Chapter 9: The Darkness in the Water
Link was once again out in Hyrule Plain training. He had to train as hard as he could. The world was depending on him, and he would never be able to save it unless he trained long and hard. With the new powers he had gotten from the sages, he knew he was stronger, but he also knew there would come a time when he would have to stop relying on those powers, and would have to fight with his own strength.
Link swung his sword, training hard. "Go, Link!" Navi shouted. "Keep going! Train hard!"
"Will you shut up!" Link shouted.
"Well, you don't have to be all mean about it." Link just growled. Suddenly, Navi felt a cold chill as an extremely cold wind hit her and Link. "Wow! What's with the cold?"
"I don't know, maybe we should go find out." Link and Navi both ran in the direction that the cold air was coming from. The closer to the source they got, the colder it got.
"Link…it's really cold…maybe we should…uhh…turn back?" Navi asked. Her teeth were chattering and she was shaking with cold. It was freezing, and with Navi as small as she was, it felt twice as cold as what Link felt it was.
"Just get into my hat. It should be nice and warm under there." Navi nodded and quickly flew under Link's hat. He was right. It was warm under Link's hat, and Navi smiled.
"Much better," Navi said as she made herself comfortable in Link's hat.
"I'm glad that you feel better," Link said, then began to walk onward. It was getting colder now, and they were getting closer to the source. Suddenly, Link stopped in his tracks when he realized where he was. "This is the entrance to Zora's Domain," he said. The waterfall had frozen, and the opening that led into the Zora's Domain was currently open. "The waterfall must have frozen after someone entered, otherwise it would still be closed." He jumped forward, landing on the ground of the cave that was behind the waterfall.
Link began to walk forward some more. As he looked around, he noticed that all the water was now ice. The majestic waterfall that came from King Zora's throne was frozen, and so was everything else. He began to run through the domain, trying to find some sort of acknowledgement that there was still life around. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the Zora trapped inside the ice. Some of them looked scared, and like they were screaming. Link stepped back some, then turned and ran up to King Zora's Throne Room.
Link ran more and more as he climbed the steps to the Throne Room. Finally, he reached the top and he gasped. King Zora was there, frozen in ice. His face showed shock, as if he had seen something, and then frozen by what he saw. He quickly ran up to King Zora and began to hit the ice around him, but it was no good. Then, he got an idea.
Link rose his sword above his head, and the sword burst into flame. He brought the sword down, and swung it in a figure eight form. At the end, he flipped his sword over and struck the ground. "Flame Dragons!" he shouted. Four large dragons of fire rose from the ground and smashed into King Zora. The ice melted and King Zora looked around.
"Link?" he asked when he saw Link standing next to him. The attack had also melted some of the ice around them, but the water seemed to immediately turn into ice again. "Link, what are you doing here?"
"We felt something cold coming from her, so we figured we'd check it out."
"Well, you are sure brave. How did you manage to get past the beast?"
Link blinked a bit. "'The Beast?'" he asked. "What do you mean by…'the beast'?"
"The beast. You know, that white beast you had to fight to enter."
"There was no beast," Link said. "I guess it got frozen by whatever froze the rest of this."
"The beast is what froze everything!" King Zora shouted.
"Your majesty, what exactly is 'the beast'?"
"The beast is a dangerous white monster. Its very touch can turn things into ice. It travels through the air, almost like it's part of the air."
"I see…well…the beast wasn't around at all when I came in. Perhaps it left?"
"No, if the beast had left, then all would be fine."
"Not exactly, your majesty. Sometimes when a monster curses something, the curse isn't lifted just by the monster leaving."
"It isn't a curse!" King Zora shouted. "The beast froze everything, and as long as the beast is here, everything will remain frozen. Nothing can be unfrozen!"
"But I unfroze you."
"Oh, yes, good point." After a moment, King Zora spoke again. "Go to the Ice Cavern. Surely you will discover something there. Take this with you, it will aid you greatly." King Zora handed Link a blue tunic. "If you ever need to breath underwater, this will allow you to do just that."
"Thank you, King Zora," Link nodded and quickly put it on.
"The Ice Cavern is behind me. Just look around, one of the mountains will hold the cavern."
"Thank you, your majesty," Link said and bowed. He then ran off, heading to the Ice Cavern. Once he had gotten through the cavern behind King Zora, he realized he was now in the same place Lord Jabu Jabu was, only this time, Lord Jabu Jabu wasn't there. Instead the whole place had large icebergs that floated in the water. Link jumped from each one to another, finally reaching the Ice Cavern in one of the eastern mountains.
"This is it, Navi," Link said, walking into the cavern.
"It's cold in here!" Navi shouted. "I can't believe we're going in here!"
"Hey! You're under my hat, so you at least have something to keep you warm. This thin tunic doesn't help much!" Link walked in, looking around. He slowly walked through a large narrow tunnel until he reached a large, open area. In the open area, he found three large monsters; all of them were made of ice. Link stood there for a moment and drew his sword. The three beasts quickly moved forward and began to blow on Link. Their breath was an icy chill, and anything their breath touched turned to ice.
Link growled as he jumped back. He readied his sword, then, pointing his sword forward, he released a large beam of energy. The beam shot forward, struck one of the ice beasts, causing it to fall apart slightly. He fired another one, and the beast fell apart even more. One more shot, and the beast was completely gone. Link then thrust his sword behind him and let it power up. "KaiTenGiri!" he shouted, and swung his sword around in a circle. A beam from the blade spread all around, slicing the ice beasts in half. Another good couple of swings, and the beasts were gone. "What were those things, Navi?"
"They are called 'Freezard'," Navi responded. "They are deadly little beasts that will turn you into ice if you come in contact with them."
"Could that be the beast that King Zora was talking about?"
"Highly doubtful, as King Zora said it traveled through the air."
"Right," Link responded and nodded. "Well, then, we need to find that beast." Link walked forward, heading through the large open area, and into another long cavern. After walking through the long cavern some, there was a loud rumbling sound. When Link looked behind him, he found that the large rumbling sound was a huge boulder that was now rolling after him. "Oh shoot!" Link shouted, turned, and quickly began to run. "Bad day, bad day, bad day!"
Link continued to run, trying to get away from the boulder, but as he ran, the boulder began to get closer. "Not good!" Link shouted louder. He kept running, but soon found himself at an intersection. "Which way? Which way?" he thought, then took the left path. Unfortunately, the boulder followed him down the left path as well. "Not good!" he shouted. Then, he found himself at a dead end. "Even worse!" he shouted. "Navi, do something!"
"Do what!" Navi shouted. "Did you forget that I'm just a fairy! I can't do anything!"
Link looked around, the boulder was growing closer. "Wait!" he shouted. "I have an idea!" He quickly pulled out the Master Sword and looked at the boulder. He held his sword up, and it burst into flame. He swung it around in a figure eight form. At the end, he flipped the sword over and struck the ground. "Flame dragons!" he shouted, and four large dragons of fire rose from the ground and smashed into the boulder. The attack greatly reduced the boulder's size, but it didn't destroy it.
"Crap!" Link shouted. "Not good!" he closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact. Suddenly, he heard the boulder strike something, then it stopped. Link opened his eyes, and his eyes immediately widened. The boulder had stopped just in front of him. It had just barely missed him, and he was sure that if he hadn't decreased the boulder's size, he would have been crushed. He let out a sigh of relief and began climbing over the boulder and onto the ground on the other side.
"That was too close!" Navi shouted. She slapped Link. "Never do that to me again!"
Link growled. "Oh yeah, like I really wanted to do that!" Navi just looked away in a rather stubborn manner. "You are so stubborn!"
"Yeah? Well, without me, you'd be nothing!"
"I bet I could do better without you!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Fine, then you can just go fight that beast it alone, without my help!" Navi shouted.
"Fine!" Link shouted back. He walked off, leaving Navi where she was. She just watched him walk off, then began to fly behind him, carefully being sure not to be seen or heard. She wanted to see how far Link could get on his own, which she figured wouldn't be very far. Link continued through the passage until he got back to the intersection. This time, he walked off to the right instead, which in this case, was now the left path. He walked on and Navi followed him, keeping hidden.
The two of them soon found themselves entering another large, open area. Link looked around for a moment, then pulled out his sword. Navi blinked when she saw him pull out his sword. She waited right where she was, checking to see if she could get a good view of what was coming. Suddenly, Link whipped around and his sword came down, stopping just before it touched her. "Why are you following me?" he asked.
"I just wanted to see how far you could get without me," Navi responded.
"Well, I'm not going to get very far without you if you keep coming with me, now will I?" Navi just turned her head. Link quickly moved his sword, which resulted in some of Navi's hair getting cut off.
"Hey!" Navi shouted when she felt her hair get cut.
Link just laughed, turned, and walked off. Navi growled but let him walk off. "Shoot!" Link suddenly shouted and Navi flew closer to see what was going on. In front of Link were two large blade traps. The blade traps were swirling around in a circle, each of them were a full half circle apart. They were moving fast, though, and there was no way around them. He had to go through, but that would be a hard task.
Link quickly ran forward, and quickly jumped over one of the blade traps, landing on the opposite side with ease. "That was close," he said, and quickly began to run off. Navi quickly followed right behind him, still trying to stay hidden. Link followed the long path into a large room. It was filled with lights that seemed to shine all around it. The ground was the usual ice, but everything else was like lights shining.
"Wow!" Link spoke.
"This is amazing!" Navi spoke. Link glared at Navi, and she quickly shut up, remembering she wasn't even supposed to be around Link at the time. She had to act like she wasn't there. At this time, though, she wanted nothing more than to be able to hide under Link's hat and be warm. The room they were in was freezing cold. There wasn't a single bit of warmth around, and it had to have been the coldest room in the entire place.
The room was so cold, that something unnatural must have caused it. Then, Link remembered what King Zora had said about a beast that turned things to ice by touching them. It also traveled through the air, and this made Link very curious. He wanted to know what beast it was that he was about to fight.
Link pulled out his sword, ready to do battle with anything that threatened to attack him. Everything was strange in this room. In the center of the room, there was a large pink pedestal, almost like a large throne. The wind howled around it, and soon took form. It took the form of a large White Wolfos, which many call a Snow Wolfos.
"A Snow Wolfos!" Link shouted. "So, that's it, huh? You've been using your powers to freeze everything, and you've found a way to travel through the air as well." The Wolfos howled and ran at Link. Link quickly struck the Wolfos, but it was to no avail. The Wolfos' fur was as hard as steel, and he would have to wait until just the right moment.
Link stood there, his sword ready. He watched as the Snow Wolfos ran around him, then, ran up to him for an attack. Link quickly struck the Wolfos in the chest, and if immediately seemed to fall apart, turning into wind. The wind howled again, and this time a duplicate of Ghoma, but this time, she was white, like snow. "What the heck is that!" he shouted.
Link quickly pulled out his bow, and fired an arrow at Ghoma's eye. Ghoma quickly closed her eye before the arrow struck, and it caused it to bounce off. Ghoma's eye opened, but just in time to be met by another arrow. Ghoma roared when the arrow stuck into her eye, and she vanished, turning into wind.
"You are strong," a voice spoke. The voice sounded strangely familiar. "I was not expecting your strength and intelligence. I warn you, though, when we meet in a final fight, you will not be so lucky!" The voice faded, and two large glowing eyes appeared. It was the same eyes Link had seen seven years prior, back in the Kokiri Forest when he went through the Battle of Friends.
"Release your curse!" Link shouted.
"Curse? No curse! This land is owned by Morpha, the Giant Aquatic Ameoba of the Water Temple. Destroy him, and, if there is a curse on this land, it will be lifted." The eyes vanished, and Link growled.
"So, you have seen it, have you?" a voice asked from behind. Link quickly whipped around to see Shiek standing behind him. "You have met the Beast, I see."
"What was that thing?" Link asked.
"It is what we Shiekah call 'The Morpher.' It takes the form of any past enemies you have fought. It seeks out the stronger ones and changes into them. Sometimes, it'll form several of them together into one being. I would suggest being careful of this."
"So, what do you want, anyway?"
"I overheard what the Morpher said. I have a way that you can get into the Water Temple quickly." Shiek pulled out his harp. "Play this, and you will be teleported to the Water Temple." Shiek played something on his harp, and Link listened. He then played it on his ocarina, and the ocarina glowed. "Use it well. Also, take these. These boots will be of great aid to you." Shiek handed Link a pair of boots with large iron parts on the bottoms of them. "These are the Iron Boots. Wear them, and you will never float again."
"I have rescued the princess of the Zora's. She insisted on going to the Water Temple, though, so if I were you, I would go help her out." Shiek rose his hand, and in a flash, he was gone.
"Thank you, Shiek," Link said and smiled. He quickly made his way out of the cavern, Navi following close behind.
"Okay, I know I was wrong," Navi began, "you can easily take care of yourself without my help, but please, one quick thing. Let's be friend's, the Deku Tree did ask me to watch over you, and if I leave you, I'll have betrayed his trust."
"I understand," Link said.
"You do?" Navi asked.
"Yeah, you want to be able to sleep in my hat again, and you want to be able to boss me around again. Sounds good to me." Link smiled and they continued running until they got out of Zora's Domain. "All right, this should be far enough." Link played the ocarina, playing the song Shiek had taught him. In an instant, he and Navi were both taken up into the air, and transported to Lake Hylia, where the Water Temple rested. "This is it, the Water Temple. We can no longer rest. We must do this now." Link quickly ran forward, entering the dark temple.
The inside of the temple was dark, and it was hard to see much of anything at all. Link looked around, trying to see anything he could. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust enough that he could see where he was going. He stepped forward, and almost instantly, the entire room lit up. "My eyes!" Link shouted. The sudden change of light was too much for his eyes to take. It had gotten too bright, too quickly for his eyes to adjust.
"Will you stop complaining?" Navi spoke. "You're eyes are fine. It's just a slight bit brighter in here then it was before. Just open your eyes and keep moving. Your eyes will adjust in time."
"Oh, sure, take all the fun out of it, why don't you?" Link sighed and began to walk forward. He could see much better now. He was now in the center of a large room. The room was deep and filled with water. The water ended just a little bit below the ground he was standing on. Link looked down, and looked around. "Looks like we're going swimming." Link quickly tossed on the Zora Tunic and dove into the water.
He swam as fast as he could down into the deep areas of the water temple. It went down three whole floors, and it looked extremely complex. Link looked around, then put on the Iron Boots he had gotten, that way his feet could touch the ground. He then continued to walk, looking around. Navi had a small bubble around her, which allowed her to follow Link, but still breath underwater. "Link, where are we going?" she asked.
"Anywhere that will help us get to the Master of this Temple." Link continued to walk forward, then, his eyes went wide when he reached the end of a temple. "No…way…" he spoke.
"Hello, Link, I've been waiting for you." In front of Link was the Zora Princess Ruto. She had aged seven years, and was now an adult. Her body had grown long and slender, instead of the short and somewhat fat body she had seven years before. Her arms had long fins on them, like before, only this time they seemed to move as she stood there.
"Ruto?" Link asked.
"Yes, it's me, Link. I am Princess Ruto. Seven years ago, you promised to marry me, and I haven't forgotten."
"What!" Link shouted. "Marry you!"
"Yes, on that day, seven years ago, when I gave you the Zora's Sapphire, you promised to marry me. I told you that Sapphire was the Zora Engagement Ring."
"Wait a moment, what is an engagement ring?" Link asked.
"It's a special ring, or object. It signifies that you have promised to marry that person one day. I gave you the Zora's Sapphire, and by doing so, and by you accepting it, you agreed to marry me."
"No way!" Link shouted. "I'm not marrying you!"
Ruto just looked at him. "Link, now is not the time to talk about marriage. Right now, we must defeat the lord of this temple. Follow me, I will show you the way." Link nodded. Ruto began to swim away, and Link followed close behind. Ruto swam up, and around, until she reached a place where the water ended. She quickly got out, then helped Link out. "Link, there is a special place here where you must play the Royal Family's song. Play it, and we can continue further."
Link nodded and looked around. He looked to find some sort of symbol the Royal Family may have used. Suddenly, he noticed a Triforce mark on the wall. There was no doubt, it had to be the spot. He walked over to it and touched it. It suddenly changed, and words appeared on it. "He who wishes to change the waters, play the song of the Royal Family." Link quickly pulled out his Ocarina and began to play a song on it. It was the same song he played for the Gorons when he found they needed proof that he had come from the Royal Family.
Almost instantly, there was a rumbling sound, and, as Link finished playing, the rumbling ended. The water level had just been severely lowered. Link looked around for a moment, then at Princess Ruto. "What just happened, Ruto?"
"The water was lowered. Now, come on, follow me." Ruto walked to where they had climbed in when there was water. She jumped down, slowly hopping from wall to wall, reaching the bottom floor rather quickly. Link followed close behind, doing the same thing. He only slipped once, which was enough to make him fall the rest of the way down. Luckily, Ruto was able to catch him, so he wasn't hurt. Unfortunately, since Ruto caught him, she couldn't keep herself from kissing Link.
Link quickly pushed himself away from Ruto, then looked at her. "Look, I know you love me, but let's stay focused on what we're doing here, okay?"
"Sorry…" Ruto turned and began to walk off. "Follow me," she said, and kept walking. Link followed her through the long passages of the Water Temple until they arrived at their location. "All right, Link, there is a place here to raise the water. Play your ocarina once more." Link nodded and looked around. Again, he saw a triforce mark on the wall and he touched it. The message appeared again, and he played the Royal Family's song.
Once again, there was rumbling. The water rose, and as Link finished playing the song, the water stopped rising, ending at his feet. "Good, now follow me, we face the lord." With that, Ruto jumped into the water and began to swim. Link followed close behind. They soon reached a ledge, and they climbed out of the water. They dried themselves off the best they could, then they walked to a large door nearby. "Link, after this, there is no turning back. Are you ready? Entering this door, means you must face yourself."
"Face myself?" Link asked.
"Yes," Ruto answered. "You see, the Great King of Evil, Genondorf, placed a beast within this room. The beast is a monster that transforms itself into anything that it touches. Also, as a guardian of the beast, he placed a small monster that can transform the water into whatever it wants. We, the Zora People, call the water morpher by a simple name. We call him 'Morpha' though your race, the race of humans, calls it the 'Giant Aquatic Ameoba.'"
"I am ready to face anything that Ganondorf has placed before me."
"Then enter the room." Link nodded and walked in. Ruto followed him inside, and upon their entrance, the door behind them shut tight. Link looked forward, looking around.
"I know you're here!" Link shouted. "Show yourself!" There was no response. Link stepped forward some, looking around. The room they were in was large. In the center of it were four small platforms that rose from a deep amount of water around them. There was a small platform around the water that Link and Ruto currently stood on. Link jumped onto one of the platforms and looked around. "Show yourself!" he shouted. "I know you're here, Morpha!"
"We are here," a whispery voice spoke. "We are the Masters of this dungeon. Who dares to enter our land?"
"I am Link, Hero of Time! I demand that you show yourself at once!" Inside the water, something began to move. It moved closer to Link, slowly traveling through the water. It reached the platform Link was on, and quickly went behind him. It then rose out of the water, looking at him. Link turned around, just in time to see it. There was a large tentacle of water sticking out of the water, and in the center was a small pink thing that spun around.
"We are here," the whispery voice spoke. Link felt the wind rush past him, then, darkness surrounded him. A piece of it touched him, then shot off to another one of the platforms. It took form, changing into an exact duplicate of Link, only he wore a black tunic, and he had silver hair. He also had dark skin and blood red eyes. "We are here!" the Link look-alike shouted. "I am Dark, the Master of this dungeon. This is my guardian, Morpha, the Giant Aquatic Ameoba."
The large tentacle moved some, then wrapped around Link's neck. It grabbed him and began swinging him around. It was crushing his neck, and he was losing all supply of air. He was about to pass out, when Morpha tossed him across the room. "Prepare for your doom!" Dark shouted and quickly jumped at Link. He held his hand up, and a large sword appeared in his hand. The sword was an exact duplicate of the Master Sword, only it was black instead of purple.
"I will not lose!" Link spoke slowly. He pulled out the Master Sword and his shield. He then rushed forward, swinging his sword. Dark quickly blocked the attack and smirked. Link quickly swung, then attempted a stab. Dark quickly did a front flip and landed on the tip of Link's sword. "What the-" Link barely had time to react before he felt Dark's foot come across his face, knocking him down.
Link quickly stood to his feet and growled. Morpha, then, wrapped itself around Link and began to swing him back and forth. Link flung his arms around as much as he could, trying to do something. After a moment, though, Morpha flung him away, and Link slammed into the ground nearby. Dark quickly ran over to him and smirked. "I will still win!" Link shouted. He stood to his feet and began to do battle with Dark. The sound of steel on steel echoed throughout the room.
Link fought hard, swinging left and right, trying to find some sort of way to get him. Dark just laughed. "Fool, I am as you are now. You cannot defeat me!"
"Oh, yeah? Then maybe I need to change what I am now." Link quickly did something that not even Dark expected. Link dropped his sword to the ground, then got down on his knees. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. Dark laughed and rose his sword for the attack. "Fire," Link spoke, and his eyes opened. "Fire of Din, fire of power, let your power flow forth and consume all around!" he shouted. He opened his hands, and a small light shined between them.
Link stood to his feet and rose his hand above his head. He tossed the light to the ground, and it struck, creating a large circle of fire around Link. It shot out, and Dark roared as he was struck by the attack. The attack evaporated some of the water, and Link smirked. He quickly grabbed his sword, preparing a great attack.
Link rose his sword above his head, and it burst into flame. He swung it around in front of him, then flipped it over and slammed the blade into the ground. "Flame dragons!" he shouted. Six dragons of fire came up from the ground, then launched off at the water, striking it and evaporating it to nearly nothing left. Dark was shocked by this attack. He hadn't sent the dragons at him, like he had expected. This was strange. Dark just stood there, waiting to see what Link would conjure up next.
Link rose his sword above his head one more time, and it began to glow. He pointed the sword at Dark. "This ends it." He fired a beam of light at Dark, striking his arm and immediately destroying it. He fired another one at Dark's other arm, destroying it as well. Then, he aimed right at Dark's chest, and with one shot, Dark roared in pain, and exploded in a great explosion of light.
"This isn't over!" Dark shouted as the slight remains of him floated to the ceiling.
"Yes, it is," Link responded. He pointed his sword at Dark, and fired off one final blast, which completely destroyed him. Link then looked at Morpha, who was now nothing more then the small orb-like object that was inside the tentacles. It flopped around, trying to do something, but it could do nothing.
Link rose his sword one last time, and it glowed again, this time the glow was green. He brought the sword down to his side, then swung it forward. "Forest beam!" he shouted, and a large beam shot forward, striking Morpha. It flopped around a bit more, then, finally, it began to whither away until it was completely dead. Link turned to look at Ruto, and found himself encased in a strange crystal.
In a flash, he found himself in the Chamber of Sages, the crystal was now gone. Ruto appeared on the small pedestal that had the symbol of water on it. She looked up at Link and smiled. "Thank you, Link. You have allowed me to become a sage. For this, I grant you my undying love." Link was a little taken back by this. He wasn't sure what she was going to do now. Ruto giggled. "Silly, that's what I'd like to say, but I can't, because we live in two different worlds. You really need to stop being so careful."
Link let out a sigh of relief. "Here, take this. It isn't as good as my love for you, but it will help you anyway." Ruto handed Link a small medallion. "That is the Medallion of Water. Now, Link, you have awoken the four of us, but there are still two left. Go to Kakariko Village if you wish to awaken the next one." Link nodded. "Good-bye, Link, my love." Link was teleported down to the Temple of Time, like each time before.
"So, even after Volvagia's defeat, my men were not strong enough?" Ganondorf asked as he stood in his tower.
"No, my lord, they were not," a voice spoke.
"Well, then, I rely on you. I shall break the seal on the well, if you destroy Link."
"I will destroy him, my lord."
"Then the seal shall be broken. Go, my being of Shadow, engulf the world in darkness!" Ganondorf let out his evil laugh as he conjured up power in his hands. He slammed his fists together, and a shockwave was sent out to Kakariko Village, where it caused the whole village to shake. "Be free!" he shouted.