"You call yourselves knights? You prey on the weak... and never turn against your true enemy! What is loyalty? Does simply following the rules make you a knight? Even the orders of a tyrant who tortures her people?"

-a Labrynnan Knight

Chapter 17: The Temple of Droplets, pt. II

"What is that thing?"

The monster swiftly turned around, only to get impaled in the chest with a Zoran spear. It landed in the water with a loud splash and could hear the lament of the aquatic people. They cried as small particles of light swirled around the chamber of Lanayru, the remains of the sacred beast.

"We need to seal it in ice!" another Zora yelled.

"Your Majesty! What can we do? We can't leave that creature in there with Lanayru! Look what it's done!" a third said.

A familiar voice reached the monster's ears and it recognized it as Ralis, the Zora King. The regal Zora sighed and said, "If it's incapacitated, then we'll freeze it and send it to the bottom of the lake. Its body should decompose faster that way."

Reaching the bottom of the watery chamber, the undead monster suddenly launched itself out of the water and attacked. With a shadowy blade and extreme viciousness, the wraith roared and swiped at every Zora it saw. The monster took out several Zora guards, breaking many of their weapons before ending them.

Ralis glowered and said, "I'm not going to let you tarnish Link's name any further."

Temple of Droplets, lone switch room, with Ruto and Oni…

Ruto, seeing Oni standing rigid, called out his name. He didn't respond. She then walked towards him as he stood in the center of the rather empty and dimly lit, ice-cold room. He insisted on taking the lead after the two were assailed by demented porcelain, lamps, and oversized ants that used their pincers like chakrams, trying to cut their heads off.

"Oni? Oni! Why are you spacing out over here?" Ruto asked.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, only for him to suddenly grab it and started crushing it. The Zora screamed, trying to pull away as the man started yelling at her in gibberish. In her fear-filled state, Ruto noticed his red eyes were glowing with a sinister light and fangs seemed to peek out from his mouth.

Swinging her free arm at his head, Ruto sent a small splash of water at him, stunning him and forcing him to release her. That same splash struck a lever switch at the far end of the room and a skylight opened up in the ceiling. Droplets of jelly fell and a massive, blue Chu Jelly appeared.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Ruto screamed, jumping out of the way of the massive jelly monster's lunge.

She rushed to the entrance, only for metal pillars to appear, blocking her escape. The Zora felt overwhelming fear, more towards the oddly acting Oni than the enormous Chu Jelly that wanted to turn her into a Zora pancake. The Blue Chu Jelly launched itself into the air and towards her. Oni was still feral and was of no help to anyone, so Ruto was left to fend for herself.

The short Zora priestess leaped out of the way, landing on her stomach as the Chu Jelly slammed onto the icy floor. It slunk towards her again and shocked the air with electricity pulsating from its body. Ruto started running, only to slip and fall onto her backside. She slid to a halt in a corner and cursed everything as the Chu Jelly had trapped her in a corner.

"Crap! Shoot! Frick! Crud!" she sputtered, after spewing out several curses in Zoran tongue.

The Chu Jelly rammed into her, shocking and nearly flattening her onto the wall. Electrified and badly bruised, Ruto watched as the Chu Jelly slinked backward, ready to attack again. She fell onto her side, in pain and trying to stay conscious.

"GRAH!"

Her eyes widened as the Chu Jelly was set ablaze by black and purple flames. It exploded in a plume of smoke and Ruto saw a horrible sight in the fire and smoke. Two glowing, blood-red eyes stared at her as if piercing into her soul and their owner launched himself toward her. She was lifted into the air and pinned into the corner she had been trapped in and saw a seemingly-consumed-by-rage Oni.

In an old and odd dialect of Hylian, the man bellowed in a dark voice, "WHAT? WHERE'S RALIS!"

"'R-Ralis'? My granddad?" Ruto asked, getting flustered as Oni grabbed the collar of her cape roughly

He then slammed her onto the wall, hitting her head, and yelled, not sounding anything like himself, "WHERE IS HE?"

"What? Why? He's all the way out in the southern oceans! What do you want with him and why are you yelling like that?" Ruto asked, getting more terrified as fangs suddenly bared from his mouth.

As if coming back to his senses and right before his appearance completely changed, Oni calmed down, releasing the horrified Zora. He backed away, grabbed his face, and groaned. Falling to his knees and then on all fours, Oni gasped and looked around. Ruto noticed his eyes were back to normal…or as normal as a Twili's could be.

"What happened? Why does my head hurt? Ruto? Are you okay over there?" Oni said, back on his knees and holding his head.

Ruto, still injured, fell to the floor, holding her staff close as she no longer trusted the man before her. He approached, only for the Zora girl to flinch when he did. Hurt, Oni asked her, "What happened? Why's your face bruised up? And why can't you stand? Do you need a potion or something?"

"I'm…I'm fine…I'm…fine…de…" Ruto said, her consciousness going in and out.

"H-Hey! Don't pass out on me!" Oni yelled.

She ignored him, unable to keep her eyes open due to injury, and fell onto her left side. Oni checked his pockets for anything he brought and found no healing items. Ruto's shivering caught his attention and she trembled violently. Oni noticed the charm around her neck was no longer there and the scale hanging from her right bracelet was cracked. Spotting the fallen sapphire charm at Ruto's right, Oni picked it up and saw its shape was the same shape as Nayru's Sigil.

He put in it his pocket, thinking to fix it for her later. Another sound caught his attention and the man saw a large treasure chest manifest in the center of the room. Without thinking, Oni rushed for it, opened it, and found a lantern.

A flashback where a young man in green carrying one through a miasma-covered forest and a painful headache nearly bowled him over, but Oni persisted, grabbing the lantern and then Ruto.

"I'll get you out of here. Hopefully, we'll find some red Chuchus on the way," Oni told her.

Ruto moaned, waking up, and asked, "Why…Why's that?"

Oni, happy that she was coming to, answered her with, "Well, Chuchus drop 'Chu Jelly' and that stuff makes Red Potions, Blue Potions…Purple Potions…"

He turned on the lantern, the light providing warmth and light in the dimly lit room, and changed his carrying posture. He repositioned the small Zora girl, carrying her piggyback style. The girl held on as best as she could, wrapping her arms around his neck and dropping her staff. Oni thought to pick it up, but with his holding the lantern and carrying Ruto, there was no way to do so. Until it suddenly disappeared into black pixels.

Recognizing it as Twili Shadow magic, Oni figured that it disappeared into something called "hammerspace". He could vaguely remember another Twili telling him how it worked but…

"Where are you taking me?" Ruto asked, still delirious.

"I'm getting you outta here. You're freezing and hurt. And I'm not gonna let you die," Oni told her.

"But…but you're…a dem…" Ruto said, passing out again.

With that, Oni left the room, wanting to get Ruto to warmer areas.

With Mipha and Aryll…

Still following the delirious Link deeper into the temple, Mipha and Aryll carefully navigated their way through a darkened hallway. Using her spear as a guide, the young Zora was careful not to lead Aryll into fireballs that darted around the room. That and these small, mammal-like creatures called Mulldozers, got in their path. Whenever they encountered one, Mipha would strike with a single swing of her spear, slicing the creature in two.

After what felt like forever, the two arrived in a room filled with ice, rocks, and ice blocks. On the left side of the room were three switches and Mipha took a step forward, relieved that the oddly glowing ice aided her sight and wanting to know what the switches were used for.

"Frick!"

Aryll entered, looking around for the source of the voice and nearly slipping on the ice. She stopped herself successfully and Mipha was pleased. The sound of a thud and a strong curse cut through the silence of the room and the pair saw the blonde-haired Link slowly sliding towards them. He had a scowl on his face and Aryll approached him.

"Hey, are you okay? You had me worried," she asked.

"Why is everything under ice here? I can't keep my footing and it's taking me forever to get that door open," Link said.

Aryll's expression went to that of worry and Mipha wondered why. The girl then responded with, "Um, w-which one are you? I know you're not Link."

"Link" rubbed the back of his head and asked, "You forgot my name again? It's 'Ismali'."

Aryll sighed in relief and Mipha muttered, "What's wrong with him? First, he had darkness cloak him like a veil and now it's manifesting itself as…Oh no…"

"'Oh no' what?" "Ismali" asked, his Hylian accent changing to that of a Gerudo's.

"Um…N-Nothing. We were just told to find you and an artifact called the Water Element. And we're to return to our patron, the guardian of Lanayru province…Lanayru," Mipha told him.

"Ismali" tilted his head and said, "That name sounds familiar vai. So, you want me to go with you and Aryll here?"

"Yes. And I am wondering why you are in here," Mipha told him.

The alter-ego, Mipha assumed, explained to her how he attempted to open the door on the far side of the room since something told him to keep moving. He spotted the three switches on the room's right and found another three on the left. So, he had spent the past several minutes trying to press all the switches down at once. Why he did so was that the switches were timed, a loud chirp sound filling the air that counted down the seconds, which was fifteen.

"So, all we have to do is run, step on these switches, and do so within the time limit?" Aryll asked.

"Uh-huh. But I kept falling on my butt every time I tried to rush for a switch. So…" "Ismali" told her, struggling to stand without falling back down.

Mipha helped him to his feet and he gave her a grin. He then said something that seemed off.

"You look kinda familiar. Have we met before, vai?" he asked.

"No. I'm sure that I would Mister…'Ismali'," Mipha replied.

"Ismali" stumbled a bit, holding his head, and moments later, Mipha could sense a shift in the atmosphere. And she didn't like it one bit. The boy groaned and muttered with a very different accent, "Where am I now? This is getting ridiculous…"

Aryll hid behind Mipha and said, "Um…Hi…Nyx. You're in a bad mood as usual."

"Nyx" looked Mipha up and down and the Zora did the same, as she could've sworn she saw the boy's appearance change. His blonde hair seemed to turn a few shades darker and his eyes held hatred in his azure eyes. Annoyed, he asked, "What's the deal with the fish?"

"Zora," Mipha corrected.

Aryll introduced Mipha to "Nyx" and Mipha's mind wandered, wondering if she could…

"Seriously, I don't get why the fish-lady is here. You guys hate the cold," "Nyx" said.

"I'm a 'Zora', not a fish-lady," Mipha corrected again.

"Same thing," "Nyx" said, turning away in annoyance.

He started paying attention to the switches on the floor and Mipha pulled Aryll away. Keeping her eyes on the mentally disturbed one, she asked, "Does this happen often?"

"Yeah…because of something that happened years ago. Um," Aryll started.

Mipha kept her eyes on "Nyx", who stepped on the right-center switch. A loud chirp sound filled the room and "Nyx" looked around, wondering where the sound was coming from. He walked a few steps forward, trying to reach the other side of the room, and slipped on the icy floor and into a rock. He seemed to be disoriented and Mipha started to think.

What if she…? No, the idea was too risky, she thought. But they needed help.

"Well, I have an idea. If this 'Nyx' hasn't a clue on how to solve this puzzle, then maybe we should…" Mipha said.

"Ow…Man, that stung."

Aryll's brother tried standing to his feet and Mipha wondered which person emerged. She saw the aura change around him, going from the dark blue and black wisps that she saw with "Nyx" back to a deep red and black striped one with "Ismali". The darkness seeped out of him and she wondered why. Hylians didn't possess the natural ability to use it. So why…?

"Oh, hi again," "Ismali" said, smiling.

Aryll didn't relax and it was justified as Mipha hadn't a clue if the aura would change again. The guy slowly approached, being careful not to slip. He apologized for blacking out for a few moments and Mipha accepted it.

"But I would like for you not to pass out again. We'll need your help in moving forward," Mipha told him.

"Ismali" seemed to understand her and said, "I've already moved most of the ice blocks out of the way. But it's only one of me and I can't hit all of them at once."

Aryll scanning the room one last time, gasped and yelled, "Oh. We can start from the right and rush towards the left. All we have to do is press them all at once, right?"

"Yeah, and I moved all those ice blocks out of the way. So, the only thing that'll mess us up is any of us slipping on the ice," "Ismali" added.

Mipha reluctantly agreed, not sure if this "Ismali" would stay. The trio went for the three switches on the right and stepped on them. The loud chirping timer rang out, alerting them to carefully, but swiftly, make their way to the other side. Aryll slid, looking like an ice skater to get to her destination. "Ismali" fell onto his belly like a penguin, as he tried to run, and slid to his. Mipha, as she performed her slide, saw him slowing and made a swiping motion with her spear. The ice behind him pushed his feet as he was sliding

The chirping became faster and Mipha figured that time was running out. Aryll was the first to make it, sliding to a stop in front of the switch and jumping onto it. "Ismali" was the next to arrive, nearly slamming into the wall and hitting the middle switch. Mipha arrived at the floor switch closest to the door and pressed it right before the rapid chirping stopped. The door in front of her opened and "Ismali" cheered.

"Alright! On to the next one!" he said.

With Oni and Ruto, main hub…

After managing to push a giant switch by himself and suffering accusing looks from Ruto, Oni watched as a skylight opened up halfway in the ceiling. The light shone onto the Water Element and its altar, but nothing else happened. Well, the room did get significantly warmer, Oni noted.

Ruto moaned and asked, "Can we get closer to the light? Please?"

"Yeah, but why are to still glaring at me like that? I didn't do anything, did I?" Oni said, picking up and carrying Ruto bridal-style.

The two arrived at the altar and Oni placed Ruto down in the sunlight. She seemed to feel better and Oni noticed the bruises and burns she had on her exposed arms and face. He wondered what happened, but figured asking would have her angry at him again.

"I think I'll have to go back. My charm's broken and I'm freezing. I'm no use to anyone in this…" Ruto said.

She was interrupted by the opening of the other side of the skylight. Powerful sunlight poured into the room, warming it and melting the ice around them. The altar's ice melted almost instantly, turning into mist and exposing the Water Element. The blue stone hovered in the air for a few moments and then shot forward toward Ruto.

Sitting there, confused, the young Zora muttered, "This is what Lanayru was looking for? How can something so small unlock a temple?"

"Well, you never know. That spirit-thing probably knows about the lake more than…" Oni said.

The Zora darted her eyes at him, glaring again. Before she could answer, a chipper call rang out in the chamber. Mipha, Aryll, and Link…? What was Link doing there, Oni thought, as he was supposed to be...

The trio rejoined them and based on the boy's demeanor Oni figured that it was "Ismali" in control. With trepidation, Oni greeted him with a, "Hey there."

"Hello. So, who's this?" "Ismali" asked, referring to Ruto.

Ruto slowly got to her feet and the Water Element fell into her hands. The broken charm on Ruto's right bracelet pieced itself back together and Oni felt a rumble in his left pocket. Remembering that he had taken the oddly-shaped pendant that was around Ruto's neck, Oni took it out and it shot itself towards the Zora.

It hovered around her and she took it, giving Oni a distrustful glance. Not paying any attention to what had happened, Link's alter-ego "Ismali", asked, "Um, are we leaving? 'Cause I'm really cold. Seriously, how can you guys live like this? With all this snow? I mean, it's pretty, but cold."

"Adaptation and many charms to regulate our body temperature," Mipha answered.

"Ismali" nodded, taking the Zora at her word and he suddenly fell over. Aryll caught him, nearly falling to the floor doing so. He was still for a moment and Oni found himself holding his breath as he didn't see the boy breathing. Moments later, Link exhaled and Oni did the same, sighing in relief.

Mipha, remembering what Lanayru told them, said, "Well we've found the Water Element and your brother. So, we should…"

"Yes, let's go!" Ruto said, getting up and holding onto Oni as she was still injured.

Lanayru Shrine…

The swirling particles of light that were Lanayru greeted them. Link didn't wake up since they left the Temple of Droplets and the spirit's remains seemed to react greatly to his presence. Oni didn't know why, but a feeling of jealousy crept up within him. He shook his head, ridding his mind of the emotion, and saw Ruto give the swirling particle mass the Water Element. It devoured it, glowing brighter and a shade of pale blue.

"You…brought him…The Chosen One…But something's…very wrong."

"Well, yeah! Mipha told me that he's got all these personalities," Ruto said.

The mass hovered over Link, who was placed on the ledge closest to it. It hummed a somber tune and Oni could've sworn he heard it before. Moments passed and the spirit started to shine with powerful light. Oni and the others covered their faces, protecting their eyes from the blinding light.

A loud, horrifying scream filled the air, along with many others. A powerful force pushed the group back, sending everyone flying backward and hitting the cave walls. The light coming from Lanayru faded and the mass backed away from the still-unconscious Link

"No…This can't be…"

Dazed, Oni slowly got to his feet and asked, "What's wrong? Why isn't he awake yet?"

"A powerful curse is…eating away at his very being. You must…purge the darkness…from him. Or else…he and this world will be…destroyed."

"How? Won't he just get reborn?" Oni asked, realizing that he sounded a bit heartless moments later.

"No…The darkness…will cling to him…corrupting him and turning him to evil…Please…"

Aryll got up and groaned, "Um…Ow…Wh-What can we do? I don't want my brother to die."

"Yeah, and we can't have the Chosen One gone now," Mipha said.

"Take him…to the spring of Ordona…in the southern forests…Hurry…His heart darkens as we speak."

And there's chapter 17. Okay, everything seems to be coming together. Aryll and Oni's gotten more answers as to why Link's condition's getting worse. So, review?

-miano53