Chapter Two
Inside the Deku Tree
The duo, fairy and boy gave the tree one final gaze, and they both ran into the roots of the Deku Tree.
"It's dark… Hey, Navi, can you shine just a little brighter?" Link said as he tried to feel his surroundings.
"I can't! I'll fly ahead so you can see better!" Navi jingled and flew a few inches ahead. After a moment of feeling and stepping, a dim light can be seen.
Following the light, Link was led into a room. Not exactly a room, but more of a base of the Great Deku Tree he knew so well. A torch was lit at every entrance to rooms he can't imagine what is in it,
"Wow, I never thought that there's something like this in here!" Link breathed. He scanned the tree; from this point, it seems that there are only two floors, but there's a hole in the ceiling that leads to a third. So three floors it is.
"Link, take a look down here!"
Navi flew over the floor at the middle. As Link followed, he was shocked; the floor is a hidden empty hole in the base of the tree, camouflaged by a thickly knit cobweb. Link looked from a hole; down there is a little stream filled with water and more ground. That makes it four floors, thought Link.
"Let's start from top to bottom, shall we?" Navi jingled. Link nodded in agreement and they started to climb atop, not before being ambushed by a few deku babas. Link quickly dished out an attack that severed the stems in a swift manner, in which he mastered rather quickly.
"Link, I think you're a natural at this. Handling a sword and all." Navi said, clapping her hands, obviously unheard. "What's that attack called? You know, the one that you jump backwards and smash the enemy into the ground and the one that you spin around with?"
"I… guess I'm a natural at many things, then… I think it's called a Jump attack and a spin attack, nothing too major." Link simply dragged over the topic, which left Navi in frustration.
"Say, you don't talk too much, you know?" Navi said, resting herself at the shoulder of the boy. Link shrugged, and investigated the fire torch near him. He took the remains of the deku baba he fought; it left its stem, oddly enough; and severed some of the thorns off the stem. "I am never good with words, you see… it's always been like that." He said as he lit the stem successfully and climbed up the slope leading to the second floor.
Navi sighed at Link's claim, and started to scan the room carefully. "Link, careful, I sense something nearby."
Navi is right; a weird, spinning sound can be heard not far from here. It sounds like a…
"A giant spider!" Link exclaimed and drew his sword. He quickly defeated the abnormally monstrous, huge spider-like creature that descended from the ceilings with careful and swift sword slashes.
"That's a Giant Skulltulla!" Navi yelped. "You do know skulltullas, right? Well, these are their mothers, and are ten times bigger."
"I… I'll stick with the small ones…" Link mumbled, as he cleaned his sword from the thick, gooey purple liquid the Giant Skulltulla had in its body. He attempted to wipe off the liquid with the remains of a deku baba, but to no avail.
He continued to walk, slashing the enemies in his way, and finally found a oddly-placed wall.
"Push it! You can open it by pushing." Navi said, tapping the wall/door thing.
Link nodded, and pushed the block of wood. The block of wood rumbled, and it rolled sideways into the wall.
"How peculiar! It's a clever thing they did here." Navi said in awe.
"What do you mean 'they'? Are there people living in here?" Link asked.
"No, of course not; at least not in the present. Long ago, I heard that the older tribe of the Kokiri lived in the Great Deku tree; of course, at that time, he is but a large tree; and the tribe grew so huge they moved into the village you live in! The leader must have turned into the Great Deku Tree! At least it's what the Great Deku Tree told me." Navi said.
"Wow. I missed out on a lot of things, haven't I?" Link said.
Entering the room, Link was instantly amazed at the structure. It is exactly decorated like Mido's room, with all the stumps here and there made to display his prize from bullying. At the furthest in the room, he spotted something that caught his eye.
Link headed to the bed at the far end, stripped off of its covers. A carving – no, a toy is placed unscathed at the end of the bed.
"It's a slingshot!" Navi exclaimed. "You put the seed at the rubber end and pull – and shoot!"
"Oh! I've seen these before! I just can't remember where," Link said. He took out some seeds in his small pouch and loaded the slingshot. He aimed at a skulltulla crawling on the ceiling and with a small "Bam!" the creature was hit on it's soft spot – it's belly – and it fell violently onto the ground, the purple, gooey liquid left spluttered on the ground.
"That is one powerful shot." Navi commented
"Another thing to add in my 'I'm not normal compared to everyone else' list, then…" Link thought out loud. He slid his new weapon into his belt and exited the room.
Upon exiting the room in which he marked as the 'Mido Room', he quickly leave the room and return to the wall with vines on it. The vines lead up to the ceiling, and Link can see the platforms above him that leads him to the third floor.
"Link! Look! You can climb the vines!" Navi inspected the vines carefully and deemed it safe for climbing. "It's made out of tough vines. The problem is the skulltullas all over it, though…"
Link thought for a while, and he took a few steps backwards. Then, he curled into a ball and forcefully whammed himself into the wall. The skulltullas, unable to undertake the vibration, all landed on the ground. The ones on higher walls were immediately squashed under Link's soles and he gave the rest a quick spin attack. Soon, everything is covered in purple goo.
"Link, I am glad that you're safe, but you smell like musty old spiders." Navi gave him a nudge and told him to quickly move. Obeying, he quickly jolted up the skulltulla-free vines and grabbed onto the higher platforms.
Surprisingly, there's nothing on the top floor, just a few rooms that looked similar to the Know-it-all brothers and also, Saria. After checking the remaining empty rooms, he looked down.
From the platform he grabbed onto, Link can see the thick cobweb that blocked the hold down below. If he jumped down, he should be able to break the cobweb…
"Link? What are you doing?" Navi asked as she follows Link walked backwards, quite abruptly.
"I'm jumping into the basement!" Link said, and he suddenly ran as fasts as he could, then jumping off the high ledge straight towards the cobweb down below.
"You. Idiot!" Navi screeched as she firmly tugged onto Link's sleeve.
Without a doubt, the cobweb broke as Link crashed into it. But it didn't break his fall. Even the cobweb broken, it's still a long way down – and he is seemingly doomed.
Splash. Link landed in a deep lake of sorts – no, it's part of the underground basement, where the Deku Tree gets it's water supply. The abrupt landing quickly washed off the goo on his body, but Link struggled a little before climbing ashore.
"Cough… hack!" Link struggled for air. He possibly drank a little of the water, as he can feel his throat burning. Even the water is polluted! No wonder the Deku Tree is sick.
"Uh… Link? L-Look up there…" Navi whimpered.
Link, finally caught up in his breath, looked up and stopped breathing again. It is one of the most disgusting, stomach-turning thing he has ever saw.
Purple-tinted larvae jiggled and wobbled, creating a purple, gooey liquid he had seen earlier. The larvae, of something Link didn't want to imagine, is semi-transparent, and inside a spider-like creature is breeding. The larvae not only looked disgusting, it being covered in purple, sticky goo is already revolting enough.
Before Link could make a quick run, one of the larvae suddenly wobbled so violently the others had reacted all the same. The larvae hatched one by one, and out come black, gooey pincers that appear deadly. Then, the large larvae soon opened its eyes, revealing a yellow, cat-like eye with stare piercing its prey – and in this case, it seems like Link is its ideal 'prey'.
"Link! These… these are mutations of the child of a spider queen, Gohma! They are still young, but… Just kill them with a stab in the eye! It's their weaknesses!" Navi informed and shrieked as the monster screeched, making the poor fairy hide inside Link's hat.
Link grabbed his sword from the scabbard and leapt with agile forward, leaving a heavy stab into the spider-thing's eye; he repeated the process, over and over and over, but it won't end.
"Hyah… ahh… there's too many!" Link exclaimed, panting heavily.
"Link, make a run for now! You can't handle them all!" Navi jingled, shivering. Link tried, and ran with all his breath until he reached a nearby lit torch.
A torch? That… That's it!
Link quickly rolled and picked up a wooden pole twice the length of him and lit it on fire; he threw the pole upwards, towards the larvae-filled ceiling; and everything was set ablaze. The larvae, roasted and burnt, all collapsed to the ground. The fire continued to spread, but the moist of the room quickly slowed it down.
"I hope the Great Deku Tree doesn't mind me burning his bottom…" Link thought.
Suddenly, a loud screech echoed through the room. The room instantly fell into darkness, and the torch's fire went out.
"Link, hold your ground… I think you just made the mother angry."
The ground trembled due to the shockwaves the screeching made, and both Link and Navi clapped their ears shut. Suddenly, a huge spider emerged from the hold Link fell down into; it appears as a huge, one-eyed spider with two pincers attached to its abdomen.
Gohma.
Gohma screeched one last time, and Link came back to his senses. This thing is the cause of why the Kokiri Woods is in chaos. The cause of why the Great Deku Tree is unwell. The cause of many things… and it definitely won't get away from it.
"Link! She is just a larger version of her children! Her eye is her weakness!" Navi exclaimed. The enraged spider cried one last time, and charged towards the young boy.
Link is not slow; he leapt and did a frontflip, landing atop of the ferocious beast. He swiped his sword downwards, aiming for the eye, but he was quickly shoved down.
"Link! Gohma is covered in armor! You can't harm it's abdomen! It's eye!" Navi chimed again.
"But it's too far! I can't stab – oh!" Link exclaimed. He quickly loaded his slingshot that he slipped out of his belt and aimed directly at Gohma's enormous eye. With much strength, Link shot the deku seed directly at it's eye. Gohma quickly screeched in pain and landed on the ground, struggling. Link quickly rolled forwards and slashed the vulnerable creature, finally ending it with a downward stike.
"HIYAAAH!"
The body of Gohma spasms, and with a loud, ear-wrecking screech, it's body was engulfed by purple flames, carcass reducing of what seems like a small, roasted spider.
"So it is a spider after all…?" Link breathed, as he panted after the battle with Gohma.
After climbing up the vines and back in front of the Great Deku Tree, it's condition has seemingly worsen.
"Great… Deku Tree… I have completed your mission. Are you feeling much better?" Link said. "You… you won't die, right?"
The tree replied nothing.
"Well done, Link." It only replied. Before Link could continue, he started to speak again.
"Thou has verily demonstrated thy courage… knew that thou wouldst be able to carry on my wishes.
Now, I have yet more to tell ye, wouldst thou listen?"
"Yes. Yes, of course, Great Deku Tree… I love your stories very much. Please, tell me what in which you want to tell…" Link said, kneeling down near the roots of the tree he respected so dearly.
The great deku tree chuckled, and it started to tell him a long, long story.
"Now, listen carefully… a wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me… there is no hope, young Link. I will not be able to escape from the hands of death.
＂This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule… For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods…
"Before Time began, before Spirits and Life existed… Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule…
"Din, the goddess of power; Nayru, the goddess of wisdom; and Farore, the godess of courage.
Din, with her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land and created the red earth.
Nayru, she poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave the spirit of law to the world.
Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms who would uphold the law.
The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. Three golden sacred triangles remained at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles have become the basis of our world's providence. And, the resting place of the triangles has become the silent realm.
"Thou must never allow the desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the sacred triforce… Thou must never suffer that man, with his evil heart, to enter the sacred realm…
"That man that placed this curse on my and sapped my power… Because of that curse, my end is nigh. "Though your valiant efforts were successful, I was doomed before you started… Yes, I will pass away soon. Do not grieve for me, as I have been able to tell you of these important matters… This is Hyrule's final hope…"
"Great Deku Tree…" Link breathed in disbelief.
"Link. Go now to Hyrule Castle. There, thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny…" the tree sighed one last time.
"The princess of Destiny?" Link asked.
"Thou have surely dreamt of her in one of your restless nights. Take this stone with you, the stone that the man wants so much, that he cast the curse on me…"
A bright ray of green light blinded Link's vision. A beautiful jewel crested in gold manifested from the Deku Tree, and it landed safely into Link's hands.
"The Kokiri's Emerald!" Navi exclaimed.
The emerald is in which he never seen; a moving light sways along the beautiful jewel Link now holds in his hands. It is… as if the Deku Tree is the life essence in the jewel…
"The future depends on thee… Link. Thou art courageous. Navi the fairy, help Link to carry out my will…
I… en…treat…ye…Go…od…bye…"
As the tree breathes his final words, brown leaves scattered abruptly from it's branches, as if a shattered red jewel spread across the meadow. The meadow's air, once tinted in a mesmerizing green glow, has lost it's smell and color, leaving it to be polluted by the evil aura now spreading from the roots of the Deku Tree. The tree's pale, yellow dark soon faded to only while, and it's gaze disappeared, leaving the hold above it's roots that served as the hive of his parasite that devoured his life.
"Great Deku Tree… you have always been like a father. A father to all of us." Link bowed at the now lifeless tree. "I… will do what you wish for I to do."
"Come on, Link. Let's go to Hyrule Castle." Navi said, sobbing. "G-Goodbye, Great Deku Tree…"
And thus, Link bowed one last time to the dead tree, and turned to return to the village.
"Link! The Great Deku Tree… is… is…"
"It's so cold… the trees are cold… why… what is happening?"
Right after he entered the village, the Kokiri immediately surrounded the little boy. The Kokiri shivered, faces pale as paper, and eyes filled with only fear. Although being the kind hearted boy he is, he can't touch them anymore; or anymore feelings might restrain him from leaving his home.
Yes… a child is still a child. Link is but only a home-loving young boy.
But he has to leave. Or the world will be plunged into doom. He has to warn the princess that he dreamt of.
The princess in his fearful dream – guarded by an older lady, hair a long, silver white, armed with light but sturdy armor; the princess, so frail and weak, with fear written over her beautiful, yet pale face… and the desert man, so much taller than him that glared at him with blood thirsty eyes…
Link shook his head. The desert man looked so devastating. He could never let a man like him to make anymore harm to anyone. That was what Link always kept in mind.
To prevent that man from hurting anyone else. Link clutched onto the Kokiri Emerald, and another teardrop lost its fight against his eyes.
this is the end of what i have wrote dedicated to Ocarina of Time. I apologize if any of these sounds familiar/someone wrote exactly the same thing before, but i had no idea what I was thinking a few years back, and if i was writing in a style same as yours or i ripped something off you, i will take this down immediately upon request because i have NO idea if i did something terrible in the past and i'm no longer into reading zelda fics now (maybe sometime in the future)... so please PLEASE tell me if i DID rip something off you! thank you for reading!