Link stood before his new enemy as he clutched the hilt of the Master Sword. He had already fought some pretty gnarly monsters in his time. Some of them just plain creepy, but he was extremely grateful for them now. Because he was sure those experiences were the only reason this guy probably didn't overwhelm him by the pure malice and misery that radiated off its body.
"Since you are supposed to be the 'Great Hero'. Then you should be able to hold your own in this fight, regardless of an injury! So, that means your shadow walker friend can't help you!" exclaimed the endless voice excitedly.
"Now face Moros! The mighty spirit of doo-!" But suddenly the voice cut off.
Moros screeched, raising its huge scythe high in the air. A long curved blade stood threateningly on one end while a lantern that crackled with crimson fire stood on the other. Its face was shrouded in darkness, but its blazing red eyes shone out eerily. Its whole body was covered with a long black cloak but its shadow-like hands gripped the scythe tightly as it continued to screech.
It looked to Link like a very creepy version of the poe's he'd fought at the Arbiter's Grounds.
It suddenly hurled its scythe at him, and Link barely had enough time to throw himself out of the way before it hit the spot where he was last. Before he could even straighten, he found that the huge poe was charging at him with its scythe swinging wildly. He sprinted away to avoid the wild thrashing of Moros.
What the hell! How did he get his scythe so fast?
"Link! He can summon his weapon back to him, so please don't be reckless!" shouted Sheik from the other side of the barrier. Link quickly rolled out of the way once Moros swung its scythe upward and then crashed it to the ground. Seeing an opening, Link stabs awkwardly at the huge poe when it tries to yank its scythe from the ground. He hated the fact that he was swinging his sword like he was in training again.
Screaming in pain, Moros threw its body to the side to avoid Link's wild stabs and continued to fly around the handle while Link chased after it. It paused every few seconds to try and pull the handle free the ground but would almost hiss in anger when Link would catch up and slash at it. With one last pull from Moros, the scythe finally lift's from the ground. With a growl, the poe quickly hovers high in the air.
Link quickly backs up, and stood ready to bolt should any sharp projectiles come hurling toward him. Moros then laughed, the sound sending chills down Link's spine. Moros spun it's scythe, and then the end with the lantern suddenly burst into wild flames that crackled with dark magic, causing the blade to ignite with the crimson fire.
Oh you've got to be kidding me…
It suddenly slashed the air in front of it and an arched surge of dark magic came hurling toward Link. Another memory flashed before him, and his eyes widened before he brought the Master Sword back and swung at the arched surge right when it was about to hit him.
The arched surge collapsed against the sword, shocking Link with the recoil energy and knocking him to the ground.
Sheik cried out when Link hit the ground, and pounded on the barrier that separated them in desperation.
"Link! Get up! Its coming!" shouted the Sheikah. Meg hovered closer to Sheik when Link staggered to his feet and narrowly missed losing a limb when Moros swung its scythe downward at him.
"Meg, please. This isn't the time for your mind games," said Sheik. He never took his eyes off the fleeing hero. What was he thinking? Trying to hit it back to the monster when the surge wasn't in a stable form?
Meg started to make frustrated sounds, and he glared at her once she hovered in front of him. She obviously was trying to tell him something but he just didn't care enough to hear it right now. His eyes widened suddenly. She was in front of him. On the other side of the barrier!
"The barrier doesn't block you! Can you all pass through it?" asked Sheik hurriedly. The other sisters looked at each other, and then they flew toward the barrier and passed right through it. Joelle made an excited shout and then hurried after Link as he went sprinting passed them. Beth, Amy and Meg all looked more reluctant.
"Please help him! Moros is nothing but a manifestation of that little bastard's power! If they hated you all as much as he says they do then they would have gone straight for all of you instead of Link!" shouted Sheik desperately. They all looked back at each other, and then Beth nodded and entered the arena.
Meg and Amy stayed behind but no longer looked reluctant. They just didn't know how they could help.
Link was startled when Joelle suddenly appeared beside him, but smiled gratefully before having to throw himself out of the way of a flying scythe. He kept moving but then yelped when Beth suddenly appeared on his other side.
"Good Goddess! At least warn me guys!" exclaimed Link. Beth whined an apology as Joelle went soaring toward the surprised Moros and bashed her red flame against its head. It stopped, and with a growl it took a swing at her. Link narrowed his eyes as he thought of something. He brought his palm up and focused his energy until a flame suddenly burst into life. Then he hurled the ball at the distracted poe, making it screech as it scorched it's long black cloak. Link frustratingly found that it was merely irritated, not hurt.
So screaming dead man is impervious to fire? What the hell am I supposed to do if I can't reach it with the Master Sword then!
Beth seemed to have an idea, so she quickly gestured to Link to join her. He followed the Blue Poe as she went closer to Moros and then started to make strange sounds at it. Link looked at Beth, confused, but Joelle seemed to get the idea so she imitated her sister and yelled the strange sounds at Moros from above.
Link grinned, raising an eye brow when Moros screeched angrily at the two poe sisters. Then it started to slash at them wildly, not really aiming anymore.
They must being mocking it! Brilliant! Now why would they be making this guy even angrier when he's already pretty dangerous the way he is?
Link tensed when Moros suddenly ignited its blade again. With a slash, a familiar arched surge of dark magic went sailing toward Beth. Link got ready to bolt but found that Beth hadn't moved an inch. He originally thought that maybe she was frozen in fear, but as she brought her own blue flame back, he saw the smirk on her face until the arched surge hit her just when she started to spin.
Link's eye's widened when the arched surge didn't collapse like it had with him. Beth seemed to be able to control the energy of it until she flung it at Joelle who stood just to the right of Link. Joelle imitated her sister, until she suddenly flung the surge right at him.
Link grinned once he noticed that the energy surge was now in the shape of a ball, the entire thing not taking more than a few seconds.
Now that's more like it!
Link brought his sword back, not bothering to even glance at Moros when it came screeching toward him. With a mighty baseball swing, Link sent the ball of mixed magic back at the surprised poe's face. The ball hit Moros square between the eyes. The mixed magic ricocheted all around its body until it finally hit the floor with a thud, completely stunned.
Link rushed toward it and leapt onto its chest and just stabbed away. Moros screamed, thrashing weakly on the floor as it tried to claw at Link. The hero noticed it regaining its mobility so he quickly leapt way from it.
Gripping its scythe, Moros snarled at Link as it rose from the ground. Then with a wild cry it suddenly ignited its blade again. Joelle and Beth immediately stood ready next to Link, but instead Moros just continued to spin its scythe.
"Watch out! There's dark magic flowing into the picture frames!" shouted Sheik suddenly. Then just as he said that, Moros suddenly rushed toward the picture frame to the right of Link and materialized inside of it. Another memory suddenly pierced his mind. He winced and then frowned.
I can't wield my bow anyway but…I need to stop looking at these memories. Its just making it worse for me.
Joelle punched his shoulder suddenly, making him turn to face her with an irritated expression. Once he looked where she was pointing to, he saw that every picture frame now showed the huge poe. Every image showed Moros just spinning its scythe but Link noticed that there was crackling energy emitting from the picture frames.
"Be careful! It's energy is building!" shouted Sheik. He knew something bigger was coming, and it was just killing him that he had to stand here and watch.
Then Moros suddenly erupted from every picture frame and with a snarl, lightning sprung from the end of every lantern and it ricocheted around the room, easily filling it within seconds.
Link quickly found that he was running out of room to avoid the continuous streams of lightning. Suddenly Beth appeared in front of him, and he stiffened when Joelle appeared from behind and quickly shoved him against Beth. They immediacy started to spin, and as a bolt of continuous lightning came hurling toward them, it suddenly bounced right off the spinning ghosts.
Link stood stunned as the Red and Blue Poe spun wildly beside him, but successfully kept the bolts of lightning from reaching him.
Sheik stood glued against the barrier, with Meg and Amy wrapped around each of his arms. He was almost ready to pull his hair out, especially once he saw an image of Moros jump out of every picture frame and shoot a continuous stream of lightning at Link. Then he clawed at it once he realized that Link wouldn't be able to avoid them forever. He was amazed as Beth and Joelle acted as shields for Link. The fire each Poe Sister had must have some kind of magical protection. It may even be part of the Forest Sage's power!
"They can't sit there forever! How can they force it out of the picture frame?" muttered Sheik frustratingly. Amy suddenly had an idea. She detached herself from Sheik's left arm and entered the arena. She immediately spun around to avoid getting electrocuted. Once she reached one of the picture frame's she suddenly bashed herself against it, setting it ablaze with her green fire.
Then with a snap of her finger's, her green fire suddenly jumped from picture to picture until reaching the last one and all the green fire from every picture reached back toward the green poe. Amy snapped her fingers again and the picture frames all suddenly vanished into her green flame and materialized into four puzzle blocks in the center and then dropped to the floor.
Amy hurriedly gestured for Link to come solve it.
"What? Another puzzle?" muttered Link miserably. He suddenly smiled nervously when Amy narrowed her eyes at him.
"I mean, yes! Another puzzle! Good thinking Amy!" said Link hurriedly with a nervous laugh. He rushed over to the four blocks and couldn't help but laugh at the expression of surprise that shone from Moros's eyes from the image on top of the blocks.
He pushed them all together until they finally formed the image of the surprised poe. Then they suddenly vanished, the pictures frames all returning unharmed to the wall but Moros remained stunned on the ground.
Not wasting a second, Link bolted toward Moros and leapt on its chest again and slashed at it wildly. Beth, Joelle, and Amy were all yelling something that Link guessed was them trying to say 'hit him harder!'
When Moros started to regain its mobility, Link leapt away and stood ready. Moros flew into the air, but it looked absolutely furious. So with a cry of rage, Moros spun its scythe in front of him and ignited its blade again. The crimson flame suddenly didn't stop at just the blade though. It suddenly started to engulf the poes entire body.
Link backed away once it let out a loud screech, the sound making him wince with the shrill sound. Then his eye's widened in disbelief when Moros suddenly split into ten copies of itself. All of them immediately surrounded the bewildered hero once the crimson flames died down.
Each one suddenly threw either a scythe, a stream of lightning, or an arched energy surge right at Link and it was all he could do to just keep throwing himself out of the way of the flying projectiles. This was with Joelle, Beth, and Amy all trying to keep the hero safe by spinning near him. The Poe Sisters had no time to try and bounce the arched surges between them for that would leave Link open for attack and he certainly couldn't hit the ball of energy back if he were dead.
Sheik turned to glance at Meg when she suddenly made an irritated sound from beside him. She detached herself from his arm and entered the arena, spinning to avoid getting hurt. Then she suddenly spilt herself into four copies and went right up to the copies of Moros and started to harass the huge poe.
Many of the copies of Moros threw projectiles at her in frustration, leaving Link some breathing room but the rest of the Poe Sisters still had no time to do anything but keep Link from being hit.
Meg obviously thought she was much better at this then Moros was. Link had to agree when Moros didn't seem to know the difference between her copies but Meg immediately pointed out the real Moros to Link.
Thanks Meg…but how am I supposed to reach him without getting electrocuted or butchered?
Link really had no idea what to do. He was just lucky that Moros was distracted enough with Meg that he aimed most of his attacks at her copies.
Sheik narrowed his eyes when Meg bashed her purple flame against Moros's head, making it screech in pain before she sped away as it flung a scythe angrily at her.
"Link! Think, what does every stage of this battle have in common?" shouted the Sheikah. He would have just yelled the obvious answer but he didn't want Moros to know what they were going to use against it.
Link looked at him in confusion, but the three Poe Sisters surrounding him all seemed to understand. They each waved their different colored flames toward Link. Except Meg, who was busy irritating Moros.
Link raised an eyebrow and then glanced back at Moros. His eyes widened when it screeched at Meg angrily when she hit it in the back of the head with her purple flame as she flew passed. That's what every stage in this battle had in common…Fire!
Maybe it's just impervious to regular fire…? Or maybe I just didn't give it a good enough taste of my fire yet?
"I've got a crazy idea but I need you guys to high tail it out of here when I try it, ok?" asked Link softy to the spinning Blue Poe beside him. She nodded, and then told her other sisters. Meg was too far but they figured she'd get the hint when they all disappeared. They all moved closer to the real Moros, because Link knew Din's Fire did have a hit radius. It wouldn't do to have all its copies get hit but not him.
So with a deep breath, Link crouched on the ground and focused all his energy. He brought his left palm back and then slammed it into the ground. The affect was immediate, like he'd hoped it would be. He saw the familiar wild flames dance around him before creating a dome that surrounded him and then exploded in all directions.
Sheik could have sworn his heart stopped beating when Link crouched to the ground, like he was wounded. He almost fainted when the Poe Sisters suddenly vanished, leaving the hero completely open for fire but suddenly flames erupted from all around him and then surrounded him in a dome that blocked anything from reaching him. The dome suddenly shot outward and engulfed each copy of Moros in flames. Meg had disappeared the second she noticed that her sisters did.
All the copies vanished once the wall of flames reached them while the real Moros had gotten the blunt of the blast and crashed to the ground, stunned. Link rushed toward the fallen fiend and then leapt on its chest and slashed away at it again.
Normally Link is too distracted when trying to kill something that he doesn't really look to see what condition it is in. Now however, it's hard to miss that Moros just wasn't getting any weaker. Like his attacks weren't doing anything but ensuring that Moros is going to have a cow when it gets back up.
He hurriedly reached his right hand into his pouch, still hacking away with his left and searched for anything that might shine some light on his little issue. Suddenly his hand bumps against something that sent a warm tingling sensation up his arm. He froze as his eyes widened in disbelief.
No way…
He brought his hand out and there, sitting on his palm was a gleaming Light Arrow.
I thought I used all these suckers…!
Link was jarred suddenly when Moros started to rise again and snarled at the hero. The hero glared down at the poe. He growled as he quickly dropped his blade and then switched hands and brought his left arm back and then stabbed Moros through the heart with the Light Arrow.
Link was thrown as Moros suddenly thrashed wildly as it screamed in pain when light started to engulf its entire body. The hero was quickly grabbed by Joelle and she proceeded to drag him away by his foot as dark magic started to spasm from Moros's rapidly disintegrating body.
With a flash of light, the huge poe was finally left as a floating soul flame. Link laid on his stomach, staring at it as Joelle clutched his foot in the air. Raising an eye brow, the hero suddenly smirked as he had an idea. Reaching in his pouch, he pulled out an empty bottle and then climbed to his feet. He approaches the soul flame and caught it just when it tried to float away.
The Poe Sisters all hovered around his shoulders as they peered within the bottle. Moros gave them a nervous smile as it huddled near the bottom as far from them as possible.
"Well, you'll think twice about messing with this dream team next time won't you?" snickered Link. He laughed as Joelle yelled something at Moros. He didn't know what she said but he would bet his hat that it was some kind of insult.
"Now this is what I'm talking about! Nice team work guys!" said Link with a grin. They all laughed as Meg wrapped herself around his left arm. Amy hovered down to ruffle Link's hair and Beth and Joelle spun around him playfully.
"That's all very heart warming and all that but will you at least come over here Link so I can see if you're alright?" drawled Sheik from the other side of the barrier that still blocked the opening of the arena. Link swung toward him, and gave him an apologetic look. The ghosts hovered back toward the ceiling as the hero jogged over to him. Sheik stepped back, and his eyes widened when the Triforce symbol on Link's hand shone for a brief second as he passed the barrier. The barrier was dispelled but the hero suddenly hunched over and grabbed one of the spiked poles that aligned the arena.
The Sheikah was startled when Link suddenly hunched over and immediately thought he had gotten injured. He approached the hero but Link suddenly lurched back away from him. Sheik had seen this side of him enough times throughout the temple to recognize it but it seemed different this time. Link's body twisted in ways that seemed abnormal but then he would straighten. He would snarl in his direction, and the Sheikah could swear that saw sharpened teeth and grey fur appearing around his face but then he'd shake his head and it would be gone. Sheik backs away and wait. That seemed to be what helped him get through these events faster.
Soon the hero stumbled back a few steps and then collapsed on the ground. Sheik rushed up the stairs and knelt by his side. Joelle approached the hero bravely while her sisters peered out from behind her at him.
"Link? You seemed different that time. Are you alright?" asked Sheik hesitantly. The hero was staring at the ceiling like he was lost in thought. He blinked and then turned to look at him.
"I hadn't noticed…there wasn't a peep from the wolf that entire battle. I don't know how, but that little asshole was able to suppress it completely throughout the battle. The curse already did that but to a smaller degree," muttered Link and then stared back at the ceiling, "I've changed into a wolf so many times but it didn't feel anything like that…I just knew something bad was going to happen if I let the wolf take over. I don't know what's happening to me. It's almost like my body isn't able to handle the wolf anymore,"
"Perhaps Saria will have a way to remove it?" said Sheik thoughtfully. Link turned sharply to look at him, astonished.
"Remove it? No way! It's a part of me. I wouldn't be…me without the wolf. I just have to figure out what's wrong and fix it and then everything will go back to normal," said Link as he climbed to his feet. Sheik stood as well but frowned as the Poe Sisters surrounded the hero and poked at him like he was something they had never seen before.
The hero didn't seem to have his priorities straight. Maybe he just didn't know what he truly needed…or maybe he does and refuses to accept it. Well, if the time comes when he must make a choice, then he shall make it for him if he has to.
"We should look for that medallion. It should be in this room somewhere," said Sheik as he strode passed Link and the ghosts.
"Oh! The medallion! Wow, almost forgot about that," muttered Link as he joined his partner in his search.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ
The purple robed man growled as he spun to face the Hooded Man behind him.
"How dare you! You completely ruined my introduction of Moros!" exclaimed the short man angrily. The Hooded Man rolled his eyes.
"Well, if you had answered me the first time then I wouldn't have had to resort to hitting you over the head to get your attention now would I? Anyway, I asked if you wanted to stay in my quarters or go to our base near Calatia? And don't you even start arguing. You are not staying here. I'm not risking anyone seeing you just yet, and that's going to be near impossible with the increased number of people that will be in Hyrule thanks to the arrival of the Lion King. I don't know why Calatia has to ally herself with Hyrule. Things were fine just the way they were, "muttered the Hooded Man. The purple robed man raised an eye brow. This was the first time he had said something personal.
Among the many things that he didn't like about the Hooded Man, his mysterious identity was the thing he hated the most. He never talked about anything personal. There were times that he would reveal parts of his plan but it seemed only out of necessity. If he didn't have anything to do with trying to help kill the Great Hero then he doubted the man would have told him about their recycled power source to begin with. He cursed these times because not only did he only get half the story but it did nothing to help him understand who the Hooded Man was.
The shorter man was quite certain that he wasn't a goron or a zora but then again…there were illusionary spells for things like that.
"So?" asked the Hooded Man impatiently. His shorter companion just rolled his eyes.
"I don't care. Just as long as it isn't some kind of small hut or a hole in the wall," muttered his smaller companion.
"Why? We won't be staying long enough for it to matter," said the Hooded Man. His companion hurmphed. Why was he even bothering to ask him in the first place? He never did before.
"What do you mean why? Because it's disgraceful for someone of my status...and yours I guess. But I'm the one that's going to be stuck there all the time!" exclaimed his companion. The Hooded Man started to browse through his library.
"Well that's simply too bad for you. I guess I'll choose for you," muttered the Hooded Man as he pulled out a book from the middle shelf. He flipped through it's pages but quickly frowned and put it back. His shorter companion stormed after him as he walked around the corner to browse through the other side of the bookshelf.
"This is ridicules! I am no one's minion to stuff to the side when they are not needed anymore!" shouted the purple robed man angrily.
The Hooded Man paused from the book he was flipping through, and then glanced over at him slowly.
"Oh? Then what are you? Your certainly not a god, or a king like you seem to think," said the Hooded Man. He suddenly snapped the book closed and leaned down so he was looking the shorter man in the eyes.
"I'll tell you what you are. A self-absorbed dark mage that happens to have considerable power but doesn't know how to use it properly. So, this leads to you always losing a fight that you could have won if you had just came out of that little world of yours where everything has to bend to your will. Well, time to wake up,"
He straightened and then placed the book back on the shelf. He started to browse the library without even looking at his shorter companion as he addressed him. This didn't appear to matter to the shorter man since he seemed to have lost his voice at the moment anyway.
"If you didn't have this considerable power of yours then I would have no farther use for you. You would still be sealed away in that sword like the ungrateful little buffoon you are, instead of earning your freedom now. Now, if you don't want to be sealed back inside your personal prison then you'd best watch what you say to me," hissed the Hooded Man angrily. He then pivoted around with a flourish of his cloak and swiftly strode to the end of the bookshelf and went to browse through the other side.
His companion just grumbled under his breath as he turned and stormed passed rows of book shelves until he found the balcony window and climbed up to perch himself on the cushion beside it.
"Just you wait…one of these days your going to wish you were me. The first rule of working with those you don't like is to not alienate them or you're going to find yourself surrounded by enemies you never realized you had," muttered the purple robed man as he glared out the window.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Two hours later found Sheik stomping angrily out of the Forest Temple with a confused but tired Link dragging his feet behind him. The Sheikah leapt from the top of the broken stairway and landed gracefully on the ground. He continued to stomp toward the stairway out of the area without a backward glance.
Saria lowered the ocarina she was playing and stood up from her stump next to the entrance and frowned at the storming Sheikah's back. She then looked up at Link who was currently trying to figure out how he was going to climb down from the top of the broken stairway.
"Link! Are you guys ok? What's wrong with Sheik?" asked Saria loudly.
"We're fine. I think Sheik is mad at me though," yelled Link from the top of the broken stairway. Amy rolled her eyes as Meg laughed sinisterly. The Green Poe then signaled for her sisters to come help her.
Amy grabbed a hold of his left arm while Beth and Meg grabbed both of his feet and lifted him off the ground. They hovered toward Saria as Joelle tickled Link in the air. He swatted at her with his right hand, trying to keep her away from his sensitive sides.
"Stop that! Man, how did you know I was ticklish there?" asked Link as he swatted at Joelle one last time before the Poe Sisters set him on the ground. Joelle just shrugged her shoulders, and then disappeared with a sinister laugh. She reappeared with her sisters high above him.
The other ghosts smirked down at him before Saria put her hands on her hips and frowned at them.
"Alright, what did you guys do in there? Sheik wouldn't be muttering about 'those ghosts and their wretched mind games' if you were all as innocent as your trying to make me believe," said Saria sternly.
They all immediately pointed to each other. Except for Amy, who firmly gestured the only prankish thing she did was something that was well deserved and then proceeded to give Link a quick glare before returning her attention to her sisters.
"What? Something that was well deserved?" asked Saria. Link laughed nervously as Amy jabbed a finger toward him.
"Yeah…I was kinda being a little rude when we officially met. But in my defense, I had just gotten through almost the entire temple which all had puzzles of its own. So, I really wasn't looking forward to doing yet another one. Oh, come on Amy!" said Link as he spread his arms to emphasize his point to the Green Poe that was glaring at him again now, "I'm not saying your puzzles lame or anything! I was just tired at the moment of doing puzzles. I mean, if you went through all that hard work would you still be very enthusiastic about doing even more puzzles?"
Amy nodded, gesturing that she does puzzles all the time.
"Oh, well then you're a trooper. I salute you! But I do have to admit that was pretty awesome the way you plastered the look on Moros's face on those blocks as you trapped it inside them. That just made the entire battle all worth it," snickered Link as he brought his hand up and saluted Amy. The Green Poe rolled her glowing eyes but hovered over and ruffled his hair.
"Alright fine. Amy you're off the hook but one or all of you were messing with Sheik. So, who was it?" asked Saria sternly as she looked closely to each Poe Sister.
Link looked confused as each sister quickly pointed at Meg. The Purple Poe turned to give a withering glare to her sisters for ratting her out.
Saria paused as Link looked up at Meg and frowned.
"Ah, Link! Why don't you go see if Sheik's alright? You were always more clumsy when you were upset so there's no telling what Sheik may be like now that he's upset," said Saria hurriedly. Link continued to give Meg a confused look.
"Wait a minute. I never saw Meg messing with Sheik so why is everyone saying she was? Even Sheik said something about her messing with him when we were back in the torch room. Once I asked what she was doing though, he just gave me this frustrated look and then turned around and stormed out of the temple," asked Link as he looked back at Saria. She quickly laughed and then grabbed a hold of his left hand and started to pull him toward the exit.
"Oh, don't mind them! Their just being silly! They do it all the time so just go stay with Sheik and I'll catch up in a few minutes, ok? I bet he's getting lonely now," said Saria as they approached the exit.
"Yeah well, I was lonely when he left me stranded at the entrance of the Forest Temple." muttered Link once he started to walk down the stairway. Saria rolled her eyes.
"Oh phooey, you could have just teleported to the warp platform that was right in front of the Forest Temple, you big baby," said Saria.
"What? I can't teleport. Only Sheik can do that!" exclaimed Link as he paused and swung around to face her. Saria slapped her forehead.
"I meant the warp song you dummy! You don't have to know how to teleport as long as you have a magical instrument to use a warp song. You should know that," said Saria disapprovingly. She laughed when Link repeatedly hit his forehead against the side of a closed fist.
"Oh man, I forgot about those! But wait, there's a warp song that goes straight to the Forest Temple? So, all that work…? All that hiking through the Lost Woods with that damn Skull Kid could have been avoided?" exclaimed Link. He narrowed his eyes as he turned to where Sheik stormed off to.
"Sheik is the one that has that scroll so he should have known that there was a song that would take us straight here!" growled Link. He then turned and strode down the stairs in a huff.
Saria knew they would most likely get in a fight, but she had a few things to take care of first before she can go play peacemaker. Like making sure her guardian ghosts don't try and speed up the creation of a relationship that at one time, existed a long time ago.
Link strode up to the ladder that stood against the wall at the end of the hallway and climbed up it slowly. He reached the top and immediately spotted the Sheikah at the far side of the area, sitting with his back against the Gossip Stone they had encountered before.
Sheik had his head bowed but lifted it when he heard Link approaching.
"What the hell is your problem? Not only do you just leave me stranded there, but your blaming Meg for something that she didn't do?" exclaimed Link as he walked up to him. The Sheikah stood up and crossed his arms.
"Just because you never saw what she did, it doesn't mean she wasn't doing anything. And I apologize for not teleporting you down. I was just a bit upset," said Sheik calmly.
"Just a bit upset? You spoke maybe a few words to me during the whole two hours we searched for the Forest Medallion! Why are you so angry at me? What did I do?" asked Link frustrated.
"I'm not angry. I'm…just…"
"You're just what? Disappointed? Did I not live up to your expectations?" asked Link angrily.
"What-of coarse not-!"
"Then what? You're driving me crazy with this-this shit you keep pulling! First you're mad at me, then you're not. First you're going to rip my head off, then you're not. Then you yell at Meg? If she really did something then why can't you tell me! I'll set her straight if she did you wrong!" shouted Link. Sheik backed away as his eyes widened.
"It's what she's teasing me about that I can't tell you…just don't!" shouted Sheik suddenly when Link opened his mouth to argue, "Please just understand. It's something that will not be a problem eventually. It's just one of the disadvantages of being so young,"
Link gave him a weird look, but didn't press the issue.
"Alright fine. Then why were you mad at me and don't you even say you weren't!" said Link as Sheik started to shake his head, "The one you spoke to the most was Meg, and most of that was you yelling at her! Just give it to me straight. What is the problem?"
Sheik started to shift nervously, and Link narrowed his eyes when the Sheikah backed away again.
Oh no, you're not getting away that easily…
Link took a casual step forward and then bolted toward the surprised Sheikah and crashed him to the ground. He winced as he jolted his right arm but just pressed it gently against Sheik's chest.
"You must not like talking about your problems. Or maybe you don't like revealing that you have any. But it's part of everyday life and I don't want this to turn into some bitter fight so it's time to fess up. Man, your acting like I'm asking for a life story here," said Link. Sheik was looking around wildly, unsure of what to do.
"I…I was just stressed," said Sheik finally.
"Oh come on, you can do better than that! I've seen you stressed and how you were back there doesn't even scratch the surface of being stressed," said Link dully. Sheik was rapidly running out of self-control but Link was right. He didn't want this to turn into some bitter fight either…
"Is it something I did? Is it even about me? Why is this so hard for you to say?" asked Link. Sheik finally grinded his teeth together in frustration and suddenly gripped Link's tunic and pulled him closer so he was but three inches from the Sheikah's face.
"Of course it's about you! It's always about you! The moment you walk out of my sight I worry some vicious monster's going to be there waiting to rip you to pieces! Much like Moros! Do you even realize that if the Poe Sisters weren't there you would-would have been killed?" exclaimed Sheik. Link was at a loss for words, especially as the Sheikah's eyes began to water. He'd never seen the Sheikah so emotional before. Sheik took a shaky breath and then suddenly looked up furiously at him.
"It could have ripped you apart and I wouldn't have been able to do anything but watch!" exclaimed Sheik angrily. He suddenly shoved up against Link's chest, making the hero lose his balance. The Sheikah quickly flipped them over and then glared down at the bewildered hero.
"I'm tired of this! Being so reckless seems to be wired into your system! I don't know what I'd do if something actually happened to you! I didn't know I could even feel this way about someone I just met," growled Sheik. He suddenly blinked, surprised at what he just said. Link gave him a confused look before the Sheikah threw himself off of Link's chest.
Saria walked up and raised an eye brow as she watched the hero and his guide rolling around the floor, trying to get the other to submit.
"I don't know what I meant! So stop asking!" shouted the Sheikah as he tried to kick Link's legs out from under him to avoid getting pinned again.
"You never say anything without a reason! So just spill it!" shouted Link as he tried to grab the thrashing legs that aimed to dislodge him. Link finally just pounced on the surprised Sheikah, causing him to get kicked in the stomach on the way down.
"Guys! Hey! Settle down!" shouted Saria. They didn't seem to hear her since they continued to roughhouse with each other. Sheik had somehow found his way onto Link's back and pulled at the hero's hair after he grabbed his green hat and threw it to the side.
Saria hurmphed, and then closed her eyes as she brought her hands up. Suddenly vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the ankles of the fighting duo. They separated the pair and then lifted them into the air to hang upside down.
"Now then, why don't you guys tell me why you are suddenly trying to beat each other up?" asked Saria sternly. Link blinked several times, trying to understand how a little girl suddenly had the power to call up vines from the ground.
"We were merely having a disagreement. But I believe it is over now," said Sheik as he glanced at the bewildered hero. Saria reached out her left hand with a bend of her wrist, the vines dropped them and shrunk back into the ground.
"Wow, that is something new to add to the list of bizarre things," muttered Link. Sheik gave him a confused look and Link just shrugged.
"So many weird things started to happen to me that I just started to make a list out of them," said Link. Sheik nodded slowly, but certainly didn't doubt him. He's seen pretty bizarre things in the last few days of being around him. Who knows what kind of things the hero could have seen beforehand.
Link reached up to scratch his head and froze once he noticed how bare it was.
"Hey! Where's my hat! You threw it somewhere!" exclaimed Link as he swung toward Sheik. The Sheikah raised an eye brow.
"I don't know. I was more concerned with making sure you didn't pin me to notice where I threw your piece of clothing," said Sheik dully. His eyes widened in surprise suddenly.
"We still haven't found the Forest Medallion!" shouted Sheik. He just sighed tiredly as he ran a hand down his face.
"We'll just resume our search in an hour or two. I'm sure you could use the rest. And find your hat I guess," muttered Sheik as he stretched his legs out and got more comfortable. Link groaned and fell backward to lay on the grass. He suddenly sat back up and reached under himself and pulled out his green cap. He quickly stuffed it back on his head.
"Well, that was an easy find for once. Wish everything I was looking for would just pop up like that. Man, we searched every freaking nock and cranny in that place for that medallion though. Unless it's in plain sight against some hole in the wall then we'll be here forever and never find it," whined the hero. Sheik sighed again.
"You guys were searching for the Forest Medallion?" asked Saria.
"Yes, but our two hour search proved quite unsuccessful," muttered Sheik while Link just groaned again.
"Oh…I didn't know you guys were looking for it otherwise I'd have told you," said Saria as she pulled the dark green medallion from the inside of her tunic and showed it to them.
"You had it…the whole time…" muttered Link as he stared at the medallion in disbelief, "So those two hours were…for nothing…?" He just laid back down and closed his eyes.
"Whatever. I'm sleeping right here," muttered the hero.
Sheik was rather overwhelmed too but just crawled over to where Link was laying and collapsed beside him.
"We should at least rest in the village," muttered Sheik.
"Don't care," muttered Link.
"There could be other monsters out here," muttered Sheik.
"Don't care," muttered Link.
"We should get something to eat," muttered Sheik.
"….ok let's go," said Link as he climbed to his feet.
"You think you could teleport…us…hey wait a minute. That reminds me, how come we didn't just use the warp song to get to the Forest Temple!" exclaimed Link as Sheik climbed to his feet.
"I had seen the song, the Minuet of Forest, on my scroll as we were walking through the Lost Woods but I was told when I got it that I should see these destinations before warping there. These songs hadn't been used for ages. Who knows what the terrain would have been like? I could have warped us to the bottom of a lake that had once been but a small spring or into a tree that had once been an acorn," said Sheik.
"Din damn it all. Well, I guess that's fine. A little adventure on the way always makes the destination worth the effort," muttered Link as he rubbed his eyes.
"Let's just get out of here. And no I can't teleport us…well, at least not straight to the village. I'd be lucky to get us ten feet as of now," muttered Sheik as he followed the slouching hero.
"I'm sorry…I really didn't know you guys were looking for it. I mean, I would have thought you would remember giving it back to me or remember when he gave it back to me," said Saria bashfully as she walk up beside Link.
"He can't rely on those memories Saria. They aren't his," said Sheik from behind Link. He placed a hand on their shoulders teleported to the bottom and then they headed for the exit. He really shouldn't be teleporting right now but he just didn't feel like walking all the way back to the ladder only to climb down and walk all the way back through this little maze. Who knows what would be waiting for them if they did.
"Well, they would have saved us two hours of pointless searching..." muttered Link. He was mostly mad at himself for this mistake. He had seen certain flashes during his search for the medallion but had mostly ignored them. It was hard to think of these events as damaging when they seemed to offer nothing but useful information.
"Link…please don't start this again…" muttered Sheik. Link just grumbled but didn't argue back.
They continued to walk through the many twisting logs and Link tilted his head when he was starting to recognize the way back. He grinned when he was able to guess which hollowed log Saria was going to enter.
Man, Ilia and I would have fun in this place. It's just like when we used the play hide and seek in…ah, in…?
Link suddenly stopped and Sheik and Saria paused to look back at him concerned. The hero just glanced around like he was lost.
Why can't I remember…?
"Link? Whats wrong?" asked Sheik as he approached the hero. Link just closed his eyes and tried to picture what he knew he should know. He saw Ilia brushing Epona in a small spring, Talo and Beth arguing, pumpkins growing near the pond and the ranch where he spent every day herding the goats that he had become so familiar with that he could recall them by name. His eyes snapped open when his mind finally gripped the memory that had started to fade.
Ordon…that is my home. How could I have forgotten that…? Is this what happens when I left the memories of my former life take root in my mind? My own life will just fade away?
He turned to look at Sheik when he felt his hand on his shoulder. Link smiled and surprised his guide when he stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"I'm good now," said Link softly next to the Sheikah's ear. He then walked passed him to stand next to Saria.
"Man, this forest is making my head spin. So, let's get going," said Link. Saria grinned as Sheik watched him walk away like he thought the hero was possessed.
"Alright," giggled Saria. They continued forward until they finally reached the Kokiri's Village.
Link paused as he stood next to the low fence that hugged the ledge that over looked the village. He felt the same sense of homesickness he had when he first got here.
This isn't my home…but I can't help but feel sorta attached to it.
"Come on Link! I'll make you some blueberry jam as an 'I'm sorry' present, ok?" asked Saria as she walked down the pathway. She turned to Sheik when he caught up.
"You still like raspberry jam right Sheik?" asked Saria.
"I can't say I've ever had raspberry jam," said Sheik. Saria giggled and then ran ahead of them.
"Then we'll see if you still do!" exclaimed Saria playfully before she disappeared behind the corner of Mido's house. They headed right to Saria's house, waving at the children as they went and then collapsed in the blankets left on the floor.
"This has been a pretty crazy day. I have to say though Sheik, you did more than you think you did for that boss fight," said Link as he snuggled into this blanket. Sheik raised an eye brow at him.
"You mean more than just standing there and shouting out obvious things?" asked Sheik dully. Link sighed.
"They weren't obvious. Well, at least not to me. I felt better just knowing you were there to tell me these things that I most likely would have missed on my own," said Link as he yawned.
"I'm pretty sure the Poe Sisters didn't know what to do about Moros's last attempt to beat me so you really helped by telling us to use fire like that," said Link softly as he began to doze off. Sheik smiled softly as he watched Link fall straight to sleep after a few minutes. All that coaxing with food to get him to leave the forest…and he falls asleep without eating a single bite. He then sighed and stood up.
Time to get this wretched paint off his shawl and this smell as well. It will probably take him awhile, since he was dropped in a pit full of the horrid stuff but he would scrub all of it off him if it was the last thing he did.
Sheik walked out of Saria's house and looked around for a pool he could use to wash it out. He spotted Saria walking with a bushy blonde haired girl and bowed to them as they approached him.
"Hey Sheik. I got all the berries and stuff to make the jam with," said Saria as she lifted a basket full of raspberries and blueberries that she was carrying.
"Oh! And Woody said that it will take a little while to gather enough of his power to combine with mine so we can make that potion for Link. Plus we'll need ingredients that will spoil if we prepare them now so you guys will have to stay here for at lest another day, ok?" said Saria. The blonde haired girl giggled as she waved at him. She then leaned over and whispered something in Saria's ears. They both giggled as they looked back at the Sheikah.
"I guess you'd like to wash that paint off your shawl then? Sorry Sheik, but if I know those Poe Sisters like I know I do, then they would have put yellow forest mushrooms in it. They unfortuntely stain pretty much everything," said Saria sheepishly.
Sheik sighed as he ran his hand down his face. Great, who knows how long it will be before they are anywhere close to his home town so he could get more material for another shawl?
"I would still like to at least try to dim the color a bit. Surely these mushrooms don't set a permanent stain?" asked Sheik hopefully. Saria shook her head.
"Afraid so, but I guess you could try to scrub at it. It may dim the color somewhat but I wouldn't know. We've always just thrown our stained cloths away and made new ones," said Saria. She turned to the bushy blonde haired girl and handed her the basket of berries.
"Lisa, can you take these to Woody's grove? I'll catch up once I'm done helping Sheik," said Saria. Lisa nodded then turned and skipped toward the entrance to Woody's groove.
"The pool near Woody isn't very private. So, I'll just take you to the water warp pool," said Saria. She then gestured for Sheik to follow and turned to head toward Mido's house.
"Water warp pool?" asked Sheik as they climbed the hill next to Mido's house.
"Yeah, the old magic of the forest links the pool to the entrance of the old Zora's Domain. There's a few warp locations in the Lost Woods actually. Most don't serve their purpose anymore though," said Saria as they walked through the hollow tree trunk that lead into the main body of the Lost Woods.
"So this forest links locations together? Would I be able to get to Kakariko from here?" asked Sheik. Saria giggled and then turned to walk backwards as she replied.
"Nope, tough luck Sheik. You won't be able to warp anywhere close to where your hometown is," said Saria. Sheik gave her a bewildered look.
"How do you even know where I live? Do all Sages have this power?" asked Sheik. Saria giggled.
"Of course not silly! I just assumed you still lived in the same place that you did the last time you came here. Or the last time your other self came here," said Saria and she suddenly stopped and spun around, "And we're here! Just tell Milly when your done and she'll lead you back out. That ok with you Milly?" The pink fairy hovering near her head nodded and sped over to Sheik.
"May we talk about these warp locations later?" asked Sheik. Saria giggled, and then nodded.
"You don't have to be so formal with me you know. Or do I have to have the Skull Kid come and have a talk with you?" teased Saria. Sheik rolled his eyes and then approached the small pool of water that had white stone built around it.
"I am not intimidated in the slightest by that strange child," said Sheik and then sat down by the water's edge. Saria smirked, but the notion went unnoticed as Sheik's back was turned to her.
"I didn't think so. But he does happen to be a very good friend of Megs…" said Saria rather nonchalantly. She laughed as Sheik stiffened.
"And why would I care who that child is friends with?" asked Sheik as he tried to busy himself with something. So, he quickly pulled out a cloth from his suit and dunked it into the water. Saria sighed as she gave Sheik a sad look.
"I hope it doesn't take you as long to get him this time around…" muttered Saria. Sheik narrowed his eyes as he processed what she just said. He turned to question her but was surprised to see that she was already gone. He turned back with a huff. Honestly, he really needs to work on his observation skills. This was happening too much for his liking.
He noticed the pink fairy settle on the white stone in front of him. It didn't bother him if she saw his face. Fairies had done nothing but aid others, so he has no reason to suspect treachery from them.
He unwrapped his shawl and set it into the water. He pulled a hair band from his suit and tied his long hair into a pony tail. It wasn't that he liked his hair long. He just hasn't bothered to cut it lately. The constant cooing from his mother about how pleasant looking it was certainly didn't help his cause either.
He grabbed his shawl and started to scrub at it. After half an hour of constant scrubbing, Sheik was frustratingly forced to agree that whatever the Poe Sisters had put in that paint had permanently stained his shawl. He sat up and stretched his back, but then glared down at his shawl as if that would make the stain disappear. Really, after everything that he had to deal with today, why can't one thing go the way he wants it to?
"I'm afraid that isn't going to come out," said a voice from behind him. Sheik tilted his head, and then turned around slowly. That voice sounded familiar, but he didn't think Saria would send anyone to him before he said he was done.
He did a double take once he saw the Link-look-a-like standing near one of the huge hollow logs. Sheik immediately stood and summoned a dagger to sit in between each knuckle.
"Who are you?" asked Sheik as he cautiously walked closer to him. The Link-look-a-like just laughed.
"It's funny. You may be a different person now, but you still act pretty much the same. Regardless though, I'm sure you don't remember anything from that time. Otherwise things would probably be a bit different between you and your charge. Anyway! You can just call me Dude," said Dude. Sheik scoffed at him, but stayed at a safe distance.
"Dude isn't a name. It's what you call someone when you can't remember their name. So, don't play games with me. I've had enough of mind games to last me a lifetime," said Sheik. Dude raised an eyebrow.
"What makes Dude any less of a name then Sheik?" asked Dude. Sheik growled. The fact that he somehow knew his name just made him angrier.
"I just said why! Now tell me who you are! You know too much to be some random traveler so talk before I make you!" growled Sheik. Dude just laughed again.
He obviously wasn't getting the message, so perhaps he needs to be a little more persuasive.
Sheik bolted toward him and brought his right arm back before swiping at Dude's chest. He didn't apply too much pressure because the point wasn't to injury him but just to get his point across. Sheik didn't except Dude to just stand there until he was almost right in front of him and right as he brought his daggers down, they hit metal.
Sheik jumped back and narrowed his eyes. He was wearing armor under his clothing even though he didn't look like he was. He seemed to have plenty of self-confidence as well since he hadn't moved a muscle that entire time.
"Nope, still the same indeed. I do hope you realize a bit faster this time around about how pointless it is to attack me because I'm only trying to help," said Dude dully. Sheik stood motionless in front of him, trying to decide what to do before Milly came flying next to his face.
"It's ok! This guy comes here all the time. He's not a bad guy, and I didn't sense any ill intentions coming from him anyway which is why I didn't warn you," said Milly as she bobbed up and down next to his face. Sheik still didn't trust him, but he wasn't posing a threat so he backed away before putting his daggers away.
"Much better! Thanks Milly. Its been quite some time since I last saw you. How have you been?" asked Dude casually. Milly giggled and then zoomed over to sit on Dude's shoulder.
"Oh, just the normal stuff. Making sure Saria is safe and that the triplets don't cause to much trouble. But it's gotten boring since you left! You should come and visit again! I'm sure everyone would love to play that game, what did you call it…? Soccer? Oh! And tell us stories! You tell the coolest stories!" exclaimed the pink fairy excitedly. Dude gave a small smile, that Sheik noticed looked a bit forced.
"Ah, not now Milly but soon, ok? I'm in a bit of a hurry actually. I just dropped by to give our hero's young guide here something that will make his stay here more comfortable I hope," said Dude and then he dropped his huge bag to the floor. He rummaged around until he pulled out a bundle. He then tossed it to Sheik.
The Sheikah caught it in midair and looked down suspiciously at it until he recognized the feel of the material. He suddenly realized he hadn't covered his face this entire time. What in the world has gotten into him? It was pointless trying to hide his identity from this guy now. He has already seen his face. It was odd though…normally his first instinct is to cover his face when he is approached by a stranger when isn't wearing a shawl. He didn't feel the need the cover his face at all when he had heard Dudes voice.
Perhaps Link isn't the only one that needs to learn not to react to his ancestors memories.
"I figured you would much rather have a white shawl instead of a pink one, yes? Well, that is one of the many things I run across when I travel so keep it. Oh, and there's a piece of paper in there somewhere. It is the lyrics to the melody called the Song of Hero's. It will be important to the Hero of Twilight soon so be sure to teach it to him. I don't think he'll be using it for again for while after that though. I just wanted to make sure you guys got it in case I don't…er, never mind. Well, until next time!" said Dude happily and then he pulled his huge bag onto his shoulders. He then turned and headed back the way he came.
"W-wait!" exclaimed Sheik and he ran after him. But as he passed through the huge hallow log, no one was on the other side.
"Din damn it! How does he do that? I didn't sense anyone teleporting…"muttered Sheik. Milly flew next to him.
"He's always been like that. Here one moment and gone the next. No one knows where he's even from, or how he knows so much about…well, everything. There's not much he doesn't know about. He won't talk about his past at all though...he always changes the subject or says that he suddenly has to be somewhere. So, we stopped asking because we like having him around," said Milly and then started fly in circles around his head, "Are you ready to go back then?"
Sheik sighed, and nodded.
"Yes, just let me put my shawl on," said Sheik. He unwrapped the material and tilted his head once he spotted a small crumpled piece of paper. After wrapping the shawl around his face and stuffing his old one inside his suit, he looked down at the notes written on the paper. This didn't seem too difficult, but something about it just seemed…phenomenal.
He put the piece of paper into the folds of his suit and then followed Milly out of the Lost Woods.
They reemerged and Milly immediately zoomed off somewhere to the left of him. He guessed she went to find Saria. Come to think of it, he'd best get down there and make sure his own charge hasn't caused too much mayhem in his absence.
Sheik laughed softly when he entered Saria's house to find that the hero hadn't moved a muscle since he last saw him. He sighed, relieved.
He really shouldn't worry when the guardian of this forest and the Forest Sage herself, a fact that had somehow escaped their notice even though it was now so obvious, were right here in the same village but he just couldn't help it.
This was getting rather ridiculous. I mean who else but one of the Sages of legend could possibly make a potion that could rid a person of a powerful dark curse?
He sighed and walked over and grabbed his own blanket and laid down next to Link. They could use one day of rest. Maybe Link would be up for another sparring match later. He closed his eyes and pulled the blanket up over his shoulders until he noticed how quiet it was.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw Link fast asleep but wasn't snoring. What did he do differently?! He finally just shook his head and turned back over and hoped it was a permanent change.
Sheik took a deep breath and then closed his eyes again and quickly dozed off.
Link opened his eyes and frowned.
I don't think I can do this…but I've get to try. I've never backed out of a fight, so neither will my heart.