darunia took control and easily tore through the rest of the monsters. He made an ambitious jump from one ledge to the other, landing in between two Iron Knuckles. He used his tremendous fists and smashed the first one off the ledge. When the other one turned around, he clobbed it in the face with his axe. It didn't get cut, but the force of the blow dazed it, and he cut it's unarmored leg off while it was distracted. Link, who was watching Darunia's progress, was unaware of a Stalfos approaching him from behind. It raised it's sword and was about to cleave his head in two, when Sheik yelled "LINK! BEHIND YOU!" Link brought his elbow up hard and smashed the head right off the demon. He whirled around and saw two Knuckles charging him. He got into his fighters stance, bracing himself for impact. Saja snapped a Lizalfos neck on the far side of the room, and turned to see Link get slammed by the two Knuckles. He was bowled completely over, and tumbled nearly off the ledge, catching onto the side by one hand. Luckily he still managed to hold onto his sword and shield. He dangled there, helpless, unable to fight. The Knuckle closest to him swung it's monster sword down to his fingers that were clutching desperately to the side of the ledge, when a blade sprouted from his chest. The Knuckle cried out in pain. It was swung off the ledge by the blade, and in it's place, stood Sheik. She had already disemboweled the other Knuckle.

"Thank you," Link gasped, as she pulled him back up onto the ledge. They looked around, and saw the final monster get stabbed through the eye by Malon's dagger. The Lizalfos fell down, blood spurting from the wound.

The team was now scattered across the entire room. By now, they were very dirty, and tired, and it was only the second room in the temple.

"Again, very nice everyone." said Sheik. She sheathed her sword and put away her needles in her belt. Darunia nodded his agreement. His breathing was hoarse. Saja and Malon made their way over to Sheik and Link. Darunia took a second, but he eventually got up and hurried over too.

"How is everyone? Got all your limbs still attached?" snorted Link.

"Think so, although it feels like my left arm's gonna fall off," commented Malon dryly, rubbing her shoulder. It was the same one she had held her dagger with.

"This dungeon is fucking crazy!" shouted Darunia into the silence that followed. "This is only the second room we've been in and we're tired out of our minds. Or, at least, I am."

"Oh no, I am too," replied Saja. Malon, Sheik and Link murmured the affirmative also. The group stood there, all recovering from the vicious battle. i This truly is a nasty temple, /i

thought Link. i Worse than any I have been in, so far. /I .

"We have to be moving on," whispered Saja.

"What?!" Darunia complained, "we need a bit of rest! Come on!"

"Do not pamper me with your excuses, Goron!" said Saja icily. "We have no time to rest up. Majora is undoubtably near the temple already. If he gets in here before we reach the bottom level, we lose the first sapphire."

The effects of the words sunk in, and nobody made any more objections. They walked along the maxes of ledges until they reached the door.

The door had bars over it.

"Now just what the hell do we do here?" Malon asked. But Link held up a hand, his eyes closed. It had been a very long time, but he remembered facing this exact same situation.....

i He hurried into a small room. There was nothing special about the room, only the door he came through, and another door to his right, barred. There was a Deku Baba in the corner, which he cut through easily. His small Kokiri Sword now dripped with green blood, but he did not care. He was looking for a way out of the room. What did he do to get the bars off the door?

That's when he spotted the golden eye above the barred door. It was on a crest, and it was shut. An idea came to him. He took out his slingshot, strung a nut, and released it. The nut flew quickly, and hit the eye square in the center. The eye popped open, and the bars lifted from the door, allowing him to proceed to the next room in the ancient tree. He was one step closer to breaking the curse. /I .

His eyes snapped open again. Without speaking of his intentions, he looked around the room, along the walls. It soon met his eye. The golden eye with the crest. The eye was closed, and it was above the door they had come through. He drew out his bow, notched an arrow, took aim, and fired. The arrow hit the eye dead center of the lid. The mysterious eye popped open, and the bars for the door lifted, leaving the path to the next room clear.

"Incredible," said Saja quietly. "You've never even been in this temple before and already you know how to get through it more than I do."

Link grinned. "I've had much experience."

He reached for the door handle, and opened it up. The group filed inside.

They were in a brightly lit room very unlike all the previous ones. It was a very big room, a little bigger than their last one. The floor was solid again, thank god. Vines were roped around the black bricks on the floor as were the walls. Though this was no surprise. There was a door on the other side of the room, and it had a keyhole in the handle, but no key that they could see.

The room was completely empty.

Link looked around, unsure. There was something familiar about the smell in the air. Something he had smelt a long time ago...like swamp water...

A huge black spider bigger than Link himself dropped down in front of them all. It landed with a huge thud that reverberated around the room and shook the floor. The spider eyed them hungrily with 7 beady red eyes. Upon the spiders back with a sword in it's fingers, was an enemy Link had fought twice before. He thought he had vanquished it for good. But, obviously not...for he was back.

It was Mr. Frog from the Woodfall Temple back in Termina. He had been hired to guard the sapphire.

"You!" hissed the Hero of Time.

"Me!" grinned the crazed frog. It hopped up and down on the hairy back of the monstrous spider. "Hahaa! No way you'll beat me this time! No way! I have way too big of an advantage here! You're i DEAD! /I And so are your little friends here!"

Subtlety was never one of Mr. Frog's strong points. Without any pause for consideration, he jabbed the spider in the sides and screamed "EEEYAAAAH!!!!"

The demon charged, a psychotic look in it's eyes.

All five of them dove in different directions, and the spider skidded to a halt in front of the door. It whipped around, and Mr. Frog spotted Link on his back. "HIM!" he screeched. "I WANT i HIM! /I "

The spider jumped high into the air, and landed down in front of Link. He tried to scramble away but the spider dug one of it's legs into his tunic. It snagged, and tore loudly as Link jerked away. He jumped to his feet and slashed at Mr. Frog on his mount. The crazy frog blocked the blow with his own sword, and jabbed back at his forehead. Link caught the blow on his shield, and was about to strike again, when the spider tried to bite him. Link brought his shield down hard as he could muster onto it's skull. The spider screeched like Mr. Frog, and tottered on it's feet, swaying dangerously. But it shook it off and tried to strike again, but Link was gone. Mr. Frog howled in anger and whirled around, searching for him. But the spider instead spotted Saja and Darunia together. It shot toward them, firing string from it's forehead at the same time. Darunia sliced the string with his axes before it could tie them up, and it fell in front of them in useless tatters. The spider reached them and seized Saja roughly around the middle, lifting him up toward it's hungry, dripping mouth. An arrow struck it in the back, and it screamed again, dropping him. It spun around, but left it's guard open. Darunia slammed his fist into the back of the arrow shaft, slamming it deeper into the spider. It bellowed yet again, and scampered away, up the wall and onto the ceiling. Mr. Frog was now very pissed. "Get them!" he hollered at the creature, but it was busy clawing at the arrow. Everyone stared up at them, prepared to run if need be. The spider continued to scrabble at the arrow. Streams of blood dripped down from it and splattered on the floor in dark puddles. Mr. Frog slammed it on the head, angry at it for not doing what it was told. It was too much for the spider, and it dropped from the ceiling. Mr. Frog howled in fright, and leapt off his mount. He landed on the ground at the same time the spider did. When it hit the ground, it made a sickening crack sound, and they knew that it had broken it's back. It writhed jerkily in place, and then was still.

Mr. Frog turned to see Sheik and Malon standing there, weapons raised.

"YAAAAAH!!" he screamed, jumping at them. He stabbed at Malon, who dodged the blow and struck him across the back with her dagger, causing a line of blood to break open the thin, translucent skin. He tottered, swaying. His bulging red eyes swam, and he spat up blood.

There was a soft whisper, and a i thunk /I . Saja had hurtled his blade straight into Mr. Frog's head. The crazed amphibian stood there for a second, a single drop of blood falling from the sword. His eyes wandered up to the blade protruding from between his eyes, and saw most of his brain along it.

He groaned, and sank to the floor, face first. He lay there, unmoving.

Saja stumbled over to the body. He was slightly shaken from being grabbed by the spider. He put his foot on the skull of Mr. Frog's body, and yanked his blade out, wiping the scarlet blood on the floor.

"Well that was....interesting," Sheik said.

"An insane frog, Poe's, and eyes on the wall," said Link. "It's like the past all over again."

The team fell silent for a few seconds, staring around at the dark walls. Link's eyes fell on the dead frog, and he walked over it, not knowing why. He put his foot on the frog and rolled it over. His eyes widened as he looked at it's brightly colored stomach.

"SAJA!" he yelled. Saja ran over to him, and together they looked down at the frog's stomach.

"Is that what I think it is?" Link whispered to him.

"I believe it is," replied Saja. He stabbed the frog through the stomach and ripped through the thin skin. The key shaped bulge in his stomach was still there as he did this. He ripped all the way down, peeled the skin to the side, and they saw amidst all the blood and organs, the key to the next room.

"What the hell was he thinking when he was eating this?" groaned Link in disgust, taking the bloody key from the frog. He and Saja walked away from the dead frog toward the door, with the rest of the team following them. Sheik was getting slightly dizzy from how fast things were happening. Link unlocked the door, and slammed it open.

They stood at the foot of a flight of stairs. Fifty feet up, the stairs curved all the way around, and went the other way, going further up. The stairs were so high up that they disappeared in the gloom. Link guessed that these were the main stairs of the temple. They had to go up these to go down to the basement level. Vines were roped around the stairs and walls. Somehow, these seemed very much more denser than all the other vines they had seem so far. They were darker green, thicker, and looked stronger.

"Let's go," ordered Saja. He began to ascend the stairs. Link and the rest of the team walked behind him.

It was desperately dull and tiring. The stairs were huge, long, and seemed to go on forever. Link tried to concentrate on his boots stepping over the thick spiny vines on the stairs. But even he was getting tired. Everyone else was, too. Sheik remained Sheik, not wanting to go up the steps in Zelda's dress. Malon behind her, was luckily wearing black pants instead of her dress, although she was still extremely exhausted by the stairs too. Behind her, Darunia was groaning loudly at steady intervals.

They rounded the fifth curve in the stairs, and pushed themselves to keep walking. Looking up, Link saw no end to the stairs.

They began to keep walking. They were all sweaty now, and in bad tempers. Link gazed at the surrounding walls hanging with vines.

As though they were waiting for Link to watch them, one of the vines twitched. Link stared, and stopped walking.

Saja looked back and saw everyone halted. They were all wondering what Link was looking at. Saja walked back down to the Hero of Time and said "what is it?"

Link shook his head and stared hard at the place he had seen move, unsure if what he had seen was just an illusion.

He got his clarification a second later when several vines shot from the surrounding walls, wrapped around his legs and pulled him over. He nearly slammed his head onto the stone steps which would have knocked him cold. The vines began dragging him off the steps. Saja whipped out his Katana that was strapped around his waste and cut two of the vines off. Sheik and Malon did the same to the rest.

The severed trunks whipped around like snakes without food. Hissing erupted from the walls around them, and thousands of vines shot toward them, some coming up from the floor.

"RUN!!" shouted Link, jumping up and dashing up the stairs. Everyone drew out their weapons. Link, his sword and shield, Saja, his Katana and ancient sword, Sheik, her sword, Malon her dagger, and Darunia his axes. The vines groped at them, making the way to the top of the stairs hard to see. The team hacked at the surrounding vines, cutting many off in the process. Link did a spin attack, leaving a temporary path to the top of the steps clear. He ran along the stairs with the others sprinting behind him, but soon enough hundreds more surrounded them. Saja released a magic ball of fire from his palm into their midst, burning some of them to a crisp, but twenty more took the place of those. Link fired Din's Fire into the fray tearing through them. They all ran as hard as they could up the stairs, and they were actually able to push their way through a few flights before they were overcome again. Link cut five vines out of his way and looked up through the dense layers of deadly vines. i he could see the door at the top! /I

He was about to scream this to Saja, when three vines wrapped themselves around his ankles and yanked him off the stairs. He was flung downward, falling rapidly out of sight, screaming. Sheik immediately leapt into action, seized a severed vine from the stairs, and, hoping it was long enough, chucked it down toward the form of Link sailing downward. The vine reached him before he fell down too far, and he grabbed onto it. As his body weight slammed down onto his arms, he felt he might have yanked one arm right out of his socket. He yelled in pain, but clung on, unwilling to give up. He grimly pulled himself up, miraculously still holding his sword and shield as Sheik pulled him up at the same time. The team held the surrounding vines off as she did this. Within a minute, Link was pulling himself back onto the stairs. He rolled onto the firmness of the stone, panting heavily. He was exhausted. He forced himself back up, and they battled their way to the top of the stairs, and to the door in the wall.

Link desperately slammed his shoulder against it, and it splintered, and came crashing down without a fight. The team ran inside and the vines immediately ceased their efforts to kill them.

They turned around to see what they were to face next.

They were in a very large room. They stood on one of many ledges around the room, some of them high on the wall, some of them low on the wall. Each of these ledges had valves, each a different color. The ledges were connected by climbable vines. On the far side of the room there was a huge stone door. The majority of the room was below them, and it was filled with water.

The water cast long shadows on the wall, pulsating. Saja gazed around at the shadows. They were definitely not normal movements. He had a bad feeling about this room...it didn't seem right.

"Okay everyone, get to separate ledges," ordered Saja. "Maybe if we turn them all, that door will open before we meet anything in h–"

Six clear tentacles shot out of the water below them and flew at them. They all ducked, and the sticky blue tentacles slapped against the wall. Link shot his sword up and cut one in half. The tentacles writhed, and flew back into the water, splashing them all.

"SEPARATE!!" yelled Sheik. She jumped onto a row of vines and began climbing up toward a ledge near the ceiling. Malon climbed downward, Saja moved to the left and upward to a ledge, and Darunia went for the ledge directly above them. Link stood on the platform, alone. He spotted a row of vines to his left, and jumped on them. He climbed swiftly across them, and reached another ledge. He touched the ledge surface, and reached toward the blue valve. At that moment, two tentacles shot out from the water, shooting water everywhere. Link turned toward them, and out of the corner of his eye saw similar things happening to everyone around the room. One wrapped around the wrist holding his sword. He struggled with it, then twisted his body around so he had the tentacle in an iron grip. He pulled his blade around and cut the tentacle, spraying him with green blood. He spat a glob out and watched the severed trunk fly back into the water. He kicked the other tentacle away, and reached for the valve. When he tried to turn it, he found it was harder than he had expected. He twisted and pulled with all of his might, swearing violently when it defied his efforts, but eventually, with a great screeching, grinding noise, the valve turned, and he heard a peculiar noise sound from the far stone door. One down, still more to go. Saja turned his valve, and turned around to see five tentacles groping at his ankles. He swung out his Katana and severed three of them. He could have sworn he heard an underwater screech when this happened. The other two whacked him in the side. He flew off the ledge, but luckily landed on one not far below, next to Malon. She looked down and gasped. Abandoning her attempt to turn the pink valve and helped the stunned Saja to his feet. He thanked her, and leapt toward another ledge to their right, below the one he had just been on. Malon turned back to the pink valve and turned it with difficulty. Again, the same sound resounded from the stone door. Everyone around the room looked at the door, and they saw it slide open an inch.

"FASTER!" screamed Sheik, turning a red valve. She jumped onto the vines after she did this to avoid another wave of tentacles. Darunia, who was soaking wet like everyone else, easily turned a black valve. He climbed a few vines upward, and turned another one. i This is easy work, /I he thought with a smile. His thinking was interrupted when a tentacle flew out and tried to hit him. He slammed a foot down on the tentacle, pinning it to the surface of the ledge, and smacked an axe into it. Green blood pooled beneath it, and an even louder screech from underwater resounded. Link, who was opposite Darunia, looked down from his ledge. The water beneath them was bubbling and frothing loudly. He gazed at it, hoping against hope that the thing he thought was going to happen wouldn't happen...

But, of course, it did.

A huge, disgusting monster face erupted from the water. This was the source of all the tentacles. It pulled its way out of the water, seized Link around the waist, and began to sink back underwater.

"LINK!" shrieked Malon, who was far away from him. Sheik yelled in fright, seeing his dilemma. Link, never losing his cool in the heat of battle, sank his blade into the tentacle holding him. The tentacle dropped, but when it released him, gravity took over, and Link plunged headfirst, into the cold, icy, not to mention dangerous water.

Link looked around through the unusually opaque water, and saw the demon monster swimming toward him very quickly. Link's face twisted in a snarl, and he kicked upward, shooting up just in time as the monster passed underneath him. As it soared past, Link descended quickly. He kicked toward the back of the monster and stuck his blade into the monster. An even louder screech punctuated the water. Link yanked the blade out with difficulty, and kicked to the surface. He broke to the top, and shook his head, spraying water everywhere.

He looked around, and saw the others leaping from ledge to ledge, toward the now open stone door. He yelled for them so they knew he was still there, and swam as fast as he could toward the giant door. His arms and legs pumped hard. It was intensely hard to swim with a sword and shield in your hands. He slammed his fists down, swimming as fast as he could. Behind him, the monster was regrouping.

"LINK, HURRY!!!!" screamed Saja. They had reached the door near the water surface. Link was near there too, but the sea monster was now shooting toward him.

"JUMP!" bellowed Link to the others. The door that they had finally opened only showed darkness. Nothing else. Nevertheless, they agreed, and jumped into the doorway, disappearing into the darkness. Link reached the door, swung up and over it, and jumped through the doorway just as the sea monster reached the side. A single tentacle reached out for him, but missed. Link sailed downward for a second, then landed in the dark on a cold, flat surface.

He quickly lit up a ball of fire, illuminating his surroundings.

The team were laying on the ground, looking up at him. Link sighed with relief. "Good," he said, "you all made it. Now where are we?"

They got to their feet, and surveyed everything.

They were at the top of a huge, ten foot wide slide that disappeared down into the darkness. It was metal, shiny in the light of the flame, and looked very dangerous.

And to add insult to injury, it was wet.

They sighed, looking at each other gloomily.

"I suppose we have to go down there," grunted Darunia grudgingly. Link nodded in response, and he heard a collective sigh of disgust all around him. He smiled slightly. Nobody else there had been through disgusting and freakish temples like he had. He was used to this...they weren't. For some reason it was funny to him, though he made no comment on it as he wordlessly strode over to the slide.

"Be careful, this looks slippery, especially since we're all already wet," he muttered to them. They nodded, and walked over to the top of the slide too. Link sat down, said "best of luck," and pushed himself over.

It was incredible...nothing Link had ever experienced before on his ventures. It was impossible to see any light at all on the slide...being that he was soaked from head to toe from his last encounter, he flew quickly down the slide, and whenever he felt a turn in the slide, he flew to one side, making a loud squeaking noise. He accelerated to a frightening speed. He nearly let loose a scream, wanting the crazy ride to end. This was not fun at all, being in constant terror of being flung completely off the slide. He could sense the others sliding down after him, and was reassured....at least they were there with him. He tried to light up a ball of fire to see his surroundings that were sure to be flying by in a blur, but the ride was so fast he could not get up the willpower to do so. So he just closed his eyes, and waited for the madness to end, and to get off of the slide.

Although the descent was swift, it still took nearly ten minutes for the team to reach the bottom, where there was suddenly dim light. The slide leveled out, and Link and co. slid twenty feet across the floor, coming to a stop near the high and slimy brick walls.

Everyone was so dizzy, that they did not get up for nearly five minutes. Link shut his eyes tightly and tried to make the revolving world stop. When Saja finally got the guts to push himself up to his feet, swaying slightly, he examined their surroundings.

The room they were in was tiny, and empty. It only contained the base of the slide they had just come off of, and a large door in front of them. When the rest got up, he pointed to the door, and breathed, "is that what I think it is, Hero of Time?"

Link looked up at the towering stone door, and examined a symbol inscribed on the handle. It was three leaves, circling what appeared to be a man holding a sword and carrying a very sharp looking twig...it was a minuscule drawing, but for some reason it made Link shiver just by looking at it.

"I believe it is," replied Link, stepping back next to Saja and looking up at the door.

"What? What is it?" asked Darunia, confused. Sheik had an idea.

"The...the boss?" she asked tentatively. Link and Saja both nodded and wordlessly drew out their weapons.

"Saja, do you have any idea what it is?" inquired Link. Saja shook his head. "I have never been down here before," he answered. "It's hard to believe we've made it this far without being killed."

"Well, I feel like I've been killed right now..." blurted Malon, making them smile, and nod in agreement. They all stepped up to the door, and Darunia reached toward the handle. He turned his head to fix his large beady black eyes on them all.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No," Malon said, "but let's get this over with and get the sapphire before Majora reaches us."

Darunia nodded, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

They walked into darkness, their footsteps echoing around. Link got the feeling it was a big room for the echoes to be that long and faint. The thin strip of light from the door suddenly disappeared as the door slammed shut behind them with a jolt. They all jumped at this.

All they could see were several torches around the walls in the distance. They only lit up little parts of the wall, everything else was pitch black.

The team stood there, looking around, wondering what they should do. Should they wait, or try and get to the sapphire which they were sure to be nearby now?

That decision was quickly made up for them when a low rumble sounded around the entire room, so that it was impossible to discern where it was coming from. Link turned around, trying to hear correctly. It was impossible to see anything. He felt terribly open. Saja kept his blades outstretched, not wanting to be caught offguard by the final defense between them and the first sapphire.

Sheik was the first to realize what the rumbling was. "IT'S A GROWL!" she screamed. As if waiting for this, all the torches on the walls reared up, exploding in their brackets and illuminating the entire cavernous room that was similarly roped with vines on the wall.

Above them, hanging there like some ghastly spider waiting for it's fly dinner, hung a giant of a man, wrapped in leaves of dark green, and writhing vines like snakes. Two black eyes with slitted red pupils poked out from the covered head, glaring down at them. It held two Katana's, and had a belt with what looked like replica leaves but were really knives.

Time seemed to slow as Link looked up at the beast. His eyes widened as he saw their final enemy. He gritted his teeth, squeezed his blade handle tightly, and screamed at the top of his voice " i MOVE!!! /I "

He dove out of the way, and the others without hesitation did the same. The demon dropped from the ceiling, landing with a rumble where they had been a fraction of a second ago. The evil thing pulled out three leaf replicas and hurtled them at Sheik. She dodged two of them, but was too slow for the last one, and it slashed her across the back. The wound was both long and deep, and shot bloodmist everywhere. She screamed in pain and clutched at the bloody wound desperately. The leaf monster advanced on her, swinging it's Katana's. Saja ran to meet the beast, and swung out his blades in turn. The demon caught the blade's on his, and the pair began to duel fiercely. Saja's face twisted in concentration as he pulled out all the stops from his homeland training against this thing. It soon became clear that Saja would not win in a direct fight against the Leaf Demon, so Malon and Darunia ran up to help him. The beast somehow was able to block every single blow swung at him. Wherever this thing hailed from, it must have been well trained to be that good. While this happened, Link dashed over to injured Sheik, who was now Zelda. Her entire back was soaked in hot blood. Link placed a hand behind her head and supported her neck. "Are you alright?" he asked. She was trembling, but nodded weakly. "Can you fight?" he asked. She hesitated, then said "It will take more than a leaf knife to stop me!" and pulled her self up off the ground with help from Link. She turned back into Sheik, drew her dagger, and leapt after the rest of the team that was tearing fiercely at the boss. Link ran toward it too, and saw it backhand Saja hard in the mouth, sending him crashing to the floor. He cried out in pain, and spat blood onto the green tinged floor. Link roared in fury and released a fire arrow at the Leaf Demon. The demon tried to dodge it, but Malon and Darunia would not let it move. It was hit square in the chest with the flaming arrow. It screamed, red blood welling up from the wound. The fire quickly spread over it's body. The demon howled in agony, trying desperately to put the fire out by rolling around on the floor. The others dodged out of the way of the dying being. It howled again even louder, making them cover their ears.

Within seconds, the Leaf Demon was no more than a pile of black ashes.

The team was now so extremely exhausted that they nearly collapsed there. None of them had gotten any sleep for a very long time. Link's eyes blurred, and he staggered, trying to support himself.

He shook his head violently, forcing himself to stay awake. When his vision had cleared, he looked at the rest of them...but as he did, something hit his senses hard.

The demon presence that had surrounded the temple suddenly increased greatly. The bright torches dimmed on the walls, and they flickered, threatening to go out. Saja and Sheik both noticed this too, but only Link and Saja knew what it meant. Fear coursed suddenly through Link, and his eyes grew wide.

" i He is here, /I " breathed Link, "We must get the sapphire! i NOW! /I "

The team rushed across the room, toward the opposite and final door of the temple. Link could feel Majora flying up past the flight of stairs, the evil tentacles on the wall not daring to touch him.

Link slammed the final door open as Majora flew through the water monsters room, and reached the slide. Into complete darkness Link dashed. He immediately lit up a huge ball of fire, illuminating his ten foot surroundings. He ran through the room, his breath coming in searing gasps. Saja slammed the door shut when everyone was inside, and he put a sticking charm on the door, sealing it. Majora suddenly burst into the boss room, and saw the door slam shut.

"HERO OF TIME, HURRY!" bellowed Saja, trying to brace the door with his shoulder. Majora smashed against the door, screaming in anger. Prophecies of revenge rolled from his tongue in a wretched language only he knew as the door withheld. But nothing would stop him for long, the door would not hold forever.

Link whipped the ball around, searching desperately........and saw it.

There it sat, simple as that, glowing with an ancient blue light, on a pedestal. It was about as big as Link's fist. For some reason, Link froze when he saw it, despite the desperation of the situiation. He stared down at the ancient item. This was what they had been looking to find for so long...right in front of his face.

Majora slammed against the door with backbreaking force, and the door splintered. Saja's eyes widened. "LINK–"

Link ran forward, and seized the sapphire at the same time that Majora slammed the door off it's hinges. Saja flew off his feet, along with Malon. Sheik stood to the side, staring up at the evil shadow with fear in every line of her face.

And again, time slowed down. Majora flew faster than ever concieved toward Link who was holding the sapphire in one hand, the ball of magic fire in the other. Another force took hold of Link, and without knowing why, his arm lifted, and he aimed the sapphire at Majora's shadow.

i BANG. /I

A huge explosion of bright blue light erupted from the magical stone, and a beam of light flew from it, slamming into Majora's stomach. The powerful force of the light shot Majora back away from Link, and clean through the temple wall. The evil being landed outside of the temple. They were on ground level, and it was twilight.

Majora lay on the ground for a second in the soft grass, then leapt to his feet. Had he had features, every line of his face would have been etched with pure hatred. The team stared at him outside, waiting for his next move.

Majora knew that he could not compete against that sapphire without one of his own. He snarled viciously.

"I WILL meet you again, Link!" he hissed in rage, almost spitting. "THE FIGHT WILL BE MINE!"

And he flew off, out of sight, into the twilight night sky, determined to destroy this world, and all others.