Chapter 9: The Ancient Mine
The large room lay covered with brown rusted metal. The walls consist of designs that were reminiscent of the robots. Piles of sand & dust resided in the corners while cobwebs plastered the walls. Large pipes stuck out on the wall. The rust on them indicates that they had not been in use for a very long time.
"Can you give us a rundown of this place, Fi?" Link requested.
"Certainly." Fi exited the sword. "This is the Lanayru Mining Facility. In ancient times, this was a hub of highly advanced technology. The ancient machinery is now broken and rusted. The switch that operates these machines is buried under the sand. Readings indicate it is populated with electrically charged monsters. Also, I detect the presence of ancient security measures, though they now appear to be in disrepair. One thing I will note to you masters is that your current selection of pouch items is survival-focused. Suitability to our current location is 70%. Are there any more questions?" Link shook his head. Fi returned to the sword.
The quartet of students proceeds along the path ahead. The door at the end of the room is blocked by bars. Several small creatures resembled the scorpions yet they were pink and much larger scattered around.
"That's a big scorpion…" Fledge stated.
"That is not a scorpion." Fi's voice broke through. "This is an Aracha. This larval monster is said to live one thousand years, during which time it is continually growing. Though the larva is small in size, it is quite ferocious and is often found in swarms beneath the sand. It tends to leap toward moving objects such as yourself."
Right at that moment, the Aracha leaped towards Link. The green-clad senior knight sliced at it and did the same with the others.
"Creepy things…" Pipit commented as Link sheathed his sword.
"Now we find a way through this door."
"I see some sort of switch on that wall over there." Fledge pointed over to a large switch that was across a small pit of sinksand just below on the left side.
"It looks safe to run across," Karane suggested. "I'll switch it on."
Karane went over to the edge of the sinksand. There she dashed across the sand, narrowly making towards the small platform the switch was placed above. The iron bars on the door were quickly gone. The guys gave her the all-clear and Karane made her way back.
"You alright?" Pipit asks as Karane takes several breaths.
"Yeah...but I'm starting not liking sand."
They entered the next room. Straight ahead lied the ruins of stairs leading to the exit. Fortunately, there was another door on the side with an accessible path. The room that the door led them to had several platforms with a large pit of sinksand. There were also ruins of some weird statues along with strangely patterned walkways. High above the center of the room was a large Timeshift Stone. Link used the Beetle to fly over to the stone to activate it.
The brown room quickly filled with color. The sinksand is now completely gone leaving nothing but a large chasm. The strangely patterned walkway started moving on its own carrying large black stones. The strange statues came to life as tall robots, but not the same as the ones they've seen.
The quartet of students stood and gaped at the sight of the ancient technology of the past. It was never anything like they've ever seen back at Skyloft. Though not everything brought to life is not good. As they made their way through the room they encountered the strange tall robot. When they got close to it, the robot immediately fired a laser towards them. Link called upon Fi to analyze the robot.
"This is a Beamos. This is an ancient security mechanism. Its weak point is its eye. The eye is also a weapon that fires a focused energy beam. I calculate a 100% failure rate at any attempt to strike the eye with your sword while it is still on top of the pedestal. I recommend using a weapon that can strike at high targets. Conversely, you could lower its head to a height your sword can reach."
Link watched the robot for several minutes. He moved closer to it which then activated its laser. He used his shield to reflect the laser to the robot, taking the moment to dash over to slice its parts until its eye reached the same level. Link thrust his sword forward into the eye, putting it out of commission.
With that taken care of, they proceeded towards the end of the room. The moving pathways, which Fi identified as conveyor belts, were difficult to transverse so they had to run on them to reach the other end, while also avoiding the black rocks. Eventually, they made it to the end of the room.
Unlike the previous one, this room remains in the brown rusted metal. There are also square platforms scattered around this room. They tried to walk alongside the ground but several spike traps, along with many Arachas prompted them otherwise. With no other options, they all jumped across the platforms. During which they noticed a big blue chest on a higher platform. They all jumped over to the platform just below the chest. Link climbed up the ladder to where the chest lay. Minutes later he came back down holding an object resembling a jar with a long slender top.
"What was in that chest?" Fledge asked.
"This." Link held out the strange jar.
"What is that, exactly?" Karane question.
"It is the Gust Bellows." Fi's voice echoed. "It is an ancient and mystical device capable of blowing an endless gust of wind. You can use uncovered items that are buried."
"Sounds useful," Pipit stated.
They tested the Gust Bellows on the large piles of dust. Sure enough, it cleared away all the dust in a quick amount of time. Satisfied with their newfound item they proceeded to the exit. The next room they went to was very large. No doubt this is where the door with the ruin stairs led to. An archway in the middle was blocked by bars but the one on the side was open. On the side lied a large pit of sinksand. The only solid ground was narrow stone paths leading to the stone platforms. Granted it was not as tense as the bridge back at Skyview Temple given that there was a chasm below them and the sinksand wasn't difficult to get out but they were still cautious. The path led them to a large dust pile along the wall. Using the Gust Bellows to uncover the dust, reveals a pathway that was big enough to crawl through to the next destination. The next room was covered with PILES of sand.
"That's a lot of sand in here," Karane commented.
"But there are some stairs over there. That should lead us-" As Pipit walks through the sand-covered room, large spikes appear from the ground barely missing him. The sudden action made the yellow-clad senior knight jerk back. "Yikes! Okay, not doing that again…"
"Guess it's plan B." Link pulled out the Gust Bellows.
While it was a time-consuming process, Link blew all the sand from the room. Under the sand revealed a path not blocked by the spikes. With the sand gone, the group safely made their way to the stairs leading to the door.
The group found themselves back in the same large room. They see a mine cart covered by sand. Uncovering it with the Gust Bellows revealed a small Timeshift Stone in the cart. Activating it brought the cart to life and it started the move. They all followed the slow-moving cart to an archway that was blocked by bars that remained even when the stone came within its range. Even better, Beamos came to life.
Everyone stood guard as the Beamos scanned its targets. It then shot at a laser at Fledge who manage to parry the laser back to the robot with his shield. Link then took down the robot.
"Nice block, Fledge," Link complimented the student. "You're really good at shield parrying."
"It's nothing special. Anyone can do it," Fledge replied.
"Come on, Fledge. Learn to take a compliment. You're good at what you do."
"Thanks." Fledge looked at the bars. "How are we going to pass that?"
Link looked at the archway. Above lies a large fan of sorts. An idea came to his head. He blew the Gust Bellows on the fan which then started spinning. The bars slowly rose until they were no longer there. With the bars gone the cart started moving again.
The cart kept on moving to the side of the large room to a door on a platform. This took them to another room that was similar to the first one, with the ruins of Beamos and conveyor belts. Large gusts of air blew out across the conveyor belts. Fi informed them that they blow a very hot gust of air which was strong enough to knock them to the dark pit below.
After passing through the hot air gusts, they found themselves on the top of a platform. A large pile of sand resided on the side. The Gust Bellows help reveal a large Timeshift Crystal. Like the previous ones, activating it brought life to the entire room. Moving along, they notice an individual platform with a strange propeller device which reminded them of the fan contraption that helped open the large archways. With the Gust Bellows, Link blew on the propeller, getting him and everyone else on the other side. Their next obstacle came in the form of a blocked door.
"Now what?" Karane wondered.
"I see some strange pink diamonds over there." Pipit pointed over the three large diamonds alongside the road.
"Those have to help find the way through," Link mentioned.
"What makes you say that?" Karane questioned.
"I saw them back at Skyview. I hit them and they opened the doors. Problem is that I've never encountered three and I don't know which one to hit…"
"I'm sure there's a clue around here," Fledge stated.
Everyone took that moment to look around. Karane quickly notices something directly across the diamonds. There lie three rows of pictures of the robots. One had one picture, the other had two, and the final had three. She notice how each row lined up perfectly across from their respective diamond.
"I think I have an idea. See those pictures of those robots? Each row aligns perfectly with the diamond. We hit the diamonds in the order of the robots."
Link used his slingshot to hit the diamonds in the order of the pictures. After hitting the last diamond the bars went up.
The room they walked into had two large statues on the side. In the middle of the room lay a white chest with a red gem. When they moved close the statues suddenly started hopping over to the group. It only stopped once the group went back to the far side away from the bars.
"Mind telling us what that is, Fi?" Pipit said.
"That is Armos. This security and defense mechanism was developed long ago. It will attack anything that enters its security perimeter. According to my records, its weak point is its mouth, but it requires some specific measure to make it open its mouth."
"How do we open its mouth?" Fledge questioned.
Getting a better look, Link noticed something on the top of the Armos. It had the same propeller device much as that platform had before. Gust Bellows in his hand's Link move close to one of the Armos causing it to jump towards him once again. Link blew on the propeller on the top. The mouth of the statue opening revealing two crystals on each side which also causes it to stop moving. The mouth closed again several seconds later and it started moving again.
"Okay here's the plan," Link addressed to his friends once he was back at a safe distance. "I'll use the Gust Bellows to open the mouth while the two of you destroy the crystals."
Everyone made their way towards the door, activating both statues. Link commanded one of his friends to distract the other Armos, which Karane volunteered to do. Working together Link below on the propeller, giving Pipit & Fledge the chance to destroy the crystals on each side. They head over to Karane's side, in which Armos was chasing her. Link blew on the propeller on top of the Armos and both he & Karane destroyed the blue crystals. With the Armos gone, the bars leading to the white chest lifted. Link went over to the chest and opened the lid. He pulled out a golden object.
"Looks like we got our ticket outta here!" Pipit proclaimed.
"At least there isn't a giant boulder this time…" Fledge commented with relief.
They all proceeded to exit the large room. This leads them to a path that leads them to another minecart with a small Timeshift Stone. They activated it and follow it to large doors which turn gold. Much like at the Earth Temple, there was a large shape missing in it. After several minutes of aligning the golden key with the shape, they pushed it in once they got the correct side. They all stood as they watched the door give a glow and the key holder split in half. The doors then slowly opened. Taking a deep breath the quartet entered the room.
The chamber they walked into was round-shaped and brown with more sand below their feet. No sign of any Timeshift Stones in the room nor any exits. A lump in the sand behind slowly moved under the group before stopping in the middle of the room. Emerging from below is a large creature similar to the Arach's and scorpions. It was black with two large pincers, one was larger than the other. Large red/purple orbs occupied the large pincers. It let out a loud shrilling shriek.
"GOOD HYLIA! WHAT IS THAT?!" Fledge screamed out loud.
"That is Moldarach," Fi answered quickly. "This is an Aracha that has survived its very lengthy larval stage is known as a "Thousand-Year Arachnid," which is precisely what you see before you. Over 90% of its body is shielded by a tough, chitinous armor that can deflect even the sharpest blade."
"Then how do we kill it?!" Pipit added.
"I detect an 85% chance that those orbs in the pincers could be their weak spot."
"Right. You guys stay back. I got this one!" Link got Moldarach's attention. The large monster followed him to the other side of the room. Link waited for the moment for it to expose the orb on each of its pincers. He achieves getting several swipes on them. The creature eyed Link's companions on the other side. Moldarach quickly buried itself under the sand.
"Where'd he go?" Link frantically darted his head around the room.
His three companions all gave glances around. Karane had unknowingly wandered away from her friends. A small lump in the sand appeared to her side, a red-eye peeking out of it. Before she could have any time to react Moldarach quickly appeared grabbing her with its large pincer.
"KARANE!" Fledge voice's boomed off the walls, watching the redhead struggling to free herself from the monster's pincers as they slowly crushed her.
"LET GO OF HER, YOU BASTARD!" Pipit ran over to the monster, hitting the orb in its free pincer. The yellow-clad senior knight managed to get several hits before his weapon got blocked by the monster closing its pincer, causing him to stagger back. Moldarach positioned its tail to strike at the young man. It would've succeeded had Link not tackled Pipit out of the way.
"You okay?" Link said.
"I'm fine but Karane won't be unless we do something," Pipit reminded.
Moldarach moved back before burying itself under the sand, taking Karane along as well. Looking closer they see a small lump moving along the ground. A sudden idea came to Pipit's mind.
"Gust Bellows! Use the Gust Bellows to uncover it!" He yelled at Link.
Link below the Gust Bellows into the moving lump. He had just uncovered just enough sand for Moldarach to reappear with Karane, coughing out the sand that got into her mouth. Pipit waited for the moment for the creature to open its pincer before striking the orb. This time the pincer exploded leaving one left. The pain was extreme enough for Moldarach to release Karane. Link took that moment to slice against that pincer which exploded as well.
"Are you okay?" Pipit ask Karane as Fledge helped her to her feet.
"I will be once that large bastard is dealt with," Karane retorted, coughing out more sand.
"Working on it!" Link yelled back as he watched Moldarach bury itself again. "Okay new plan. Everyone stay close to me!"
The rest of the group stuck to Link as he uses the Gust Bellows to uncover the large monster from its sandy sanctuary. The monster reappears from the ground. A red ball lit up the center of its body. No doubt that was its eye. The creature staggered back from Link. Then it would use its tail to strike at him. Link used his shield to block it. When the creature stood dazed, Link thrust his sword several times into its eye. The creature made several more attempts to attack Link with its tail but Link always blocked it with his shield, leading him to stab the eye. This process was repeated about three times.
Moldarach let out a pain-filled scream and Link gave one final stab. Its body limped flat on the ground below before it disappeared in purple smoke. After it vanished the room suddenly started shaking. The sand below the feet started sinking, then bellowed several feet until the sand was replaced with solid ground. Ahead of the group was a large yellow door with a familiar crest of the goddess.
"I take back my earlier statement. That thing was creepy," Pipit spoke after a minute.
"How are you doing Karane?" Link asked her concerly.
Karane took off her hat to pour out the sand that got in. "Other than the sand that's all over me, I'm fine."
"Good." Link faced towards the door. "Let's go see our friend."
As everyone started to move, Karane grabbed Pipit's hand. "Pipit?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For freeing me from that thing."
"No problem." Pipit smiled at her. A smile that made her heart flutter.
Footsteps echoed the next room. It was dimly lit. A lone mine cart sat still on the end.
"I think I see a Timeshift Crystal up there." Fledge pointed to a pedestal hanging above the ceiling.
Link pulled out the Beetle and flew it over to the large crystal. With the crystal activated the room was now bright with a warm blue. Two rows of large states of the robots stood on each side, every single one giving a salute. The quartet of students climbed in the minecart which moved once they all were in. They all took in the quietness of the moment as they watched the statues pass by them.
"You guys want to know something?" All the guys turned their attention on Karane. "I hate sand. It's coarse, rough, and irritating. And it gets everywhere." All the guys couldn't help but let out a laugh.
The minecart made it to the end. Up ahead were stairs that led up to bright light. They proceeded up the stairs. When they got closer to the top they heard the sound of music along with someone singing. They're ahead of the group's sight was the large stone crest of the goddess with a long narrow bridge on top of an abyss connecting them to the other end. They had made it to the inside of the Temple of Time.
They were not the only ones. There they saw Zelda playing the harp with the woman, that Link knows as Impa standing beside her. In front of the pair was a large purple gear of some sort. If Link had to guess that was probably the mysterious Gate of Time.
"Zelda?" Link called out once the girl finished her singing.
The blonde turned around. A large smile grew across her lips. Impa on the other hand had a rather impressed expression.
"Link!" Zelda called out.
Quickly the group of four ran over to their friend. Without a moment's hesitation, Link wrapped his childhood best friend in a hug.
"Woah! Take it easy, sleepyhead," Zelda advised him.
"I'm just happy to see okay. I just hope we're not late." Link glance to Impa.
"You're not. You're all right on time." Amusement lingered in Impa's voice.
"Zelda!" Pipit shouted.
"Pipit. I'm glad to see you" The girl gave him a quick hug. "And Karane, you're...covered in sand."
"Long story short, I had a little trouble."
"Either way, I'm happy you're here, 'Rane" Zelda hugged the redhead before turning her attention to Fledge. "And...Fledge! Look at you in a uniform. It looks so great on you!"
"Well, I had to look adventure-ready." Zelda hugged him as well.
"Now that we're all back together, we can get you back to Skyloft," Pipit declared.
"She can't go back," Impa abruptly cut in.
"What? What are you talking about?" Karane questioned her.
"I...I can't go back home yet…" Zelda's face grimaced.
"But...We came all this way to find you. The headmaster and the entire academy have been worried about you," Fledge told her. "Why can't you come back?"
"I want to but...It's complicated to explain."
"We went through a lot of complicated things these past three days. I'm sure what you're going to say can't top all that," Karane claimed.
"Whatever it is you're going through we'll help you. Just tell us what's going on," Link implored his childhood friend.
A breath escaped from Zelda. "Well… you see-"
Debris that had blocked the entrance exploded before Zelda could explain. The sky quickly got dark. A chilling laugh echoed through the air. Jumping from the dust was none other than Ghirahim. With a swipe of his sword, a barrier of diamonds blocked Link and the rest of the guys from Zelda. Karane was the only one in their group to remain by her side. Pipit hit the barrier with his hand only to feel a quickly burning sensation that was strong enough to make him stumble back
Ghirahim gave an evil smile. "Right. Now onto business…" The Demon Lord set his sights on Zelda. Impa ran forward towards him as he made a dash.
"Impa!" Zelda called out to the woman.
Impa met Ghirahim about halfway on the path. With her arms outreach, a blue shield blocked a strike from Ghirahim's sword. A frustrated expression grew on his face as the Demon Lord sliced at Impa's barrier several times.
"Your Grace! Quickly, to the gate!" Impa called out.
"Karane, listen to me!" Zelda handed the female senior knight the harp. "Take this! You and the others will need this where you going." Karane took the instrument from the girl's grasp. She recognizes the instrument
"The Goddess Harp? But-"
"Go! Now!" Impa commanded out loud.
"Just trust me!" Zelda spoke back to the redhead.
Zelda scrambled towards the gate. The diamond barrier blocking the guys was dying down. They could guess that Ghirahim was using all of his power to break through Impa's barrier. The barrier died at the same moment Ghirahim pierced his sword through Impa's barrier, knocking her down on the ground. Zelda let out a gasp of horror as an evil grew on The Demon Lord's lips. This was short-lived as he saw Link jump from above with his sword above his head. Ghirahim barely got out of the way when Link landed on the ground. His friends were quick to his side.
"Link…" Impa breathed out.
"Go! Protect Zelda!" Link ordered back to her.
"I will. You all have my thanks. I will leave him to you." Impa quickly ran back over to Zelda's side. They quickly made their way to the entrance of the gate. Impa held up a glowing orb. "Link! You and the others must go now. Return to the old woman at the Sealed Grounds. Tell her what happened here. She will know where you must go! And know that we will-"
"I'll see you all again! This isn't goodbye, guys! I promise!" Zelda yelled out before Impa guided her and herself into the gate dropping the blue orb. It exploded several seconds later destroying the Gate of Time.
Ghirahim stared at the group of humans with pure fury in his eyes, his hand clenched in a fist.
"Now you've done it, Link. I blame myself. I should have reprimanded you and your friends the last time we met, but instead, I was...soft. I'd take pleasure in punishing you all, but I have no time for recreation. But next time, I'll do more than just beat you senseless. I'll make the affair so excruciating, every single one of you will be deafened by the shrill sound of your screams."
The Demon Lord vanished from the site. The sky went lighter. The group turned back to the ruins of the Gate of Time. Fi appeared before them.
"A report, Masters. I can no longer detect Zelda's aura. The moment the gate was destroyed, Zelda's presence disappeared from my readings. You can no longer search for her with your dowsing ability."
"Does that mean Ghirahim can't get to her as well?" Link guessed.
"There's a 99% chance that he cannot reach wherever she is."
"That's a relief to hear at least."
"Zelda's companion instructed you to meet with The Old One in the Sealed Grounds. This corresponds with the records in my memory. I propose that we travel to the Sealed Temple as soon as possible."
"What's that you're holding, Karane?" Fledge asked the girl who was still clutching the harp.
"It's the harp Zelda had. She said we'll need it where we're going. Where that is she didn't tell me."
"Hopefully The Old One will explain. Let's find a Loftwing statue and get going," Link suggested to which his friends agreed to.
Karane looked at the harp in her arms. This was not the first time she had held this instrument. As she gaze at it she recalled the last time she had this harp in Zelda's presence.
Around One Year Ago…
"Are you ready, Karane?" Zelda spoke to the divider that split up her and Karane's 'rooms'.
"Just about." Karane's voice spoke through the divider.
"Well don't keep me waiting! Let me see you!"
The divider slides to the side. There stood Karane wearing a light green dress that goes to the length of her calves, and her hairstyled with pigtails draped over her shoulders. The dress is decorated with accessories such as a brown belt with a blue cloth with a print of wings on it, along with another belt designed with gold circles. A blue gem resided on the center of her chest.
"How do I look?" Karane ask.
"It would be perfect...if you're wearing the sailcloth."
"Oh shoot!" Karane scrambled to the sailcloth on her desk and wrapped it around her shoulders. "How about now?"
"Just one final touch." Zelda went over to the corner of the room where the Goddess Harp resided. She brought the instrument into Karane's hands. "And voila! Now you're a perfect goddess!"
Karane turns to see herself reflecting from the large mirror in Zelda's bedroom.
"You're going to do great at tomorrow's Wing Ceremony," Zelda grinned to her.
"Yeah…"
"What's wrong? You sound unsure."
"I don't think I'll do that great tomorrow…"
"Now what on Skyloft makes you say that?"
"Plenty of other girls have done it so well over the years. I don't think I would be any better. Also, I'm not exactly as pretty as they all were. I don't exactly have the looks of the goddess-"
"Now you just stop right there, Karane Bellamy." Zelda placed her hands on her hip. "You're going to be a great Goddess Hylia tomorrow. And you are one of the most beautiful girls on this island. Anyone who says otherwise is either jealous-"
"...or a big dummy." Karane finished.
"Exactly! That's just your nerves getting to your head. Do you know what I say to them? Nothing. Act like they're not there. Now, where's the Karane that was excited when she accepted to play the Goddess?"
Karane gave a smile to her friend. "Thank you, Zelda. For helping me get ready for this."
"What kind of honorary sister would I be if I didn't? When father told me you accepted to play the role of the Goddess last month I knew he made the right choice. You won the ceremony last year so who better to play the role this year? I'm always happy to help. Now if you're so nervous why not you practice a bit."
"That might help calm me down. That reminds me, is Link competing this year?"
"Nah. Sleepyhead didn't pass the academic requirements. But I'll make sure he'll study more next year." Zelda gave a sly look. "But I know Pipit is competing tomorrow. Who knows...maybe he might win?"
"Why are you giving me that look?"
"Oh no reason," Zelda responded with an innocent smile. "Anyways let's get started. You should start by playing the song on the harp."
"Alright. Here I go." Karane places the harp in the proper position. She strums the strings as she started singing.
"Oh youth, guided by
the servant of the goddess…
unite earth and sky
and bring light to the land..."
So the 10th anniversary of Skyward Sword was just a few days ago so what better way to celebrate with a new addition to the chapter. Hope you all enjoy. If there's any mistakes is mostly likely because I've been dealing with a bad sinus infection the past few days.
Just like in my other Zelda fic, Bellamy is the last name I gave to Karane. It originated from French that means 'beautiful friend' which I though was fitting.
Any who, our merry band has braved through he mining facility. I thought I be a bit merciful but letting them have a few minutes with Zelda before Ghirahim ruined it. Next chapter, were going to have a familiar face...and everyone's favorite avocado.
Fav, Follows, and Reviews are appreciated.