Chapter 10: The Drum Master of Shadow
Link and Navi were now on their way to Kakariko Village. Princess Ruto had told them that the next sage lied in Kakariko Village. They quickly rushed off to the village, in a hope that they could deal with it. It took them an entire day, but they finally reached the village. Upon reaching it, Link let out a gasp. "Link!" Navi shouted. "Kakariko Village! I-it's…on fire!"
It was true, Kakariko Village had been set aflame. The buildings burned all around them, and there, in the center of the village, stood Shiek. He was standing by the well that was in the center of the village. He was looking down, as if watching something in the well. Link quickly ran over to him and touched him on the shoulder. "Link, stand back," Shiek spoke.
Suddenly, the large wooden posts around the well shot up into the air. Link pulled out his shield, and Shiek just stood there. Suddenly, Shiek was listed off the ground and spun around in mid-air. What was holding him, though, was unknown. There was nothing around, or so it looked, anyway. "Get away, Link!" Shiek shouted, then found himself tossed away. A dark shadow shot up from the well and began to move over the ground. It moved up onto the roof of a building, then down onto the ground. It turned to face Link, and he quickly pulled out his shield. The shadow shot forward, and Link screamed as he felt every bit of life, warmth, and magic sucked from his body.
An hour later, Link awoke, but just barely. "Navi?" he asked, looking around. His eyes were barely even open.
"Are you okay?" Shiek asked. He was leaning over Link's body.
"Yeah…I think so…" Link sat up and looked around, holding his head. "What hit me?"
"About an hour ago, you met with the Drum Master of Shadow. Seven years ago, Impa sealed a beast away inside that well. The beast was named Bongo Bongo. Some call him the Phantom Shadow Beast, but the prophecies and legends call him the Drum Master of Shadow." Link just blinked. "Impa left for the Shadow Temple. She hopes to seal the beast away somewhere once again. If she can't, then she hopes to destroy the beast. I'm worried about her."
"Don't worry, Shiek, I'll rescue Impa."
Shiek looked at Link and sighed. If only you knew the truth, Shiek thought. He then looked at Link and smiled. "Go, Link, go to the Shadow Temple. You will find it in the graveyard. Just look for a large cavern that seems to lead into nothing but darkness. Let the fire of the Goddess Din light your way."
Link nodded. "I promise, I'll rescue Impa." Link then turned and ran off, heading to the Shadow Temple. He entered the dark graveyard, searching around. There was a way to get to the Shadow Temple somewhere around the graveyard, he just had to find it. "I must find that cave that Shiek talked about." It didn't take long, and Link soon found himself entering a dark cavern.
Link walked deeper into the cavern, and the cavern began to grow darker. Link held up his sword, letting it burst into flame, but it was barely enough to light up any of his surroundings. Link thought for a moment, then remembered what Shiek had said. "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. He rose his hand above his head and tossed the light to the ground. When it struck, it created a large circle of fire around Link. The circle shot out, and soon, Link could see torches all around him. The attack struck those torches, and lit them, creating light so Link could see.
In front of Link was a large wall. It had a large eye carved into it, which seemed to stare at him. Link stepped back and he looked around. The cavern was extremely tall, and he wondered how it was possible for a place like this to exist. The wall was high, and, as the last torch lit, he felt the ground begin to shake. In front of him, the wall with the eye began to rise up, creating a large pathway into the temple. It was unlike anything Link had ever seen before. It was amazing, and Link walked forward, venturing into the unknown.
Link journeyed forward, entering the dark temple. He looked around, slowly walking onward. "This place is dark and creepy!" Navi shouted. "I want to go home!"
"Hush!" Link shouted. He looked forward and burst his sword into flame once more. He continued to walk forward, looking around. He took another step and he blinked as he realized there was no ground under him. Link began to fall forward, and he screamed as he fell through the fake floor. He slammed down on something hard and he gave a groan as he sat up. "Ow! That hurt…"
"Link…where are we?" Navi asked. Link looked around. The whole room was filled with mist. Below him was wood that seemed to be made into something. Below the wood, however, he saw what looked like endless blackness. He looked forward, seeing the wood go forward and form a large shape in front of him. Upon closer inspection, Link realized he was on a boat.
"Navi…could this be…" Link paused as he looked around. "It can't be…but it is…"
"What is it!" Navi shouted.
"The Ferry to the Spirit Realm. It is said that when someone dies, they ride on this fairy so that they can go rest in eternity…Did we…die?"
"No…you fell, and I followed, neither of us died."
"Then…that means…" Link paused and his eyes widened. "We fell through a bridge in dimensions!" Suddenly, the boat began to move through the mist. Link jumped when the boat moved suddenly. It began moving forward, and Link just looked forward. This was the Shadow Temple, the temple famous for its ghost-like monsters and traps. "I don't like this…it's too peaceful…"
"Link!" Navi shouted. "Don't say that!"
"Why?" Link asked.
"Every time someone says they don't like something because it's too quiet, or it's too peaceful, something always jumps out at them." Suddenly, two Stalfos fell from above, landing onto the boat. Their eyes glowed for a moment and they laughed. "See? Look at what you've done!"
"Welcome, Hero of Time," one of the Stalfos said.
"We are here to make sure that, when you enter the Spirit Realm, you will be nothing more then a spirit," the second Stalfos spoke. "None may enter the Spirit Realm unless they are dead."
"We'll just see about that," Link said, smirking. He rose his sword and it glowed. He brought it down, striking one of the Stalfos. It roared, and soon its bones exploded, leaving the skull to fall to the ground. With a quick stomp on the skull, Link destroyed the first Stalfos. "You sure you want to fight?" Link asked the second.
"You will die!" the Stalfos shouted and ran forward. Link smirked and, when the Stalfos was about to strike, he simply moved out of the way. This caused the Stalfos attack to miss, and for him to fall forward, which meant he fell right off the boat. "No!" he shouted as he fell into the infinite nothingness below.
The boat continued to sail through the mist, until finally, the boat began to slow down. Land was to Link's left, and he smiled. The boat came to a full stop, then, the boat began to shake. "Link! The boat's sinking!" Navi shouted. Link quickly jumped off the boat and onto the land, just in time to watch as the boat sunk behind him into the mist.
"Well…we're here…now what?" Link asked.
"I don't know…" Navi responded. They were on a small patch of land. There was mist surrounding them, and they could see another patch of land far off. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no way to cross to it.
Link sighed. "This is just nice…we can't go on from here, but we can't go back, either…"
"Heads up!" a voice shouted. Link looked up and quickly jumped to his right as a large dragonhead came crashing down into the ground. The dragonhead was attached to a long pole, which lead to the other side.
"Who's there!" Link shouted.
"A friend," the voice spoke. Link just blinked for a moment. He then ran across the pole the dragonhead was on. He reached the other side and looked around, but there was no one around. Link then noticed a strange door in front of him. He gulped, walked forward, and opened the door, looking to see what was inside.
There, inside the door, was a large hand. It was floating in mid-air, doing nothing. It wasn't even attached to anything from what Link could see. He walked closer, stopping when he reached the edge of the small patch of land he was on. The hand just seemed to float there on absolutely nothing.
Then, the hand moved some, moving around what seemed to be an invisible platform. Link quickly stepped back, then ran forward, closing his eyes. He landed hard on the invisible platform in front of him. The hand immediately gave out a screech and jumped to another invisible platform. Link followed willingly.
Soon, the hand led Link all the way to a massive door that just seemed to float in mid-air. The hand jumped onto an invisible platform right in front of the door. Link followed, and the hand jumped again, only to land on nothing, which caused it to fall into the infinite blackness below. Link looked forward at the massive door and walked closer.
"Link, be careful," Navi spoke.
"I'm being careful, don't worry," Link said. He grew closer to the door and gulped. He touched the door and it immediately opened, revealing a large platform. Link stepped through the door and looked around. The room was black, so he couldn't see anything. He walked forward some, only to find himself falling down a large hole. He slammed down onto the ground below, only to bounce lightly, and not get injured.
"What is this place?" Navi asked as she followed quickly.
"I don't know," Link responded. "It's dark, and I can't see anything at all…"
"Welcome to my lair, Hero of Time," a voice spoke. The voice was deep, yet machine like. "I had hoped that we would be able to fight one another. It seems my wish came true after all."
"Who are you!" Link shouted.
"I am the Drum Master of Shadow, the Phantom Shadow Beast, Bongo Bongo!" Suddenly, a large, slender, and muscular body appeared. It seemed to hang from the ceiling, and the only part of him that was visible was from the waist up. It's body led up to an eye that was its entire head. There were several small pieces around the eye that folded forward to cover the eye. Two large hands floated in mid-air. They weren't attached to the beast at all, yet the way they moved seemed to suggest that they were.
"Bongo Bongo, your time is up! You will fall here and now!"
"I think not!" Bongo Bongo shouted. Suddenly, his entire body vanished, and only his two disembodied hands floated there.
Link growled. "Navi!" he shouted.
"I'm on it!" Navi shouted. She quickly began to examine the two hands for any weaknesses. The hands floated there for a moment, not doing anything, then, they laid flat on the ground and began to hit the ground like a drum. The ground bounced up and down, and it was clear to Link that he was on a large drum of some sort. "I don't see any weaknesses!" Navi shouted.
"Then we'll have to do this the hard way." Link pulled his sword back and it glowed. "KaiTenGiri!" He quickly swung his sword forward and around in a circle. It shot out a large beam that swirled around him, striking the hands. They reacted harshly to the attack by flailing around everywhere. Link smirked. "That'll take care of them." Suddenly, Link felt himself get struck by, what seemed to be, nothing at all.
"Link!"
"I'm okay, Navi, don't worry." Suddenly, one of the hands came down and picked him up. He could feel his body being crushed by the power of Bongo Bongo's hand. "Let…me…go!" Bongo Bongo just laughed. "Final Flame!" Link shouted. His sword glowed, and a fireball shot out of it. The fireball then moved quickly towards Bongo Bongo's hand and struck it hard. Bongo Bongo screeched at the pain he felt in his hand, and he quickly let go.
"So, that's it, is it?" Link smirked. "Take this!" he shouted. He pointed his sword forward, right between the two hands. A beam shot forward from his sword, and Bongo Bongo hit it with the hand that wasn't in extreme pain. This only caused Bongo Bongo to feel extreme pain when he did that. Another beam shot forward, and it hit, what seemed to be, nothing at all, but Bongo Bongo screeched loudly from the hit.
"How dare you!" Bongo Bongo shouted. One of his hands rose and Link smirked. As the hand came down, Link pointed his sword straight up. Bongo Bongo screeched as he felt the sword go in one side of his hand and out the other. He rose his hand, and he noticed the sword was stuck in his hand. Link smirked again, and he opened his hand. The Master Sword flew forward, right through Bongo Bongo's hand and returned to Link's awaiting hand, which cause Bongo Bongo to screech loudly at the pain in his hand. "I will destroy you!" Bongo Bongo shouted.
"Just try it," Link said, staring at him with a serious face. Link pointed his sword forward. "This is for all the things you have done!" He slammed his sword into the ground and closed his eyes. "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. He rose his hand above his head and tossed the light to the ground. When it struck, it created a large circle of fire around Link. It shot out and Link opened his eyes. Bongo Bongo screeched as the flame struck both of his hands, and him.
"This…this is impossible…I cannot be beaten by a meer child like you!"
"You just did." Link pulled his sword from the ground, and Bongo Bongo's eyes appeared. Bongo Bongo began looking around frantically. Link ran forward and struck his sword into Bongo Bongo's eye. His eye widened, and the two stood there for a moment, neither of them moving.
After a moment, Bongo Bongo let out a screech and moved his eye up. The sword stayed securely in his eye, and he began flailing around. His body began to burn up as he screeched, and his hands collapsed to the ground, turning into nothing but shadow. He stopped flailing around, and the rest of his body burned away, turning into shadow. The Master Sword landed into the ground before Link, who walked over and picked it up.
Suddenly, Link felt himself lifted again. He floated upward in a blazing light. Once again, he found himself in the Chamber of Sages. He looked forward, and Impa appeared in front of him. "Link, you have done well," Impa spoke. "I never imagined that you would have grown so powerful in such a short amount of time. You truly are the Hero of Time."
Link smiled. "Thank you, Impa, but I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far if it hadn't been for the sages and my friends."
Impa nodded. "Friendship is a powerful thing. I don't think anything is stronger then friendship and true love. With those two things, one can hold infinite power." Link nodded. "Look around you, Link. Almost all the sages have awoken." Link looked around, and realized what Impa had said. Rauru was standing on the pedestal of light, Saria was standing on the pedestal of forest, Darunia was standing on the pedestal of fire, Ruto was standing on the pedestal of water, and Impa was standing on the pedestal of shadow.
"Impa, the team is almost complete." Link looked to the final pedestal. "Where is that last temple? I must find the temple and awaken the sage."
"The Desert Colossus holds the key. The final sage lies within the Spirit Temple. Find her, awaken her, then, together, the Hero of Time, along with the power of the Sages, will enter Ganondorf's Castle, and end this once and for all."
Link nodded. "Right."
"Link, take this as a gift. This gift will aid you greatly." Impa rose her hand and a small medallion appeared in her hand. She handed the medallion to Link and he smiled. "Now, Link, go, awaken the final sage, and let us defeat Ganondorf together."
Link nodded. "Thank you, everyone. I will not fail you. I will awaken the last sage." With that, Link was teleported to Hyrule Plain once more.
Meanwhile, in Ganondorf's castle. "So, Bongo Bongo failed?" Ganondorf asked.
"Yes, sir," a female voice spoke. "Do not worry, though, we, the Twin Sisters of Spirit, will not fail you. No one can harm us, not even the Hero of Time."
"You better be right, because if you aren't, I will crush your skulls with my bare hands."
The female voice gulped. "Y-yes…your evilness…" The voice faded.