A/N: Well, this chapter is significantly longer than what is normal for me. In this installment, ultra-sexy adult Link braves the Spirit Temple. Of course, I didn't want it to be like a novelization, so some parts were skipped. For the reader's convenience, of course. I altered some dialogue for the most part, giving Link and Nabooru enough time to have a "moment" after he frees her.
One more thing…A point was raised, by one of my friends on a forum I am a member of, that the all the people destined to become Sages die during the game. Think about it. Saria is trapped in the Forest Temple, and is never found. Darunia disappears into Volvagia's chamber. It's the last we ever see of him. Ruto ventures off into the Water Temple, never to be seen again. Impa goes to seal the monster in the Shadow Temple…and is never seen again. Nabooru disappears in a burst of light that was charged at her by some wicked witches. So, it would not be absurd to suggest that they actually died and could then ascend to the Sacred Realm to fulfill their duties as Sages. Accordingly, Nabooru should be presumed dead after she disappears. Or so I think.
Just read the story now.
Link opened his eyes and blinked dolefully at the dimness of the Temple of Time. As was ever so common, the dark, reddish light was still creeping in from the cathedral windows, reminding him of the horrifying scene of the Castle Town. Instantly deciding to take the easy route back to the Spirit Temple, he sheathed the Master Sword, and he pulled the pearly blue Ocarina from his pack. Link solemnly closed his eyes as he played a hauntingly beautiful melody.
As the eerie harmony of ocarina and harp resonated throughout the sanctuary, orbs of orange light surrounded Link. When the final notes died out, Link seemed to dissolve into the brightness and the light was whisked through the air, leaving the holy place behind the Door of Time empty of both Hero and Sword.
Miles across Hyrule, in the far corner of the desert, the lights reappeared, as did the young man. Stepping off the Spirit Medallion dais and into the hot sand, Link surveyed the Desert Colossus. Nothing seemed different from seven years ago; the ancient desert goddess carved into the stone still watched over her domain with weathered dignity, scarce palm trees swayed hypnotically in the slight wind, and Leevers still whirled across the sand like turbo-charged cacti. With the scorching sun beating down on the back of his neck, Link ascended the steps to the threshold.
As soon as he stepped through the entryway, the cool darkness washed over him like a welcoming host. The musky scent of the stale air filled his lungs. Surely, with that Gerudo chieftess---what was her name? Nabroo? Nabaroo?...Nabooru. That was it---things would be different in the temple. Goddesses only knew what those two hags did to her. Maybe new traps had been created to ward of the Hero. New monsters to slay? He nonchalantly held out his shield to stop the possessed vases that just hurled themselves at him. Surely, if that was all the witches could do, this temple would be a piece of cake. Finding the Sage of Spirit would be tricky, though. There was no one in this desert who possibly might be one of the chosen. The Gerudo were all so uniformly blatant. Not a single one stood out. Well, except for Aveil and Nabooru. But Link was willing to bet his life that a thief wouldn't be one of the holy ones who guarded the Sacred Realm. "It's a stupid idea," he said to himself.
"What is?" came a voice from under his hat. In a flutter of wings and light, little Navi flew out from her resting place and darted around Link's head, casting blue light on the wall. "So you finally decide to emerge, Navi," Link said dryly but good-naturedly as he watched the fairy. "I was afraid I'd have to pillage the temple with no comments from the peanut gallery."
"Ha, ha. You are absolutely hysterical. And I was sleepy. I think I deserved a little nap."
"The last 'little nap' I got was four days ago."
"Well, you obviously don't take care of yourself." She flitted away, inspecting the worn markings that covered the walls. "So, do you have any idea where to go? You can't fit through that hole, and you can't move that block. Up Zora River without a paddle, right?"
Link, in the meantime, had pulled a pair of very shiny gloves from his pack. Slipping on the Silver Gauntlets, he felt a surge of power tingling in his hands. The treasure Nabooru so desired…His eyes trailed to the hunk of black marble inscribed with the symbol of the Gerudos. Perhaps this was why she wanted them? So she could storm the eastern side of the temple? Placing his hands on the block, he gave a thrust and felt the marble move before him. With another push, the block settled into a hole in the floor, leaving a passage to the next chamber. "Oh, Navi," he called out. "I solved our little problem."
A blade trap whizzed around the floor with its characteristic whaa-zing and a lone Beamos cast its ever watchful gaze over the chamber. Without even bothering to eliminate the monster, Link whipped out his bow and aimed at the crystal switch that hung above the Beamos' revolving head. The arrow found its target easily and the bars that guarded the side doors dropped, allowing Link access to the passages behind them. With Navi following faithfully, the Beamos' laser was skillfully dodged and the entrances were, well, entered.
Compass now in tow, Link found himself back in the cavernous main room of the temple, the massive statue of the praying goddess still leering at the Hero with blank eyes as it had when Link was a boy. He ascended the staircase only to find a locked door, but closer inspection revealed that the statue's outstretched hand held the symbol of the Triforce. Link leaped sprightly and athletically from the second floor and landed right in the palm of the statue. Once more the iridescent Ocarina was whipped out and the blond boy piped out Zelda's Lullaby as he had so many times. Across the room, a chest materialized.
"Well, Link. Looks like it's on the other hand," Navi said smugly. Link readied his hookshot before casting an irritated glance at his fairy. "Oh, you kill me with your pun," he retorted. Letting the chain loose, Link felt the swooping sensation of being jerked out of the air.
The chest contained a key. Even a simpleton could have figured out just which door it opened.
Yet another door opened and Link and Navi rushed into the corridor behind it. Right away Link could tell just what this room held. A red-carpeted path flanked by stone pillars led to a throne, on which sat a horrible-looking contraption of metal. "It's an Iron Knuckle," Navi said in her best attempt to be helpful. "Watch out for that axe. It hurts a lot."
"You know, Navi, I think I could've figured that out myself," the increasingly-annoyed teen said quietly. Besides, Iron Knuckles looked dangerous, but Link found them uncomplicated to defeat. They moved slowly, were easily fooled, and were generally stupid, as brutes are wont to be. The Master Sword returned to its scabbard and the giant Biggoron Sword took its place in Link's Silver-Gauntleted hands. The sacrifice of a shield would not be a fatal mistake, he was sure. A slug could get out of harm's way in the time it took for the beast to bring its weapon down.
He approached the Iron Knuckle slowly and cautiously, stopping mere centimeters from its throne. Still as ever, the temple guardian made no indication of being awakened. Link readied the Biggoron sword, and in one swing scarred the metal armor of the Knuckle.
The Hero instantly sprang back, and the fiend got to its feet. As it lumbered in its opponent's direction, Link swiftly rolled to the side and behind it, slashing at it for all it was worth. The horizontal swings of the axe almost caught his shoulders, but Link jumped out of the way with a well timed backflip and landed to the Knuckle's side, this time swinging like mad at the straps that held the armor on. Within a few blows, the armor gave way, and the exposed chest heaved with pain. Link did several backflips in quick succession, landing on his feet, facing the monster that had fallen behind. The Knuckle gathered up its axe, turned its head to face Link, and let out a horrid groan of determination. It hunched over in a pathetic attempt to charge, and Link met the oncoming body with a thrust from the Biggoron sword.
Instantly, the monster crumpled to the floor with a hollow screech and the armor dissolved into dust. The bars lifted on the door behind the throne.
"Yet another brilliant performance from our blessed Hero," Navi said in a falsely idealistic tone. "Where would we be without him?"
Link swatted the bouncing ball of light away. "Go back to your hat, Navi."
The pair emerged from the doorway and found themselves looking out over the Desert Colossus. The passage had lead to one of the hands that the giant goddess held out in her stance of everlasting prayer. Not only that, but a treasure chest beckoned to be opened. Lifting the lid, Link gasped and pulled out the cache within…A shield, so perfectly polished Link could see himself in the surface. Navi made a little noise that suggested awe. Hoping she might know about this artifact, Link asked her what it was. "It's the Mirror Shield," she replied. "The secret treasure of the Gerudos guarded by the Spirit Temple. It is so reflective, you can use it to bring light into dark places."
Link grinned as he equipped the silvery armor. "Excellent."
Back in the main room, Link surveyed the face of the statue before him. The light from the room above had trailed down, allowing Link to reflect light off the Mirror Shield. Acting on intuition, he readied the shield and shot the beam of light at the face of the statue. He was amazed to see the rock instantly begin to fall away, revealing a passage blocked only by steel bars. He readied the hookshot, and latched onto the bars, and felt a swoop of both the flying sensation and joy as the bars raised up. He entered the boss door.
Immediately he recognized the two hags who were hunched over something at the end of the room. He drew the Master Sword and was about to shout out when an eerie cackle interrupted him.
"Hohohoho, looks like someone's here to see us, Koume."
"Hehehehe, looks like it, Kotake."
Broomsticks danced over the ground, their riders leering at the green-clad boy who dared to enter their lair. A small smirk played across each wrinkled old face. There was an awkward silence in which the hags seemed to survey the Hero, then one spoke.
"Hehehehe, I suppose he's come looking for her, Koume."
Link's eyes flashed with fury. "What did you do with Nabooru?" he roared, raising the sword threateningly. The witches tittered uncontrollably before turning around.
"Oh, faithful minion!" The pair cried in unison, "Eliminate this intruder on our behalf!"
In a blast of smoke, the witches vanished and the monstrosity that they had hidden was revealed.
The largest Iron Knuckle Link had ever seen rose to its feet, standing at least six feet tall and wearing heavy armor. With a snap of its fingers, a mammoth axe appeared in its hands, and its battle cry shook the chamber. It charged Link with surprising speed, but it could not match the Hero's agility. Adrenaline surged forth into energy as Link dodged the axe and struck out repeatedly at the Knuckle, sending sparks flying as metal clashed on metal. Finally, Link heard a cry of agony from the beast as the armor dissipated, but rather than dying out, the cry melted into a human voice. As the metal fell away, the figure of a human girl collapsed to the floor. In a raspy voice that suggested it was not used much, she managed to utter out, "Unh…where am I?"
Shock hit Link like a brick wall. He took a tentative step towards the woman and looked at her closely. The same flame-red hair and brown skin, the same pink clothing. Her golden eyes met his blue ones has her vision became focused once again.
…
"Nabooru?"
"Yes? What's going on?"
"Nabooru…It's me, the little boy, Link. Please tell me you remember…"
"Link…I sent you…"
"Yes…"
"To get the Silver Gauntlets for me. So I could…" Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room she had been imprisoned in for seven long years. "Storm the temple."
"Those witches, Nabooru. They kidnapped you. What did they do to you?"
She paused for a moment, as though considering, but she shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember anything. The last thing I saw was you up on the ledge when I was been pulled down into the sand. Then it's all a blur."
"That's okay. That doesn't matter. Let's just get you out of here. The main entrance isn't too far, and there's a secret passage we can go through. Can you walk on your own?"
She got to her feet, slowly but surely.
"Good. We must escape now, before the witches---"
Link's words caught in his throat as the same blast of smoke filled the room and Koume and Kotake reappeared, looking sufficiently pissed off. Nabooru's eyes widened. Link drew his sword."
"Hohohoho, such a strong willed, pretty little thing, isn't she, Koume?"
"Hehehehe, she's just a girl, but she commands a lot of respect among the Gerudo tribe, Kotake."
"Hohohoho, I say we make her work for the great Ganondorf a while longer!"
Simultaneously the hags charged up balls of magic in their hands and prepared to hurl them at the trembling desert warrior.
"Nabooru, RUN!"
She didn't need coaxing. As she sprinted for the door, Link hurled himself at the hags, preparing to dismember their gaunt limbs as best as he could. Before he could reach them, they unleashed the magic, which quickly overtook Nabooru.
"AAGHH!"
"NABOORU!"
Link stood helplessly where Nabooru had stood just moments before. Disbelief flooded his mind as he tried in vain to grasp the empty air, as though she was still there, just invisible. He heard the witches snicker behind him. "Where is she?" he bellowed. "What did you do with her!"
He turned around, seeing only an empty chamber. Without a second thought he grasped the Master Sword and rushed through the door, ready to deliver the ultimate in payback.
The now-familiar Chamber of the Sages enveloped him, sending tranquility coursing through his battle-weary battle. From his usual spot in the center of the hall, he watched as the Spirit Emblem glowed blue, and a figure appeared.
His eyes widened in astonishment. So this was the Spirit Sage, the woman he was willing to bet his life against holding such a position. Nabooru apparently shared these feelings, and gave him a sheepish smile as she stood there, her golden eyes searching him for any emotion.
"Well…It's hard to believe I'm the Sage of Spirit," she tried to open up the conversation. Link just nodded dumbly, entranced by her magnificence as she stood before him, her red hair swaying in a nonexistent breeze. Nabooru frowned inwardly. Couldn't he even acknowledge her?
"You were very brave," she continued. "You were willing to risk your life for me. Even as a child, you were willing to brave the Spirit Temple for me. If I'd only known that you'd grow to be this: a competent swordsman! It's an honor to bestow my power unto you. Receive the Spirit Medallion, Hero of Time!"
The medal glowed orange, lighting up Link's fine-featured face. Nabooru looked on as he accepted the talisman, noting his kind smile. He was a truly admirable man. Yes, a man. He wasn't the little boy he had been seven years ago…
As Link was transported back into the other dimension, Nabooru gave him a sad smile. The words she uttered were only for herself to hear…
"If I'd only known the fine man you'd become…
I would've kept my promise I made back then…"