A/N: We're picking up almost straight after Chapter 19. After 8 months away, I'm back and pushing to finish this fic. We have an unknown number of chapters left. I should note that I will be pulling this down two weeks after I post the last chapter, then posting one chapter at a time every week from start to finish. Enjoy anyway. Also, note how much damage Astron takes compared to Link, Zelda, and Midna. That shows you how much power they got during their Hyrule travels.
Soon, the four of them found themselves near a strange house.
"Are we going in the right direction?" Zelda asked, to which Astron replied: "Yes, we are". It is here, that they meet the Chaos Redeads.
"I'd better pull back, let you three handle this" Astron said. Midna turned to face Astron and replied, "Yes you should". Astro took about thirty steps back and allowed Link, Zelda, and Midna to go to work on the Chaos ReDeads.
The scream stunned all of them (Including Astron) for several seconds, only giving enough time for Link, Zelda and Midna to leap out of the way of their attack.
"Take this!" Link said, firing his Clawshot. If work, going straight through the Chaos ReDead. But then it got stuck.
"Now Link, DUCK!" came a voice from behind, and when Link did duck, Zelda hit the ReDead with a magical bolt through Link's Clawshot, destroying the Chaos ReDead in a second.
"Great. Now can you help me with one of the others?" Zelda asked, and when Link nodded, they charged.
Midna meanwhile, had seen the second Chaos ReDead start as Astron. Midna charged over and started firing her magic bolts at him. A couple hit and did four hearts overall. The ReDead turned around, screamed, stunning Midna for a moment, and went at her. Midna leaped out of the way and continued firing bolts. After a few more, Midna decided to get in close and, after floating over the Chaos ReDead, stabbed it with her staff, killing it.
The last Chaos ReDead lunged at Midna, but all three of them stabbed it at the same time and killed it.
"Alright. Now we move on" Astron said as he rejoined them. Dodging the Chaos Bubbles chasing them, they eventually reach an entrance, to a well.
"I've just noticed this, but that river seems oddly dry" Astron commented as they entered. Link replied "Zelda, do you know of any spells that might fix this?"
"No" Zelda replied. Astron then got an idea.
"The house. I'll go back there and see if we can find a song" Astron said. Midna replied "Alright", and he departed.
Soon, he arrived in the Music house.
"Hello, are you here to try and refill the river that'll play the song for this canyon?" a little girl asked nervously, to which Astron replied "Yes, I am"
"Alright. Then you'll need this song, I would go out there, but I'm not strong enough to get over there" the little girl replied. She then played out the notes, and Astron copied it.
"Thanks" Astron said. He then departed and returned to the well.
"Got the song, that was, oddly easy" Astron said. He played the song, and sure enough, the water returned, and the music was played. However, a Water Dragon suddenly appeared.
"I thought so" Astron said, pulling back quickly. The Dragon said "Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you, yet. You answer my riddle. Answer correctly, I will guide you the way to the king. Get it wrong and I attack. Leave, and I won't follow"
"OK" Link said.
"First think of the person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies. Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, The middle of the middle and end of the end? And finally give me the sound often heard, During the search for a hard-to-find word. Now string them together, and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
"OK. So, let's see if I remember that correctly. The first part, first think of the person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies?" Link asked, to which the Water Dragon nodded.
Everyone thought about it for a bit, then, finally, Link said: "That would be a Spy?"
"Yes. The first part of the riddle solved" the Water Dragon replied.
"OK, so what is the second part?" Link asked, and the Water Dragon repeated it.
"No idea" Link said, turning to the others. Zelda and Midna both shook their heads, but Astron said: "Can you please give us the third clue?"
"Alright" the Water Dragon replied, and he repeated it.
"Uh, that's a sound, but I'm not sure that's it" Zelda said. Midna then said "Errrr. Wait, Er's a sound, right?"
"Yes" the Water Dragon replied. Midna nodded, then Astron said "Spy, Er. The second clue is D, there's probably an innuendo in there somewhere, but, Spy, D, Er. Spider. The creature I would be unwilling to kiss is a spider!"
"Well done" the dragon called, then he added "Now, I will take the four of you to the Ikana Castle, where the king lies, and there, he can get you on to the Stone Tower Temple, and, return to the Twilight Realm" he then raced off, and the four of them followed.
"So, where are we going?" Midna asked as they followed the dragon, to which he replied "I'm taking you through a back way to the Ikana Castle. The well's too treacherous for you four, particularly for the wielder of the Fierce Deity's Mask. So this way is quicker and safer"
"Alright" Astro replied.
Soon, they arrived at the Ancient Castle of Ikana.
"I am afraid, I cannot take you any further. You four must proceed on your own" the Water Dragon said. He then departed, while Link, Astron, Zelda, and Midna (in that order) ascend the ladder.
Here, they find themselves in the courtyard of the Ancient Castle of Ikana.
"Let's move, we have 70 minutes to get to the stone temple" Astron said. Zelda, Midna, and Link nodded, and they raced onwards.
When they enter, they find themselves in a room with four dancing creatures, seemingly unaffected by the chaos infection. The four watched them for a bit, then killed them, one each.
"Now what?" Link asked. He spied a switch, which was encased in ice. Astron used a Fire Bolt to destroy the ice, then Link used an arrow to activate it, opening one of the ways.
They find their way blocked by a falling and rising platform. The timing was such that nobody could cross it. Link spied a switch and hit it. Then, as soon as he did and the platform stopped, he placed a Bombchu down. It made it about half-way across before the platform came down and destroyed it.
"Astron, we need your warping power" Link said. Astron nodded,, Link hit the switch again, and Astron immediately warped over. He hit the second switch and warped back. Just in time too, as the platform came crashing down a second time.
"Close one" Astron said. Zelda then spied a third switch. Looking up, she saw what looked like a hole in the platform where the switch was.
"If Midna and I can get over there, we'd at least have three switches active. But we're going to need the first two switches active" Zelda said. Link and Astron nodded, and as soon as Link hit the switch, Astron warped to the second switch and Zelda and Midna broke into a run. Zelda and Midna just got to the third switch.
"Press it again" Zelda called. Link hit the switch, Astron warped to the second one and hit it, then Zelda hit the third switch. Finally, Midna raced over and hit the fourth switch, stopping the platform at the top permanently.
"Alright, let's go" Zelda said, and Link, Astron and Zelda caught up to Midna. They four then passed into the next room.
When the four of them arrived in the falling platform room, Zelda asked "Now what?", to which Link replied, after looking around a bit, replied: "There's no obvious path to get to the other platforms, they might be invisible". But as soon as he finished, they're attacked by Chaos Skulltulas, but within about ten seconds, Zelda had destroyed one Chaos Skulltula with her staff, Midna had destroyed another with her magic bolts, and finally, Link's arrows destroyed a third.
As soon as they finished off the Chaos Skulltula, Chaos Bats attack, and do 1 heart of damage to the three of them, reducing all three to thirty-four hearts. But with a few arrows, the Chaos Bats were defeated.
"Now" Link said. Zelda, however, got an idea.
"Let me use one of my Light Arrows to see if we can light the way" Zelda said. She then fired a light arrow, and, for 5 seconds, platforms were illuminated in the immediate area.
"Alright, I know where the platforms are. Although, I'm going to have to transform into Wolf Link to jump these platforms" Link said. He then transformed into Wolf Link, and jumped to the first switch. Transforming back, he hit the switch, and two paths light up. Additionally, a second switch is exposed.
"I'll get that" Midna said. She floated over, and hit the switch. With two switches active, the middle platform was available. Midna and Zelda then float over, but are ambushed by Chaos Skulltulas. In two hits, Zelda and Midna destroyed them.
When Zelda and Midna arrived on the central platform, they activated a third switch, and the last two were revealed, along with the closed exit.
"Alright Link, we had better get over to those two" Astron said. Link nodded, transformed back into Wolf Link, and leapt across the platforms to reach the third switch. As soon as he did, he was hit by a Chaos Bat, which did 2 hearts of damage to Link, reducing him to thirty-four hearts. With one bite, however, Wolf Link destroyed the Chaos Bat. He returned to his human form, and, at the same time, both Astron and Link hit the switch. The door was opened, and the four of them went across the last platforms, and headed into the next room.
When they arrive in the next room, their way was blocked by a collapsed section of the ground, which also exposed a huge chasm of spikes.
"I'm not going to be able to get cross that, even as Wolf Link" Link said once he turned back, seeing the large gap. Midna then got an idea.
"Zelda, how about we float over to the other side of the chasm, then we can help Link get across" Midna said. Zelda nodded, and they floated across. Astron then warped, and Link jumped across and, with help from Zelda and Midna, was able to get across.
Once they had gotten across, they headed upstairs, and opened the door to the upper floor.
When they do, they find themselves standing on the top of the castle. Link, looking around, sees a small passage leading to four switches.
"There. We'll have to get over there to proceed" Link said. The four of them slowly move across the edge of the castle, and, once-by-one, they go across the platforms, to the large platform which contains the four switches.
The four of them hit the switches, and a large piece of stone moved across, revealing a passage.
"Is that a distraction?" Zelda asked, to which Astron replied "Maybe. We might have to go back later"
"OK" Astron said. Link then looked over, and said "Zelda, you're going to have to help me get across"
"Alright" Zelda said. She floated across, Link turned into Wolf Link, and Wolf Link charged across. Suddenly, they realise they have found a heart.
"This'll make us a little tougher" Link said. They grabbed it, and their health was fully restored, while Link, Zelda and Midna went up to 36 hearts, while Astron went up to 21 hearts.
Soon, they return. And as soon as they do, Midna said "I found another switch to hit. But I can't hit it from here. Link, you could"
Once Link returned to his human form, he said "Alright" and he shot the arrow. And as s result of hitting the switch, the other half of the castle is revealed.
"I think we're going to have to go back through the other side of the bottom floor of the castle" Midna said. Link, Zelda and Astron nodded, and they slowly floated down to the floor, Zelda and Midna guiding Link, as Astron warped downward.
The four of them enter the castle again, and they find a second switch which wasn't there before. Once again, Astron burns the ice away, then Link shoots it with an arrow. The path was cleared, and they went through into the next room.
When they arrived, they find four more switches. This time, they find them blocked by Stalfos.
Link VS Chaos Stalfos
The Chaos Stalfos charges in for the attack, Link blocks it with his shield. Link then stabs the Chaos Stalfos, but as they lock swords a second time, Link is struck by the Chaos Stalfos' tail, dealing 5 hearts of damage, reducing Link to thirty-one hearts. Link, however, quickly overpowered the Chaos Stalfos and defeated it.
Link then hit his switch.
Zelda VS Chaos Stalfos
The Chaos Staflos swings, but, again, is blocked by Zelda's shield. Zelda quickly counters with a magic bolt. As soon as she did, however, the Chaos Stalfos struck with its sword, and dealt 5 hearts of damage to Zelda, reducing her to thirty-one hearts. The Chaos Stalfos charged in again, but is struck with Zelda's staff, taking it out.
Zelda then hit her switch.
Midna VS Chaos Stalfos
Midna and the Chaos Stalfos match staff and sword, but then Midna flipped the Chaos Stalfos onto it's head, dealing a lot of damage. Stalfos then quickly recovered, and leapt upwards, kicking Midna and dealing four hearts of damage to Midna, reducing her to thirty-two hearts. Midna then shot a magic bolt, and destroyed the Chaos Stalfos.
Midna then hit her switch.
Astron VS Chaos Stalfos
The Chaos Stalfos charged in, but was tripped up by Astron's spell. The Chaos Stalfos swung, but missed. Astron struck with a magic bolt. The Chaos Stalfos swung multiple times, but kept missing, thanks to Astron's speed. Soon, Astron struck with another magic bolt, and killing the Chaos Stalfos.
Astron then hit his switch.
The four switches led to a sun sticker on the top of the room destroy a sunblock that was blocking their way.
It was then, that they discovered the Chaos ReDeads waiting for them.
"Oh, great" Link said. They roared and charged.
Astron had to make sure he was touching everybody, and warped them back. He was the first to recover from the scream, and he managed to barely get them away.
"Thanks, Astron" Midna said. Astron nodded, then said "Now take them down already"
"Right" Link said. They charged in and struck hard. And although all three of them were struck with 6 heart blows, knocking Link and Zelda down to twenty-five hearts and Midna to twenty-six, they managed to kill them in the end.
"AH!" came a voice from behind as Astron was struck by a Chaos Skulltula, which dealt twelve hearts of damage to Astron, reducing him to nine hearts.
"Astron!" Midna said, and she shot several magical bolts at the Chaos Skulltula, destroying it.
"Are you OK?" Link asked as he and Midna pulled Astron to his feet.
"I'll be OK" Astron said, casting the regeneration spell again. After a bit, he was back at twenty-one hearts. The four of them then crossed the room and entered the next door.
There, they discover a Chaos Wizzrobe.
"Chaos Wizzrobe again?" Midna asked, to which Zelda replied "Yeah but look, there's 16 teleporting places instead of 4"
"Alright. So we're going to have to watch six or seven of them each, as Astron won't be able to do too much, and strike when we get the chance" Link said. Zelda, Midna and Astron nodded, and they went on the attack.
Chaos Wizzrobe immediately appeared near Zelda's area, and shot a magic bolt into the sky. Zelda got a hit in, but she had to move quickly to avoid the lightning bolts that fell from the sky.
"Be careful, he has some new tricks up his sleeve" Zelda called. Link struck next, and with his shield up, he only took 1 heart of damage from four lightning bolts, reducing him to twenty-four hearts.
He tried to strike Astron with a Magical Attack when he appeared next, but that allowed Midna to get a big blow in. Plus, Astron easily avoided it. A quadruple hit from Link, Zelda, Midna and Astron, all at the same time, defeated the Chaos Wozzrobe, allowing them access to the next room.
They encountered more Chaos ReDead's. but this time they managed to creep past and get to the next floor.
Here, they discover a switch. A big one. And when all four of them pull it, they descend to the central floor again. Only this time there's a third pathway opened, this time with a sunblock in the way. Hitting two more switches activated the sun sticker to destroy the sunblock, and they proceeded into the next room.
And it was here, that a spectre of Zant was waiting for them.
"Hello, so you've finally made it this far. Congratulations. However, this is as far as you go. Because even if you defeat me here, you still have to face me at my full power, in addition to the power granted to me by the Majora's Mask, at the stone temple" Zant taunted.
"So you are hiding at the Stone Temple. So it's you who has cursed this land. We'll crush you and the Majora's Mask, rebuild the Twilight Dial, get back to the Twilight Realm, and destroy your boss" Midna snapped.
"You won't get even to the temple, I'll destroy all four of you right here and now!" Zant's spectre replied.
"Uh, Midna, should I be here?" Astron asked quietly, to which Midna replied, equally as quietly, "No, Get back to the foyer, we'll see you there"
"Right" Astron said. He backed out, while Link, Zelda and Midna covered him, watching the Spectre of Zant.
"He's a weakling, I'll crush him once I've defeated the three of you and given Midna to the boss" Zant said as he watched Astron leave. He then turned to the others, and said "NOW DIE!"