The Water Temple. Everyone's favorite least favorite dungeon. I didn't mind it, I guess. Coincidentally, I also only ever played the 3DS version. Sue me.
RRRP:
Reaper4425 (FF): Well, yes. But, at least in my experience, Link isn't omniscient, and can only see things from his perspective. As far as he knows, the day is passing in instants.
ChangelingRin (FF): Tiny flying therapist. I… have no words, because that's the most accurate triplet of words that I have ever seen for a single character, beating out 'fucking edgelord crybaby'. Finally!
Setokayba2n (FF): I do touch on Majora's Mask in this story- before Link fights Ganondorf, actually- but I'm not writing the entirety of the game, mainly because I don't have the inside-out experience of MM the way I do with OOT. Regarding how Link should tell Zelda about his first escapade, see my response to ChangelingRin in chapter 9.
Chapter XIV: Fire Magic in a Water Temple? Blasphemy!
Link hauled himself out of the putrid water and into the Water Temple proper. The water was raised to the third level, and a few blue Tektikes patrolled the disgusting waters. Link opted to ignore the Tektikes and simply descend to the bottom of the Water Temple, careful not to accidentally drink any of the water.
It was okay to breathe in, but it severely limited Link's visibility. He could barely see anything that was more than a few paces away. This was a far cry from the Water Temple of his first adventure, which featured clear, fresh water for Link to swim around in.
He was still undeniably thirsty, as he had never gotten water in Kakariko and there wasn't fresh water anywhere. Whatever he had drunk at the party hadn't helped either.
Finally, Link reached the bottom of the Temple. He instantly noticed the large steel bars that blocked the path just behind him. The same was true of the rightmost and northmost passages. The only open path he could take was the eastern one, which- conveniently- was the path he was going to take anyway.
The Hylian walked through the passageway, taking a left and then a right to find a small room. There were two metal torches and a wooden one, all unlit because they were underwater.
And there was Princess Ruto.
Like Link, she had matured into an adult, complete with violet earrings and a look in her eyes without that childish flicker in them.
"Oh… you… if I'm right… Link?! You're Link, aren't you?!" the Zora inquired, sounding like she was in disbelief.
"Uh, yeah," Link replied awkwardly. "It's me."
"You still owe me my Sapphire!" she spat. "And where the hell have you been? Whenever I've tried to communicate with you, I can't find you!"
"Your Sapph-" Link started, confused, before remembering. "Oh, right… that. Yeah… forgot about that…"
"You forgot about it?!" she screamed. "You forgot about my engagement stone?!"
"Well… It's not like I don't know where it is… but I still need it. I'll give it back to you in a month or so. Probably more. Don't count on it.
"And to answer your other question, you haven't been able to contact me because I was locked in a temple for the last seven years. Time flows strangely there, so seven years for you went by in an instant on my end. I only just got out a few weeks ago, and most of it's been spent purging Ganondorf's evil. I'm sorry, but I still need the Sapphire to keep the Temple of Time open so I can hop through time as I need to."
"Ugh…" the Zora princess moaned, putting her head in her hands. "Whatever happened to 'keeping it safe'? Wasn't the whole point of taking it in the first place to stop Ganondorf from using it?"
"Yeah," Link sighed. "But De- Ganondorf told me that every day I failed to give him what he wants, he slaughters a settlement of innocents. He set the proclamation in stone by blowing up my friend's house and killing her father and uncle. I was understandably not in the right state of mind at the time."
She looked pensive. "Now is not the time to be talking of these things," she decided. "Link, I need your help again! I'm sure you've already seen it: Zora's Domain- totally frozen! Hyrule's water- all poison! A young man named Sheik saved me from the ice…"
"Young woman," Link corrected. "It's secretly Princess Ze- uh… the former princess of Hyrule in disguise. But you can't tell anyone."
"Huh… anyway, my father and the others are not… yet… free…"
"Your dad is unfrozen," the Hylian informed. "I saw to that."
"Really? Thank you! But none of the others?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"I see. We need to save them all! I need to save Zora's Domain! You have to help me! This is a request from me, the woman you've known for years! You have to help me destroy the evil man in the Temple, OK?!"
"Evil man?" Link asked, intrigued. "I thought it was a monster?"
"No, it was a man," the Zora clarified. "I didn't recognize him, though. Or maybe it was a her; I seem to be quite good at confusing the two. Anyway, there are three places in the Water Temple where you can change the water level. I'll lead the way. Follow me, quickly!"
With that, she floated through the murky black waters, to the upper echelons of the Temple. Link knew from experience that he wouldn't see her again until after he killed Morpha. Distantly, he wondered what she did after showing him the first Triforce plaque.
The explodable wall on the second floor had already been exploded. Interesting. Link made a note of it as he ascended.
Eventually, he made it to the third level. He took a deep breath; the Zora Tunic let him breathe underwater, but it was never enough to satisfy his need for air. The one door was locked tight, and four torches were stuck in the four corners of the room, by the ceiling. Link was glad he had been trained by the Fire Temple to always look for torches to light.
First, though, he played Zelda's Lullaby in front of the Triforce plaque to lower the water level all the way to the bottom. Then he approached the center of the room and used Din's Fire to light all four torches. As expected, the locked door opened.
When he stepped through, the door sealed itself behind him, but nothing actually happened. When he took a step forward, however, three Stalfos tore through the stone floor, blades raised and shields at the ready.
Link smiled sadistically. "Finally, a good fight!"
Ivan just sighed.
!0*0!
The Stalfos charged in a triangle formation directly at Link. He drew the Biggoron Sword and summoned his Shield, noting how the weightless steel fit perfectly on his arm even with the double-handed longsword. The Stalfos started to fan out, hoping to overwhelm the Hylian with a flurry of blows, but the Hero of Time simply used a quick Spin Attack to push them all back.
His fairy companion Mind Hacked the rightmost Stalfos, and it awkwardly started slapping the central Stalfos with its shield. The undead fighter, understandably angered by its insubordinating teammate, rose its sword and slapped it back with the sharp end. Ivan relinquished control over the Stalfos just late enough for it to have no clue why the middle Stalfos was swinging its sword at it and not the Hero of Time. The rightmost Stalfos retaliated, and soon the two Stalfos were busier fighting each other than they were Link.
This left the leftmost Stalfos and Link to duel on their own. This time, however, Link had the added advantage of a ridiculously long blade, and so whenever their swords clanged together, Link could just drive the oddly bulbous tip of his sword forwards into the Stalfos' midsection and deal damage that way. Eventually, it was too much for the skeleton, and it evaporated into green flames. Link turned to fight off the other two, but realized that they were currently occupied with stabbing each other in the midsection. Link watched with an uncomfortable level of mirth as the Stalfos stabbed each other at precisely the same instant, each causing the other's death.
The door unsealed. Link looked at Ivan with a newfound respect in his eyes. The fairy just laughed before peering at a Zora plaque on the wall.
"Er, leetle man. Is there something… unusual here?"
"But there's no face!" Link argued.
"Just trust Ivan, okay?"
Rolling his eyes, Link shot an arrow at the center of the blue brick, making the royal blue sprite yelp in surprise as he was nearly hit in the face. A large oak chest appeared in the center of the room. Kicking it open revealed the Dungeon Map.
Finally leaving the way he came, Link leapt down the hole and fell all the way down to the first floor. He disregarded the accompanying pain that crawled up his legs. Then he grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow, letting it fly through the now-lit torch and into the unlit one, lighting it. Repeating this process with the other torch caused the locked door on the first floor to unseal. Link stepped through it.
The room was empty save a plaque and a Spike. Killing the Spike was easy, and Link triggered the plaque button with the Hookshot. It was instinct at this point. But all that came out was a Red Rupee.
Link went to pick it up, but was interrupted by a pair of Lizalfos that dropped from the roof as he approached the plaque. The superior reach of the Biggoron Sword, and the fact that one good swipe was enough to kill the Lizalfos, made them even easier than usual.
A chest appeared right underneath Link, and it housed the Compass. Two Hookshot panels had also appeared by the door, but Link saw no purpose to them.
Conveniently, the change had effects outside of the smaller room as well. Several Hookshot Panels had appeared, including one on the second floor. Pulling himself onto one of the panels on the first level brought Link in range of the panel on the second floor, and he eagerly grappled to it. The area behind the cracked wall had nothing but another plaque, but Link knew that the plaque was hiding something. He slowly approached the stone engraving and poked it with the steel end of one of his arrows. It was probably a Small Key or something.
Behind him, a large chest had appeared. He already had the Dungeon Map and Compass, so this must be the Longshot.
This was far better than a Small Key!
The Hylian was so eager to open the chest that he forewent actually opening it. Instead, he withdrew his Megaton Hammer from his Pouch and smashed the chest to smithereens, just because he could. Fortunately, the upgraded Hookshot itself was unharmed.
"I'm going to have fun with this," Link whispered before returning to the first floor. Given that the other three passages were sealed with steel, Link decided to take the only available path: into the central pillar that housed the second Triforce plaque.
The Hero of Time walked along the slender pathway before turning around and Hookshotting upwards. The small platform he was now on was situated directly in front of the Triforce plaque. Playing Zelda's Lullaby caused the water level to rise to halfway up the room.
Link swam back to the middle of the room, between a higher platform and a block that had rose with the water, and activated the Iron Boots, sinking onto the platform. To his dismay, however, the hidden passageway that was usually here was now blocked by iron bars. That implied that Link would have to open all of the iron bars in order to open up this one. And that would not only be tedious, but probably extremely complicated.
Dejectedly, Link rose to the middle and exited out the door. Unlike last time, it didn't seal itself when he left. Odd.
He consulted the map and Compass. There was a gold button that probably activated the sealed bars right next to it, but there wasn't anything in the room it was followed by. Moreover, Link could easily reach the third floor simply by Hookshotting straight to the third Triforce Plaque. The same went for the other two pathways. Neither held the Small Keys he needed to progress further into the dungeon.
Link was stumped. He must have missed something, there was no other explanation. He returned to the central pillar room and looked up.
Then he saw it.
There were four torches at the very top of the room, along with a Block of Time.
Smacking himself at his stupidity, Link Hookshotted to the very top of the room, issuing a silent prayer to the Goddesses for giving him the Longshot so early. But it was there that he encountered a problem.
The Block of Time was situated so high up that Link had no chance of jumping to it, even when standing on a pair of wooden crates. Ivan made himself known with a cough, flying to a spot just below the Block of Time and turning green.
"You can move the Time block," he mentioned.
Link said nothing, merely playing the Song of Time to lower the block a touch. But even still, the platform was simply too high. He was at a dead end again.
"Hmm… You seem to be at about the level where the water was, back when it was at the third setting. Maybe if you bring it back to the third level, that platform down there will float high enough for you to jump to the Block of Time?"
"But how would I get back to this room in the first place?" Link countered.
Ivan gave him a look. "Does leetle man have any better ideas?"
"No…"
With that, the Hylian exited the room, Hookshotted to the third Triforce plaque, and played Zelda's Lullaby on the Ocarina of Time. The water level rose to the place it was when Link first entered the Temple.
"Now how do I get back?" Link countered.
"Hmm… You can't go back the way you went in, because that platform has floated to the surface… That leaves the way you left, through that door on the second floor. Try it."
"This isn't going to work, Ivan," Link said, but donned the Iron Boots nonetheless and maneuvered himself onto the second level. He strolled along the walkway and approached the unlocked door. Miraculously, the door opened when Link approached, and the Hylian was able to go through.
"I stand corrected."
Ivan chuckled.
Link deactivated the Iron Boots and rose to the top. Like Ivan predicted, the floating platform had rose to a position so high that Link could ascend to the Block of Time. Casting Din's Fire again lit all four torches, and even through all the liquid interference, Link could hear the sound of the iron grate at the bottom sliding open.
!0*0!
Swandiving to the bottom with the Iron Boots, Link found himself in a water-filled corridor. He walked through it to discover a small chamber with several boxes and flimsy-looking walls. Smashing the boxes yielded nothing but a few Rupees, which Link was happy to take nonetheless.
He rounded around the flimsy wall to discover that there was more to the room; namely, more boxes. The first box Link rolled into revealed a diamond switch, which Link triggered with the Longshot. He heard the iron bars directly behind him recede, but all that was inside was a single Spike. It was easy to destroy with his upgraded Hookshot.
Turning around, Link saw more thin, moss-covered walls partially sunken into the floor. He approached them and exerted a gentle force on it, only to back away when it disintegrated. Repeating the process with the wall behind it revealed another diamond switch. This probably removed the iron bars on the other hole.
His assumption was correct, and Link swam out of the water. Thankfully, the water in the central pillar room was much clearer than the water from the rest of the dungeon. Suddenly realizing what that meant, the Hylian practically threw himself from the water, stripped out of the Zora Tunic, and drank long and deep from the clean, fresh water. He also took the opportunity to fill his canteen with it.
The little dead end Link had found himself in was completely empty save a light blue plaque. He had come to expect things like these, honestly, and the fact that the Compass was registering a chest here helped. He drew the Biggoron Sword and whacked the picture with it, causing a small chest to appear. Inside was a Small Key, exactly what he needed. The mural also spewed out a Magic vial, which Link partook in.
Hopefully there weren't any more Small Keys in this part of the dungeon.
!0*0!
Back on the third floor, Link unlocked the locked door, which consumed the Small Key he had used. He ended up in a room complete with a massive waterfall which fell off into the void. The Hylian wasn't sure exactly what was down there, but he didn't particularly want to find out. He was even less enthused by the fact that this water, too, was pure poison.
Cautiously, Link stepped out to get a better view. Unlike last time, there weren't any platforms in the waterfall. Instead, there was a single platform on his side of the abyss, moving up and down in a sinusoidal cycle.
Maybe there would be something on the other side that he simply couldn't see from here. Deciding that he had no other options, Link leapt down onto the platform, sliding uncontrollably but landing the jump all the same. There were two murals flanking the exit tunnel. Shooting the leftmost one did nothing, but shooting the one further to the right caused a single Hookshot panel to appear, coming right up to the exit hallway. However, it was too far for Link to Hookshot to, even with the added length of the Longshot.
Was he missing something? He hoped not; there were so many rooms in the Water Temple he had yet to explore, so searching every one of them would be pure torment. But there didn't seem to be another option in this room. Dejectedly, Link turned around and prepared to Hookshot back to the central chamber.
Then he noticed something and felt very stupid.
There was a diamond switch hidden right above the entrance hallway. Shooting it with the Longshot caused several more Hookshot panels to peek out from the waterfall.
The toxic water vaulted right over the panels, with less velocity than before, but still at high speed. If Link failed to pull himself on top of the Hookshot panel, he would be sucked into the abyss by the rushing waters. The panels would be slick, but he was wearing greaves. All he had to do was be fast enough.
Or he could just Hookshot to the panel that happened to be situated right above another. That worked, too.
He Hookshotted to that panel, which happened to be on the rightmost side. The current carried him down the waterfall, but he was able to find his footing on the Panel just below it. From there, it was easy to latch to the furthest panel, and the exit was just a hop away.
The door sealed behind him, though. Odd. There weren't any enemies in the room. Only several stone dragon heads, which were all in their lowest position. The little pillar where a diamond switch had once sat was now empty. Link couldn't just Hookshot anywhere, because all the dragon heads were down. However, he did spy a Hookshot panel on the other side of the room, behind a dragon head. He couldn't quite make it from here, but if he jumped down, it wouldn't be too big of an issue. So he proceeded to leap off of the platform he was on, splashing into the shallow water beneath him.
He was caught off guard when three Stalfos materialized in front of him and tried to induct him as the president of the Being Dead Club. Link barely had time to summon his Shield before three bronze swords swung directly at him, sending tingling shockwaves along his arm. The Stalfos shield absorbed the blow, but it was shattered into an explosion of little black diamonds.
Three Stalfos on one Hero of Time in close quarters, and without a shield? Link thought. That's fair. Okay. Alright. I see how it is. At least before, I had room to breathe.
The Hero of Time wasted no time in Hookshotting back on top of the first platform, where the Stalfos couldn't reach him. Ivan's Mind Hacking had given him just enough time to line up the shot and zip away. Fortunately, without the Hookshot, they had no way of getting up to where Link was.
He reached into his pouch and delicately removed his bag of thirty Bombs. He had never really had much of an opportunity to use the Bombs, as he usually opted to run around with the Biggoron Sword and Stalfos Shield. It was about time, he mused, he started using them for more than just excavation.
He tossed a few explosives at the Stalfos, watching in muted glee as they burst into fiery orbs of devastation. One of the Stalfos completely disintegrated, but the other two were still alive and trying desperately to attack Link from more than ten feet below him.
They weren't succeeding.
Snorting in derision, the Hylian lobbed a Deku Nut down a Stalfos' gullet, and the ensuing blast not only blew the skeleton's head clean off, but also stunned the other Stalfos. Link then hopped down into the shallow water and lopped its head off.
He barely heard the door unseal over the loud grinding noises of the dragon heads moving upwards. They each revealed a Hookshot Panel engraved on their necks, which Link could access. The Hylian Hookshotted straight to the dragon head closest to the exit and then across a bed of spikes. Glancing at his map confirmed that the next room was the one that seemed to stretch forever, and housed a dark incarnation of himself.
Dark Link.
He stood before a black, serpentine statue and played the Sun's Song, causing day to switch to night so that he could sleep slightly better. He didn't expect a little golden orb to suddenly appear at his feet before being absorbed into his skin, refilling all of his health and magic. However, it didn't cure his tiredness, and so the Hylian propped himself up against the cool stone wall and slumbered.
!0*0!
The room seemed to stretch on forever into a white void, although there were a few rocks scattered about outside of the real dimensions of the room. He convinced himself that this was just an illusion, and trotted to the dead tree in the center of the room.
Last time, his shadow had been here. But this time, there was none. Only Link and Ivan populated this vast expanse. He waded through the ankle-deep waters a bit, and took in the wonders of this room. He noticed that there was no path behind the door from which he had come from, and that both doors were sealed. But beyond that, the room was empty, full of nothing but poison water, a dead tree, and the Hero of Time.
Link set himself down heavily on the little island in the center and waited. Surely, Dark Link would appear soon enough. He had to. Right?
Right?
He had no idea how long he sat there, waiting. It could have very well been another seven years. Seconds stretched into eternities, minutes were ponderously counted by each beat of Link's heart, and the hours dragged on, endlessly marching forwards. Never stopping, never slowing; forever slogging onwards.
The Hylian was suddenly alerted by the sound of a door unsealing, opening, and then closing again. He jolted, throwing himself into a ready position and grasping the Biggoron Sword. Then he reconsidered; wouldn't the Master Sword be stronger against an evil of Dark Link's scope? Probably.
Ivan flew off, presumably to get a good look at the new arrival as Link stowed away the Biggoron Sword and drew the Blade of Evil's Bane. From the island, Link got a good look at the being that had just entered the room.
It was Dark Link, looking exactly as Link remembered him. He wore a black tunic that was otherwise identical to Link's, but had similarly-colored skin, slate-colored hair, and piercing crimson eyes. He had a fake Master Sword slung along his back- over the left shoulder, Link noted- and a Hylian Shield.
There was also a fairy, which Link took particular note of. It was also colored a dark grey, but they way it clung to Dark Link meant only one thing. Dark Link had a guardian fairy.
Ivan reported back. "It's a dark version of you," the sprite informed. "The fabric between dimensions is very thin here. Ivan thinks it's you from another dimension, and it only appears dark here because of the curse and because of interdimensional interference."
Link blinked. "O… kay?"
Link was lost. He was stuck in some sort of room that stretched on forever, and it was empty save a little island with a dead tree. He waded through the clear, ankle-deep waters, searching for a button or a switch, only to find that some invisible barrier kept him from straying too far.
"Hey!" Navi, his fairy companion, said. "There's probably something we have to fight in here!"
"Okay, Navi, but where? I don't see anything," the Hylian responded.
Navi didn't respond. "Navi?" Link said, turning to his partner.
"Link…? What in the world is that?"
He followed her gaze and, if he squinted, could see a transparent copy of himself, staring at him from the island with the dead tree.
Link blinked. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, and he assumed they couldn't hear anything he said, either. But if his memory served him correctly, he had walked that exact same path, looked that exact same place, and seen that exact same sight his first time around. He could almost fill in Navi's voice over the fairy and his own over Dark Link, although no sound came from either of them.
Slowly, carefully, they approached the island. Maybe this person would know what to do?
"Ivan, we have to kill them," Link explained somberly. "It's the only way we can get out of this Goddess-forsaken room. But… it's me. The first me. The one that still had… her."
"Leetle man…" Ivan warned.
"It's not what you're thinking. I can't take Navi away from this Link, because it would break him… me… us? Plus, she's gone. And I've accepted that… I think.
"It's more the fact that I have to kill them. What happens to me? Do I cease to exist because I died here, meaning that I couldn't have lived long enough to kill me in the first place?"
"Nonsense," Ivan refuted. "This Link is from an alternate dimension, and this is only an astral echo across the fabric of space and time. Killing this Link won't kill you, only him. Leetle man will be fine."
Link took a deep breath. "I'm trusting you."
The man seemed to be talking to thin air. The pair was confused. Did he have his own fairy, that they simply couldn't see?
"W-who are you?" Link asked, hesitantly. There was no response.
"Hello?" Navi said. "Hey! Listen! We're talking to you!" But there was nothing. "I don't know, Link," Navi eventually relented. "I can't get him to do much as acknowledge me. He's like you that way."
"He's a copy of me, right? Makes sense," Link joked.
Then the shadow moved. It had drawn its sword and was standing in front of him, slowly getting even darker as it stared at him with its black, soulless eyes. Link mirrored the movement, tensely waiting for Dark Link to attack as Navi locked on.
Dark Link was just peering at him. Navi had Z-targeted him, ensuring that the younger Link would land his next attack if the older Link did nothing.
They stood there for a few seconds, waiting for the other to strike. Screw this silence, they thought. If he's not going to attack me, then I'll just attack him.
Both Master Swords swung in perfect tandem with each other, clashing in a crossbuck. The force of the blow sent both reeling, trying to put themselves back on good footing. They tried again, only for the same result. Dark Link was slow due to his inexperience. Link was slow due to his inner conflict about killing himself. Even despite Ivan's assuredness that he wouldn't die, an irrational shard of Link's brain still believed that he would.
Dark Link moved to stab at the Hero of Time, painfully slowly. Link deftly hopped onto the extended blade and, finally swallowing his reservations, swung his blade at the other Link.
How had Dark Link done that? He had felt weightless, like he didn't really exist! How could anyone fight something that didn't exist?
"Link!" Navi yelled. "You have to conquer yourself!"
Dark Link backflipped off of his sword, finally allowing Link to move again. In a terrifying moment of clarity, Link noticed that Dark Link's eyes were glowing a sinister red.
That couldn't bode well.
That alternate Navi was being annoying. Her dark light was getting in Link's good eye, and it was becoming extremely irritating. Angrily, Link waved his corrupted hand across his vision and successfully batted the fairy away. This seemed to anger Dark Link, and he proceeded to sprint at Link with his sword raised. The alternate Link jump slashed at him, but the attack was so poorly executed that Link easily sidestepped it and responded with his own jump slash, which hit.
Link got no reaction from Dark, though. His eyes were glowing bloodred, though, and Link was met with a flurry of haphazard blows that were all absorbed by the Stalfos Shield.
Then Dark Link cast Din's Fire.
Link hunkered down behind the Stalfos Shield before realizing that he couldn't possibly cover all of his body with it. So instead, he Backapparated behind the blow and materialized behind an unsuspecting Link, landing yet another hit.
Navi was back, shining her light straight in Link's eye. It was getting ridiculous, and the lack of vision caused Link to completely whiff his next few strikes. He didn't remember Dark Link missing so much back on his first adventure, which he took as a good thing. Fortunately, Ivan was doing the exact same thing to the other Link, creating a strange sort of fight in which both combatants swung blindly at each other without the ability to land their attacks.
Finally, the Links had had enough. They stopped fighting each other and instead tried to bat away the fairies plaguing their vision. Ivan dodged. Navi didn't.
Then again, it probably had more to do with the fact that the elder Link had used his sword instead of his fist.
Navi fell out of the air with a sharp cry, splashing into the water below her. Link uttered a shout of dismay, watching in abject horror as golden ichor intertwined with the clean waters of the Temple.
Dark Link was staring at the fairy with some sort of shock, like he hadn't expected that to happen. Either way, this shadow would pay for that.
Link rammed his elbow into Dark's chest. The monster, not expecting the attack, fell on its behind in a rather undignified manner. The Hylian didn't care, though. Already, he was crouching over Navi's tiny form, her light dim.
"L- Link…" she stuttered. "I'm… sorry… I-I couldn't h-h-have been a better partn…"
Her light went out, and her body evaporated into the air like a Healing Fairy. She was gone.
Oh, Goddesses.
Had he just… killed Navi? No. That was impossible. Right?
But there it was. He watched the fairy's form disappear in Dark's grasp. Link kept staring in that spot, horrified. Through the dark gloom of the corrupted water, he could make out a pair of red dots right over where his reflection's eyes should have been.
He was a monster, wasn't he?
Ivan looked at him, concern etched into his face. Link swallowed his doubts. This was just an interdimensional echo. None of it was real. He hadn't killed Navi. He hadn't.
He hadn't come this far just to fail.
So many people were depending on him. Ruto. Darunia. Saria. The people of Hyrule. The Great Deku Tree. Impa. Sheik.
Zelda.
He started screaming, fury pulsing through his being like a ravenous beast. He would kill this stupid shadow. No, he would kill the shadow's Navi. He would make it feel what it made him feel. He would make it feel true pain.
Dark Link suddenly reared up and started whaling on him with the Master Sword. Each attack hit Link like a catapult full of Ganons. His shield burst, unable to take the hits barreling towards him. Link hastily brought up his blade to parry, which protected him from Dark's next attacks but made him buckle under the weight of the blows. But the younger Link was still able to get under his guard and hit him. Link Backapparated behind the blow, only to nearly be decapitated as soon as he appeared behind Dark. Evidently, Dark had caught on to his tricks. He still managed to Backapparate, but when Dark turned, there was no Link to greet him.
And then there was agony erupting from his midsection.
Hesitantly, Link looked down and wished he hadn't. The dark copy of the Master Sword was protruding from his gut, flecked with his own blood and bits of gold ichor. It was agony. He couldn't die here. He had so much left to do. Ten years wasn't enough. Why so soon?
Suddenly, he felt his mind go numb, like Link was viewing himself from the third person. Was this what happened when everyone… died?
"Privyet, leetle boy," a heavily accented voice greeted. "This is Ivan, Link's guardian fairy. Much like Navi is… was to you."
Why? Link thought. What did I do? I had to save everyone, and you killed me! You killed Navi!
"Da, and Ivan is sorry for that. But leetle boy is mistaken. We did not kill you. We only killed one version of you out of uncountable millions of possible outcomes. This room is strange, in that it reaches across space and time to orchestrate these battles. Here, you are an echo of my Link, who goes on to succeed in saving the world. Ivan assures you, there is always an outcome in which everyone is saved.
"Does that make leetle boy feel better?"
"I… I don't know. I don't think so."
He felt himself give a slight smile, despite not making any indication to. "That's okay, too. Goodbye, Link. May the wind and sun always be at your back."
He felt his eyelids squeeze shut, of their own volition. He never opened them again. He was dead before he hit the water.
The room was suddenly filled with a vibrant light, as stone structures made themselves known throughout the room. The entire expanse was just another chamber, with an island and a tree. There was nothing else special about it.
Except the fact that it was the site where at least two Links had met their end.
Link glanced at his reflection. One eye was wrapped tight in grimy-looking bandages. The other eye was a muted blue. He wasn't a monster. He was just doing what he had to do to survive.
The clear water's surface reflects growth… But what if the growth wasn't for the better? What if instead of evolving, he had somehow devolved over time? The thoughts bounced through Link's mind incessantly, but he didn't voice them. If he did, he would only find himself mired in self-doubt. And if he was to finish the Water Temple intact, self-doubt was the last thing Link wanted.
Ivan exited Dark Link's body just before it evaporated into mist. The fine particles coalesced about the dead tree and then dispersed. The formerly corrupted water shone for an instant, and then cleansed itself. It was clear once again.
He heard the doors unseal, but there was something he still had to do. Approaching the dead tree, Link took off his hat and hung it on one of its boughs. Then he removed the other two from his pack and placed them on other branches. It wasn't much, but it was enough of a memorial for a dead Hero.
Link decided that he hated this room. Turning in disgust, the Hero of Time marched out of the now unlocked door, and further into the Water Temple.
!0*0!
The next room was unforgivingly bland. All that was in it were a pair of pots that contained a jug of Magic Potion and a Healing Fairy, and a sealed hole just behind them. By now, Link knew what to do. Rolling his eyes at how easy the Water Temple's puzzles turned out to be, Link aimed his Longshot at the mural on the wall and released it. The plaque not only spewed out another magic jar, but also caused the hole to unseal. From there, it was easy for Link to jump down the hole into what he knew to be a tunnel full of rapids. There were Hookshot panels jutting out from the little river, which were convenient.
But Link was more concerned about the fact that the water looked a sickly green, like pus. Gingerly, Link fished a Green Rupee out of his wallet and submerged half of it in the water. When he withdrew it, half of the Rupee had burnt away; evidently, this water was highly acidic. He would have to Hookshot from panel to panel while avoiding the water at all costs.
"Ivan would tell you to avoid the vortices, but Ivan doubts you were planning to jump into that water and swim through this section," Ivan said.
"Yup," Link replied simply, Hookshotting from panel to panel. He also picked up a Golden Skulltula hiding on the ceiling.
The exit to the snake-like room wasn't even sealed. Link remained unimpressed. He almost preferred the original Water Temple, because that Temple had actually made him think.
Link dove into the swirling waters of the next chamber. He swiftly activated his Iron Boots and sank to the bottom, but dispelled them before he could quite get all the way down. This allowed Link to swim through a submerged tunnel. He swam all the way to the top and was greeted by an empty room. It had a plaque, though, but when Link shot it, nothing happened. He probably had to do something with the small boxes that were also in this room. So he grabbed one and turned to leave, only to notice that there were two torches hiding in the corners of the room. Angrily, Link threw the box at the wall, shattering it, before casting Din's Fire. Link wasn't quite sure what had happened, but he knew that something must have happened. So he returned to the vortex, only to discover that the exit door was now unlocked.
That was just too easy. He left the room and ended up in a room with a large depression in it. There was a diamond switch right next to him and a water spout at the bottom. On the other side, there was a steel barrier. But behind the bars, Link could see two Torches and an elaborate chest. It must have contained the Boss Key.
Why was he using Din's Fire so much? He was in a Water Temple! It completely contradicted the theme of the dungeon itself! Whatever the reasoning was, it made the Temple so easy that even the Kakariko town drunk probably could have done it.
He activated the diamond switch, which caused the spout to rise, as Link predicted. He then jumped onto the spout, which somehow held his weight, and cast Din's Fire.
The two torches were lit, causing the great iron cates to open. The Hylian jumped across just before the water began to descend into the valley, and withdrew the Boss Key from its chest.
Progressing even further, Link sank down a hole behind the Boss Key and then floated back up. This lead him back to the central room, but on the other side of the iron bars. There was also a convenient golden button there, which the Hero of Time somehow hadn't noted when he first entered the Temple. Stepping on the button caused all of the iron bars to recede. Not just the ones directly in front of Link, but every single grate in the Temple had disappeared, allowing access to the entirety of the Water Temple. Link didn't care, though. He just wanted to get the dungeon over with.
He rose to the third level of the Temple and Hookshotted across to the northern expanse of corrupted water, thankful that he had left the water on its highest setting. He trotted through the door to be greeted by a final, short hallway. There were three spiked discs oscillating on a slope too slick for Link to just stand on. Like last time, he would have to dash up the ramp as fast as he could, lest he slide all the way down.
But where it differed from last time was the sheer speed of the discs. They were moving at a much higher speed than they were before, and Link knew from just looking at it that he wouldn't be able to sprint up the slope.
There were two plaques on either side of him, but they did nothing. The larger, brown plaque on the other end, though, appeared to have a diamond switch embedded in it. Link took aim with his Longshot and activated it. He didn't know what he was expecting; maybe some Hookshot panels would appear somewhere. The Hylian was sure of one thing, though; he most certainly did not expect a gaggle of cuccos to land on his head.
Fortunately, the chickens didn't seem to be angered at Link, despite the fact that the Hylian was indirectly responsible for their sudden change in location. Instead, the flock stayed right where Link was, at the base of the ramp. The Hero of Time dared not move his feet, lest he kick a Cucco and send the whole gaggle into a mad frenzy.
How did this help him get up the slope, though? Was he supposed to get the cuccos mad at him so that their attacks would catapult him up the ramp? That couldn't be it, could it?
Ivan seemed just as lost as Link was. "Chickens, chickens…" he mumbled. "Don't they get angry at whatever hurt them?"
Whatever. Not whoever.
"Ivan, you're a genius," Link praised, picking up the nearest Cucco and lobbing it at the spiked discs. The spikes impaled the cucco almost instantly as it squacked madly. Immediately, the entire gaggle swiveled their gazes at the discs before diving at them, beaks ripping metal from the discs as they were crushed by an entire herd of irate livestock. Soon, the spiked rings were nothing but shrapnel, and the cuccos returned to aimlessly milling about like nothing had happened.
In a moment of shocking clarity, Link realized that he could technically bring an entire flock of Cuccos into the battle with Morpha. He gladly snagged the cucco nearest him, only for it to start screaming its head off the instant it was touched.
Link processed the situation. He had just angered an entire herd of cuccos. In an extremely cramped hallway. Right next to Morpha.
There was only one logical solution.
The Hylian sprinted up the slope, begging hoarsely for mercy, as the entire flock engaged in hot pursuit. Many infuriated pecks later, he made it all the way up the slope, yanked open the Boss Door, and slammed it shut behind him.
This couldn't end well.
!0*0!
The water was acid, as evidenced by its disgusting green color.
This was the second thing Link realized, right after the black-skinned humanoid that was enraptured by a bubbling cauldron in the center of the room. He stood casually on a waterspout a few feet above the normal elevation of the water. Closer inspection yielded the fact that its arms had fins, confirming that it was a Zora. It was freezing in the room, causing Link to shiver uncontrollably.
"So you're the signature I've been tracking…" it said in a distinctly masculine voice. He sounded almost familiar. "Well, isn't this very, very interesting…"
Ivan choked. "But… that's… of course he's here."
The Zora's head rotated a hundred and eighty degrees to stare at the partners that had entered the Boss Room. He had deformed features and hate-filled golden eyes. "What do you two think?"
Then it clicked.
"Nierak!" Link boomed, somewhat scandalized.
"So you do remember me," the Zora dark mage confirmed. "Frankly, it took you long enough. I was starting to get bored."
"What the hell are you on about?" the Hylian shot back. He lost ten Rupees.
"The great Ganondorf told me to guard this place, and keep my little project secret," Nierak explained. "To be quite honest, I wasn't expecting that to entail sitting around in this room for six Goddess damned years. But you're here, and with more dark magic to boot. This will be the most fun I've had in decades!"
"But why follow Ganondorf?" Link argued. "I mean, you've been sitting here for the last six years under his orders. Couldn't you have spent that time better terrorizing a Hyrule that was still under the control of the Royal Family?"
"Because this is so much more exhilarating!" the dark mage proclaimed, laughing madly as he spread his arms. "I thought my dark magic was unrivaled throughout all the land. But then Ganondorf disappeared, and came back a year later with nigh unlimited power! I was honored to be allowed the honor- nay, the privilege to serve the great Ganondorf!"
"You…" Ivan spat, hate dripping off of his words. "You cursed Zora's Domain and poisoned all the water, didn't you?!"
"Ah, so the stupid little fairy recognizes my greatest work," Nierak bragged. "Isn't it magnificent? Every instant that passes, I kill my foes a little more. Soon, they will have no choice but to grovel at my feet for mercy, and I can laugh and tell them that begging for their pathetic lives didn't save the Hero of Time, so why should it save them?
"Then I can kill them all. Slowly. And painfully. Then I can dump them in the same hole I'll bury you in in a few minutes. And the Goddesses will rue the day they thought they could usurp Nierak, God of Plague!"
He started laughing, insanely, as tendrils of pus-colored water surrounded him in a great orb. Nierak floated up to the ceiling with the water and stayed there, still cackling maniacally. Link drew his Biggoron Sword and jumped onto one of the four platforms in an effort to reach him, only to find that the dark mage had gotten too far up for him to efficiently attack with a blade. Then he tried shooting him with arrows, only to discover that the water bubble surrounding Nierak was completely impregnable.
He turned around to jump back to the other side, only to be greeted by a fat tendril of poison water that was staring back at him. If he squinted, Link could see a red sphere inside of the acid.
Then it clicked.
Nierak had made Morpha. He'd probably been making it when he went there to learn dark magic. And Link has done nothing about it.
It had been colder behind the waterfall seven years ago. Colder than it had any right to be. How hadn't he realized it sooner?
He barely dodged the waterspout as it swung at him, but Link still managed to get to the edge of the Boss Room. Looking back at the water revealed three more tendrils of water emerging from the water, each with their own Morpha housed inside.
The Hylian readied his Longshot. It was going to be a long battle.
The Morphae descended back into the water and swam around the basin, finding a location close to Link and swirling about in place. Above where they were located, massive tendrils of toxic water swelled up from the surface, straight up, before bending forwards in an effort to grab Link. The Hylian had backed himself in the corner, and just inches out of the range of the Morphae. Each of the Morphae had swum upwards into their respective water columns, allowing Link to Hookshot them out.
Or at least, that was what had worked last time. This time, the Longshot quite literally bounced off of the water like it was made of steel. Great. How was he supposed to get at the Morphae now?
"You have to break the surface tension of the water somehow! The Morphae are making it impenetrable by drastically increasing the surface tension!" Ivan hollered over the cacophonous noise of the Morphae. "But Ivan isn't sure how you can combat that!"
If sharp things didn't work, maybe the Megaton Hammer would. It was worth a shot, maybe.
The Hylian heard a queer, implacable noise. He glanced at Nierak's bubble to see a bolt of dark magic careening towards him. Panicking, Link slapped it with the Biggoron Sword and was surprised to see the bolt bounce off of the steel. It collided with the water, which started undulating violently upon making contact.
Glancing upwards, he could see the Zora dark mage preparing another spell. This happened to perfectly coincide with a Morpha tendril appearing from the water's surface. Just as it leaned over to grab Link, the Hylian batted Nierak's beam at it, causing the water to twitch and shake violently. Praying that his theory was correct, Link Longshot the giant amoeba; the attack yanked Morpha Number One out of the water and onto dry land. Right into the corner.
"Perfect!" he exclaimed, drawing the Biggoron Sword and striking the amoeba. Then, seeing that it was getting away, he Longshot it behind him and swung at it again. This time, it was knocked into the corner and further from the water. From there, a few quick swings were all that stood between Morpha Number One and death, but the Hylian wasn't expecting the other three Morphae to appear right behind him. Right as Link dealt the coup de grace on Morpha Number One, corrupted water swirled around him in a toxic vortex, squeezing and constraining him in its grasp. The Morphae picked him up off the ground, thrashed him around a bit in the air, and then held him in place right below Nierak's bubble. Link was pinned by the water; there was nothing he could do. Therefore, he had no choice but to accept the tidal wave of dark magic that Nierak loosed at him. The Hylian caught the full brunt of the blow, grunting in agony as the dark magic nearly ripped him apart.
When the magical energies finally subsided, the Morphae tossed Link across the room like a rag doll, and he smashed into the wall on the other side of the room. He consumed his second-to-last Healing Fairy to revitalize him completely, undoing any of the injuries the Zora dark mage had inflicted.
Ivan shuddered, grimacing, but said nothing.
At least Morpha Number One was down. The other three Morphae were still at large, not to mention Nierak himself. The Hylian backed himself into a corner, just like before, as the dark mage prepared a spell and the Morphae reared their ugly heads. Metaphorically, of course.
He repeated the process for Morpha Number One with Morpha Number Two; hit it with Nierak's dark magic, then Longshot it into a corner and hit it with the Biggoron Sword until it died. This time, however, he made sure to stay as far away as possible from the water's edge, to avoid being grabbed again.
This process repeated itself with Morphae Numbers Three and Four. Several Bubbles of corrupted water dropped from Nierak's bigger bubble, but they were easy enough to pop with the Biggoron Sword.
A burning sensation made itself known at Link's feet. He looked down to see that the water from the basin was… rising?
The Hylian couldn't believe it, but the water level was indeed going up. It was going to fill the room and boil him alive. Ivan swirled around Link's head, glancing in all directions to find some place to hide.
"Link, look! Down there! The water is draining from the basin and moving up! It's going away from where the water is now!" The sprite informed.
Thanking Ivan, Link braved the acidic waters and donned the Iron Boots before ponderously dragging his feet towards the center of the room. He sank beneath the waves and, as Ivan had said, there was a steadily-growing pocket of air underneath the water. Taking off the Iron Boots, Link looked up. It appeared as though the air and water had switched places halfway through the fight.
Nierak laughed. "You'll never defeat me!"
Several water tentacles emerged from the water, despite the fact that there were no Morphae in the corrupted water. They dangled down from the water's surface above Link and thrashed wildly in an effort to slap him with magically enhanced liquid tendrils.
The Hylian kept moving, correctly assuming that the surface tension of the water would mimic the way it was before. Just to make sure, though, he tried to shoot Nierak with an arrow, only to have the bolt snap upon contact with the toxic water. Like before, he would have to wait until the dark mage decided to shoot a bolt of dark magic at him.
Several Bubbles, like the ones from inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly, descended out of the water and towards Link. However, popping them was easy, as they didn't seem to carry the same surface tension properties as the poisonous water above them.
Eventually, Nierak deemed it worthy to sling a spell at Link. The Hylian, after waiting so long for this moment, eagerly slapped it back with the Biggoron Sword. The spell caught the dark mage squarely in the face, and as the bolt made contact with his skin, Nierak stiffened and slumped over a bit, magical energy coursing over his body.
Link Longshot the Zora, yanking him to the bottom of the room. Unfortunately, he took a bubble of water with him, using his dark energy to hold the sphere in place. Link moved to stab him with the Biggoron Sword, only for it to bounce off. Arrows didn't work, so what was left to try?
He cast Din's Fire.
The water surrounding Nierak evaporated into a fine mist and joined the waters above it. The dark mage, now defenseless and slightly wounded from the holy magic, stood and tried to return to the water, where he could rejuvenate and fling more spells at the Hylian. Link threw himself at the magician in an effort to stop him, donning the Iron Boots to ensure that Nierak was held down securely. From there, he drew the Fairy Bow and shot an arrow into Nierak's brain.
Then another one, for good measure.
Nierak gurgled, violet blood oozing from his charred, black scales. He twitched occasionally, still fighting to stay alive somehow. He gasped, greedily drawing in his last breaths.
"You… may you never… find happiness," the Zora gasped, coughing up dark red spittle. "May you die alone… as every man lives and dies… alone…"
He was then still, and never moved again. Link exhaled, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
He watched with satisfaction as the water above him morphed back to its natural clear coloring, the toxins purging themselves from it. It rose out of the room through some kind of valve at the top, returning to Lake Hylia where it belonged.
He stepped through the portal that had appeared at the center of the room, and was whisked away to the Sacred Realm.
!0*0!
"Link…" Ruto said, melodiously. "I would have expected no less from the man who saved me from Jabu-Jabu. Zora's Domain- and my people- will soon return to the state they were originally in.
"As a reward… I grant my eternal love to you."
Link, who had been taking a well-deserved drink from his canteen, proceeded to nearly choke on it. "Ruto, I thought we went over this!"
She just cracked a grin. "I know. But your expression right now is priceless!"
Ivan chuckled. "She's right, you know."
The Hero of Time simply rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, I have to guard the Water Temple as the Sage of Water…" Ruto went on. "Don't you dare be discouraged by anything. More hardships await Hyrule, and you're our last hope. But I know that nothing will stop you in your quest for justice… Therefore, I must ask you to take this Medallion… Take it respectfully!"
With an over-the-top amount of fanfare, an ocean blue coin fell from the top of the Chamber of the Sages and landed in Link's outstretched palm.
"If you see Zelda, tell her I said thanks, okay?"
And the Sacred Realm faded to white.
!0*0!
The air was warm yet crisp, like it always was just at the beginning of fall. Birds were chirping joyously, and the morning sun was rising over the purified lake.
"Ruto wanted to thank me?" Sheik inquired. "I see… We have to return peace to Hyrule for our sake, too. Don't we?"
"Yes," Link replied simply.
The clean waters of Lake Hylia rose to their normal levels at last. "Look at that, Link. Together, you and Ruto destroyed the evil in the Temple!"
Together? Link thought wryly. Ruto ditched in the first five minutes!
"Once again, the lake is pure. All is as it was here."
Link gave an errant glance to the ruins of Khalonir in the distance. But beyond that, it was perfection. Amidst the quiet gurgling of the water in the lake, Link felt at peace. He would have to come back here sometime.
He turned to see that Zelda had disappeared. That was fine. He was content to sit here for as long as he could.
Nierak had been wrong. He had all of Hyrule to keep him company.
MQ Water Temple is so stupidly easy that I had to take some liberties with some of the rooms. The entire Temple boils down to "shoot plaque" or "use Din's Fire in weird place". That's all it is.
Anyway, how many of you expected Nierak to [sort of] replace Morpha as the Water Temple boss? I was dropping hints all throughout the chapter when we met him and last chapter. Always read into the details with me, no matter how throwaway they may seem to be.
NOOTCD: I don't think there is anything.
Review Please!