Link and Tatl were both struck by the smell of severe rot and poison as they entered the Woodfall Temple. It even stopped them in their tracks a bit as they took in their surroundings. The room they ended up in was massive and barely lit to the point where the ceiling wasn't visible at al. It really seemed bigger on the inside than on the outside, a sensation Link was all too familiar with.
Though the room was dark, it wasn't pitch black. Torches lined the walls, showing how massive tree roots grew in from the ceiling and snaked through the room before going down through the floor. Somehow, the trees didn't just shrivel and die from the horrid, poisonous swamp water.
Tatl gagged a bit, unable to stop herself. "Giants abound, this is awful! The Deku Princess is in here somewhere?! How does she even breath for more than five minutes in here!" The atmosphere was genuinely unsettling to the fairy. This wasn't like anything she encountered before, and she was more sensitive to it due to her nature as a fairy.
"Hopefully she's still okay." Link said, surveying the room ahead of him. He hated to admit it, but he was terrified. It seemed like nothing had changed since the went on his first quest. He was just a coward, not fit at all for the Triforce of Courage. In fact, he was partly staying in one spot to put off having to delve deeper into the Temple. His ears did pick up some noise though, a scuttling sound in the darkness somewhere. Though he strained his eyes, he couldn't see anything. "There's something in here with us."
Link's attitude really baffled Tatl. From what she could tell, he wasn't scared at all! Even in a place like this, he was entirely stone-faced! What was his deal?! Didn't any of this bother him at all? Thinking for a moment, the fairy had to wonder just what the Hylian had gone through in the past. He could fight off a Wolfos and remained totally stoic in a cursed Temple with a monster in it. She still hated him, of course, but her curiosity was stirred.
"Have you done something like this before? You're way too calm…" The fairy prodded, floating by Link's face. "You're a freaky, emotionless doll, but even you'd have to be freaked out at this place!" Just the atmosphere alone was terrifying, and then there was that weird scuttling sound…just what was that?
There she went, calling him an emotionally dead doll again. Of course, she was entirely wrong. He was scared and would love to just go back to Clock Town and let someone else handle this…but there was no choice. And it seemed she was able to pick up on his past experiences, if only vaguely. Rather than give her a proper answer, he just slowly started on ahead. "That's not important."
Chiming angrily, Tatl stayed by Link's head. "I'm asking, so it's important!" She yelled, getting no answer from the boy. "Don't ignore me, you idiot!" Again, no response. "So infuriating…!"
His ears picking up more of that scuttling noise, Link stopped in place. "Something's getting closer." The boy warned, looking around in the darkness. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw two orange orbs dart about and vanish. In his mind's eye, for just a moment, he saw a horde of Stalchildren marching towards him before he forced the thought away.
For a second, neither the boy nor fairy moved at all. Then, without warning, three creatures emerged from the shadows! To Link's surprise, they weren't nearly as threatening as they sounded. They were merely small black orbs that looked almost gaseous with small orange eyes. These creatures rushed at the boy, who reacted automatically with his sword, slashing through the closest one.
The first shadowy monster practically fell apart into a mist which quickly vanished. This didn't deter the other two creatures, that also rushed to Link without much of a strategy on their part. Thankfully, a few more swipes of the sword was all it took to get rid of them, the scuttling sound now silenced entirely.
"Eugh! Black Boes! They're pests!" Tatl whined, though felt relieved. "I thought there was something actually dangerous in this room…" Now she felt stupid for feeling freaked out! Of course, she doubted that monkey was just talking about Black Boes when he mentioned a monster…
Link wasn't even sure how to feel about killing the Black Boes. They were living creatures, but…they seemed more like smoke than actual monsters or animals. Even with this uncertainty, an uneasy feeling nestled stubbornly in his gut. At the very least, he was sure there were far more dangerous creatures ahead, if past experiences had taught him anything. He had to wonder if Majora's Mask and its powers could create monsters like Ganondorf could. If it could pull down the Moon and poison the entire swamp, then it didn't seem out of the realm of possibility…
Before Link could try and shrug the situation off the best he could and keep going, something darted around above, just out of the corner of his eye. Something pink! Whipping his head to look at the object, he saw there was something hovering near where the ceiling melted away into an inky blackness. Still, he was able to make out that it was a Stray Fairy! Unlike the one in Clock Town, however, this one glowed pink.
"There's a Great Fairy in the swamp too?" He asked, never having really stopped to think about other Great Fairies in places outside of Clock Town, let alone that they'd be shattered as well.
"I didn't think it was worth mentioning! Great, I'm sure you'll want to put this one back together too?" Tatl asked, feeling like it was a waste. The Dekus could surely handle this once the Temple was all cleansed, right? Knowing Link, he'd want to drop everything and help…
And Tatl was right, essentially. Link wanted to help this Great Fairy as well. "I'm sure she'll grant a boon in exchange." He pointed out. "I just can't reach the Stray Fairy. Tatl, you try to get it to come down."
Glaring at the Hylian, Tatl huffed. "Don't order me around!" She snapped, followed by a pause. "…Fine. She'll probably do something nice, I guess. That's why I'm helping, because your sorry butt needs all the help it can get!"
That was fine by Link, who watched as Tatl flew towards the Stray Fairy. To Link's surprise, it started to flee from the smaller fairy, who yelled out and started to chase it. Despite Tatl's usual speed, the Stray Fairy managed to outmaneuver her almost casually as it went about.
Before long, Tatl gave up and flew down to Link, the Hylian glancing between her and the Stray Fairy. "You can't catch it?" He asked, a bit surprised. As far as he knew, fairies were the fastest creatures around, at least in terms of pure travel speed.
"Shut up!" The fairy snapped, catching her breath a bit. "It's this place…it's throwing me off! I feel tired…" And Tatl genuinely wasn't trying to make excuses to save face. This cursed Temple felt like it was sapping her energy or making her movements sluggish or something. "Let's just forget the Stray Fairy and go. When the Temple is cleansed, it'll probably fly back to its fountain!"
Link didn't like the idea of that. The Stray Fairy in Clock Town had few obstacles to reach its fountain again. Clearly, for whatever reason, these small fragments of the Great Fairies were pretty helpless. And then there was something else he realized. In the fountain back in Clock Town, there were a lot of Stray Fairies, and it was just very convenient that only one escaped. For all he knew, the fragment he was looking at was only one of many within the Temple.
"There could be more of them deeper inside." Link pointed out with a slight shake of the head. "We have to make sure all of them are safe."
"There's what 'we' thing again!" Tatl scolded, chiming in frustration. Didn't this kid care about that monkey? Why was he wasting time?! "Also, how do you think you're going to get it, genius?! I'm the only one that can fly, and this freaky Temple is slowing me down!"
That was the hard part! "We have to try, though." The Hylian flatly agued. Still, Link had zero way of getting the Stray Fairy down. As he kept thinking the situation over, he suddenly remembered something! Digging into his bag, he took out the mask that the Great Fairy had given him. He had somewhat forgotten he even had it! The visage still looked a bit uncanny to him, but he felt it was the only shot he had.
Tatl was a bit startled when Link took the mask out. She, too, had basically forgotten he even had that thing! "You're kidding, right? How's that going to help?"
Link really wished, for two seconds, Tatl would not be critical over his every action. At this point he was going to think she'd start yelling at him for breathing too loud! Pushing his annoyance away, he looked between Tatl and the Stray Fairy. "It's the only option." Link flatly stated, slipping the unnerving mask over his face.
From the flowing hair of the mask, a light pink shimmer came forth. Almost instantly, the Stray Fairy floated down towards Link without fear, making a beeline towards him. As it got close, he wrapped a hand around it gently, just to hold it in place, as he slipped off the mask.
At this, the Stray Fairy was surprised, but not scared, so it didn't struggle. "Young one! You have the boon of one of my own! I'm sorry for fleeing, but this place is just so horrible…" It trailed off as Link let it go, the fragmented Great Fairy floating by the boy. "There are more of my pieces within the Temple, please rescue us all! You may need to use that mask to lure the others to you…"
Nodding, Link put the mask back in his bag. "I'll do it. Stay by me and I'll lead you all out." He wasn't sure what else he could do with the various Stray Fairies; it wasn't like he could carry them in his bag or something. Just a few of them would be too big!
"Thank you, young one! I will reward you once I have been returned to full strength!" With that, the Stray Fairy, to Link and Tatl's surprise, shrunk down until it was about the size of Tatl herself and dove into the Hylian's bag. Seemed it could make itself smaller if it really wanted to…
Tatl couldn't believe that worked! It really irritated her when Link was right, as petty as it was. "A magic mask that attracts Stray Fairies…never heard of such a thing…" She grumbled, loud enough for Link to hear.
"It will be useful, at least." He commented, starting to walk forward again towards the other end of the room. Link was also grateful that the Stray Fairy could do something like that. It'd be nice and out of the way while he and Tatl traversed the Temple.
That really got to Tatl, his attitude. Or, rather, his lack of an attitude. Not in a way that made her angry, this time. As she followed Link, she once more had to wonder what was wrong with him. He was probably about twelve as far as she could tell, but he didn't even remotely act his age! Not just because of the lack of emoting either, that wasn't what Tatl was pondering about.
No, it was just that he didn't talk like a kid at all! He barely even spoke like an adult either. Almost everything he said was right to the point and he rarely said anything that had nothing to do with their mission. Even when he was trapped as a Deku, he never really chatted with her even with all the ample time they had. Sure, she purposefully distanced herself from him, but it still struck her as odd when she actually tried asking him some questions about himself and he gave very short answers or dodged them entirely.
Tatl expected, maybe, he'd rub it in her face about what just happened. She was wrong, and he was right, something that had happened multiple times. He thought it necessary to talk to that monkey, and only by doing that did he learn the song needed to enter the Temple at all. He also insisted they find that hag, and only by doing that did they get a ride to the Deku Palace! It really frustrated her that she was wrong so often! That aside, she expected a kid his age to rub it in at least once, but…he just pretended like that never happened. Compared to her own life experiences, it was just so…odd to her. Not a single 'I told you so' coming from that brat…
Link heard Tatl sigh about something as they reached the end of the room. It was just a simple door going onward, the faces of Dekus carved into the wall on either side, a panel present to open it up. He hesitated for a brief moment before pressing it, gathering his resolve. No telling what was in the next room, or if this Temple was warped physically or not. The Hylian recalled how the inside of Lord Jabu-Jabu was much, much larger than what was actually possible due to Ganondorf's curse…
Forcing himself onward, Link pressed the panel and the door opened, he and Tatl walking through, bracing themselves for what was on the other side. As they passed through the door, the smell of poison and rot grew more intense while the door shut behind them. They were up on a platform, the floor below covered entirely by a pool of deep purple water. Floating in the water were unusual plants, like lily pads, but with teeth! Some sort of carnivorous plant, clearly. There was a ramp made of wood leading down towards a door, and another door on the opposite side of the room, past the poisonous water.
Before Link or Tatl could do or say anything, they started to hear noises from further into the Temple. It was the furious beating of drums, echoing off the walls and the source from somewhere unseen. Before long, a chanting joined in, the anger clearly present even if it was in a language neither Link nor Tatl could understand. What really startled them was a horrific screeching sound, a death whistle that pierced the air and too seemed to have no clear source.
All these sounds made Link's heart start to race. He was reminded of the beating of Bongo Bongo's drum, the unusual ghostly noises within the Forest Temple, and the chanting of the Fire Temple. As these memories came flooding towards him, he felt his blood run cold, and panic spread through every inch of his body.
He couldn't do this! He wanted to turn back and run to safety! But he knew he had to move forward, no matter what he felt. Link's own desires weren't important, not when there was some way for a large burden to be thrust upon him. At this point, he almost wanted his mask to break, to let loose the emotions deep within him. But he knew he couldn't, he had to keep the mask on and just force the emotions down no matter how much it hurt. He didn't earn the right to express himself, and on top of that he didn't want Tatl, or anyone, to see him for the coward he was.
Tatl, of course, had no problems expressing her fear. "What is that?! Those noises?!" She exclaimed, looking around. "This place is so freaky…could some of that be the monster that has the Deku Princess?" She looked over to Link, noting there was no fear on his face. Seriously?! What was with him…? No way he could be so stoic, could he?
"We'll have to just find out." Link replied, not having any real way to answer Tatl's questions. Those sounds terrified him, but he wasn't going to let that be known. On top of that, he felt anger bubble up in his chest again, furious at this Temple for its very nature. He knew it was childish, but he was angry at it for being cursed…for frightening him so badly. Yet he just couldn't make that rage go away, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.
"What a helpful answer…" Tatl grumbled as Link walked down the ramp and towards the only real way forward. That other door was beyond their reach for obvious reasons. Despite her annoyance, it wasn't like she had any idea what she wanted him to say, she just didn't like Link at all…
Before Link could enter through the door, he saw something pink and glowing out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw two more Stray Fairies hiding beneath the platform where he and Tatl entered the room. Once more, he placed the mask he got from the Great Fairy on, and instantly the two fragments floated over to him. After they got into his bag, he and Tatl entered the next room.
The two were startled to see just how dark this room was. There were torches along the walls, but even then the darkness seemed to just swallow the light up. It was to such an extreme that the size and exact shape of the room was impossible to tell. Worse was that there was audible shifting in the darkness, almost overshadowed by the continuing drums and chants from somewhere deep within the Temple.
"More Black Boes, right?" Link asked, feeling Tatl would know better. That scuttling sound seemed like them, but…
"What do you think? Obviously it's more of them. Sounds like a lot, though…" Tatl quietly snipped. "I…forgot to mention…they're mostly pests, but they can bite."
Link had no idea how that could possibly work when it seemed like they had no mouths, but he didn't question it. He had encountered far stranger, after all. Still, with that in mind, he slowly made his way into the darkness, straining his eyes to try and seen anything at all in the inky void, but he had no luck.
Almost instantly, the scuttling grew louder, and orange orbs appeared in Link's vision. Preparing himself, the Hylian slashed as one of the Boes lunged at him from right in front of him. At the same time, though, he felt a nasty sting at the back of his thigh, teeth sinking into his flesh. Turning around, he quickly dispatched the Boe that had latched onto his leg. Yet when he turned around to do that, his left arm had a nasty shot of pain as well.
Whipping his head back around, Link saw two Boes on his left arm, one near his rest, and the other by his shoulder. He tried shaking them off, but that just made the creatures sink their teeth further into his limb. Desperate, and hearing more approaching, Link slammed himself into the nearby wall, evaporating one of the Boes and stunning one so it fell off of him, which he quickly dispatched.
The process continued, a seemingly endless stream of Boes attacking Link from the darkness. A few of them got some bites onto his limbs, but for the most part he was wild enough with his attacks that he killed them before they could reach him. After what had be dozens of the pests, no more scuttling sounds could be heard, and the attack was over.
Panting heavily, Link winced a bit as he looked down at himself. All four limbs had bitemarks which looked disturbingly human. At the very least, the Boes didn't bite hard enough to do any serious damage. In fact, half of his wounds hadn't even drawn any blood, and the ones that did had already stopped bleeding. "I didn't realize they even had mouths." The Hylian commented.
That wince was the closest thing to actually emoting that Tatl saw from Link, though she wouldn't count 'in pain' as a legit emotion. Either way, she was surprised at how many of those Black Boes were lurking in this room, but they all seemed gone now. Still, that gulping darkness was so unnerving. "I didn't think they'd come at you in such large numbers! But come on, don't be a baby, let's keep going!"
Of course the bites hurt, but Link had suffered through far worse pain, more than Tatl could possibly imagine. Still, as he felt the teeth clamp on his limbs, he thought back to the Deku Babas and those baby parasites underneath the deceased god of the Lost Woods. On top of that, whenever he looked at flames, either in the Deku Palace or here in the Temple, his right shoulder ached and felt so hot…
Shaking those feelings away, he shrugged off Tatl's insult. "Alright. Just keep an ear open." He was sure if there were any more Boes in the room, they would've been drawn to the chaos, but who could say for sure?
"Don't order me around!" Tatl snapped, following Link as he cautiously walked forward. How was she supposed to keep a good ear open anyway? That drumming and chanting hadn't let up for a single moment…
Thankfully, the room was truly cleared of the small, biting pests. As they walked through, it somehow felt like it took longer than it should've. It was as though they entered a room too big to even fit within the Temple. Link, of course, had experienced this before but Tatl felt a bit uneasy as the room just went on and on. Eventually, though, they reached a door on the other side, no more Black Boes attacking the duo as they approached.
The next room was quite a bit different than the previous one. There were more large roots growing from an unseen tree going from the ceiling to the floor. The floor itself was also more natural, simply being grass and earth than laid with stone. On the other side of the room was a table with something on it, too far away to be made out. Up above, three Stray Fairies fluttered about.
But it was stood in the center of the room that made Link ready his shield and surprise fill him. There was a Dinolfos standing before the two! The creature almost seemed just as shocked to see the intruders than they were to see it as the monster simply stood at there staring at them, a blade clutched in its claw.
"You didn't tell me these were in the swamp." Link pointed out, staying by the door, and waiting for his opponent to make the first move. Already, he felt his right shoulder aching again, remembering that Dinolfos could breathe fire…
"I didn't know! I've never heard of a Dinolfos in the swamp before!" Tatl argued, shifting the blame off herself. "They can shoot out flames, so don't get all reckless!"
As Tatl rattled off the warning, the Dinolfos got over its shock and went in towards Link, blade at the ready. The Hylian was prepared as well, or as ready as he'd ever be. As Tatl flew up above to avoid the battle, the reptilian creature struck. With a cry, it slashed at Link, the boy blocked the attack with his shield, his legs threatening to buckle from the impact. The one and only time he fought a Dinolfos was in a lager, stronger body with enchanted gauntlets. As Link was now, he was barely able handle a blow from such a creature.
What was worse was that Link had no way of stocking up on Red Potions before entering the Temple. This meant any serious injury meant he'd have to stop and turn back time, doubting such a thing would fix his wounds. After all, he took the Ocarina of Time back with him the first time, so assuredly any wounds would stay as well. With all this in mind, he knew he had to be more cautious than ever…
When the first strike failed, the Dinolfos reared its arm back for another blow. It underestimated how quick its opponent was as Link darted to the side and ran his blade across the side of the reptilian creature. As soon as the blood started to spill from the monster, Link would backpedal away. And it was a good thing he did, as the Dinolfos quickly lashed at him with its jaws, hitting open air with an audible snapping of teeth.
As Link backpedaled away, his eyes widened as his opponent unleashed a torrent of flames at him, his right shoulder aching just as the sight of it as his blood went cold. He raised his shield to block the edges of the attack, the flames heating up the metal just enough for Link to feel it in his arm, but not enough to actually hurt or damage him. Still, it made fear grip his heart as he backed up even more to get away from the attack.
Once more, the Dinolfos closed the gap, swiping at Link with a ferocious bloodlust. The Hylian dodged around these attacks, or sometimes blocked with his shield when there wasn't any time to move properly. As the fight went on, Link kept expecting Navi to dive down to ram herself into the monster's eye, giving him an advantage to get in a fatal blow. But he knew that wouldn't happen, and that his current companion had no intentions of aiding him directly.
Indeed, Tatl never left her spot way above the battle, where even the Dinolfos' flames couldn't reach her. She and Tael always fled at danger, she wasn't one for heroics, so she would stay out of the way as Link fought. And she never planned on changing her mind on that in the future. She was still surprised at the fighting prowess of the runt she was forced to travel with.
Black Boes were easy, as were Skulltulas. A Wolfos was fierce too and not to be underestimated. A Dinolfos, however, was an entirely different story. Yet, as she watched, Tatl was shocked to see how well he was doing. The way he weaved around the Dinolfos' blows or backpedaled away when it attacked with fire…it was almost like he had fought one of these things before, or something very similar, at least. His eyes changed too, which Tatl noticed. Normally they were disturbingly dead and dull, but now they were an icy blue as he fought for his life…
Tatl still couldn't stand Link, but she was so curious about him…
The fairy flinched a bit as the runt got lucky, getting past the Dinolfos' defense, and stabbing it in the neck. It collapsed to the ground, still alive, prompting Link to stab it in the head, piercing its skull with a sickening sound. To Tatl's disturbance, he barely flinched as he did this. What kind of a freak was he…?
While Link didn't flinch, he felt like he was going to vomit as he dispatched the Dinolfos. It was more humanoid than anything he had killed since entering Termina and it was closer to a real person than a Wolfos. He had to swiftly finishing off, not wanting to let it just bleed out. In his head, he heard the whimpering of the Wolfos he had to mercy kill, and in his mind's eye he saw its lifeless form on the forest floor.
Withholding a shudder, Link glanced up at the Stray Fairies and put the Great Fairy's Mask on once more. As expected, the three fragments floated down to him and were soon in his bag. As he put the mask away, Tatl floated down to him. "It's a good thing this mask works so well."
It disturbed Tatl just how easily Link shrugged off what he just did. Sure, it was just a monster, but…that kill was so violent. She tried not to look at the blood oozing from the corpse's wounds. Instead, the fairy did her best to just ignore it and focus on what Link actually said. "Well, for once you were right." She haughtily admitted, knowing full well it wasn't the only time he made the correct choice.
Ignoring Tatl's comment, Link walked over to the table on the other end of the room. He never got a good look on what was on there, and he was curious. For all he knew, it could be important. As he got closer, he was surprised to see what the table held. It was a quiver holding a few dozen arrows along with a strong looking bow. The objects all seemed old, yet still seemed sturdy and usable. "I didn't know Dekus used these." Link pointed out, picking up the bow. The ones back in the Lost Woods sure didn't…
"How should I know? Quit acting like I'm some expert on Dekus!" Tatl snapped. As she watched Link put on the quiver and bow, she remembered how he had those items when he was robbed. So, he was good with a sword and shield along with a bow and arrow? "Where'd you learn to use one of those things anyway? I mean you do know how to use it, right?"
Link started walking back towards the entrance. "I can use it, don't worry." He replied, purposefully ignoring her first question.
"And my other question? I know you heard me!" Tatl pressed, chiming angrily in Link's ear. "Don't ignore me when I'm asking you something!"
Why did she want to know so bad anyway? Didn't she hate his guts? It confused him that she'd keep asking about his past. "It's not important." Was all he replied with as they went back into the room where the Black Boes were.
Tatl didn't even reply, she just groaned in annoyance. He was so stubborn! Crossing her arms as she flew along, she stopped with Link as they got back in the room with all the water, both of them staring at the only door in the room they hadn't gone through. "How are you going to reach that anyway? Can you skip over the water that far?"
"I don't think so." Link wasn't entirely sure of his limits as a Deku, but he was sure that far platform exceeded it. As he looked at the horrifying toothed lily pads, he had an idea. Slipping on the Deku Mask and suffering through the transformation again, he hopped onto the water, right for a lily pad!
"What are you doing?!" Tatl blurted out as the faux Deku neared one of the toothed lily pads. Did he have some kind of death wish?! She flinched as Link landed on the lily pads and…nothing. Nothing happened at all. Flying over to Link, she frowned a bit. "Why didn't it snap on you?"
"I think I'm too light." Link replied. He was so light in this form that regular lily pads could be stood upon with no problem. The way he saw it, these toothed lily pads were the same. Granted, he wasn't entirely sure it'd work, but he saw no other option…
Tatl shook her head in disbelief. He really just tried that on a hunch, didn't he? This kid was so weird! "…Whatever. Just…keep going…" She didn't want to argue, too baffled at what just happened to do so.
Hopping along the toothed lily pads, Link made it to the last door in no time. Returning to a Hylian, he and Tatl went through. The next few rooms held little of interest. More poisoned water, some Black Boes and more of those massive dragonflies. Link would kill what attacked him, even slaying the dragonflies as he weaved around their electrically charged attacks. These rooms varied in size, and it started to really see the Temple was larger on the inside than the outside.
On top of this, the beating of drums, the chanting, and the death whistles followed the two wherever they went. No matter where the two went in the Temple, it never sounded like they got any closer to the origins of these sounds. Eventually, they just did their best to ignore them as they pressed onward through the rotting Temple. Link also helped a few more Stray Fairies who would be found at random in certain rooms, and he eventually got to ten in total.
At one point, they entered a small room with two doors on either side, Link deciding to go left first. This new room was similar to the one where the Dinolfos one was in terms of how it was very natural looking. The floor was grass and dirt, and there were even a few Deku Flowers about. Off in the corner was an object, but the room was too dim to make it out. There was also a cage on the far side of the room, one where five Stray Fairies were floating about!
"It's a good thing we went this way first." Link pointed out. If they had gone right, they would've missed so many of these Stray Fairies!
Before he or Tatl could move forward, a creature fell from the ceiling! It was an orange, amphibious creature with jagged teeth. The entity stood on two legs and was only a bit taller than Link himself.
"Is that a Gekko?!" Tatl exclaimed as the creature leered at the two. "I thought they were a myth!" She had heard stories of monstrous frog-like creatures that were called Gekkos for some reason. From what she understood, they were just stories to spook kids from wandering into the swamps. If they disobeyed and went South anyway, the Gekkos would gobble them up!
Myth or not, Link was prepared to fight the monster, wondering if it had somehow put the Stray Fairies in the cage. It didn't really matter. The Gekko made short hops towards Link, brandishing its teeth as it got close. As it attacked the Hylian, the boy raised his shield to block the blow. As it turned out, the Gekko wasn't nearly as strong as the Dinolfos as Link pushed the attack away with relative ease.
Going in for the offensive, Link slashed the Gekko across its chest in two quick swipes, a nasty blue blood leaking from the wounds. This creature wasn't very fast either, it seemed. To the boy's surprise, the Gekko hopped away from him. Usually, the monsters he fought stayed up close and personal. Before the Hylian could give chase, the Gekko cupped its hands to its mouth and let out a loud, horrid shriek.
As the screech bounced along the walls, the object in the corner started to stir! As it did so, Link and Tatl saw legs and a head emerge from it. It quickly became apparent it was a massive turtle. "Is that a Snapper?" Link asked, having heard of snapping turtles from Zelda. At times, she would read books to Link, one of which being about various animals…
"It is, but I didn't know they could get so big…" Tatl murmured, watching as the Gekko leap towards the Snapper, her eyes widening as it jumped on the turtle's back. "Hey, those things can move fast, so don't slack off!"
Turtles moving fast? That was odd, but Link would trust Tatl. He was just surprised as the Gekko seemed to be riding the Snapper as a mount. The amphibious creature let out another scream, the Snapper getting into its shell as a response. Yet as the turtle did this, spikes emerged from its shell.
As Tatl said, the Snapper moved fast! It let out a guttural noise and started to spin before speeding towards Link! The Gekko held onto its steed, letting out what seemed tot be a cackling sound as it did so. The Hylian's eyes widened, dodging to the side as the Snapper and Gekko combo slammed into the wall. The turtle seemed no worse for wear at the impact.
In fact, the Snapper quickly shot towards Link again, who was barely able to get out of the way of the attack. He felt frustration grow in him. The duo was too fast to use his sword or his bow. By the time he got an arrow ready, the Snapper's spikes would tear him apart. Even if he hit the Gekko, there was no guarantee its ride would stop, and the arrows would surely bounce off the Snapper's shell…
This process went on over and over, Link barely able to dodge as the Snapper came careening towards him. At the very least, he quickly realized that the turtle only moved in a straight line when it shot off which made its movements easier to handle. As he tried to figure out what to do, he noticed he was near one of the Deku Flowers, and an idea sprang into his head.
As the Snapper passed by him again, he quickly donned the Deku Mask. "Tell me when the Snapper is over me." He told Tatl, burrowing into the flower before she could reply.
"Huh?! What do you…" The fairy replied, quickly realizing what Link had in store. She still hated him ordering her around, but she could scold him later. Tatl hovered by the flower, if only to get the Gekko's attention since Link was out of sight. She didn't consider this as putting herself in danger. Even with the speed the Snapper went, it wasn't anywhere close to matching a fairy's speed. The Gekko seemed confused for a moment at Link's disappearance, but then pointed Tatl out and screeched, deciding she was just fine as a target. As the Snapper shot towards her, she got out of the way at the last second. "NOW!"
Just as the Snapper went over the Deku Flower, Link shot out of it. The impact was enough to send the turtle and Gekko into the air, the Snapper landing on its back, unable to properly move. Meanwhile, the Gekko slammed harshly into the floor. The faux Deku let go of the flowers as he took the mask off when he landed.
As this happened, the Gekko regained its senses and darted to the wall, starting to climb it and quickly reaching the ceiling. Without missing a beat, Link readied his bow and got an arrow prepared. It felt natural for him to use it in combat, as if it hadn't been two years since he did so. Ignoring this sensation, he aimed and let the arrow fly, the projectile striking the Gekko right in its chest.
This impact made the creature flinch and fall from the wall, hitting the floor with a rough noise. Wasting no time, Link got his sword out and sprinted at the Gekko, stabbing it right between the eyes as it struggled to its feet. He knew if he hesitated, the guilt he felt would just be worse…so he did it swiftly. It didn't stop the horrid feelings of self-disgust as he pulled the blade out and the Gekko let out a pathetic noise as it died.
Before Link's eyes, a strange transformation occurred. The Gekko started to shrink! It became smaller and smaller, the arrow falling out of it and to the floor. Within a few seconds, it became a perfectly ordinary frog colored cyan. It seemed no worse for wear, and in fact let out an almost happy ribbit as it stared at Link.
"Is that normal? Do Gekkos do that?" Link asked, not sure how to feel. He killed the Gekko…but it turned into this frog. Was the monster actually just a cursed animal? Did it really actually die…? He decided he would just tell himself it never truly died, if only for his own sake…
"Didn't you hear me? I said Gekkos were a myth…or at least I thought so." Tatl replied, just as shocked as Link was. "So don't ask me what's going on here!"
Link decided the danger had passed and to just not worry about it. The Snapper was stuck on its back as far as he could tell, so he went over to the Stray Fairies. As it turned out, the cell door wasn't even locked, so Link just opened it, donned the Great Fairy's Mask, and got five more of the Great Fairy's fragments in his bag.
When he turned around, he saw the Snapper had managed to gets itself upright but had just gone back to the corner and went back into its shell. Apparently it just wanted to be left alone. So, Link respected that as he and Tatl left the room and went across to the door to the right.
The room that the duo entered was the largest so far. On either side were large statues of sorts depicting Dekus, probably some form of royalty. There were alcoves on the wall lined with ancient looking pottery, some chipped or cracked from age. Before the two was a staircase leading to massive door. The drumming, chanting, and death whistles were at their very loudest within this room, yet the source was still unclear.
Slowly, the two went up the stairs and too the door, a rancid smell hitting their nose and a savage pressure hitting their bodies. The monster, what was surely keeping the curse going, was on the other side of that door. Link knew from experience that that's what this feeling meant. He had to suffer through it more times than anyone should ever have to. Even though he had no idea what he would face, and though fear and a bitter anger gripped him, Link reached to the panel to open the door.
He felt a hot desert wind on his face.
Flinching, he wondered where that had come from, as the sensation stopped as soon as it began. Before Link could even fathom what had just happened, he heard a raspy breath behind him. Startled, he gripped his sword hard and turned around to see what was going on.
Standing there, mere feet from Link, was a figure in shadow. It was humanoid, the size of an adult. The entity was the deepest of black, as though cut from the night sky, the stars meticulously plucked from its being. The one and only thing that could be made out from its was its single eye, an orange orb with a dark green iris. The eyes of Majora's Mask…or perhaps that of a large, god killing parasite.
In the blink of an eye, the figure was gone, leaving Link looking around for it. "Tatl, did you see where it went?" He asked, looking up to see if it was somehow floating above him.
The fairy had obviously noticed when Link looked away, glancing curiously at him. "See where what went? What are you talking about?!"
"You didn't see that? Or hear it?" Link replied, shocked that Tatl couldn't hear that raspy breath. It was so loud, or at least it seemed so to the Hylian…
Tatl had no idea what Link was going on about. She hadn't seen or heard anything. "What? The Temple's getting to you or something, there's nothing there! Come on, I feel like this room is the last! Let's get this over with!"
His imagination…yes…Link had seen things that weren't truly there before. During his two years of recovery, he'd see things out of the corner of his eye. Dark shapes, or monsters he had slain. At night as he tried to sleep, he'd sometimes see creatures lurking in the darkest corners of his room. Naturally, if he lit his lantern and looked, there'd be nothing there. If he had to guess, it was from his trauma that Zelda had told him about.
Except…it had been half a year since anything of the sort had happened…
Shaking the event off, Link turned back to the door. "It must have been my imagination." He agreed, opening the large door. No sooner did he and Tatl go on the other side did the door slam shut, and in that instant, the drumming and chanting stopped. The room was deathly quiet, and quite empty. It was large and circular, but there was nothing actually in it. No monster…no Deku Princess…nothing…Before Link or Tatl could say anything, a large figure came from somewhere up above on the ceiling, just like the Gekko. Except this new foe was entirely different…
To the surprise of both Link and Tatl, the being before them was quite humanoid. In fact, it really did look like a person…save for a few details. For one, the figure was absolutely massive, with Link himself only as tall as its knee! The creature was a warrior of sorts, war paint adorning its body which surely held meaning for it, but such symbolism was lost on Link and Tatl. In one hand was a large, green, diamond shaped shield, and a massive blade larger than Link's body in the other.
What stood out most about this warrior was the mask it wore on its face. It was a terrifying visage made out of wood, a face of bloodthirsty rage present on the object that was complete with glowing red eyes. It looked as if it despised the world around it and wanted to burn it all to the ground. Three plumes emerged from the top of the mask, and earrings hung from its sides, all these things swaying as the masked warrior did the same. The eyes felt like they had an intelligence to them, not unlike Majora's Mask itself, as if the wooden object on its own was perfectly aware of the world before it.
A horrid energy radiated from the masked warrior. A much worse presence than anything else they felt in the Temple, and it was clear to Link that this was the source of the curse. Or, at least, what was keeping it active if past experiences told him anything. If he could slay this monster, the swamps should become clean again! That was easier said than done, of course…
This wasn't an opponent like Link had fought before. Most of the curse-bearing monsters he encountered were beasts. Parasites, a giant Dodongo, a dragon…with only a few humanoid exceptions. Even then, the exceptions were around Link's height at the time, but this creature before him dwarfed them so easily! He wasn't sure how to handle this situation, as there was no way he'd be able to block an attack from that sort of blade!
The masked warrior stood there staring at the two, dancing in place. To their surprise, it spoke! Or rather, it chanted in a language they couldn't grasp. "K'iinam tòok òol…K'iinam tòok òol…" Its voice was filled with an unbridled and unexplained rage, as if it despised Link and Tatl as soon as it laid eyes on him.
Link stared the massive foe down, waiting for it to do something. Yet…it just stood there, swaying in its passive dance as it leered at him through its mask. The Hylian stayed tense, waiting for his opponent to strike…then he realized that wasn't going to happen. The masked warrior was waiting for Link to make the first move. A sign of caution, or did it simply think he wasn't a threat?
Tatl wasn't sure what was going through Link's mind, confused on why he and that warrior were just staring each other down. She just knew as soon as the fighting actually started, she'd make herself scarce. The fairy felt sick to her stomach already, hating the feeling this freakish monster gave off…
Staying where he was Link decided on his course of action. Slowly, he lowered his shield and placed it on his back. It'd be near-useless to him anyway. With the warrior's massive sword, his shield would probably be unable to protect him at all. The Hylian kept his legs ready to move, but his opponent just kept standing there and chanting at him as he swayed back and forth.
"What are you doing?" Tatl hissed quietly, barely above a whisper. Thankfully, this didn't trigger a reaction from the masked warrior either.
Link ignored the fairy, slowly putting his sword away and readying his bow with an arrow. During all this, the giant didn't react in any meaningful way, still patiently waiting for Link to actually attack. The sheer confident it was showing made the Hylian very nervous. Still, this was probably his only chance to take his time with an attack, so he had to make it count.
Slowly, the boy aimed the arrow right at the creature's throat, or at least where it was in the middle of the warrior's swaying. He tried to steady his breathing as best as he could, but he was terrified. The creature before him cold cleave him in two with a single swipe and could probably slice right through his shield! Yet he also felt a fury towards the masked dancer and everything else going on with the swamp and Termina as a whole. He forced himself to at least calm down enough to fire at the warrior, however. Waiting for what he felt was the perfect moment, Link took several deep breaths and let the arrow fly.
In an instant, the sound of metal on metal rang out.
Faster than Link anticipated, the masked warrior blocked the arrow with its massive shield. At this moment, the warrior stopped chanting and swaying and in an instant went on the offensive! It took a massive step forward, clearing half the gap between it and the two it wished to slaughter. It covered the other half simply by swinging its blade, doing so vertically as it tried to slice Link in half.
The boy knew the second he attacked, the warrior would counterattack, so he was prepared as he sprinted out of the way. Tatl let out a yelp and darted away as well, her movements far too fast for the jungle warrior to hope to match. As Link moved away, he took readied another arrow and let it fly, aiming quicker and less carefully towards his opponent's torso.
To Link's shock, the warrior quickly retracted its sword and then leapt up into the air! It jumped nearly to the room's ceiling, landing on the other side and dodged the arrow entirely. It then sprinted at Link, closing the gap within moments as it readied its sword. Moving fast, the Hylian shot another arrow at the warrior, who was in the middle of a step, and struck it in the chest. While the projectile dug into the giant's flesh, it didn't do enough to slow it down much. It simply gave a cry of rage as it once more swung its sword down upon Link.
Once more, the child evaded the attack, actually running towards the warrior, realizing it couldn't swing its sword at him so easily from this position. Exchanging his bow for his own sword, Link stabbed into one of the warrior's legs, driving the blade deep into its flesh.
In response to this, the masked creature used its other leg to kick Link. Its foot was large enough to basically strike the boy's entire body, sending him sprawling away. Thankfully, he kept his grip on his sword, which yanked out of the warrior's leg as red blood oozed out of the wound. Still, Link was sent sprawling as pain exploded through his entire body as he rolled into the center of the room. Up above, meanwhile, Tatl was watching the whole thing unfold, gasping out as her companion got kicked away.
As Link shakily got up, he saw the warrior spring into a maddened, furious dance as it started to screech. "Tòokik taali! Tòokik taali! Tòokik taali!" It roared, staying where it was and not pursuing the boy further.
Confused, Link kept his eyes glued to his opponent, wondering just what it was doing. He practically yelled out as something heavy and alive landed on his back! The boy felt the unfortunately familiar sensation of mandibles biting into him as an intense pain rushed into his shoulder. Looking, he saw a massive bug the size of his torso was on his back, biting at him! Around him, several more of these giant insects fell from the ceiling, perhaps answering the chanting call of their master, the masked warrior.
Link stabbed at the bug on his back, a nasty blue blood oozing from its wounds as he awkwardly drove his blade into it over and over. This position made it hard to get a really deep, good stab in, so he had to settle for a quick set of shallow ones. After a dozen or so of these stabbings, the bug let Link go and fell to the floor where he quickly finished it off.
Not wanting to waste and arrows, just in case, Link opted to rush the remaining bugs and quickly stab them to death. They moved slowly, so it was a simple task. Chances were they were ambushers and were relying on the one that fell on his back to hold him in place. After the last one was killed, Link looked to the masked warrior, the boy panting heavily as his blade was coated in blue blood.
"Can he take much more…?" Tatl wondered aloud, not sure just how much stamina Link had. After all, he had gotten through the Temple so far with pretty minor injuries, that kick from the warrior especially looking nasty. Still, the fairy stayed where she was, leaving the child to fight on his own.
Once more, the masked warrior seemed furious as it started to chant out a new phrase. "A'alik beora! A'alik beora! A'alik beora!" As it did so, to the shock of Link and Tatl, a swarm of moths seemed to spawn from its stomach! There were dozens of them, and they flew straight towards Link and started to swarm him.
At first, Link thought this was a tactic to blind and disorient him, so he was open to attack. Then he started to feel yet more bites along his limbs as the moths landed on him. This wasn't a distraction; it was an actual attack! Panicking a bit, Link swung his sword at the cloud of moths around him, but actually hitting one was difficult. Even if he did actually kill one, there were so many that took its place that it hardly mattered.
As the moths kept biting at him, some crawled into his tunic and at his chest, biting there too. At this point, Link started to just angrily swat at himself, his anger rising at this cheap, nasty tactic as the bugs were flattened under his palm. It seemed no matter how many moths he killed, they just kept coming!
In desperation, Link only had one way he could combat this. Ignoring the stinging pain of dozens of biting insects, he got out his Deku Mask and put it on. After the agonizing transformation, Link found himself still swarmed with moths. And yet…as they landed on him again, he felt no further pain. He could tell the bugs were trying to bite at him, but his wooden skin was just too tough for the moths to bite through.
Of course, this left Link at an impasse. Yes, the moths couldn't hurt him, but he couldn't hurt the masked warrior that stood glaring at him. Still, he started to swat at the moths more, slowly whittling their numbers. At the very least, killing normal bugs never bothered him, but the large ones just seemed so much more intelligent that it still filled him with guilt.
It appeared that the jungle warrior realized what was going on and that Link could no longer be hurt by the moths, as he let out a roar of anger. As this happened, a ring of fire erupted around the faux Deku and the giant, an intense heat filling the room and burning with a horrid rage.
Link felt woozy at the heat, more than he felt he should, his right shoulder aching as the flames danced around him. Perhaps the wooziness was because he was a Deku? The moths were even worse off than him, as they were apparently unable to handle this much heat and simply all dropped dead in a disgusting pile on the floor. As soon as this happened, Link shed his mask and down his opponent, his entire body aching as small bites dotted what seemed like every square inch of him. The wooziness went away, but the heat still got to him, and his right should practically burned.
This seemed to be the tipping point, the masked warrior no longer playing games. It rushed Link once more, swinging its sword low and horizontally at him. The Hylian leapt up just enough to dodge the attack as he rushed towards the jungle warrior, an intense rage boiling in him. All of this was so horrid! Everything he had to go through again and it kept infuriating him. Though it was the worst monster of a single Temple, Link felt it necessary to unleash all his rage here!
Once more, it was nigh impossible for the masked warrior to actually use its sword on Link when he was so close. It kicked at him again, striking the boy before he could stab the giant. Link was tumbled away again, letting out a groan of pain as he struck the floor hard. He barely had time to recover before he rolled away as the masked warrior stabbed down at him.
Nearly getting skewered, Link got to his feet and charged his foe again while the tip of its sword was in the ground. Yelling out in effort, he slashed across his opponent's leg, weaving around another kick as he drove his blade into the monster's foot. It tried to back away from him, but Link wouldn't back down as he let his anger out on the masked warrior.
Dodging around kicks and not letting his opponent get too far away, Link sliced the creature's legs and feet up. The floor and his blade started to become stained with blood as the fight went on. Eventually, the giant couldn't take the attacks anymore and collapsed on one knee, panting heavily.
Link stared down the creature as he stood before it. It was so low to the floor that even he could reach its neck with his sword. But…he hesitated. The warrior was giant and monstrous, but it seemed so human too. This gave him pause as the ring of fire continued to crackle around them, the Hylian drenched in sweat.
Tatl had watched the whole thing unfold from above, the flames bothering her too. "What are you waiting for?!" She called down. "Kill it now!"
The Hylian nearly flinched, almost forgetting Tatl was even in the room. He was used to Navi being with him at every moment when he fought, helping him whether it be with advice or physically attacking his foe. Since entering Termina, he had to fight everything on his own for the most part.
Growling, the warrior started to shift, clearly ready to attack. Eyes widening, he lurched forward and sunk his blade deep into the warrior's neck. This caused its body to freeze up, a revolting gurgling coming from it. With a cry, Link slashed across its throat, cutting it wide open as he quickly backtracked. And it was good that he did that, as the warrior collapsed forward.
Link panted heavily as the ring of fire went away, the boy sick to his stomach. This thing couldn't be a person…no…it was far, far too big. The monkey even called it a monster. That's all it was. It had to be. It had to be. It had to be. Still, even as he kept trying to drive that point into his brain, he felt like he was going to throw up.
As Tatl floated down cautiously, the two watched as the creature's body started to decay at a rapid pace. It was a sight all too familiar with Link, and it really proved further this was the same type of course that he had seen over and over within Hyrule. Within seconds, all that was left of the deceased warrior was its sword, shield, and mask. Panting heavily, Link put his sword away and picked it up. "We might need it." He flatly said before Tatl could question his actions.
The fairy was, though she'd never admit it, impressed with what she saw. The runt took down that freaky masked warrior with just a few arrows and his tiny sword. And he just shrugged the ordeal off so calmly! Once more, Tatl's curiosity picked away at her. "It's just some freaky mask, but I don't have to lug it around. Go nuts, I guess."
And Link did just that, putting the object in his bag. It didn't have any sort of unusual feeling to it like Majora's Mask did, so he was sure it was safe. The only question was where the Deku Princess was. At the very least, the rotting smell in the air and the oppressive atmosphere already started to fade, showing the curse was broken.
Before Link could say anything, he and Tatl were blinded by a white flash.
The next thing the two knew, they were in a very unusual location. They were somewhere that looked to be outside, the two upon a massive pillar. Bubbles floated around them, with three pillars of some sort of green liquid coming from above, with a green mist or fog off in the distance.
Link realized quickly he felt no more pain. Looking down, all the injuries he sustained within the Temple were healed! It was like the power of the Sages back in Hyrule. "Where are we?" He asked Tatl, glancing over at her.
"How should I know?!" She snapped; a bit freaked out. How was he not freaking out?! Tatl looked around, entirely confused. Before long, she spotted something in the fog. "Wait…what's that?"
Looking where Tatl pointed, Link saw the object in the fog too. It was a massive, humanoid figure. The fog was so dense that this was all could make out. Two arms, two legs, and a torso of sorts. That was all he could see. It was truly giant! Wait…giant…? "…Is it a Giant? One of the Four Giants?" He had cleansed the Temple, so maybe this was where the Giant was imprisoned? As he stared at it, Link felt a sense of awe, like he was in the presence of something beyond what he could comprehend, but not in a scary way. Rather, in a manner that actually made him feel a bit at ease.
Before Tatl could answer, a rumbling and inhuman sound came from the figure. It was a bellowing, melodic sound. After a pause, it let out the same exact noise. Eyes widening, she looked to Link. "Hey! It's singing, isn't it? Hurry up and take out your instrument! Come on!" The fairy did agree with the Hylian, though. Chances were, the figure before them was one of the Giants…what else could it be?
Link got the Ocarina of Time ready and put it to his lips. What sort of sone would he be taught, and what would it do? Closing his eyes, he listened as the Giant bellowed out its song one more time. Listening hard, he replicated the melody, the notes seeming louder and traveling farther than they should. The song itself was slow, and it held a strange power to it, a commanding sort of presence Link couldn't explain.
As the last note from the Ocarina rang out, the Giant stopped its singing. It then started to bellow out, more like it was speaking than singing. Despite not saying any words as Link or Tatl understood, they were somehow able to understand it. Or rather, they heard a deep, yet somehow soothing voice in their heads.
He who slayed Odolwa. Remember the Oath to Order. When the time comes, call us.
Before Link or Tatl could respond in any way, another white flash blinded them as they were whisked from the mysterious realm…
A/N: Well, this chapter ended up longer than I anticipated. I will say that I don't plan on the Temples getting as much focus as they did in the previous story. I'll still try to make them the best I can, of course. That being said, I want this story to focus more on the "side content" more than anything, which I think rings true as something purposefully with the original game as well. I will admit, I couldn't think of much to do with Woodfall Temple. It just isn't too terribly interesting so I didn't have much to work with. I envision Snowhead Temple will be a problem too, but I'll try to think of a way to spice it up before I reach it.
For Odolwa, from what I gather, he chants actual Mayan in the game and I used what various sources said he's saying. I've never seen any sources say these translations are totally wrong, so I went with them. I also almost gave him a Macuahuitl, a weapon used in a number of old civilizations, the Mayans included. But I decided to just stick with the sword. In any case, please let me know what you think.
Also, for those unaware, this story has a section here at the bottom of this Tropes page if you're interested. This site won't let me link it directly, but I did the best I could in my profile. It's on the same page as The Boy Without a Fairy.