Author's Note: I've been in a writing mood lately. I think it had something to do with this essay I had to do in my writing class. I had to write about an experience that helped defined my writing so I talked about my fan fictions. Then BOOM. I wanted to write again. Aren't you all in for a treat. As always, I own nothing.
Spring Loaded Mechanism
With Kotaro on their side, Setsuna and Negi crossed Hyrule Field in record time. She could see Kakariko Village up ahead. Kotaro stopped as soon as they reached the steps to the village. "Kotaro-kun," Setsuna said, "You know you can't come with us to the village."
"But…why noooot?" Kotaro whined.
"Because you'll scare everyone away. And isn't that how you got hurt in the first place?"
"Yeah…I guess you're right…" mumbled a pouty Kotaro.
"Don't worry. This shouldn't take long," Setsuna said. "All we have to do is tell Talon the good news and go to the graveyard and nab the item. This'll be easy!"
This seemed to reassure Kotaro. "Alright, Neechan! I'll stay out here. If you need me just play my song. Trust me, I'll be able to hear it from anywhere." And with that, he turned and ran towards Hyrule Field.
Setsuna walked up the steps and entered the village. She immediately noticed that there were more people walking around than there were the last time they had visited. These are probably people who escaped from Castle Market, she figured. The rest are probably zombies. She shuddered at the thought.
She asked around town to find out if Talon, Malon's father, was really there. A man pointed to a house and said, "The lady who owns that house is the nicest lady ever. She gives shelter to anyone who blows into town. I'm positive that this Talon feller is there."
Setsuna thanked the man and headed to the house and knocked on the door. Seconds later a woman answered the door. "My, what do we have here? Please come in!" Setsuna stepped inside the one room house and felt at home. The house was cozy and warm and filled with the scents of dinner.
Before she forgot why she had come in the first place, she asked, "Excuse me, do you know a man by the name Talon?"
The woman smiled. "Oh yes! The poor man was kicked off his ranch and had nowhere to go. So I took him in. In fact, he's taking a nap right over there." Indeed he was. Talon was sprawled across the mattress with a puddle of drool pooling around his cheek with a blanket half covering him. Certainly a sight to see.
Setsuna, disgusted, quietly made her way over to him. "Mr. Talon, sir?" She shook his arm gently. "Sir?" She shook harder and got nothing. "Sir!" She slapped his arm, but Talon continued to sleep like a baby.
An annoyed Setsuna was about to lose her cool and back hand Talon across the face when Negi caught her hand. "Wait! Remember?! We need to get a chicken to wake this guy up!"
Setsuna groaned. "Not again! Where the hell am I supposed to find a chicken?!"
"I couldn't help but eavesdrop," said the lady who let them in. "There's a woman who used to care for chickens, but I'm not sure if that's true anymore. Maybe you should ask her?"
Setsuna thanked her and left to go see the chicken lady. She remembered who she was. After all, she had had to hunt down all of her chickens for her once. She saw her standing by the chicken pen. "Excuse me, do you have a chicken that I could, uh, borrow for a moment?"
The chicken lady looked at Setsuna as if she had a horn sticking out of her head. "Chickens? I don't have any chickens. But I do have this egg," she replied carefully taking it out of her pocket. "But whatever do you need it for?"
Setsuna explained to her the heavy sleeper issue. "And we already know that only a chicken can wake this guy up", she finished.
"You're in luck! This egg is probably going to hatch overnight so you will have yourself a chicken by morning. But there's a catch."
Setsuna groaned on the inside, "Yes?"
"After you wake this guy up I want my chicken back. I have to make a living you know."
Setsuna agreed and returned to the house and spent the night. In the morning she was thrilled to discover that she no longer had an egg. Standing on the table was a full grown chicken. Negi flew over to it, puzzled. "How on Earth is this chicken already full grown?!"
"Don't question the logic of this world, Negi-sensei. Just roll with it." Setsuna picked up the bird and set it by Talon's ear. Instead of doing what they hoped it would do, the chicken bit Talon's ear and would not let go. Setsuna grabbed the chicken and pulled as hard as she could.
"Pull harder!" said Negi.
"I'm trying! I don't want to rip his ear off!"
"Well sometimes sacrifices have to be made…" muttered Negi.
"…what?"
"Oh nothing."
Something finally gave and it wasn't the chicken nor Setsuna. Setsuna fell on her butt and looked back and forth in horror at the chunk of ear hanging out of the chicken's beak and the bloody gap on Talon's ear where it used to be. To make matters worse, Talon snorted and scratched his belly. It was a matter of moments before he would fully awaken.
Negi grabbed the piece of ear from the chicken and quickly flew over to Talon. Not exactly knowing what to do, he simply stuck the piece back onto the ear just before Talon woke up.
"Do you really think that would work?!" Setsuna whispered frantically.
Negi shrugged. "Dunno. It was worth a shot."
Talon, fully awake now, yawned. Part of his ear rolled past his shoulder and onto the bed. He looked around confused. "What is going on? One moment I was asleep and the next I heard quite a ruckus.
Setsuna sat down next to him, casually flicking the ear lobe away before he noticed. "I'm sorry, but I had to wake you up. It's about your ranch." Setsuna told him the story of what happen and that it was finally safe to come back.
Talon breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so very much! How can I ever repay you?"
Setsuna shrugged. "It's all part of the job.
Talon sat up and stretched, a speck of ear blood landed on Setsuna's nose. "I oughta get back to the ranch…my ranch. My baby must be worried sick!" He thanked the woman for sheltering him and bolted out the door.
"Well that's settled," Setsuna told Negi as she wiped off her nose with her sleeve. "Let's return this blood thirsty thing back to its owner." They left the house and found the chicken lady where that had seen her yesterday. Negi was about to say something about it, but Setsuna once again told him not to question the logic of this world.
"Here you go," said Setsuna setting the chicken down into the pen.
"Thank you!" she replied. "My chicken looks so happy! Wait, why is there blood smeared all over its beak? What did you do?!"
Setsuna quickly backed away and took off running. Angry words were thrown at her back. She didn't stop running until she reached the graveyard. "Did she follow us?" she asked in between breaths.
"No and thank goodness! That could have been really dangerous!" Negi said.
Setsuna looked around. Gravestones as far as the eye could see. "You know that Sheik guy told use to go to the graveyard, but we never asked for any important details…like where in the graveyard are we supposed to look!"
Negi hung his head. "You're right. Well let's not panic. If I was a super important item where would I be…?"
"Hmmm…where oh where…" Setsuna leaned up against one of the gravestones. To her surprise it started to move! "Oh sh-," she started to say, but she lost her balance and fell right into a hole.
Falling into a pitch black hole under a gravestone is hardly anyone's idea of a good time. Setsuna landed right on her butt. "Owww…" she groaned rubbing her bum.
Negi flew in after her, his blue light illuminating the room. "Are you ok, Setsuna-san? Oh my gosh what is that?!"
Setsuna quickly got up and drew her sword. In front of her was a ghost. "Noooo! I can't handle ghosts!" shrieked Setsuna.
"Seeetsuuunnaaa…" it wailed.
"It knows my name!"
The ghost clapped its ghostly hands and suddenly torches on the walls lit the room. The ghost coughed. "Sorry! I had some ectoplasm stuck in my throat. What's up you guys?"
"Sayo?!" said an astonished Setsuna. "Man, this is getting weirder and weirder…"
"Meh. I saw it coming," Negi said.
"Wha? How?"
"It's a graveyard. Graveyards have ghosts. How many ghosts do we know?"
"Negi-sensei! You look so cute as a fairy!" Sayo squealed.
Setsuna said to Sayo, "Sayo-san would you happen to know about any items that would be of any convenience, would you?"
"I know exactly what you're talking about! I have it!" Setsuna and Negi cheered.
"Finally! Something easy!"
"But you have to race me for it."
Setsuna's hopes sunk once again. "Race? A ghost?" Sayo nodded. "Sigh, let's just get this over with."
"I'm preeeetty fast if I do say so myself," Sayo said proudly. "If you can beat me then I'll give it to you. We staaaart…now!" Sayo took off, leaving Setsuna in the dust.
"Go! Go! Hurry Setsuna-san!" Setsuna sprinted down the narrow passage. She quickly caught up with Sayo.
"Ha! Not so fast now are ya?" But Sayo smiled and shook the lantern she had been carrying. A fireball floated to the ground and Setsuna ran into it. Engulfed in flames, Setsuna yelped and rolled onto the ground. Once extinguished she yelled, "That's' cheating! I could have been killed!" But Sayo paid no mind. Once Setsuna realized that it was hopeless to complain, she took off running again, careful of the fireballs Sayo 'dropped'.
A stone door opened and Sayo floated into the other room. To Setsuna's horror the door was starting to close. The adrenaline kicked in as she sprinted faster towards the door. I'm gonna make it! There was barely enough room when Setsuna jumped and slid under the door. The door hit the ground with a thud. Setsuna lay on the floor trying to catch her breath when she realized that something was missing. "Oh crap! Where's Negi-sensei?!"
"I'm over here!" Negi called from the other side if the room. He was floating with Sayo.
"How the heck did you fly past me?! I never noticed!"
Sayo flew over to Setsuna. "Oops! Sorry Setsuna-san! You lost! Negi beat the both of us, so the treasure goes to him!"
"Yaaay! I've never won anything in my life!" Negi flew over to the treasure chest.
"Are you kidding me?! I didn't know he was racing! And he can't even use it! Just look at him!" Negi had somehow opened the treasure chest and was trying to pick up the Hookshot, the prize inside. It was too heavy for him and its weight made him fall to the ground.
"Setsuna-san is right. Plus she needs it more. Here you go." Negi pushed the Hookshot over to Setsuna's feet and she bent down to pick it up. She pointed it at the wall and the spring loaded chain shot out and stuck to the wall.
"This thing is so-WHOOOAAA!" The Hookshot had retracted and Setsuna came crashing into the wall. "-dangerous…" she said finally.
Sayo coughed again. "I'll show you the way out." She clapped her hands and suddenly a door appeared on the other side of the room.
"Thanks Sayo-san! I hope to see you at home when I straighten this whole mess out." Setsuna waved goodbye and opened the door. She was met with a bright light. "Man I can't see a thing." Suddenly she found herself in a room filled with music.
"What is this place?" Negi wondered out loud.
"This is the inside of the Kakariko Village windmill!" said a voice.
"Who are you?" Setsuna asked.
"No one knows my name. No one bothered to ask. Everyone calls me 'The Music Box Guy' or 'Windmill Man'. But since you asked I will tell you that my name is Charles."
"You sound a bit upset. What's wrong?" asked Setsuna.
"I'm more than just 'a bit' upset. I'm furious! Seven years ago this dumb kid showed up and played a song on an ocarina and screwed up the windmill! I can't fix the darn thing! It's ruined for good!"
"Wait don't you have an ocarina, Setsuna-san?"
"Yeah, I do." Setsuna took it out of her pocket and Charles the Windmill Man gasped.
"Hey! That's the same ocarina that kid had! Wait a minute…" he examined Setsuna from head to toe. "You look just like her! It is you! You little brat! Have you any idea what you did to me?!"
"Whoa wait! You have the wrong person! I never did that!" Setsuna said, backing away.
"No it's for sure you! After all these years I finally get my revenge!" Charles laughed an devilish laugh and stepped closer to Setsuna.
Setsuna drew her sword. "Don't come any closer!"
"I don't need to," he sneered. He placed his hand on the handle of the music box and started to play a catchy tune. Suddenly it started to rain inside the windmill, thunder boomed and lighting flashed.
Fear struck Setsuna's face. "Holy crap what are you going to do to me?"
"I'm going to do the worst thing I can possibly do…get this damn song stuck in your head!"
Setsuna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh no. Not that. Anything but that…"
Charles laughed again. "Had enough?!"
"Mmhm. More than enough."
"Good! You may go." The storm stopped and he pointed to the door.
Setsuna left and muttered, "Is everyone some sort of freak in this world?"
"Now now, Setsuna-san. Remember what you told me," Negi reminded her.
"Don't question the logic of this world," they said in unison.
"I know! I know!" grumbled Setsuna. After a huge sigh she said to Negi, "Alright. Now that we have the Hookshot we can finally enter the temple in the forest. Which means we have to go to that forest village place again." After leaving Kakariko Village, Setsuna called Kotaro using his song and used him to ride over to the entrance of the woods. After saying goodbye to Kotaro they walk into the Kokiri Village and find this unsettlingly different.
"Oh no! Setsuna-san! There's monsters everywhere!" Indeed there was. Everywhere they looked there was a monster monstering about.
"I wonder what happened to all the kids who lived here," said Setsuna to Negi, but Negi didn't comment. Instead he screamed.
"Look out!" Setsuna saw a large shadow loom over her, but it was too late for her to react. The giant deku baba was about to eat her whole. Suddenly something appears out of the corner of her eye and Setsuna is knocked onto the ground. She looked up to see one of the Kokiri kids!
"Wha-."
"No time!" The Kokiri kid grabbed her hand and led her into one of the tree houses. He slammed the door shut. After the excitement faded he asked Setsuna if she was alright.
"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for saving me. Wait, Negi-sensei?" Setsuna looked around. "Did you make it?"
"Yup I'm right here!" Negi floated over to her head.
Setsuna smiled. "Thank goodness." She turned to the Kokiri kid and asked, "What the heck happened here?"
He took a seat on a tree stump stool, "It started a few years back. Our friend Saria said that she had sensed something had gone wrong in the Forest Temple and went to go check it out. Soon after she left, all these monsters showed up and we haven't been able to safely go outside since! There must be a correlation between these monsters and the Forest Temple." He sighed, "But something must have gone wrong. Saria is still in there and we don't know if she's…you know…still around."
"Saria's missing?!" Setsuna quickly stood up.
"You know Saria?" he asked with a surprised look on his face.
"Yeah…" She took her old ocarina, the one Saria had given her, out of her pocket. "She's my friend." She clenched it in her hand, "I'll save her."
The kid looked up at her, shocked, "You'd do that for us? Wow thanks! Normally outsiders like you would never make it through the Lost Woods without a fairy. I don't know how you managed to get one, but you will be fine." After dodging a few monsters, the Kokiri kid lead Setsuna up the cliff and to the entrance of the Lost Woods. "Do you need a guide to the Forest Temple?" he asked.
Setsuna shook her head. "Nope, I remember the way. Thanks though!" She left before he could ask how.
Negi fluttered over to her head. "I know that we should just roll with it, but didn't you think it was, yah know, a little strange how that kid was, well, still a kid?"
"That was a bit…odd," Setsuna agreed. "And how come he doesn't remember me? I remember running all over that village trying to find my way! There is definitely something up with that." As they complained about the world they were trapped in, they somehow miraculously ended up at the end of the Lost Woods without getting lost once. "Well, we're almost there!" Setsuna said walking towards the Sacred Meadow.
"Wait, Setsuna-san. These are some pretty narrow spaces. We ought to be careful…" But Setsuna ignored him and found herself face-to-face with an eight foot monster. Before she could get out of the way, it jabbed her with the butt of its spear, pushing Setsuna into some water. Setsuna quickly broke the surface and coughed and spat out water.
"I told you so," said Negi and Setsuna swiped him away.
"Alright, it's stealth mode time."
"Or you could use your new Hookshot to get rid of the monster and be on your way," suggested Negi.
"…or that." Which is just what Setsuna did. She snuck up behind the giant monsters and shot them in the back with her Hookshot. They all fell immediately. Not exactly the most honorable way to do it, but it worked just fine. Finally, she reached the end of the Sacred Meadow. Setsuna walked over to the stump where Saria had taught her Saria's Song. Looking up at the tree that had a branch above the entrance to the Forest Temple. "Alright, let's save Saria." She used her Hookshot to get up to the entrance and walked in.
END (Of Chapter)
This is one of the few temples I don't know by heart. I have to do some field research (play OoT and beat the Forest Temple again) as I type this up. More soon.
