AN: Hey everyone, here's a new update for you! So it looks like my updates will be sporadic. Not even I know when I'll update! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Still own nothing!
Spirit
With the morning sun casting its rays onto the forest, it seemed to shine more brightly onto the closed eyes of a golden haired swordsman. Link tiredly opened his eyes and lifted his head to look around. The first thing he noticed was that, at some time in the night, he had moved himself and Kagome from leaning against the tree, to lying on the ground. Her back was pressed against his chest, while one of his arms was draped across her waist (spooning). He began to hear something whimpering and looked around to see what was causing the sound. Seeing nothing, he sat himself up and looked down at the girl at his side. His eyes narrowed in worriment when he discovered that the whimpers were coming from her, and she had tears running down her face. He got to his knees and rolled her onto her back, gently shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her as she began thrashing about.
"Kagome, wake up," he pleaded. "It's just a nightmare, please wake up!"
~ Dream Sequence ~
The howling wind blew with such strength, that the strong, proud trees were bending to its will. "Inuyasha?"
A younger Kagome was calling out for her friend. At the half-demon's insistence, the group continued on their journey to search for the jewel, despite the dark clouds coming their way. Somehow, the group got separated, leaving the middle school time traveler alone in a forest during a storm. A sight soon greeted her. No, it wasn't her friends. It was a cave. She quickly ran into it, to hide herself from the wind and rain outside. Finding some dry sticks and broken branches, she lit a fire to warm her freezing body and clothes. She took off her shoes and soaked socks, setting them by the fire to dry easier. She did the same with the top of her school uniform, since she had a white tank top on underneath. For a while, she just sat and glared into the fire. 'When I see that dog, I'm going to sit him so hard; he won't be able to move a finger because of the pain.' It seems that Kagome was a little upset at the moment. Looking ahead, out of the cave, she saw that the storm had lessened to an easy rainfall. Because she was busy looking in front of her, she never noticed the red eyes narrowed behind her.
"Now that the stormed passed, it should be easy for Inuyasha to find me."
"But surely little priestess, you don't wish to leave so soon."
The voice that came behind her caused her eyes to widen in fear. She spun around, and was face to face with the one they hunted, Naraku. Somehow, Kagome could tell that this time, it was really him, not a puppet. She spun on her heel, her bare feet slapping against the wet grass of the forest as she ran in attempt to escape. Hearing his cold and mocking laughter was enough to make her legs pump faster than she had ever run in her life.
Suddenly, there was silence. Confused, Kagome slowed to a stop. Expanding her senses, she tried to find the one who was hunting her. She felt nothing, until two hands rested themselves on her shoulders and felt his hot breath as he spoke next to her ear.
"I caught you."
Then, all went dark.
~ End Dream Sequence ~
Link fell onto his back with a grunt as Kagome shot up, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Hearing movement from her right, she looked and saw Link propping himself up with one hand, while the other was rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you alright?"
Link stopped rubbing his head and looked at her in surprise. "I should be asking you that. It looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare."
She gave him a sad smile and shook her head.
"I'm alright; it wasn't so much a nightmare as it was a bad memory."
"You want to talk about it?"
"Not right now. We need to get moving if we want to get that item from the temple."
Link groaned. "I guess you're right."
He stood up and dusted his clothes before offering her a hand up. After a quick breakfast that consisted of the leftover fish from last night's dinner, they made their way to the Forest Temple.
After a comfortable walk in silence, the temple could be seen at the end of a winding pathway. The temple seemed to be built within an extremely large tree trunk. Kagome giggled as they passed a little bird yelling at them to buy something. Her amusement was short lived as Link took hold of her arm, stopping their movement. Feeling his body tense, she looked up at his face. His eyes were narrowed, looking straight ahead. Following his gaze, she felt her own body tense. Just ahead of them was a golden colored wolf. It wasn't the presence of the wolf that had them on edge. No, it was the fact that the wolf appeared out of nowhere. As it got into a position to attack, Link put himself in front of Kagome, drawing his sword and shield. Before they even knew what happened, the wolf was leaping at them, covering them in a bright light.
They don't know how they got there, or how long they had been unconscious. When they woke, the world was covered in white. It was as if they were standing in a dream. A light fog covered the ground of the courtyard they now stood in. The two warily looked around, searching for the one who brought them there.
"Link, do you know where we are?"
"No…" he spun around quickly, once more putting himself in front of her. "But I have a feeling he does."
The 'he' that was mentioned was a large skeleton. In his life he must have been a soldier, if the decayed armor and helmet were any indication. His left arm protected by a round shield, and in his right he held a large sword. His stance was poised and ready to attack. Link moved to copy him, never breaking contact with the red eyes of his opponent.
"Kagome, I want you to get a safe distance behind me."
"But, I can..."
"You can't do much against a shield. Please, do as I ask."
Reluctantly, she moved. When she was far away enough, Link charged. With a warriors cry, he leapt at his enemy, his sword coming down to finish him.
Only to be thrown away like a toy by the soldier's shield.
Hearing an amused snort come from his left, he turned a glare on the female who just happened to be standing there trying to muffle her laughter. Their attention was drawn back on the large figure as he began to speak.
"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. You may be destined to become the heroes of legend…but your current powers would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear."
He ignored Kagome's shout of complaint.
"If you do find true courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrors it now faces… Then you will be worthy to receive the secrets I hold!"
He instructs Link to get back into position. They begin to have a sparring session, a quick way to test each other, while Kagome sat and watched.
"Enemies that are filled with energy will quickly recover and attack again even when stunned by a powerful strike. The Ending Blow is a secret technique you can use on stunned enemies to end their breath before they spring back into action. When an enemy is lies collapsed on the ground, stunned, leap into the air and deliver a final strike. Now try it on me!"
Surprisingly, Link was able to get it in one try.
"Hmm. A pinpoint strike. Never overlook your opportunity to use it. The first hidden skill, the Ending Blow, has been passed on! It is my duty, by the word of the gods, that I instruct the hero to harness the hidden skills."
It was by this point that Kagome made her way back to Link's side.
"But what about me?"
The knight of old bowed his head at her.
"Your destined weapon is hidden deep within one of the temples. Those given the task to guard it were instructed to keep it safe until one of those chosen by the gods came to claim it. Your weapon shall be the compliment of the hero's. The heaven to his earth."
After telling them how to call upon him in the future, he bade them farewell and everything was, once again, covered in a blinding light.
As the light faded, they found themselves, once more, at the base of the temple path.
"Why is it always a bright flash of light?"
Link looked over his companion with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"When I was brought here from my world, big flash of light. When the spirit turned us human again, big flash of light. Just now, TWO flashes of light!"
"Where are you going with this?"
"Whenever something happens to us that involves the gods, they use a very bright flash of light. I'm sorry, but if they want us to save the world, they should either stop trying to blind us or stop sending a signal to our enemies telling them where we are."
"I doubt they are trying to do either."
She looked at him with narrow eyes.
"Then what are they doing? Use the light as some sort of signature?"
He seemed to think about that for a while.
"There is that, or it could be that the light works as a warning to those they wish us harm to stay away."
"…Lets just go to the temple."
Link chuckled and made a show of bowing.
"Ladies first."
His chivalry was rewarded with her heel stomping on his toes as she passed. The walk was made in silence as Kagome looked at the forest surrounding them in awe, Link walking right behind her with a slight limp. They stopped short of the entrance as the sounds of heavy footfalls met their ears. Looking around, they saw two purple creatures with white hair guarding the entrance.
"What are those?"
"Bokoblins, a little harder to kill that bulblins."
"Oh."
"Would it be too much to ask for you to leave them to me?"
Her glare answered that question.
Quickly, they moved to rid the guards of their post. Using his sword and shield, Link brought about his opponents end. He looked over to see how Kagome was fairing, and was once again struck with the way she fought her enemy using only her body.
After defeating their respective opponents, Link turned toward his companion.
"Do you know how to use any weapons?"
"I was trained in many, but I preferred using a bow."
She froze as she took notice of the door behind Link. Link's eyes narrowed in confusion as he saw her skin pale and body stiffen. Turning to look behind himself, he suddenly saw what scared her. The entrance to the temple was covered in one large spider's web. Using his lantern, Link quickly burned it to ashes. Walking back over to her, he took her small hand into his larger one, they then made their way into the temple.
"Big spider webs mean big spiders. I hate spiders. They all need to die horrible deaths."
Although he knew why she feared spiders, her constant mumbling greatly amused him. She was currently clinging to his left arm, while his right held the lantern.
"I believe that we should work on this fear of yours."
He looked down at her only to be met with a glare.
"I'm serious Kagome. I understand what caused you this fear in the first place, but you told me that he was dead. Do you wish to live in fear for the rest of your life?"
She focused her gaze ahead and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I still have dreams about it. I know he's dead, but I can still remember everything about that day."
Link was silent as he contemplated her words.
The tunnel opened into a small chamber. Seeing a stump next to him, Link placed the lantern down and brought the quiet girl into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"I'm not going to pretend I know what is going on in your mind, and I'm not telling you how to feel. I am simply asking that you let me help you get over this."
She scoffed. "And how do you plan to do that?"
He was quiet as he gave it some thought.
"I have no doubt that this temple is crawling with creatures given orders to stop us at all costs. That would include walltulas and skulltulas."
He looked down as she moved her head to give him a look of confusion, which caused him to chuckle to himself.
"I'm sorry; I keep forgetting you're not from this world."
He moved back and moved his hands to be a foot apart.
"This is about the size of a walltula, like their name implies, they can be found on walls."
"You're kidding, right? They aren't really that big, are they?"
He smirked at her before continuing. "A skulltula, on the other hand, is bigger than me."
"Ok, why are they called skulltulas?"
"Because their backs look like giant skulls."
She stood there blinking at him. She nodded her and did an about face, walking back the way they came, waving at him over her shoulder.
"Ok, you have fun in here, I'll be waiting outside."
The attempted retreat was short lived as she soon found herself thrown over his shoulder.
"You're not getting away that easily."
"What are you going to do, carry me through the temple?"
"Of course not, how would I be able to fight if I did that?"
"Then how do you figure I won't run for it as soon as you put me down?"
"Because if you run, then I will just catch you."
"…You're not going to give this up are you?"
"Nope."
Kagome just sighed and hung her head in exasperation. "Alright, you can put me down. I won't try to leave again."
"No, I think I'll hold onto you for a little longer, just in case."
Kagome just glared at the back of his head as best as she could. "When this is all over and we save the world, I'm going to hurt you."
He laughed in response. "I'm sure you will."
His movements slowed to a stop as they made it to the center of the chamber.
"Link, why did you stop?"
He answered her by putting her back on her feet and pointing at the door atop the ledge in front of them.
"There is something in front of the door."
Midna chose that time to make her appearance.
"Hey! That's the monkey that stole your lantern! Doesn't it look like she's beckoning you? Aren't you the popular one?"
Then she disappears…again.
"She's right you know."
"About what?"
"That little monkey seems to have a crush on you."
A dry look was sent her way, causing her to giggle.
"Ha ha. I am so glad you're amused. Now if you're quite done, we have a temple to enter."
He grabbed her hand and led her to the ledge that held the door above.
"We'll have to climb up the vines if we want to reach the door. But, first things first."
Link reached into his pouch and brought out his slingshot.
"What are you going to do with that?"
"I'm not going to do anything with it, you are."
"What are you talking about?"
He handed her the slingshot and moved behind her. Placing his right hand on her shoulder, he used his left to point at a spot on the vines. He brought his head closer to hers, so as to make sure she was looking in the right place.
"You are going to use it to kill the two walltulas that are climbing along the vines."
She felt his breath run across her ear as he spoke to her. She barely heard him above the sound of her own heartbeat. Mind you, I said barely.
"You want me to WHAT?"
"I understand it's the same as using a bow. You just put a pellet or seed here, pull back the cord, aim, and release."
"Quit acting cute, you know what I mean!"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"
"Just thinking about them terrifies me, and you want me took willingly look at one?"
"Why yes, if only for the simple fact that after a few seconds of looking at it, it would soon fall to the ground dead, it's dark little soul traveling towards the heavens to be judged by the gods for all of its crimes."
She simply stared at him for a few seconds.
"Has anyone mentioned that you can be quite the sarcastic little bastard?"
He shrugged with a grin. "It may have come up in a conversation or two."
"Uh-huh."
Armed with the knowledge that the evil little bug was going to die, she shot at it with the sling shot. True to his word, it fell to the ground, curled into itself, and died. The second one shortly followed.
"Now was that so bad?"
"It is in your best interest to get the smug little smile off your face, now."
The pair made their way to the vine covered wall.
"Why don't you go up first and I will be right behind you?"
"I don't think so, you'll try to run off again. We'll climb up at the same time."
Before long, they were atop the ledge and walking with the monkey past the now open door. The new chamber was much larger than the one they had just exited. Three doors lined the walls, each in one of the cardinal directions. The center of the room held an elevated platform that had four unlit torches. Once Midna had imparted her vague clue about the torches, the trio cautiously made their way up the stairs.
Because Link was leading, he didn't see the small amount of dirt fall behind him, but Kagome did. She stopped at where the dirt fell and slowly looked up, her body tensing at the site of a large spider falling rapidly down at her. She let out a startled scream as the force of the impact caused her to lose her balance and fall down the steps.
Link had also felt the slight tremor, but it was the short scream that caused him to look back. A skulltula had fallen from the ceiling of the chamber and caused Kagome to fall down the stairs and hit her head. Without thinking, Link pulled his sword from its sheath and ran at the giant spider that was advancing on the dazed girl. Using his own momentum, he slid down the stairs and underneath the spider, using his sword to cut thru the soft and unprotected belly of the beast.
As soon as he was from under the large spider, he ran over to Kagome and got into a defensive position, in case the skulltula lived thru the attack. He kept this position until the creature disappeared in a puff of smoke, before kneeling beside his companion.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm alive, if that's what you're asking."
He chuckled as he helped her stand.
"And what, exactly, do you find so amusing? You're not the one getting constantly hit on the head." She stumbled a bit as she tried to walk. "I have the feeling that I'm going to suffer serious head damage before this is all over."
"Well, we could just find you a nice helmet so you can have some protecti…OW! What did you hit me for?"
"Just light the damn torches."
Doing as the irritated female instructed, he moved his lantern over each torch. As soon as the last one was lit, steps rose from the ground in front of largest of the doors. They hurriedly followed the little monkey thru the door. Once on the other side, they found themselves outside once more. A long rope bridge spread across the wide gap between them, and the large door that led deeper into the temple. They watched as the monkey scrambled over the bridge. As she reached the halfway point, she stopped. On the other side of the bridge, a large white monkey stood. Staring at the little monkey, he drew a large white boomerang from behind his back. Upon seeing it, the smaller monkey quickly turned back and ran as fast as she could toward the two Hylians. She was almost back when the larger monkey let the boomerang fly, cutting the bridge in half. As the boomerang returned, the monkey hooted and hollered at them before turning his back to them and slapping his red cheeks before jumping away. They barely noticed the little monkey climbing back up onto the ledge as they just stood there staring at the spot where the white monkey just stood.
"What in the world was that?"
"I think he was looking at you when he did that."
"…You're kidding right?"
"If you can say the little monkey has a crush on me, then I can say that the big monkey wants to do something to you."
"That's not even funny."
"I thought it was."
"How about we just go back and find another way across."
"If you insist. Although…"
"Although what?"
"Well, I can't imagine why that monkey would want to take you anywhere."
"Excuse me?"
Link just smiled and waved at her over his shoulder as he walked back thru the door.
When they made it back to the center of the room, the monkey proceeded to lead them thru different chambers where they found more monkeys being held in cages. After rescuing all the monkeys in that part of the temple, they formed a type of swinging bridge in order to help the Hylians across. The room on the other side held the large white monkey with his boomerang. After a quick battle, they soon defeated him only to find out that a parasite had latched onto his back, controlling him. Once free, he climb thru a hole in the wall and disappeared, leaving the boomerang behind. As it turns out, a wind fairy placed its spirit within. With the help of the new weapon, they easily made their way through the rest of the temple and into the dungeon.
"Why is the water purple?"
"Poison."
Link looked back at Kagome.
"How do you know?"
"Look at how dead everything is. Besides, it's the same color as the miasma Naraku used to poison people."
"That would be a good indication."
They both looked around.
"So where is this item Midna was looking for, shouldn't it be here?"
At that moment two plants emerged from the water. They looked almost like the dekubabas they encountered throughout the temple, except bigger. Much bigger. The two plants began snapping their jaws at the two heroes.
"You just had to ask didn't you?"
"We can't just keep dodging, and they're moving too fast for my sword!"
Kagome gave a quick look around.
"Link, the bomblings! Use the boomerang and hit the babas with a bombling!"
Taking a look around, he noticed that she was right. Taking careful aim, he sent the boomerang towards the bombling and came back to him as one of the heads dived at him, getting right in the path of the bomb. With a loud shriek, it sunk into the water. Shortly followed by the second.
Kagome walked towards her companion.
"Is it dead?"
Her answer was the violent shaking of the ground. The force of the earthquake knocked them to the ground, and the boomerang flew from Link's hands. Movement from the water caught their attention. Their eyes widened as a Diababa rose from the water, with the two heads from before still attached.
Link barely rolled away as the two heads took turns striking at him. Kagome watched on as he evaded each strike. She snapped her head to the right as something white flashed out of the corner of her eye. It was the Gale Boomerang. Scrambling to her feet, she ran and grabbed it from the ground, intending to use it. But looking into the water, she saw no bomblings. Before she had a chance to begin panicking, a cry was heard from above. The large white monkey from earlier sat upon a ledge high above the water. When he saw he had her attention, he ducked onto hole behind him and came out with a bombling. Wasting no time, he grabbed hold of a vine and swung across the water, bomb still in hand. Watching him, Kagome understood what he wanted her to do. Like Link before, she took careful aim, waiting till the monkey was at just the right spot, before letting the boomerang fly. A large explosion and the sinking of one of the heads told her that it was a direct hit. Link took the brief time the monster shrieked in pain to cast a glance at Kagome.
"Keep your sword ready, I'll weaken it enough for you to strike."
She received a nod in response.
The pattern continued until the largest head fell onto the bank in front of Link, stunned. Not wasting time, he rapidly struck the eye of the monster. On the final strike, the Diababa began thrashing in pain. Without having time to move, Link was hit by the giant plant and flung several yards away. Kagome ran to him and helped him sit up. They both watched as the creature continued to flail about, before it began drying out in much the same way as a dead plant. There was a pause before the plant exploded, causing a shockwave to ripple thru the area. Without thinking, Link turned and covered Kagome's body with his own, the shield on his back protecting them both from flying debris.
Once the shockwave was over, they turned and saw Midna holding an item that looked just like the broken helmet that sat upon her head. The two Hylians rose to their feet and made their way to the small shadow imp.
"That's…what I was looking for. That's a Fused Shadow. It's what the light spirit called dark power… Do you remember what the spirit said? About how you had to match the power of the king of shadows? Could it really be this easy? Is this all there is to it. Eee hee hee! There's a total of three Fused Shadows. I think the other light spirits have the rest… If you want to know exactly what Fused Shadows are…well, maybe I'll tell you if you find the other two. I guess you'd better do your best to find them, huh? I'll get you out of here…"
True to her word, the three of them vanished from the temple and found themselves back at the spring of Faron.
Young heroes…
Do not think that Hyrule is now saved from the spread of twilight…
Leave these woods and go west, where you will find the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you will find those you seek…
But know that these lands lie in twilight…They are now a dark realm covered by the clouds of dusk.
If you set foot beyond the curtains of twilight, you will revert to your beast forms, so be prepared.
Heroes chosen by the gods, leave these woods and go west, to the land of the spirit Eldin."
The light of the spirit slowly dimmed until it disappeared.
