Chapter 14: Deku Dangers
The four walked down the pathway towards the Deku Palace. The first things noticeable were the two Deku Scrub Guards blocking the entrance. "So, any plans to get past these guys?" Sans asked Link, eyeing the two beings with curiosity. He had to grow accustomed to non-human things on the surface still.
Asriel took the lead, walking up to the two Deku Scrubs that had launched from the ground. They were even taller than him… Gulping, Asriel tried to ask for passage. "U-Um, can you p-please let us in there? We need to…" He looked to Link. The boy had still yet to explain what they were going here for… "Talk to someone?"
Arching their non existent eyebrows, the Deku Scrubs shook their heads. "This is the royal palace of the Deku Kingdom. This is no place for outsiders."
"But-"
He was rudely interrupted. "No, you are not allowed in."
Asriel was pushed aside by another Deku Scrub walking past him. At first glance, it took him a moment to realize what Link was about to pull. The boy walked up to the two Deku Scrubs that were waiting and gave a wave of his hand.
Once again, the Deku Scrubs leapt up, analyzing him. "This is the palace of the Deku Kingdom. Only those on official business may enter!" Asriel's heart sank, thinking they wouldn't let him in. "...But you may enter to see the public humiliation of the foolish monkey who angered our king!" Link nodded, Asriel and Sans's jaws dropping. "Follow this hall straight to the Royal Chamber. Do not enter any other areas whatsoever!"
Link proceeded through, leaving the other two monsters behind. Before they could follow, the Deku Scrubs once more blocked their way. It seemed they wouldn't be granted passage… Giving a look of apology, Link ran into the Royal Chamber, Tatl following behind.
Sans and Asriel stepped back, trying to find another way in. It was quite obvious. Whispering, Sans thought of an idea. "Hey kid, keep an eye on greenie. If anything goes wrong, I'll bust some of those monsters in there."
It took Asriel a moment to understand what Sans was implying. The skeleton had to point to the Flower Mask that was still in his grip. "OH!" Asriel exclaimed in understanding, catching the curious glances of many Deku Scrubs. He waited for them to look away before throwing on the mask. The transformation took place as he was shrunk to the ground.
"Keep an eye out kid. I'll be waiting out here." Sans told the flower below him. Flowey gave a small salute gesture with his leaf before burrowing Underground. With a sigh, Sans turned towards the hunk of rock falling from the sky. When did his life go so wrong?
Flowey popped up in the Deku Palace. Thank goodness there was no flooring in here. The Deku Scrubs across from him seemed distracted by what he presumed as a leader of some sorts. On closer inspection, he could see Link talking to a more composed one on the right. "It's terribly sad… But nothing can calm the king now…" Flowey wondered what could have made the king so mad. "Our swamps have become poisoned… This may be the end of the Deku Kingdom! Oh, Goddess of Time! Save us!"
Link seemed unfazed by what the Deku Butler had said. Flowey would have been confused, but that was expected of Link because it seemed he had done this all before. But, he felt like this Goddess of Time had significance…
Flowey's attention snapped back to Link who was talking to the king. It was more of a one sided conversation. "I haven't seen you before. Are you visiting?" The Deku king inquired with curiosity. Pointing his staff at Link, he spoke with a powerful voice. "Usually, I wouldn't allow the likes of you in my Royal Chamber, but today is different! We're about to punish the foolish monkey who kidnapped the Deku Princess!"
Wait… If that was the king, shouldn't he have known his own daughter's name? Unless that was her name. Flowey suppressed a giggle. To think someone would be worse at naming than his dad?! "He has insulted the Royal Family. I'll show him what happens when you do that!" The Deku King roared over the rambling of the other Dekus. The monsters up here were brutal… "That foolish monkey is up in that cage. Take a good look at his face!"
Link began walking to the monkey, Flowey burrowing close by. Sadly, the ground up there was made of wood, rendering him unable to get a better look. At least he could make out the conversation. "They keep saying that I kidnapped her. No matter how many times they say it, it's not going to bring the princess back!" The monkey exclaimed, struggling in its binds. "If they're not careful, the princess will fall victim to a monster! Please believe my words…"
Flowey now understood slightly better what Link was doing. From the looks of it, it seemed that Link was trying to find the Deku Princess… All for what? What good would finding that princess do for the days they all had left? He could only trust the boy and hope he knew what he was doing.
Link wandered out the door, Flowey following closely behind. Once again, that monkey from before was waiting for them. In the distance, Flowey could see Sans studying a statue with a feather on it.
He shook it off, paying attention to what the monkey had to say. "Was my brother all right?" Link shook his head. The monkey, slightly disappointed, asked, "Did you see the entrance to cage? We know secret route there. Enter secret route from Outer Garden Entrance. But entrance in tall place. No can reach it…" The monkey thought for a moment. "Need bean from bean seller. Live beneath palace garden. Mmm…" The monkey ran off.
Really? A bean like a bean stalk? Flowey had a more convenient plan. "Hey buddy!" Flowey exclaimed, catching Link and Tatl's attention. "I have a better idea."
"What do you have flower-boy?" Tatl responded, curiosity coming to light.
"Skip the beans. I can make vines. Remember?" Flowey mentioned, showing off his vine magic.
"Not a bad idea…" Tatl murmured. "But… there is another one of those heart pieces down to the left." Tatl motioned towards the inner garden area. "Go get that and meet us outside the other garden."
"Got it!" Flowey exclaimed, going off to find the piece.
"I still find this mode of travel very dangerous and insulting!"Flowey yelled as Link soared through the air. Some Deku Scrubs had already been killed by this kid and his flying method. He would burrow into a plant and fly around using flowers… How was that supposed to be effective?
Flowey was also quite sickened that Link was killing their people. Maybe these ones were corrupt but he highly doubted it. They seemed to be keeping watch if anything. "Quiet Asriel!" Tatl silently yelled in the air. "We're on the last one and we're good."
Right on cue, Link's feet touched the solid wood of the Deku Palace. Using a leaf to wipe of some sweat, Flowey panted. "T-That was terrifying!"
"Get used to it…" Tatl retorted as they walked into the cage containing the monkey. Luckily, the Deku Scrubs hadn't seen their entrance. But, the monkey had.
It seemed to cower back in fear seeing Link. Of course, it would be afraid of Deku Scrubs. "Psst, maybe you should take off that mask…" Flowey suggested.
Nodding, Link revealed his true self. The monkey would have rubbed his eyes in astonishment if it weren't for the ropes binding them. "Oh! You… How did you get here?" He asked to Link. Flowey took off his own mask, revealing his normal fuzzy self. He also took note that this monkey before him had better grammar than the others. "Oh! There are two of you?"
"I'm here too buddy." Tatl groaned. "Always being left out…" Wait… did she say that out loud.
"Sorry fairy!" He apologized. "But be quiet! If they see you, they'll capture you!"
"Your brother asked for our help." Asriel explained, "We came here to help you out of this situation.
The monkey looked slightly downcast. "What? My brother asked for your help? Ugh… I'm terribly sorry… Just try to cut my rope. We'll talk after that!" Barely even trying, Link tried to slash at the suspended rope. He missed by a long shot. "Hmm… No good, after all…"
A lightbulb went off in Asriel's head. "Wait, Link! Crawl on my shoulders and maybe you can reach the rope!" He whispered to the boy to avoid the Dekus from hearing. It was a good idea.
"No." Tatl refused firmly for him. Link and Asriel both eyed the fairy in confusion. They could save the monkey right there instead of having to risk time in the Temple while he was tortured. "We can't change too much in the 3 day cycle. The monkey will be fine as long as we continue."
"But… we can help him!" Asriel protested. "The solution is-" Link stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Shaking his head as to say 'no', Asriel gave up on trying to persuade the two now. Link knew the timeline best, so he would follow his orders. "Alright, but what now?"
"You two! I have an idea!" He exclaimed, catching the attention of the Deku Butler. The monkey noticed his gaze. "Quick! We don't have much time. Do you have an instrument that blare out a lot of sound that will carry a long way?"
Right on cue, Link threw on his Deku Mask. Just to make sure he stayed with him, Asriel reverted back to Flowey and latched onto Link. He watched as the boy pulled out massive horns from nowhere. Where did he keep all of this stuff? "Oh! You have them! You do! Just like the princess. Deku Pipes! Those will work great."
Deku Guards were starting to move in on the cage. "Uh, Link. We need to make this fast…"
"Oh! Are you that same boy from a second ago?" He shook his head in confusion. "I was trying to find out about the poison in the swamp, so I went to Woodfall Temple above the waterfall." It appeared that was where Link was going to Asriel… "But the temple had become a monster's lair, and the princess was captured by the monster… Since the Deku King thinks I kidnapped the princess, he won't listen to a word I say. Now the princess is in trouble, so I must somehow hurry to the temple and save her!"
"What do you need us to do?" Flowey asked, beginning to sweat under the gaze of the guards. The king had told them to stop advancing for an unknown reason…
"You will go in my place and save the princess!" The monkey exclaimed. Link didn't seem to troubled that the task was forced on him, but now they had an objective… "Ok, now I'll teach you the melody that opens the temple. The princess taught it to me! We can't let them hear us, so I'll sing it softly."
A song passed from the monkey's lips. It sounded like one of someone finally finding their true meaning… Almost like an awakening… You learned the Sonata of Awakening! This melody awakens those who have fallen into a deep sleep…
Everyone flinched when the king finally spoke. "Everyone, did you hear that? This melody which only the Deku Family knows…" It means he's innocent? Flowey hoped. "It proves the foolish monkey deceived the princess so he could enter the temple!"
"Wait no! You've got it all wrong!" Flowey yelled in defiance.
Before anyone could react, Deku guards seized Link and Flowey. Despite their protests, they were dragged from the palace. In a last struggle to break free, Flowey summoned a bullet near his head, ramming into one of the guards. This was enough to get Link free. The boy quickly sidestepped out of the way of another guard, running for the palace door.
The monkey called after them in a desperate attempt. "You'd better take the pathway the Deku people use to Woodfall Temple! But you must hurry! If you don't, I will be punished by the Deku King!"
"Shut it foolish monkey!" A guard snapped back.
Link darted out the door, Flowey still attached to him. This was the first time this scenario had happened. Normally they'd just be thrown out but now they were trapped. The two guards who stood at the front of the palace shot up in alarm, seeing that he was being chased by others.
Glancing to the side, he saw that the two passageways were being blocked by guards as well. They were pinned. He was able to see behind the two entryway guards to see Sans sleeping near the feather statue. "HEY! SMILEY TRASHBAG!" Flowey yelled. He didn't move a bit…
Wait a minute… Tatl bobbed up and down to catch his attention. "Use the song! Maybe it'll wake him up!" Unsure of this would work, Link obeyed anyways. He blowed through the pipes, a satisfying tune playing from them.
An entryway guard began to try to pelt him with Deku nuts. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The nut stopped in mid-air, surrounded by a blue aura. Using the time wisely, Link slashed with his sword like a baseball bat, sending it flying backwards into the entryway guards. They tumbled backwards, allowing an opening.
Before he could question how the Deku nut stopped, he saw Sans wide awake with his eye flaring blue. Link ripped off his mask, doing an all out charge to Sans's direction. However, he made a sharp turn left, beginning to skip across the water with Flowey in tow. The skeleton saw what he was trying to do and teleported to the riverbank a bit down the stream. They were making a run for it.
The guards, while having been dazed, were following in pursuit. To save time, Sans grabbed Link's soul with blue magic and pulled him up to a ledge further up. Between breaths, he asked with annoyance, "What the hell did you do to make them so mad?"
"My fault!" Flowey yelled, still keeping a close eye on the Deku Scrubs. "I hit one because they were attacking us."
"Who cares?" Tatl complained, looking down at the Deku Flower. "They're going to follow us with that flower…"
As he said this, a Gaster Blaster hovered in the air, aiming at the Scrubs. "Already got it covered." His hand flung down, the blaster firing pure white energy from its maw. Instead of hitting the Dekus as Link thought, the blaster struck the flower, causing it to wilt and be destroyed. Before any of them could begin shooting Deku Nuts at the group, Sans pulled them through the tunnel.
The area opened up to a ton of Deku Flowers dotted on suspended mushrooms. Even though they narrowly escaped the Deku Guards, it seemed they weren't in the clear yet. "What… is that?" Flowey asked, repulsing.
Two Dragonflies hovered down to their level, tails striking with electricity. Two flashes of light signalled Asriel and Link had transformed to regular forms. Tatl rushed the Dragonfly as the other three got in a battle stance. "Just stay away from its tail and you won't be in danger!"
"Don't have to tell me twice." Sans muttered, eye flashing blue. He grabbed onto Link and Asriel, snapping his fingers. They began teleporting across the Deku Flowers, Tatl tailing behind. The Dragonflies began chasing in pursuit, not wanting their prey to get away. "Can someone please handle those?"
Link didn't have any ranged weapons and couldn't transform. Asriel, however, was already on it. Fire erupted from his palms, forcing the Dragonflies to swerve out of the way. They hissed, flying faster towards the trio. Asriel's attacks were weak because he didn't want to kill…
The Dragonflies were too close for comfort. Link ditched his mobile service (Sans) and dropped onto a Deku Flower. The other two made it to the Waterfall, only to see that Link had dropped off. "Kid! What're y-"
Link put a hand up to stop him. Tatl flew to his side as the Hero of Time drew his sword. It was showtime. One struck with its tail, slapping it downward to his head. He rolled out of the way, using a maneuver he had taught himself. He rolled behind his foe, leaping into the air with a striking spin. He'd name that the back slice…
The Dragonfly withered away, its partner flying backwards, only to fly forward again. Instead, it stopped before colliding with Link, only to sweep with its tail. The boy backflipped out of the way, throwing his sword into the beast's head. It fell to the ground, but seemed to still be alive. Without hesitating, Link pulled the sword from its skull and performed a flip mid-air. Gravity took effect, allowing the sword to plunge into the beast's body. Just like the other, it shriveled to ash. The ending blow always proved useful…
Sans and Asriel stood near the Waterfall, slightly terrified at what they just saw. Ash coated Link's clothing in a sign of his killing. His EXP had gone up slightly. Noticing the two seemingly disapproving of Link's killing, Tatl turned a deep shade of red. The fairy zoomed over to the two monsters, flying right into their face. "Now you two listen up because I'm ONLY saying this once. Not everything can be solved with rainbows and sunshine. If we need to kill, we will."
"That was unnecessary. We had it handled." Sans insisted, seeing that Link was flying over with the Deku Mask equipped. "We would've gotten out of that without him attacking."
"Oh really buddy?" Tatl spat back, facing the skeleton head on. "Have you not seen that these monsters are not friendly? They will not hesitate to kill us and they don't listen to reason! Your harmless fireballs and reluctance to be productive isn't helping us!"
Link took of his mask, seeing the two fighting. He rolled his eyes, not even being slightly annoyed that they were talking about him. It was more annoying that they couldn't get along… "Well I'm sorry I'm trying not to be a mass murderer!" Sans shot back, eyes disappearing into the black void of his eye sockets.
"Oh please, it's not murdering. We are protecting ourselves." These two wouldn't just shut up.
"C-Can you two p-please stop fighting?" Asriel finally stuttered out. The two turned their full attention to the goat-boy. "We aren't getting anywhere by you two bickering all the time! We don't have much time before that moon falls so stop fighting and let's go!"
"It's not that simple kid." Sans stated, shutting his eye sockets.
"Wait a minute, where's Link?" Alarmed, Tatl began flying around the area, looking everywhere for the boy. After a small moment, the sound of blaring horns could be heard coming from the area beyond the small passage. The trio glanced down the tunnel, seeing a light at the end. The source of the noise was coming from there.
Without hesitation, all three ran through the passageway. When they reached the end, the ground began quaking and churning. Vibrations shook the trees and water around them as something was coming out of the water. On closer inspection, Sans saw it was a temple of some sorts. "What… is that?" He asked in alarm, pointing a bony finger towards the rising structure.
"Huh…" Tatl began. "Looks like Link decided to get ahead of us instead of waiting on you to shut up."
"Don't be a hypocrite…" He mumbled, giving the fairy a death glare. From the other side, all three of them saw Link waving his hand. He stood atop the temple, motioning for them to come across. Begrudgingly, Sans teleported to the Temple bricks. This place is run down… he thought as Link gave a look of question. "What? Oh yeah, our argument was interrupted by you greenie."
Crossing his arms and tapping his foot expectantly, Sans wondered what he could possibly want from him. In desperation, the boy mouthed, 'Do you trust me?'
This was the first time Link had made an attempt to communicate fully with Sans. The skeleton wondered if he was mute, but that wasn't the case because of his constant battle yells. The skeleton scratched the back of his skull in stress. "Look, killing is against what I stand for kiddo. I was the judge of the Underground. I judged those for their crimes and put them in their place… Now that I think about it, you're probably one of the worst I've come across…"
The boy frowned in response. Tatl was starting to turn red in anger again. However, she was stopped by Link. The boy cleared his throat. Wait, was he about to- "If… you don't… trust me, I don…'t blame you." Everyone was reduced to silence in surprise that he had just spoken. Right after the sentence was spoken, he began lurching forward into a mass coughing fit.
Sans patted his back, trying to make it stop. It seemed talking wasn't really easy for him. Oh well, at least that message was conveyed across. "Look buddy… I'll make a deal with ya."
"Well what if we don't want to make any!" Tatl yelled back. A stern glance from Link was all she needed to know that he wanted her to kindly shut her mouth.
"I'll help you find this princess in this temple. But after that, we are breaking that barrier." His hand outstretched. "No getting sidetracked."
Tatl opened her mouth in protest, only for Link to accept the handshake. He nodded while they were shaking hands, confirming his choice. The fairy bobbed up and down. "But, we can't break the barrier without seven souls, remember? We'll have to look for them after this to break that thing…"
Asriel snapped his fingers as if coming up with a conclusion. "There are already six souls in the Underground. But Link…" He paused, looking in the direction of Snowhead. "Was there anything of importance that used to be at the top of that mountain?"
Link's eyes widened. How hadn't he seen it before? That was where Snowhead Temple used to reside. Had it been overwritten by the Underground? Or was everything in the Temple transferred to the Underground. He nodded his head, fear showing all over his face. Tatl lurched backwards in shock. "Oh… OH!"
"What? What am I missing?" Sans asked, coking his head to the side.
Tatl shut her eyes in disbelief. "Let's hope your friends are powerful, because I'm pretty sure they aren't alone in that mountain anymore."
"What do you mean?" The skeleton's voice dropped deadly low. "Are they in danger?"
"YES! VERY BIG DANGER!" Tatl exclaimed. If anything was down there, hopefully no one was harmed yet. Link waved his hand in front of the fairy, catching her attention. He pointed to the temple, then to his ocarina as if telling her something. She understood fully. "Alright, we have a plan."
"Oh you can't be serious…"
"We're going into this temple. As soon as we're done, we're resetting time so we can get to that barrier as fast as possible. We need to get any heart pieces/souls on the way so we can open it." Talt explained, fear in her voice. "If we aren't too late, hopefully no one is stupid enough to free that beast…"
"W-Well then what are we waiting for?" Asriel asked, motioning to the entrance of the temple. "We don't have all week!"
Without even bothering to wait for Sans, Link raced off into the temple, ready for whatever would come their way. The skeleton facepalmed, intaking a ton of breath. "Why did I even sign up for this…" With determination to help his brother the next time loop, Sans decided to rush headlong into the brick temple.
AN: THE HERO SPEAKS!
I make battle scenes with regular enemies a bit overdramatic...
Sorry for the LONG delay, my sister has been needing the computer for college stuff so I couldn't update.
On the other hand, I will be getting my own computer soon to speed up the process. Keep your fingers crossed!
Also, thank you guys for being so supportive of this fic! It means so much to me and I felt so bad when I couldn't update...
The next temple will be in the Underground if you haven't noticed yet. We'll be taking a step back from our normal party and following another group.
BadDRUMMERboy15 Out!