"Shinichi, before we go after the final Spiritual Stone, maybe we should find that other Great Fairy. Whatever gift she grants us could come in handy," Ai told her companion.
Shinichi nodded, "It's not that much of a detour anyway. Also, we aren't completely sure where the final stone is, although I do have a guess."
"Oh?" his fairy inquired.
"Well, is must be with the Zora. The first and second stones were entrusted to the Kokiri and the Gorons, so the final stone must be with the Zora. It can't be with the Gerudo, because we learned that Gin is a Gerudo, and I'm sure he would have been able to obtain it from his own people," Shinichi reasoned. "If we go to Castle Town, maybe we can ask someone where the Zora live."
The boy and fairy made it to the town outside the castle, but had no idea where to start looking. "Do you think the prince would know where the Great Fairy is? Maybe we could visit, we can tell him our progress as well," Ai offered.
Shinichi shrugged, "I suppose it's worth a shot. We don't have much else to go on." Shinichi walked the path to the castle, being careful not to be seen by the guards. They were about halfway to the castle's front steps when they ran into a bit of a problem; they couldn't find a way around the guards up ahead. "It looks like they may have switched up how they guard. I can't see a way to get pass them."
"This must be because they saw Jii leading you out the first time we visited. They must have realized that you got past them and increased the guard," Ai told him.
It's a good idea really, if it wasn't for the fact that now I can't get in either," Shinichi commented from his hiding spot behind a bush. The boy in green looked around. He saw a short path leading away from the castle. A sign reading "Do not enter" was placed in front of it. Shinichi stood in front of the sign and looked behind it curiously, but all he could see was a single rock. Ignoring the sign, the boy inspected the boulder.
"When in doubt, blow it up," Ai suggested.
Shinichi threw her a look, "That makes no sense, Ai." Despite his words, he took out a bomb and set it in front of the rock, then retreated a short distance away. The bomb went off shattering the rock and revealed a hole large enough for him to climb through. With little hesitation, Shinichi climbed through the hole.
His actions were rewarded when came out the other side and saw a familiar looking fountain. He took out his ocarina and played Kaito's lullaby, then heard a woman's laughter. A fairy identical to the Fairy of Power appeared. She noticed his look, "Hello little one, your expression tells me you must have met my friend. I am the Great Fairy of Magic. I would like to grant you a magic spell. Please take it and use it for good. The spell is called Din's Fire. With it, you will be able to set fire to everything a short distance around you. I think you will find it to be useful. Good luck, young hero." With those last words, she was gone.
xXx
Shinichi approached a guard outside the castle. He put on the most innocent smile he could manage, "excuse me, but could you tell me where I might find the Zoras?"
The guard spared Shinichi a glare, "Everyone knows the Zora live just south of Kakariko village. You can follow the river to the entrance to their domain. Why do you want to go anyway? They won't see anyone but the Royal Family."
Shinichi smiled, "Oh well thank you for telling me." He skipped away trying to look like a brainless child.
As soon as he was far enough away, he abandoned the skipping and set off for the river. He followed the river as it flowed away from Hyrule Field and deep inside a valley nestled in the mountains. He was forced to stop when the path ended and there was nothing but water below. He could clearly see the path continuing on the other side, but it was too far to jump. "Guess I have no choice but to swim."
He jumped in the water, but the fast current dragged him back down the river to Hyrule Field. "Guess that's not going to work," Ai told him.
Shinichi pulled himself out of the river, grumbling the entire time. He took his sock hat off his head and squeezed out the excess water. He slapped it back on his head, the wet hat slapping him in the face. Ai tried not to let him hear her chuckles. Shinichi suddenly smiled, "I have an idea." He closed his eyes and focused. When he opened them again, his eyes flashed red. He cupped his hands around an invisible ball and through the "ball" into the earth at his feet. A burst of flame shot from the earth. The flame was shaped like a dome that went over Shinichi and expanded a couple feet growing larger before it disappeared. The fire didn't hurt Shinichi, but it did warm him. It also dried his clothes. He turned to Ai with a grin, "See, pretty clever right?"
Ai gave him a dead pan look, "It would have been if you had looked around before using it. I think you just made yourself a very dangerous enemy."
Shinichi's smile turned to a look of confusion, "What are you…." He paused when he heard a growl coming from behind him. He turned and saw a cucco, otherwise known as a chicken. The cucco's tail feathers were singed and the tip of one still had a tiny little flame on it. "Ah, nice chicken, I didn't mean to hurt you," Shinichi began. The cucco raised its beak to the sky and let out a mighty squawk.
Shinichi's vision was suddenly filled with feathers as an army of cuccos came out of nowhere and began to attack him. "Ouch, fuck. Stupid chickens, ouch. Stop, ouch," Shinichi cried as they pecked and scratched him. He tried to run but the cuccos followed. He dived back in the river. When he broke the surface again, the army of cuccos was gone, leaving just one behind.
"Damn, stupid crazy cuccos," he stomped out of the river and made his way to the remaining chicken.
"Shinichi, what are you doing," Ai asked.
"I got an idea. This chicken is going to help me get to the Zoras." He approached the cucco with caution, but it seemed uninterested in the boy after it had its revenge. Shinichi picked the cucco up and held it above his head. Just as he expected, the cucco was to surprised to let out its call to signal its friends. Instead, the cucco let out a couple squawks of protest and waved its wings around uselessly.
Shinichi made his way back up the river, carrying the cucco the entire time. When he made it to the gap in the trail, jumped. The cucco kept flapping its wings, and instead of falling straight into the river, Shinichi slowly floated to the other side of the trail.
The chicken was used for a couple more jumps before Shinichi made it to a waterfall. He noticed that the symbol of Hyrule was on a stone in front of the waterfall. Shinichi pulled out his ocarina and began to play Kaito's lullaby. As he played, he thought of the violet eyed prince, 'Don't worry prince, I will get the final stone.' At the song's completion, the waterfall parted revealing a path behind it to what Shinichi knew would be the Zora's Domain.
xXx
Shinichi made it to the Zora Domain and looked around. The place didn't look much like a home to Shinichi, all he could see were stone paths wrapping around the cave with pools of water underneath. Then again, Shinichi's idea of home included a few more trees. The water people however seemed very happy where they were.
He was making his way to the throne when a Zora stopped him. It was his first time seeing one of the water people, so Shinichi couldn't help but stare. The man's skin was pale blue and he had large, double pointed fins coming from his elbows and single pointed fins shooting off his hips. His face was sharp with a long, pointed nose. He also had a mermaid tail on his head that looked a bit like a ponytail. The Zora spoke very politely, "Excuse me young lad, but I'm very bored. Would you like to play a game with me?"
Shinichi blinked at the odd question. This was not what he expected to hear from his first Zora. "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry," he answered.
The Zora pressed, "Oh but this will only take a moment. I threw some rupees to the bottom of the pool. If you can dive down and collect them all within the time limit, I will give you a silver scale. The silver scale is enchanted so that land walkers, such as yourself, can dive underwater deeper and longer."
"Do it Shinichi, it could come in handy," Ai whispered.
Shinichi shrugged, "Ok." The Zora began the timer and Shinichi dived. It took a couple seconds, and at time's Shinichi thought his lungs would burst with the lack of oxygen, but he eventually grabbed every rupee. He collected his silver scale and continued on his way. The Zora grumbled that he was still bored, but Shinichi ignored him. He couldn't afford any more interruptions.
Shinichi made his way up a set of stone steps and entered a throne room of some sorts. A rather fat Zora was sitting was sitting on the throne sobbing. Shinichi approached, "Excuse me, your highness?" The fat little Zora ignored him and continued to sob. Shinichi tried a couple more times before deciding to give up and try talking to another Zora.
He made his way back down the stairs and approached a Zora, "Excuse me, could you tell me why the king is crying?"
The Zora shook his head sadly, "The king's daughter, Sonoko disappeared. He has been crying with worry ever since."
"I'm very sorry to hear that. Where was the princess last seen?" Shinichi asked.
The Zora thought for a moment, "Her guards took her to Lake Hylia to play. The guard was distracted for a moment and the princess disappeared.
Shinichi thanked the Zora and went to talk with Ai, "Now what?"
Ai thought for a moment, "The king obviously won't even talk to use until his daughter is returned. Maybe we should go to that lake and look for some clues."
Shinichi snorted, "Do I look like a detective to you?" Ai glared. "But, I guess it is our only option, let's go." Shinichi approached another Zora, "Excuse me, could you tell me where I might find Lake Hylia?"
"The lake is a very far walk from here. It is on the opposite side of Hyrule from our domain," the Zora told Shinichi. The boy signed. The Zora continued, "However, if you have a silver scale, there is a short cut. At the bottom of the pool I'm standing next to is a secret passage that will take you to the lake in no time."
Shinichi smiled in relief. He thanked the Zora and dived into the water.
xXx
Shinichi broke the water's surface and took a grateful gulp of air. His lung filled, he swam to the closest shore. The view was beautiful. The large lake took up most of the area, but he could see a couple of small islands. Rope bridges led from land to the islands. There were also some ancient looking columns poking out of the water, leading deeper and deeper into the lake until they disappeared beneath the water's surface.
Shinichi began to walk, not completely sure what he was looking for. It wasn't like he would find a note from the missing princess telling Shinichi her location.
"Shinichi, I think I see something in the water. It looks like a bottle or something," Ai told him.
"A bottle? I should pick it up. People shouldn't litter at this beautiful lake. Besides, I could use it to store Lon Lon Milk," Shinichi grinned. He walked into the lake till the water swallowed his feet and ankles. He bent down to retrieve the bottle. "Hey Ai, there is something already inside. It looks like a piece of parchment." Shinichi opened the bottle and pulled out the paper. It was a note. "Help me, I'm waiting for you inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly. Signed, Princess Sonoko. P.S. Please don't tell my father."
"Well that was easy," Ai signed.
xXx
Shinichi took the short cut back to the Zora Domain and headed immediately to the Zora King. "Your highness, I have found a note from your daughter," Shinichi shouted through the king's sobbing.
The king stopped crying at once, "A note? Let me see." The fat Zora took the note and began reading. "My daughter….Jabu-Jabu…but that's impossible, our Lord would never swallow my daughter!"
"Sir, what is Jabu-Jabu," Shinichi asked the king.
The Zora looked at Shinichi like he forgot the boy was there, "Oh? Oh, yes. Lord Jabu-Jabu is our guardian god, a giant fish. He has watched over the Zora race since the beginning of Zora history."
"You worship a giant fish?" Shinichi asked.
The Zora snorted, "You are from the forest, are you not. I hear you worship a giant tree."
Shinichi paused, "Fair enough. But the letter says she is inside his belly. Could that be possible?"
The Zora scratched his chin in thought, "I will admit that Jabu-Jabu has been acting strange ever since that desert man, Gin visited him. Yes, ever since that man came, we have had to restrict visits to Jabu-Jabu. Well I suppose it's settled. I can tell you are very concerned for my daughter, so you will of course rescue her. I cannot go of course; I have a kingdom to run. So go onward to rescue my fair daughter."
Shinichi looked to Ai, but she just shrugged, "Let's go, hero. The sooner we get his daughter back, the sooner we can talk to him about that stone." The Zora king moved his fat bottom aside to reveal a door his large body was hiding. Shinichi assumed this was the entrance to where he would find the giant Jabu-Jabu.
xXx
Shinichi entered the Zora Fountain, also known as the resting place of Jabu-Jabu. The giant fish was resting his great head on a sort of stone alter leading up to him. Shinichi made his way up the stone steps and to the fish. The fish opened its great mouth, and Shinichi felt himself being sucked in. He didn't fight it however as this was what he wanted.
Once he was swallowed, Shinichi looked around. He could tell he was inside the fish, but it wasn't what he was expecting. Somehow, the great fish had what looked like a normal dungeon layout inside of him, complete with doors, enemies, and puzzles. He decided to ignore the strangeness of the situation and focus on finding the princess.
After going through a couple rooms, Shinichi saw what could only be princess Sonoko. She was a Zora child about his age (if Zora's aged the same as humans) but instead of having the mermaid tail hair, she had what looked like normal, blue hair that she kept out of her eyes with a yellow headband. If it weren't for the blue skin and fins, she could pass for a human.
The princess spotted him and her face contorted in anger, "You! Who are you? I am Sonoko, Princess of the Zoras, so you had better answer me!"
Shinichi tried to smile in what he thought was a comforting way, "Princess, my name is Shinichi. Your father sent me to…"
The princess interrupted him, "My father sent you! That can't be right, he would understand that I would never want some common boy to rescue me. I thought he would come himself!"
Shinichi was now confused, "But didn't you send out that message in the bottle? And it said, 'P.S. Don't tell my father.'"
The princess studied her finger nails and said in an unconcerned voice, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The boy was getting impatient, "Look princess, your father is very worried about you!"
The princess snapped back, "I don't care! I'm not leaving yet so you might as well get out of here!" The princess turned on her hell and began walking away with her nose in the air. She suddenly disappeared as she fell down a hole, screaming the entire way.
Ai sighed in annoyance, "She just fell deeper inside Jabu-Jabu. Better go after the royal brat."
The brave boy jumped down the hole after the princess. He landed right next to Sonoko. The Zora child looked at him in annoyance, "Oh are you still here? Look, I already told you to go away. I'm safe, ok? I have been playing inside Jabu-Jabu's belly since I was a tiny child. Although now that I think about it, Lord Jabu-Jabu has been acting strange today…and I have never seen these enemies or holes in him before." The princess seemed to forget Shinichi was there for a moment, "And my precious stone my mother gave me was…"
"Yes?" Shinichi pressed.
"That's none of your business!" The princess snapped. "Just go home, I don't need you here."
Shinichi groaned, "Please, princess."
Sonoko looked him over, "Well I suppose if you are that worried about me, I will give you the honor of carrying me. But I am not leaving until I find the thing I am looking for, understand?"
Shinichi bit back a rude retort and nodded. Sonoko climbed on his back and they set off.
Fitting enemies with the princess on his back proved to be impossible, so Shinichi was often forced to set her down while he stabbed at the water type enemies floating around Jabu-Jabu's stomach. The princess refused to move on her own and simply sat where Shinichi set her waiting for him to pick her up again. She would often yawn loudly or complain about trivial things while Shinichi fought for their lives.
Some enemies could not be killed, and Shinichi was forced to simply avoid them as best he could. His sword stabs didn't seem to affect them, and neither did his slingshot. The bombs wouldn't work underwater, not that he would try them anyway. Blowing up bombs inside the Zoras' god did not sound like a good idea.
The two children and the fairy went deeper and deeper inside the Zora god, looking for any signs of whatever the princess was looking for. Inside what Shinichi guessed was the intestines (although he didn't want to think about that to hard) Shinichi saw a treasure chest. He put down the princess and peaked inside. "Look Ai, a boomerang! This will come in handy," he told his fairy.
Ai nodded, "I think you could use it to fight the enemies in here."
Sonoko huffed, "If you two are done, can we go now?" Shinichi picked her up and continued. The boomerang was very effective against the enemies in the area.
Shinichi went inside a room and found a single parasitic tentacle hanging from the ceiling. Ai commented, "You know, somewhere a fan boy/girl is squealing about tentacle rape."
The boy gaped at her, "Tentacle what? Gross Ai, jut gross." He raised his boomerang and aimed for the narrower part of the tentacle. The boomerang hit its target and killed the tentacle. With the tentacle gone, a new door was revealed.
Shinichi went through the door and a couple of hallways. He entered one last door and found himself in a room that was empty aside from a platform in the middle of the room. Sitting atop the platform was a beautiful blue stone. Princess Sonoko immediately began squirming and reaching for the stone, "That's it! That's what I have been looking for! I command you to throw me up on that platform. Do it!"
The boy growled in annoyance before he threw the princess atop the platform, none to gently I might add. The princess ignored that and picked herself up and ran to the stone. She picked it up and examined it with a smile, "My mother's stone, I found it. I was so worried when Jabu-Jabu swallowed it. I was feeding him when he suddenly swallowed me. I was so surprised, I dropped the stone. I have been looking for it ever since. Now that I have found it, I no longer need to be in here. You may take me home."
No sooner had the words left her mouth then the platform she was on rose in the air and up to the room above. "What the hell is that? An octopus?" he heard her cry. The platform began lowering again, but instead of Princess Sonoko standing atop it, there was an octopus like creature. Well, it sorta looked like an octopus…if an octopus had sex with a slug and gave birth to that thing. It was maybe twenty feet tall and had a large mouth that was in a comical looking frown.
"Shinichi! Stun it with your boomerang, than slash it with your sword!" Ai told the boy.
It took a bit of speed and timing, but eventually Shinichi defeated the Bigocto. After he dealt with octopus-snail thing, he climbed on the platform Sonoko disappeared from and the Bigocto came from. The platform rose again to a new area. Unfortunately, Princess Sonoko was nowhere to be found. It looks like he would have to track her down again.
The boy and the fairy made their way through the rooms, looking for any sign of the princess and the stone. With the boomerang, they were able to excess rooms they previously could not get to. Shinichi climbed some vines and stood outside what could only be the final door in Jabu-Jabu. They went through, and saw a terrible beast inside.
"That's a Barinade. The main body is being protected by jellyfish. You'll have to deal with them before you can attack the big guy," Ai told him. The beast looked a bit like something from a science fiction movie. The top part was made out of tentacles, some of which had fused with the inside of Jabu-Jabu. The bottom was round and was made out of soft, squishy material. As Ai said, the bottom was surrounded by jellyfish that tried to electrocute him when he got to close.
It took a combination of boomerang and sword techniques, and a lot of time, but finally the monster was done with. Once the battle was done with, a bright blue light began to shine. Shinichi noticed Sonoko was standing inside the light, with a blush on her face for some reason or another. Shinichi approached her. Her blush only increased and her expression soured, "Y-You're late! What took you so long to rescue me? You are useless. I was just lonely, ok? I was hoping my father would come find me and give me some attention. It's not easy being a princess you know."
Shinichi gave the princess a smile, "I understand, but let's continue this outside princess. Your father is very worried about you." As if waiting for those words, the light increased in brightness and Shinichi felt his feet lifting from the ground. He and the princess began floating and were consumed by the light. When the light faded, he found himself floating in the water in the Zora Fountain, Princess Sonoko next to him.
They made their way to shallow water before the princess spoke, "You know, you looked pretty cool back there. Cooler than I thought you would. But only a little! Anyway, you saved my life, so I suppose I should reward you. Just tell me what it is that you want."
Shinichi opened his mouth, but closed it again. He needed that stone, but it was clearly important to her, and didn't she mention that her mother gave it to her?
The princess smiled, "You want the Spiritual Stone, don't you? My mother gave it to me you know. She told me I should only give it to the man I am going to marry. You could call it a Zora Engagement Ring" She giggled while Shinichi gulped. "All right, I will give it to you. In the meantime, I am going to go let my father know I'm alright. See you around, hero" She winked. She began swimming back toward the Zora Domain, tossing the stone behind her, which Shinichi caught.
"It's about time, right Ai?" Shinichi grinned. The stone was actually three small sapphires with a piece of gold wrapping around all three and keeping the whole piece together. "With this, we have all three Spiritual Stones. We can finally stop Gin."
xXx
Shinichi was thinking as he walked. He remembered Sonoko's words, 'I was lonely…it isn't easy to be a princess you know!' He couldn't help but wonder if Prince Kaito was ever lonely. 'It would be something we have in common. The other Kokiri children avoided me because of my lack of a fairy. Ran was there, but she could only do so much.'
Ai broke him from his thoughts, "Look Shinichi, a strange cave. Let's check it out." The cave turned out to be another Great Fairy Fountain. He played Kaito's lullaby and after a short conversation with the scantily clad fairy that appeared, he was rewarded with Farore's Wind, a useful spell that would create warp points he could teleport to in dungeons.
"Now it's time to see Prince Kaito," Shinichi told his fairy.
xXx
You guys are totally awesome. I whine a little and I got more reviews/favs/alerts. Thanks gave, I love you all. And thanks for reading.
Anyway, I looked ahead on the walkthrough I use to write these and KID will defiantly be in the next chapter. I also decided how I want to end it. For those familiar with the game, the ending of this fic will be nothing like the ending of the game, but in a good way! So let's all look forward to that :)
So I'm glad this fic is getting people interested in the game it was based off of. I absolutely love the Zelda games and love spreading the joy that is Zelda. See you next time everyone!