The Legend of Fairies.
Chapter Six: Journey to The Forest.
(In a Clear Space in Hyrule Field; An Hour Later)
"Hiya!" Natsu exclaimed, as he sent a downward, two-handed slash at his opponent with the sword he had purchased from Kakariko Village, which the said sword wasn't that much special; just a double-edge blade. Natsu's opponent blocked the downward slash with a shield before sending a sideways slash at the Dragon Slayer, who blocked the slash with his sword before sending a thrust at his opponent. "Take this!"
"Come on, Natsu! You can beat her!" Happy, who was now awake and no longer scared, cheered from the sidelines. "Beat Lucy!"
"For the last time, you stupid, yet adorable, cat, my name is not Lucy! It's Link!" The opponent, who was Link, yelled at Happy, as she leaned her body to the side to dodge the thrust before smashing her shield into Natsu's face, temporality stunning him, which gave the blonde-hair woman to do a sweeping kick below Natsu's legs. Natsu let out a grunt when he fell backwards and just as he raised his upper body up, he felt something sharp poking at his neck, causing him to let a sigh.
"Damn it, I lost again." Natsu grumbled, letting his upper body fall backwards on the ground. "This is the third time I lost."
"But you're getting better with your sword, Natsu, and it's only been an hour since we gotten it." Link said with a smile, as she put her sword and shield away and held out a hand for Natsu to take. "I thought that it would be difficult for you to learn the ways of a sword, but it seems that you're a fast learner. If you keep practicing and practicing with your sword, you might be able to beat me and become a master swordsman."
Natsu took the offer hand and stood up from the ground, while smiling back at Link. "Then I look forward of becoming a master swordsman, and the next time we fight, I will beat you and win!" His declaration earned a giggle from Link.
It has been an hour since Link, Happy and Natsu departed Kakariko Village with their supplies and the item they needed to enter the first temple, which turned out to be a Hookshot – a metal device to either pull items to its owner or to pull the owner towards vines or something made of wood - and they were currently practicing with their swords, or training to use a sword in Natsu's case.
Natsu's attire was very much different than the attire he was used to wearing in his Kingdom. He wore a black, long-sleeve, fire-proof coat with a deep red shirt underneath, black combat pants that was being hold up by a red belt and black boots. A black headband was tied around his head and two pouches were on Natsu's right side, while a wooden scabbard was on Natsu's left side.
"Pfft, like that will ever happen, Natsu. You haven't used a sword when we were kids." Happy said, as he summoned a pair of angel wings on his back and risen from the ground with surprisingly ease, much to Link's shock and awe. Her awe and shock further increased when Happy flew over to Natsu and landed on his shoulder. "You can't even hold your ground against Erza, and she uses a sword to beat you up."
"Whose side are you on, Happy?!" Natsu exclaimed, turning to glare at Happy. "I thought that you were on my side!"
"I'm on no one's side, Natsu, but the fish side."
"That doesn't make any sense!"
As Natsu and Happy continued bickering at each other, they didn't notice the frown on Link's face when Happy mentioned Erza being a woman. Just thinking about this 'Erza' was making a small wave of jealousy wrapping around Link's heart, and she did not like this feeling at all. But of course, like all girls who doesn't understand about romance, including a certain crimson-hair knight, she didn't know where this jealous feeling was coming from.
Link was hoping that the jealous feeling would go away and never returned, but it was impossible to do so, considering that the guy you're starting to like was talking about another woman. Taking a deep breath, Link got rid of the frown on her face and replaced it by a curious look.
"Who's Erza?" Link asked curiously, causing the bickering between Happy and Natsu to stop and turned to look at her.
"Erza is a Fairy Tail mage like Natsu, and one of the strongest and smartest mages in the world." Happy explained with pride in his voice. "She's a master swordsman, or woman in her case, like you, Link, but doesn't use a shield. It's either because of its extra weight or she doesn't like shields that can break easily."
"It's the latter, Happy." Natsu spoke up. "Erza doesn't like shields that can break easily. She prefers using swords only, just like how I use my fists only. She told me why she liked swords only when we were kids." What Natsu didn't know was that his words are causing Link's jealously to increase towards a higher level, and the blonde-hair woman couldn't help but scowl a bit.
'Even though I haven't met her, I hate this Erza.' Link thought with jealously and anger.
"You may like Erza, Link, once we find her in one of the temples we're heading." Natsu said, breaking Link's thoughts. "She can give you a run in for her money because of her skills with a sword. Who knows, maybe you might be able to fight her and win."
"That would be interesting in the future." Link mused to herself, losing the scowl on her face and looked thoughtful of facing another woman who is a master of swordsmanship. 'Maybe if I beat Erza, I can have Natsu for myself. Wait, what am I thinking?!'
"Anyway, let's take a break from practicing our swords, Link." Natsu said, turning around and walking over to the bags that carried all of Natsu's and Link's supplies. "And have something to eat. I'm starving."
"Yay, food time!" Happy exclaimed happily, as he quickly flew over to the supply bags and began shuffling through it. "I hope there's raw fish in here! It tastes better when it's raw!"
"Happy, how many times do I have to tell you?! Fish tastes better if its cook!"
"Fish tastes better if it's raw!"
'It's like me and Talo arguing when I was living in the forest.' Link thought with a smile, remembering the times when she and the orange-hair kid arguing and getting into fights. She chuckled when she saw Natsu and Happy arguing about who's going to cook the food. 'Yep, just like me and Mido.'
(Ten Minutes Later)
"Man, that food was good, Link!" Natsu exclaimed, patting his stomach, as he laid on the ground with a happy grin on his face. "You're an excellent chef!"
"You said it, Natsu!" Happy agreed, copying the Dragon Slayer's actions. "Link's food could be on par with Mira's!"
"Thanks for the compliment, guys. I'm glad you like my food." Link said with a smile, as she began washing the pans she used to cook with. "Though, I can't help but noticed that when I cooked nearly twenty fish, you ate them all in less than five seconds, Natsu."
"It's one of the perks of being a Dragon Slayer, Link, a perk that I can eat endless amount of food." Natsu explained, sitting up from the ground. "And the best part is, I can never gain weight from eating all that food."
"I'd forgotten to ask, but what is a Dragon Slayer? I know that you can use fire magic, Natsu, but I don't know what a Dragon Slayer means."
A depressed and disappointed look appeared on Natsu's face, and he suddenly stood up and began walking away, much to Link's and Happy's shock. "Natsu, wait! Where are you going?!" Link exclaimed.
"I'm going to go take a walk." Natsu replied, still walking away from Link and Happy. "Don't follow me." Link felt her heart break sightly from hearing the depressed tone in Natsu's voice. She didn't like that tone; she liked the happy and cheerful tone.
"It appears that Natsu is still upset about what happened on the island." Happy said sadly, knowing why Natsu is depressed. The pink-hair man was still upset that he, along with Wendy and Gajeel, couldn't beat Acnologia.
"What? What is he upset about?" Link demanded, turning around to give the Exceed a glare that said, 'Explain or else there will be problems.'
'Note: Never get on Link's bad side.' Happy thought with a shiver, mentally comparing Erza's and Link's glare to see who is the scariest, and the clear winner is a draw. 'Her scary personality could probably be on par with Erza's scary personality.'
"Sit down, Link, and prepare yourself for a long story about the nature of a Dragon Slayer and what they have to do." Happy stated, losing the somber look on his face and replacing it with seriousness, startling Link completely. She'd never expected to see such a look on a cat, but nonetheless, she obeyed the Exceed and sat down on the ground, ready to hear the story of what a Dragon Slayer is.
(With Natsu)
While Happy was explaining to Link about what a Dragon Slayer is, Natsu was currently sitting at the edge of a flowing river, looking at the water with his arms crossed over his legs, and he still had that depressed and disappointed look on his face. He didn't mean to suddenly leave Link and Happy, but he didn't want to answered Link's question; the question of what a Dragon Slayer is.
The thought of hearing that word, Dragon Slayer, was making Natsu clench his teeth tightly. If he was going to be honest with himself, he really shouldn't be called that at all; he should be called a 'Pathetic Slayer,' because that's what he is, a Slayer who is weak, pathetic and most of all, a disappointment. A part of Natsu was telling him that he was not weak, pathetic and a disappointment, but another part of Natsu, a much darker one, was telling him that he was indeed a disappointment, a weakling and a pathetic Slayer.
'I'm not weak and a disappointment!' Natsu thought to himself angrily.
'Oh, but did you just think of yourself as a weakling and a disappointment?' A traitorous voice asked with a sneer in Natsu's mind.
'I didn't mean that at all!'
'Sure, sure.'
"Shut up!' Natsu thought, wanting to punch himself to make the voice go away, but it would only cause a headache to appear, and he didn't want to deal with it. So, instead of punching himself, he sighed heavily before looking up in the sky where his thoughts began drifting to Igneel, his foster father and the Fire Dragon King.
"Igneel, if you are listening to me right now…I have failed you." Natsu spoke, his voice, while depressed, was now soft and sorrow. "I have not only slandered your title as the King of Dragons, but I have slandered the Dragon Slayer heritage, and it's all because of my ignorance, stupidity and my ego. I'm not worthy of being a Dragon Slayer at all, and you want to know why, Igneel? because I'm weak. That's what I am, Igneel. A weak person who couldn't even land a hit on the bastard who sent me and my friends here in the Kingdom of Hyrule, Acnologia. He was strong, Igneel. Stronger than any monster I've ever faced in my life."
Unbeknownst to Natsu, a certain Heroine of Time was concealed behind a tree, listening to the Dragon Slayer's mourning. Her heart was clenching painfully from what Natsu was saying, and tears were pooling at the corner of her eyes. "Natsu…"
"I guess everyone in Fairy Tail was right all along about me, Igneel." Natsu continued in that soft and sorrow tone. "About me being ignorant, arrogant, impatient, brash, loud, destructive, dense, stupid – that is true since I'm not smart at all – and most of all, reckless. I am ignorant, brash, arrogant, loud, destructive, impatient, dense, stupid and reckless, Igneel, and it's no wonder why people can't stand me. True, Fairy Tail can stand me, but not other people."
Natsu's tone became more somber and softer as he continued to talk to himself. "As the years went by my Kingdom, I haven't changed my manners or my personality at all. I'd stayed the same reckless and brass manner; always charging in first without a plan, and not once had I trained harder than ever to increases my magic power. Maybe that's why you left me, Igneel, because I was weak and a disappointment to you. You probably thought I was worthless and tossed me away like garbage."
That was the last straw for Link, whose tears were now streaming down her pale face from listening to Natsu's mourning, to make a move. With the determination to comfort Natsu in her mind, the Heroine of Time unconcealed herself from her hiding spot and began sprinting towards the Dragon Slayer, who didn't notice or hear Link's footsteps since he was in his grieving state.
When she got close enough, Link quickly got on her knees and wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck in a tight grip before pulling his head towards Link's chest. Natsu got out his mourning state the moment he felt arms, soft and feminine arms, wrapped around his neck and let out a gasp of surprised when he felt something way softer than a pillow pressed against his head. Despite Natsu being dense, he knew what his head was pressed against, and it was causing his face to heat up a bit.
'Focus, Natsu!' Natsu scolded in his mind, mentally shaking his head. 'Worry about what's holding you in a tight grip before you become a pervert like Gildarts!' With a look in his eyes that promised pain for the person who startled him from his grieving, the Dragon Slayer his head around to start yelling, only to become shocked when he was met with Link's tearful face."Link?!"
"Don't ever say that again, Natsu." Link said in the most serious tone she'd never used before. "You are not worthless, weak and a disappointment. You are a strong man with a kind heart and a bright fire inside you that shines passionately."
"Were you listening to me the whole time, Link?" Natsu asked in a scared tone, fearing the answer. He was hoping that Link didn't hear him, but that hope vanished when he saw the ashamed look on Link's face, meaning that she did listen to Natsu's grieving.
"I'm sorry for eavesdropping you, Natsu," Link said with shame in her voice. "But I was concerned about you when you got sad and depressed, and I forced Happy to tell me about why you were upset."
"Did he tell you what a Dragon Slayer is and why I was upset?"
"He did, and I was amazed about what a Dragon Slayer is, Natsu, since I've never heard of one before." Link replied with amazement in her voice, something that caused a small smile to appear on Natsu's face. "But when Happy started explaining how you couldn't slay Acnologia with the help of other Dragon Slayers and your friends, I was shocked from hearing that, and I thought that you were strong enough to handle any type of monsters. However, Happy explained to me about magical power levels, and after thinking for a few moments, I came up with a conclusion, Natsu, and here it is: You are not strong enough to face Acnologia."
Natsu blinked owlishly at Link's conclusion for a few moments before the words registered in his mind, causing him to become very angry. "So, it's okay for me to lose against Acnologia?"
"I'm not saying it's okay to lose against a person or a monster, Natsu." Link quickly said, noticing the anger in Natsu's voice. "I'm saying that you should trained your magic until it reaches a very high level. A level that-"
"Matches Acnologia or someone on a way different level than me." Natsu finished with a thoughtful look on his face. 'Link's right. If I trained my magic until it reaches a very high level, I will have no problems facing strong opponents or monsters.' A grin was on his face when he thought of facing strong opponents, but the grin vanished when he noticed a flaw. 'But even with the training, Acnologia will still be stronger than me. There's no way I'll be able to catch up to that monster's level.'
'My comfort seems to be working.' Link thought with a smile, as she watched Natsu's thinking face, which was adorable once again. 'Not only Natsu's no longer depressed, but he's thinking about training his magic, which is a good thing.' Link's smile widened when she saw a grin on Natsu's face, but the smile vanished when the grin Natsu had vanished.
"You do have a great point, Link, about the training." Natsu stated. "But even if I trained my magic, Acnologia will still be much stronger than me, and it will take years for me to reach that kind of power level."
"Maybe the Sages can help you with your magic." Link suggested, remembering the Light Sage's words about how the Medallions can increase her power. "Their power can increase someone else's power."
"What Sages?" Natsu confusingly asked. "What are you talking about?"
'Note to self: Explain everything about the history of Hyrule and the Sages.' Link thought, as she smacked herself in the face.
(Time-Skip; Night Time)
It was night time in Hyrule Field, and the stars were twinkling brightly in the dark sky; as if the stars were giving the land a sense of hope in its darkest hour, a hope of having a bunch of people who are brave enough to fight back the forces of evil and have the light returned to the Kingdom. Well, light was shining upon Hyrule, but it was the moonlight that was coming from the full moon.
Speaking of brave people, we find Natsu, Link and Happy walking, or flying in Happy's case, on a dirt path with Link leading the way, Natsu being in the middle, and Happy being the rear, and as they walked on the dirt path, silence reigned over them.
"Link, how much farther do we need to go?" Natsu asked, breaking the silence. "We have been walking for a while."
"We're almost there, Natsu." Link replied, not stopping her pace, as she turned her head around to give Natsu a assuring smile. "Just a few more miles and we reached where the forest is."
"That's what you said a moment ago, and I'm starting to get tired." Happy said with a small yawn. "And it's night time."
"Well, if you want, Happy, you can lay on my head to rest." Link suggested with an evil smirk, something that made Happy paled.
"No way, not after what happened last time."
Natsu had to stifle a chuckle from the memory of what happened to Happy when he woke up. The moment the blue cat uttered words after examining Link's pointed ears, the woman proceeded to give the cat a tight hug and pulled him closed to her chest, something that Happy very much didn't like at all. It took Natsu ten minutes to pull Happy away from a very reluctant Link, who didn't want to let go of the Exceed, and it was then Happy made a vow to never get close to Link again.
After walking for a few more miles, Link spotted something that brought a very fond and soft smile on her face. To some people, it was a passage way that leads into the forest. But to Link, it was a passage way that leads her to the place she'd grown up in. "There it is, guys!" Link suddenly exclaimed, startling Happy and Natsu. "The passage way towards the forest!"
After calming down a bit, Natsu and Happy looked in the direction Link was looking at, and they felt grins spreading across their faces when they saw a wide, passage way with two lifeless trees that were standing on opposite sides and a hole of darkness in the middle.
"So, what's the plan, Link?" Natsu asked, feeling very eager to face different kind of monsters with his sword. "Link?" When he heard no response, Natsu turned to his right to see Link staring at the passage way with a very soft and fond smile on her face and his obsidian eyes widened a bit. 'Could it be that Link was raised in the forest like me?'
"Link!" Happy exclaimed right next to Link. "You there?"
"Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking old memories of the forest." Link replied, still having that fond and soft smile on her face. "I used to live in the forest when I was a baby."
"That's got to be a coincidence, Link, because I was raised in the forest too when I was a kid." Natsu stated with a grin, causing Link to look towards him in shock.
"Really? You were raised in the forest?" Link asked in a shocked tone, not expecting that information at all. Her smile was gone to replace with a look of shock on her face.
"Yeah, I stayed in the forest for all my life with my father, Igneel." Natsu replied, still having that grin on his face. "He was the one who taught me Dragon Slayer magic, along with fire magic."
"Your father must've been a good man to teach you such magic." Link said with a smile.
"Oh, my father wasn't a human. He was a dragon."
"WHAT?!" Link shouted, not expecting Natsu's father to be a dragon of all things. Sure, she wasn't expecting Acnologia to be a dragon, but she definitely wasn't expecting Igneel to be a dragon.
"Sheesh, Lucy is so loud, Natsu." Happy whined, covering his ears with his paws.
"My name is Link, you damn cat!"
"Okay, guys, I think we should get going." Natsu interjected before any arguments can erupt. "We wasted a bit of time, and Saria needs our help in order to awaken as one of the Sages."
"You're right, Natsu, Saria needs our help." Link agreed with the Dragon Slayer, as a look of steel, hardness and determination appearing in Link's bright blue eyes. "I don't know what kind of monsters we're going to be facing in the temples, but if the main monster did something to my friend when she was supposed to awaken as a Sage, I will personally kill that monster slowly and painfully."
Natsu and Happy couldn't help but grimace inwardly a bit from what Link said about that last part, and they almost feel pity for the main monster of the first temple. Almost.
"Are you two ready to enter the forest?" Link asked, getting serious. "Because once we enter, we're not coming back out until our mission is complete."
"Yeah, I'm ready to enter the forest and fight strong monsters!" Natsu exclaimed, as he punched his open-palmed hand with his fist before cracking the said fist to make the bones pop. "Not to mention, I want to use my new sword against these monsters!"
"I'm ready to enter the forest to not only help this Saria from monsters, but to help find our Fairy Tail friends!" Happy exclaimed, raising a paw in the air. "Even though I can't fight, I will be a lookout for any enemies that are trying to sneak up on us."
"That's a terrific idea, Happy." Link agreed, immediately liking what Happy said about that last part. "With you in the air, you can warn me and Natsu if any enemies are coming up behind us."
"Alright, I don't want to be rude or anything, but should we get going?" Natsu asked, getting a bit impatient. He wanted to get into the action and fight monsters!
"Don't worry, Natsu, we're going." Link said, sensing Natsu's impatience. "I just need to remember where we need to go. It's been a long time since I'd last enter this place." At once, Link began digging through her old memories of her childhood to figure out where the entrance to one of the six temples could be. The entrance wouldn't be near where the Great Deku Tree is, and it certainly wasn't in the Kokiri Forest, meaning that the only place the entrance to the temple would be is in Saria's secret spot: The Lost Woods. "Okay, I got the location to where the temple is."
"Nice!" Natsu and Happy cheered.
"But you two need to stick very close to me, because the forest has a curse placed upon it. If an adult from the outside world enters it and gets lost, they would turn into a Stalfos – a skeleton monster that rises from the dead."
Natsu and Happy couldn't help but gulp at that information. The idea of turning into a skeleton monster was making Natsu's and Happy's stomachs to twist horribly.
"Natsu. Happy. Let me ask you this again, are you two ready to enter the forest?" Link asked, wanting to confirm Natsu's and Happy's answers, even though they were confident a few moments ago. It seemed that she didn't need to be worried at all, because Natsu and Happy nodded their heads and determination can be seen in their eyes. "Then let's go."
With that, Natsu, Link and Happy took a deep breath before they slowly began walking towards the hole of darkness in the wide passage way and entered it.
The moment Link, Natsu and Happy entered the hole of darkness, they were instantly met with pitch-black darkness that caused them to become tense, though Link seemed to be less tense than Natsu and Happy.
"It's so dark in here! I can't see a thing!" Natsu exclaimed, enhancing his dragon-like hearing so that he can hear approaching enemies that might get the jump at him, Link and Happy, while trying to light his hand on fire for light. But for some reason, he can't get his magic to come alive, much to his shock and slight bafflement.
"Natsu, I'm scared!" Happy shouted, blindly flying around in circles in a panic manner. He didn't know that he almost came closed to hitting either Natsu or Link.
"Keep calm, boys." Link ordered, getting Natsu and Happy to stop what they were doing and stare at the blonde-hair woman. "Just keep walking in the direction you were walking, and light will appear on the other side."
"Why are you not scared?" Natsu asked, confused that Link wasn't tense like him or panicking like Happy.
"Because I'm grown used to walking through holes of darkness, Natsu. Remember, I was raised in the forest and there were always holes of darkness in the forest, and if you need get somewhere, you need to walk right through it." Link explained, remembering the times she walked through tree trunks that had a hole of darkness when she was a little kid. "It is scary for the first time, but when you walk through holes of darkness a bunch of times, you'll get used to it."
"If you were used to it, then why did you become tense?" Happy asked, flying over and landing on Link's head. The action almost caused Link to hug the life out of Happy like last time, but she managed to control herself and answered Happy's question.
"It's been seven years since I last walk through here, Happy, and it brings back memories that makes me happy…and sad." Link said that last part in a sorrow tone.
Natsu and Happy didn't have anything to say but gave Link sympathy looks, despite the fact she couldn't see the looks because of the pitch-black darkness.
It wasn't long until Link, Natsu and Happy finally made their way out of the hole of darkness and entered a place that can be describe as a small village. Said village was different than most villages, since the 'houses' seemed to be carved from hollow-out trees. There were pools of water in the village with one of the pools having a small waterfall, and there were two stone pillars that were connected to a wooden bridge. Since it was night time with the full moon out, it caused a glow to swept over the village.
(A/N: I wasn't sure how to describe the Kokiri Forest, so here is my description of the Kokiri Forest)
"This is the forest you grew up in, Link?" Natsu asked, looking around the forest-like village in awe and amazement. "It looks amazing!"
"Aye!" Happy agreed, rising a paw in the air, also looking around the forest-like village in awe. He was still sitting on Link's head. "This place is awesome!"
"Thanks for the compliments, guys." Link said with a smile on her face, looking around the forest-like village she grew up in with a soft look in her bright blue eyes. However, the smile, along with the soft look in her eyes, vanished when she realized two facts.
The Kokiri Forest was eerie silent.
And there was no sign of the Kokiri's that inhabited the forest.
Very concerned and worried about the lack of Kokiri's and the eerie silence, Link took a couple steps forward away from the exit of the forest and up to a house that was by the exit, knocking Happy off her head as she walked, causing the Exceed to spread his angel wings out and float in the air.
Link was about to head in the nearest house when a plant-like monster suddenly appeared right in front of her from the ground. It had a medium-sized, nut-like blue head with red veins in the front and razor-sharp teeth with green drool dripping downwards. The head was connected to a single green vine and the said vine lead towards the ground.
Link let out a shriek of surprised from having close contact with the plant-like monster, getting Natsu's and Happy's attention. When they looked over to where Link was, their eyes widened from seeing the plant-like monster.
"WHOA! What is that thing?!" Natsu exclaimed, quickly pulling out his sword and rushing over to Link, who jumped back to avoid a lunged bite attack from the plant-like monster.
"It's a Deku Baba!" Link replied, pulling out the Master Sword with her left hand and the Hylian Shield in her right hand. "They are plant monsters that come out of the ground! If you get close enough to one and not paying attention, you could get eaten by it!"
"Is there a weakness, Link?" Happy asked, flying over to Link.
"There is, you just need to cut the green vine." Link pointed to the single green vine. "It's very easy to defeat it, not a challenging monster at all. All you have to do is just get the head facing upwards and do a horizontal slash."
"If it sounds easy to do, then I'm going to face it by myself!" Natsu exclaimed with a large grin on his face, marching over to the Deku Baba who turned around to see a new prey coming towards it with a sword in hand. "I want to test out my new sword, so stay back!"
"Don't use your fire magic at all, Natsu, or you're going to burn the forest down!" Happy warned.
"I wasn't going to do that, Happy! Who do you take me for?!" Natsu demanded, as he stopped right in front of the Deku Baba. The Deku Baba lunged its head forward to bite Natsu, but the Dragon Slayer merely swiped the head aside with a simple smack with his left hand before swiping the green vine with his sword, causing the Deku Baba to let out a high pitch, dying shriek as it fell towards the ground with a thud before turning into dust, much to Natsu's confusion. "See that, guys? I didn't use any magic at all!"
"That's good, Natsu." Link said with a small smile, putting the Hylian Shield away but still having the Master Sword out. While she is happy that Natsu defeated his first enemy with his sword, she was still very worried and concerned about the Kokiri's.
"Not bad for a novice swordsman." Happy said carelessly, shrugging his shoulders, earning a glare from Natsu.
"Hey!"
"Alright, you two, that's enough." Link stated with a stern tone, breaking the start of an argument that Natsu might create. "We need to focus on the main task, like figuring out where the Kokiri's are and why the forest is filled with monsters."
"It could be because of the curse Sheik talked about." Natsu said with a serious look on his face, remembering what Sheik said about the five temples. "Remember, each temple is filled with an evil curse that prevents the Sages from being awakened, and that curse must've spread around the land the temple resides. So, if we break the curse on a temple…"
"Then we return everything back to the way it was!" Link finished in realization. "Not only we awakened a Sage and get rid of the curse, but we make the land go back to its original state! Natsu, you're a genius!"
"Wow, I never thought you would use your brain, Natsu!" Happy exclaimed with a shock expression on his face.
"The hell does that mean?!"
"Come on, guys, let's head towards the temple." Link chimed in, breaking another argument that was about to erupt before turning around and began walking to the path where the entrance of the Lost Woods is located. "If we hurry and get rid of the evil curse, we can save Saria and the Kokiri's."
"Don't leave us behind!" Natsu and Happy shouted, rushing after Link so that they won't be turned into skeleton monsters. They didn't want to be monsters!
After climbing up a set of vines and dealing with a Deku Scrub – A little monster of having brown wood for skin and orange and yellow leaves for hair with a circle mouth to shoot nuts – Natsu, Link and Happy paused a bit to look at a sign that said, 'The Lost Woods.'
"At least, the Kokiri's are nice enough to tell us where the Lost Woods are." Happy stated, earning nods from Natsu and Link, even though the latter knew where the woods are from the beginning. Taking another deep breath like before, Natsu, Link and Happy entered the Lost Woods.
The Lost Woods wasn't what Natsu and Happy expected. They were expecting it to be a large forest with tall trees, plants and wild animals and monsters, not a square box with four tree trunks on every side. Needless to say, it caused both Natsu and Happy to gain confused looks on their faces.
"Uh, why is the Lost Woods a box instead of a forest, Link?" Happy asked in a pure confused tone.
"Yeah, why's the woods small instead of being big like normal woods?" Natsu also asked in pure confused tone. "If this is literally what it is, Link, then we must've gone the wrong way."
"We did not go the wrong way, Natsu." Link said, defending her foster home, while feeling a sweat drop on the back of her head from hearing what Natsu and Happy are saying. "And the reason why the Lost Woods is like this, guys, is because the Lost Woods is a maze."
"A maze?" Natsu and Happy asked at the same time.
"Yep, a maze." Link replied with a nod her head. "When I was growing up in the forest, the guardian of the forest, the Great Deku Tree," A very sad look appeared on Link's face when she said the Great Deku Tree. The guardian of the forest was like a grandfather to her, and ever since that incident, she missed him very much. "Would tell me and the Kokiri's stories about the Lost Woods. It was said that when a person enters the woods by themselves, they would never return to see the light of the forest again. They would just be lost in the woods forever..."
Natsu and Happy gave each other a glance when Link said that last part. The idea of entering the woods by themselves with no friends or comrades and never seeing the light of day again was scary, and Natsu, despite being raised in the forest with Igneel, hadn't experience of being lost in the woods, which was something he didn't want to do at all.
"I can't help but feel sorrow for the people who walk in the Lost Woods and never come out again." Natsu stated.
"Me too." Happy agreed.
"It is sad to get lost in the Lost Woods, but luckily, the Great Deku Tree came up with a way to guide the Kokiri's around the Lost Woods."
"What is it?" Natsu asked.
Link didn't answer the question but smirked and asked out loud, "Why don't you come out and introduce yourself to my friends…Navi?"
A little blue ball of light with fairy-like wings suddenly appeared above Link's head and began flying around Natsu and Happy, who were shocked from the sudden appearance. "Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is Navi the Fairy!"
Natsu and Happy couldn't form words at all as they stared at Navi with shock looks on their faces. They couldn't believe it. They just couldn't believe it at all. They thought it was a dream, a dream that was fake and trying to mess with their minds, but it wasn't a dream. It was real.
Natsu and Happy were staring at a fairy for the very first time. A real-life fairy!
The question of 'Do Fairies really have tails? Do they even exist?' appeared in Natsu's and Happy's minds and they both blurted out, "Do you have a tail?"
Navi seemed to be offended by that question because she started zooming around Natsu's and Happy's head, while letting out high pitch sounds with her wings. "Do I look like I have a tail to you two?"
"Sorry." Natsu and Happy apologized with sheepish looks on their faces.
Link raised an eyebrow from the question Natsu and Happy asked Navi. "What was that question about? Why would you ask Navi that she has a tail? And why did you look surprised from seeing a fairy for the first time?"
"You didn't tell her about Fairy Tail, Natsu?" Happy asked, turning to look at Natsu.
"No, I thought you told her about the guild when you were explaining about what a Dragon Slayer is, Happy." Natsu replied, wondering why Happy didn't tell Link about Fairy Tail.
"Since when am I the explainer around here?"
"You're always the explainer, Happy." Natsu said in a deadpan tone.
Happy became thoughtful for a moment before realizing that Natsu was right. "Oh, right."
"Well, you guys can explain what Fairy Tail is about later." Link interjected. "We have wasted a bit of time and we need to head to the temple."
"Right, so let's put that fairy question on hold and figure out where to go." Natsu said, looking around the four tree trunks. "Which one do we go through?"
"I'll lead the way since I know the location of the Forest Temple," Navi spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "Just stick close to me and don't wander off." The blue fairy flew to the left tree truck, where another path was revealed.
Link, Natsu and Happy followed Navi through the path, and this became a routine. Whenever they pass through a tree trunk, Navi would stop for a moment before flying over to the correct tree trunk, and each one was getting closer and closer to the temple they needed to go. However, there was snag in their plan.
When they passed through a tree trunk and enter a medium-sized area that had a pond in front of them with two tree trucks by the sides, Link, Natsu, Navi and Happy were surprised to see someone guarding the tree trunk on the right side, and it was then Natsu and Happy got a look at what a Kokiri was.
The Kokiri was a human race like Hylian's, but they were kids that will never grow up. Their outfits were green tunics with a white shirt underneath, green shorts or skirts and green shoes. Some of the tunics were either sleeveless or short-sleeved.
This Kokiri before Link, Natsu and Happy was a young boy who had messy, orange hair, slight tan skin with three freckles on each side of his face and blue eyes. The young boy's attire was a sleeveless, green tunic with a white shirt underneath, green shorts and green shoes. Like Link, he had a fairy next to him, only the color of the fairy was purple.
This was Mido, the self-proclaimed leader of the Kokiri and Link's rival.
While Natsu and Happy were staring at the Kokiri in surprised, Link recognized who the Kokiri was and became shocked. 'Is that Mido!? He looks like the same kid as seven years ago when I was a kid! How come I have grown up and he didn't?'
"Hold it!" Mido exclaimed with a scowl on his face, holding a hand up. "This is as far as you can go! I, the great Mido, had made a promise to Saria to not let anyone through here, and I intend to keep it. You are not going through here, so get lost."
"What do you mean you're not going to let us through?" Natsu demanded.
"As I said before, outsider," Mido said, his scowl become bigger when he mentioned the word 'outsider.' "I promise Saria that I would not let anyone through here, not even an adult. So, do me a favor and leave the forest."
"And I'm telling you, brat, that we are here to exterminate the curse and return the forest to normal. So, if you don't get out of the way, we'll just make you move." Natsu threatened, taking a step forward and prepared to punch Mido, who glared at Natsu and raised his fists up.
"Natsu, there's no need for violence." Link scolded, stepping between Mido and Natsu before turning to the former, who stare at her with a distant look, as if he was…trying to recognize her. "Mr. Kokiri, I'm afraid my friend is right. We are here to exterminate a curse that is going around the forest, and the only way to do that is go to the temple that resides in the forest. Can you at least let us through?"
"You may have the clothing of the Kokiri, but you're not one of us and you can't fool me." Mido stated, apparently ignoring what Link said and stared at the green tunic she had on. "Saria told me to not let any strangers come closer to the Sacred Forest Meadow."
Link needed to quickly come up with something since she could see Natsu becoming impatient and barely resisting the urge to punch Mido. Luckily, she was sure she can convince Mido to her and her friends pass through by playing Saria's Song. This was a song that did made the Goron Chief, Darunia, happy and dance wildly, so if this song can make a Goron happy, then this song could convince Mido.
Pulling out the Ocarina of Time and placing it to her lips, Link closed her eyes and began playing Saria's Song. She played the song perfect, and the exact same way Saria would do. The song was said to be a symbol of friendship and connected to the forest, which caused the leaves, along with the people who heard the song, to dance.
When the music filled the air, Natsu and Happy closed their eyes and began nodding along with the music with smiles on their faces. Even Mido was nodding along with a smile on his face and his eyes closed. The song was beautiful and filled with joy and friendship. Eventually, Link stopped playing the song and let a single tear fell down her face.
"Wait a minute, I know that melody!" Mido exclaimed. "Saria plays that song all the time when she was in the Kokiri Forest! Do you…know Saria?" He looked at Link, who stared back at him with a solemn look in her eyes. "Saria would only teach that melody to her friends. Alright, I trust you all. I will let you pass." Mido stepped aside to let the group before him pass.
Before Natsu, Link and Happy can walk through the tree trunk, Mido said something that made them pause. "I don't know why, lady, but when I look at you, you remind me of…her."
Natsu and Happy didn't understand what Mido was talking about, but Link did. Mido was talking about her. Not sure what to say, the group walked through the tree trunk.
It wasn't long until Natsu, Link, Navi and Happy exit the Lost Woods and entered the Sacred Forest Meadow. It was large area that had a small maze in the middle and a pathway at the end of the maze, which said pathway very possibly leads to the temple they needed to go.
"Is the temple close, Navi?" Natsu asked, doing a mental sigh of relief of getting out of the Lost Woods.
"The temple is on the other side of this maze, Natsu." Navi replied, much to everyone's relief. "But getting there will be a problem. I can sense Moblins patrolling around. If they spot you, they will charge at you."
"What should we do?" Link asked.
"Why don't we just go on top of the maze and just jump over them?" Happy suggested, getting everyone to become thoughtful. The idea was very good, and it would give them more time to head to the temple. But there is a flaw in that plan. What would happen if the Moblins sees them jumping above?
"I like it, but I'm worried about jumping over the Moblins." Link stated with a frown. "What if they see us?"
"It's still night time in the outside world, Link, and it's pretty dark in here, so they shouldn't be able to see in the dark." Natsu spoke up. "And besides, we wouldn't really make to much noise when jumping over the Moblins. So, do we agree with Happy's plan?"
It was a bit of argument, but in the end, the group decided to go with Happy's plan. Since Happy and Navi can fly in the air, Natsu had to carry Link in bridal-style in order to get on top of the small maze, something that made the Heroine of Time's face blush like a storm and heart beating faster.
After Natsu set Link down on the maze, that was when everyone saw what a Moblin looks like.
The Moblins were tall, heavily muscular, bulldog-like creatures that had dark skin and wore golden shoulder-blade armor with a single spiky point on each shoulder-blade, black fingerless gauntlets with a yellow trim, a warrior skirt and large boots. Since the Moblins didn't wear any clothing for the upper body, their heavily muscular chest was exposed. They carry spears with one hand.
"I'm glad we took Happy's plan, guys, otherwise we would've been here for a while, dealing with the Moblins." Link stated, getting confirming nods from Natsu and Happy. Navi had decided to go back into hiding inside Link's cap.
Carefully, the group jumped over to the maze to get to the other side, and once they got there, they quickly ran up pathway's stairs to enter a narrowed pathway with a Moblin standing at the other side of the pathway, where another set of stairs were. The Moblin was the same as the other Moblins, only it had a different color armor instead of golden, which was blue. In its large hands was a club.
The Moblin saw Natsu, Link and Happy standing at the other side of the narrowed pathway and it let out a roar before lifting its club up and smashing it to the ground, creating an earth shockwave that was heading towards the group.
"Watch out!" Link shouted, as she and the magic users scrambled to the sides to avoid the earth shockwave. Once the shockwave was gone, the group collected themselves.
"You bastard! I'm going to kick your ass!" Natsu shouted, sprinting towards the Moblin who raised its club in the air and brought it back down to the ground, creating another shockwave. Natsu dodged the attack and jumped into the air to right where the Moblin's face was.
"Wait, Natsu!" Link shouted, sprinting after Natsu so that she can stop him from using a Dragon Slayer spell. "Don't use a-"
"[Fire Dragon Iron Fist!]" Natsu bellowed, coating his fist on fire and bringing it to the Moblin's face, causing the Moblin to let out a roar of pain before stumbling backwards, dropping its club in the progress. However, it seemed Natsu wasn't done yet. After landing on the ground, he got into a crouch position, placing an open palmed hand on the ground and coated himself in fire before launching himself at the Moblin's chest. "[Fire Dragon Sword Horn!]"
The Dragon Slayer attack met its target and the Moblin let out another pain roar before collapsing backwards and exploding into dust. Natsu once again became confused by this action but didn't had time to think about when he sensed two beings coming up behind him. With a grin on his face, Natsu turned around to tell Link about beating that Moblin with ease, only to falter from seeing a harsh glare on link's face.
"You idiot! I said don't use your fire magic!" Link shouted, an aura of anger surrounding her. "Did you forget that we are in a forest?! A forest that can be easily burn down by a simple use of fire?!"
"Link, I didn't forget about it, I just wanted to use my magic on that thing. It's been a while since I last used my magic." Natsu said, trying to reason with the Heroine of Time, only to gulp slightly when Link's glare became harsher.
"That's not an excuse, Natsu! What if your fight with the Moblin caused the surrounding area to collapse?! We could've been killed because of your recklessness!"
"But it didn't, Link, because I was using basic Dragon Slayer spells!" Natsu retorted, starting to get a bit angry. "If I used advanced Dragon Slayer spells, the surrounding area would collapse on it and caught on fire! And besides, I was holding back on my power! If I used that last attack in full power, I could've destroyed the pathway."
Link looked like she wanted to scream at Natsu and his stubbornness, but she managed to take a deep breath to calm herself. "I understand you want to use your magic, Natsu, and I want to see more of it, but we got to learn that these temples we are going into are old, including the structure around us. Just one attack could make everything collapsed. I don't want to risk anyone getting injured. Is it possible that you can try using the sword you brought for a while? And if we are facing a monster that's too hard for us to beat, then you can use your magic. Can you do that for me?" That last part was asked with a pleading look in her eyes.
Now, Natsu would've argue about using his magic more if it was somebody else, namely Erza, who can easily get annoyed at him for using too much magic lately. But after seeing that pleading look in Link's eyes, along with hearing what she was saying, Natsu couldn't help but listen to her. It wasn't like he was doing to not use his magic again, it was more like he wanted her, Link, to be happy with him, to smile at him and to give him compliments, which would make Natsu's heart beat faster and a blush to appear on his face.
"Alright," Natsu finally said, releasing a sigh. "I won't use my magic around old structure or the forest. I will use the sword I brought, and I will make sure not to use powerful spell attacks. I'll do this for you, Link, if you promise me that you will let me use magic on strong opponents we can't beat."
A smile appeared on Link's face from hearing Natsu's answer, and she gave Natsu a hug, which caused a small blush to appear on his face from feeling large and soft objects pressed against his chest. "Thank you, Natsu. That means a lot to me. And yes, you can use magic on opponents if we can't beat."
"Thank you," Natsu said, wrapping his arms around Link's waist and pulling her closer. If there was one thing Natsu and Link had in common, it was their height. Their heights were the same, only Natsu's was a slight inch taller than Link's.
The hug would've lasted long if Happy didn't start giggling and saying, "You like each other!"
Faces turning red as a tomato, Natsu and Link pulled away from each other and exclaimed comically, "We do not!"
The giggles Happy was releasing wasn't helping Natsu's and Link's situation at all.
"L-let's just go…" Link managed to stutter out, her face still red as a tomato.
Natsu, Link and a still giggling Happy climbed up the long stairs to enter a medium-sized area that had a stone-raised, marble platform in the middle with the Triforce symbol on it and a tall, dry tree with a long branch sticking out over a platform that was being supported by a pillar. This was the entrance that leads to the Forest Temple.
"With the Hookshot, you'll be able to hook onto that branch, Link." Happy stated, looking at the dry tree.
"Yeah, that's good." Link said distractedly, looking over at a tree stump that was by the stone-raised, marble platform with a sad look. That tree stump she was looking at was Saria's spot, the spot where the green-hair girl would sit and play her ocarina. 'Has it really been so long since I last seen my best friend?'
Suddenly, a whooshing noise got everyone's attention and they looked over to see a figure landing on the ground in a crouch position. When the figure stood up, it was…
"Sheik!" Link and Natsu exclaimed, surprised to see the Sheikah here in the Sacred Forest Meadow. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a ninja lady!" Happy exclaimed, getting Sheik's attention and her crimson eye widen by a fraction before it vanished.
"A talking cat?" Sheik mumbled lowly.
"Oh, yeah! You didn't meet him because he was sleeping. Sheik, this is Happy, my partner." Natsu said, introducing the Exceed to Sheik.
"Nice to meet you, Happy." Sheik said, bowing her head forward to the blue cat before looking over to Link and Natsu. "The flow of time is always cruel. Its speed seems different for each person, either for a kid grow up or for life to pass by, and no one can change it. However, a thing that can never change with time is a memory of younger days."
'Sheik's words are like words of wisdom…like gramps telling me about life.' Natsu thought, as he remembered trying to get Makarov to hatch Happy's egg with a magic spell when he was a kid, only for the old man to explain about life to Natsu.
"In order to come back to Sacred Forest Meadow again, you need to play the Minuet of Forest, Link." Sheik continued, pulling out a golden harp from her back. "This is a different kind of song than most songs you learned. It is a warp song."
With that, Sheik began teaching Link, who pulled out her ocarina, the song. It took a bit to figure out the notes, but Link finally got the song right, and the two women played the Minuet of Forest in a rhythm. When the first part would be play by strings, the other would be copied by ocarina music.
Natsu and Happy just stood back and nodded along with the music like last time. Eventually, Link and Sheik stopped playing the Minuet of Forest, and both women put their instruments away.
"Everyone, I will see you all again soon. Be careful when going into the temple." Sheik said, stepping backwards and disappearing with a flash of a Deku Nut.
"How did she do that?" Happy asked with wide eyes, staring at the spot Sheik vanished.
"A ninja vanished trick." Natsu replied, earning a sweat drop from Link and an awe look from Happy.
"Alright, you guys ready to enter the temple?" Link asked, getting serious and turning around to look at the temple's entrance. "Once we go in, we won't be coming out for a while."
"Let's do this!" Natsu said, smashing a hand into his open-palmed and cracked its knuckles. "Let's go in there, kick the monster's ass and save Saria!"
"Aye!" Happy agreed.
Link couldn't help but smile and shake her head a bit. No matter what kind of danger there is, Natsu and Happy will help her and Hyrule to the end. 'Maybe that's what Hyrule needs right now. A bunch of confident people who can use magic.'
Happy with Natsu's and Happy's answers, Link pulled out the Hookshot from her pouch, aimed it at the tree branch and pressed a button in the container. A moment later, a sizable, pointed tip came out of its container, which was connected to a metal chain, and headed towards the branch to which it connected. Suddenly, Link felt her feet leave the ground and felt wind going against her face as she was being pulled towards the branch. Once she reached there, she grabbed hold of the branch with one hand and pressed the same button in the Hookshot container, causing the pointed tip to extended back to the container. After she did that, Link let go of the branch and landed on the platform.
A soft thud next to Link told her that Natsu was standing on the platform with her, which can be confirmed when she looked over to Natsu, who was standing on the raised platform with Happy on his shoulder.
There were no words to be said for what Natsu, Link and Happy were about to do, but only nods from each person. They were ready to exterminate the curse of the first temple.
With determination in their eyes to get rid of the curse and save Saria, Natsu, Link and Happy entered the Forest Temple.
Alright, the second part of Journey to The Forest is done. The next chapter will be about the Forest Temple, which will be broken down into two parts.
I'm so sorry for the long delay of updating this story, readers. I'm so sorry about that. I thought this part chapter will be easy to write, but it backfired on me. But anyway, I got the chapter done, and in a few weeks, I'm going to combine this part chapter with the first one and it will officially be Journey to the Forest.
Now, I haven't thought about where every Fairy Tail member that has been sent to Hyrule is going to be since I was busy writing this chapter. Should the following characters be in these locations?
Erza in the Forest Temple.
Carla in Lon Lon Ranch.
Wendy in the Fire Temple.
Gray in the Frozen Cavern.
Lucy in the Water Temple.
Do you guys think these locations for the following characters a good idea? The reason why I picked these locations is because of their personality and magic, like Wendy for example. Since she is a Dragon Slayer and the Fire Temple has a dragon boss, I feel like she should be put there so that she, along with Natsu, can talk to the dragon about why their foster parents disappeared.
I want to use these locations for the Fairy Tail members for the rest of the story, so if these locations are a good idea, then let me know in the reviews.
Write a review if you like this story and enjoy the chapter.
Next Chapter: The Forest Temple.