Chapter 34
The three fairies watched as Link tried to shake Brad gently into wakefulness. He still didn't budge. Tears began to form in his eyes. He didn't want Brad to die! They were very close friends and Link didn't want to lose him. He set him on the ground gently and wiped the tears from his eyes. He put his hands on his head.
"Brad...Please don't die on me!"
He looked over at the three fairies with tears still in his eyes. He noticed they were starting to cry as well. Valerie flew over to him.
"Link! Is he?"
Link wiped his eyes once more.
"Dead? I'm not sure, but I hope he isn't. Me and him are close friends. I need some time alone. I am going to open that big treasure chest. Can you guys keep an eye on Brad for me?"
Valerie nodded sadly.
"Of course we can. Brad will be just fine. Don't you worry."
Link sighed heavily and walked over to the treasure chest. What a depressing day. First, Charlie gets severely injured by a monstrous plant and now this. He cursed angrily. He shouldn't have put Brad in danger like that! He felt like his whole world was going to come crashing down on his head. He stood in front of the treasure chest and opened it up and peered inside. There was a bow and a quiver of arrows inside! He counted the arrows and there were thirty altogether. Suddenly, he heard Valerie cry out to him.
"Link! Come here quick! Brad is partially conscious!"
He quickly ran over with the bow and quiver still in his hands. Brad still had his eyes shut, but he was moving his arms around on the ground. Suddenly, Brad started to speak.
"Mido? What are you doing here? I killed you seven years ago! Where are Link and the others?"
Link strapped the bow and quiver to his back and looked at Valerie in confusion.
"What's going on? What's he talking about? Mido is dead!"
Valerie nodded sadly.
"Yes he is. I think Brad is really close to death. If he can see Mido, that's not good at all! We have to do something now or we are going to lose him!"
Brad started to talk again.
"You want to challenge me to a fight? Bring it on! I am now a skilled swordsman and a better leader than you ever were! You don't stand a chance!"
Link looked at Valerie.
"What do you suggest we do?"
Valerie called the other fairies over.
"Navi! Izzy! Come here please! We need to focus our energy again. I have a plan. Remember that heal spell you cast on me? We need to recreate that spell and make it powerful. VERY powerful."
Link nodded and smiled.
"This sounds promising. Are you sure it will work?"
Valerie shook her head.
"No, I'm not, but it's worth a try though. If we do nothing, he's going to die."
She turned to Navi and Izzy.
"Are you two ready to focus your energy?"
They both nodded. Navi smiled at her.
"Ready to go! Let's do this!"
Valerie nodded.
"Very well. Stand back, Link!"
He stood off to one side as the three fairies began to focus their energies together. They began to glow bright white. Brad started to move around and spoke again.
"See what happens when you mess with me? Even here, I can still kick your ass!"
Link put his hands over his face.
"I really hope this works. I want my pal back."
Link looked over at the three fairies. They were glowing so brightly, it hurt Link's eyes when he looked at them. Suddenly, he heard Valerie shout out.
"Okay, guys! Let's do it! Release all your energy and point it at Brad's body!"
Suddenly, a big bright blast of light struck Brad. It completely engulfed him in a shaft of bright white light. He began to float inside it. Suddenly, he started to glow white as well. He remained floating inside the shaft of light for a few minutes. Shortly after, the light faded and Brad dropped gently to the ground. He groaned loudly and stood up! He rubbed his eyes and looked around.
"Ugh what happened?"
Link cried out in excitement and ran over to Brad and gave him a hug.
"Brad! Thank God you're alright! I thought I would never see you again!"
He smiled at Link.
"It's good to see you again but where was I and why weren't you and the three fairies there? You should've seen it. Mido came out of nowhere and challenged me to a fight. First, he tried telling lies to me. He said I was dead, and I was a weakling. I sure showed him! I decapitated him where he stood!"
Link looked at Brad and he was almost crying.
"You were almost dead, pal! Valerie, Navi and Izzy healed you with their combined power. It must have been enough to heal you completely. By the way, great job, guys! It worked. Brad is back with us."
He turned to see why they weren't responding, and they weren't there. Link scratched his head in confusion.
"Where are you guys?"
He heard a very weak voice reply.
"Over here, Link!"
Link walked over to where they were focusing their energy and he found them lying on the ground. Valerie was holding herself up with one hand. She looked at Brad and smiled.
"So, my plan worked after all. It's good to see you alive and well. We used all our energy to cast a very powerful healing spell on you."
Brad was still confused.
"So let me get this straight. I was almost dead? Is that why I couldn't find you guys?"
Valerie nodded weakly.
"Yes, you were. You were sitting on Death's doorstep and that's probably why you saw Mido."
She turned to Link.
"You are going to have to carry us until we get our strength back. Navi and Izzy are already unconscious, and I think I might..."
Valerie closed her eyes and fell. Link picked up the three fairies and put them gently into his pocket.
"You guys rest up. Me and Brad will take care of this temple."
Brad smiled.
"Yeah we will! Let's find those ghosts and rescue Saria."
Brad and Link explored the room more and found another door. They walked through it, and they found themselves in yet another large circular room. Link groaned aloud.
"Not another circular room! What are we going to fight this time?"
Suddenly, four lanterns appeared and began to float around the room. They had the flames from the first large room they entered back near the entrance. Shortly after, the ghosts appeared and they all had a tight hold on the lanterns. Link reached behind him and grabbed his bow and a single arrow, and he took aim at one of the ghosts and let an arrow fly. The arrow whizzed harmlessly by the ghost holding the blue flame. He cursed in anger.
"I am terrible at aiming. Have you ever used a bow before, Brad?"
Brad shook his head while he watched the ghosts floating around the room laughing at Link's puny attempt.
"No, I haven't, but Dregal uses one and I watched him practicing one day. All you need to do is concentrate. Grab another arrow and pull back your string ready to fire. Then keep your eye locked on your target and let the arrow fly. Try it and you will see what I mean."
Link nodded.
"Right. I'll give it a try."
The headless ghost holding the blue lantern began to move around in circles. The ghost beside him was the one with hooks for hands. He was holding the orange lantern and laughing.
"Haha! My friend is making fun of you, mortal. You want to waste more arrows? Be my guest. Fire away! You couldn't hit us if you right in front of us!"
The ghost's insults made Link angry. He notched an arrow on his bow and sighted the ghost and followed his movements. He then let an arrow fly. The arrow struck the ghost holding the orange flame in the chest. He screamed in agony and disappeared. His lantern broke and the flame vanished. The other ghosts except for the headless ghost gasped in disbelief. The ghost holding the green flame cursed in anger. His twisted body shook in anger.
"That fool! He made the mortal angry! We must dodge those arrows. He's getting better with that bow of his."
Brad jumped up and down in excitement.
"That was a great shot, Link! I knew you could do it if you concentrated. Now, try to aim for the headless ghost next."
He notched another arrow on his bow and took aim at the ghost. The ghost holding the green lantern saw what was going on and issued a warning to his friend.
"Hey, watch out! That kid is aiming at you."
The headless ghost started to float around in random patterns in an attempt to confuse Link. He noticed the ghost stopped floating in random patterns and began to float in circles again. Brad nudged him.
"There's one thing I don't understand about that ghost. How did it hear the other one if it has no head?"
Link looked at him and shrugged.
"I'm not sure and I don't really care. I just want to kill that thing."
Link shot an arrow at the ghost. It missed him by barely an inch. Then he planned ahead and shot an arrow above him, hoping he might float right into its path. It worked like a charm. The clueless ghost floated up right in the path of the incoming arrow. It somehow screamed in agony and disappeared. The ghost holding the green lantern groaned.
"At this rate, we are all going to be destroyed by him. That's it! Watch out, mortal! I am going to kill you! To make sure you can't hit me, I'm going to make myself invisible!"
He started to fly towards Link. As he was moving, he turned himself invisible. Everything seemed to be going well for the ghost, but he forgot one thing. In his rush, he forgot to turn his lantern invisible! Link and Brad started laughing.
Link stopped laughing and taunted the ghost.
"I may not be able to see you, but I can still see you lantern, dumbass!"
Link notched another arrow to his bow and fired his arrow beside the ghost's lantern. The ghost realized what he had done, but it was too late. He saw the arrow heading towards him.
"Oh dammit! Curse you, mortal!"
The arrow struck the ghost. He became visible again and the arrow was in the ghost's head. Before he went down, he pointed down at Link.
"You may be able to take us out easily, but the master of this temple won't be so easy I can assure you! Beware, mortal fool!"
Shortly after, he started to expand in size. He got bigger and bigger and suddenly, he exploded in a bright flash of green light. The ghost holding the purple lantern floated down in front of Link and Brad. Link smirked.
"Are you surrendering to me? It would be a wise move."
The ghost started to laugh.
"Hardly. You defeated the other ghosts without much difficulty. Now, I'm about to make your life a living hell!"
Suddenly, the ghost started to multiply into four! The four ghosts started to shoot balls of dark energy at Link and Brad. They barely dodged them. Brad turned to Link.
"How are we going to handle this ghost? The last three weren't even a challenge, but this one is using its power to its advantage. We must find a way to take out this ghost. Any ideas?"
Link shrugged and pulled out the Master Sword.
"I'm not sure. I was thinking of a direct attack with my sword. Maybe I might be able to somehow hit one of these ghosts."
Link held his blade ready in front of him and faced the ghosts. One of them shot yet another ball of dark energy at him. It missed him, but it reflected off his blade and struck the ghost! It vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. Suddenly, it reappeared! The ghost's laughing echoed in his ears.
"Did I forget to mention? Only one of them is the real me! The rest are simply copies. But just because they're copies doesn't mean they can't hurt you!"
Suddenly, the four ghosts shot a very huge ball of dark energy. Brad ran beside Link and drew his weapon and struck the ball the same time Link did. The ball broke into four smaller ones and was sent back to all four ghosts. Three vanished, but the real one didn't. It screamed and dropped to the floor.
"Very clever. Using my own power against me. Well? What are waiting for? Finish me off and make it quick!"
Link took his sword and raised it above his head and brought it down on the ghost's head with tremendous might. It screamed and exploded into a cloud of purple smoke. Brad turned to Link.
"Well done. Now I guess we will go back to that lift. Those ghosts are all dead, so those torches are hopefully bright once more."
Link and Brad retraced their steps, and they easily made their way back to the lift. The torches were lit, and the lift was open once again. They both stood on it, and it went downward into the floor. Within minutes, they were in a circular room with a lot of paintings. For some odd reason, the paintings were all the same picture. They showed a small road leading up to a dark creepy looking house. The sky was pitch black and the moon was a bright yellow. They stepped off the lift and looked around. Brad shrugged his shoulders.
"Why are we here? There isn't anything in this room except for those creepy paintings."
Suddenly, there was a grunting noise coming from behind Link and Brad. They both turned around and gasped. A man a black armor was on top of a black horse with red eyes. He was holding a long magical wand in one hand. Brad nudged Link.
"Do you know this guy? He's looking right at you!"
Link nodded slowly.
"That's Ganondorf. He's the evil bastard that turned my friend Max against me."
He glared at Ganondorf.
"Where is Max? I want my friend back you psychopath! You are going to pay for what you did to him!"
Ganondorf looked at him and grinned.
"I am honored that you think I am my master, the great Ganondorf I am one of his creations. Behold!"
He waved his long wand in front of his face and his green face changed into a skull with glowing orange eyes. Brad and Link gasped. He laughed at their reactions.
"What's wrong? Did I scare you? I am phantom Ganon and by order of my master, I hear by sentence you to death, Hero of Time!"
He laughed and suddenly, his hose was floating! He aimed his wand at one of the pictures and shot it with dark energy. This created a portal, and he flew right into it. Brad and Link gasped in disbelief as they saw him atop his horse galloping up the road in the picture! Then he turned around and started heading in the opposite direction. Within mere seconds, he was out of the painting. He waved his wand at the ground near Brad and Link and shot a bolt of electricity at them. Luckily, it missed them both. He laughed and flew into another painting. Brad turned to Link and groaned.
"We must get rid of that horse! Once we do, I'm sure this will be a lot easier. I still can't believe he can go inside paintings! That's creepy. I have an idea. Try to shoot arrows at the horse. It might frighten it enough to take off."
Link nodded. It was a good plan. With the horse out of the way, maybe he could corner Phantom Ganon and finish him off. He notched an arrow on his bow and watched the picture he was in and waited for him to come back out. He was almost out when suddenly, he turned around! Link looked over and he realized the phantom tricked him. He produced a copy and came out of another picture himself. Link shot the arrow at his horse. It hit it in the leg, but it wasn't enough to make the horse take off without its rider. He flew into another picture. Link got another arrow ready and kept his eye on all the pictures. When the phantom turned around and started to head back, he was in two pictures. They were both side by side, but he had to choose one. One was a fake and the other was the real deal. He turned to Brad.
"Which picture should I choose? Left or right?"
Brad put his hand on his chin.
"I think he will emerge from the right painting. Try that one."
Link nodded and chose the right painting. The phantom was very close now. He exited from the right painting! Link shot an arrow at the horse. It reared and sent the phantom flying off of it and it galloped away back into the painting. The phantom landed on the floor. He started to float in the air with the long wand in his hand. He shot a ball of electrical energy at Link. He gasped and dodged it. Brad nudged him.
"Don't you remember that ghost? Send his attack back with your sword!"
"Right! Thanks for reminding me, Brad. I'm going to give it a try!"
The phantom launched another electrical ball of energy at Link. He swung his sword at it and sent it back. The phantom retaliated by hitting it with his wand. Over time, the ball of energy started to move faster. Link missed a swing and ended up getting hit in the arm with the electrical energy. He groaned in pain and looked at Brad.
"He hit my sword arm! Can you take over for me?"
Brad nodded.
"Sure thing, pal. I'll show him a thing or two!"
The phantom sent a ball of electrical energy at Brad. He easily hit it and sent it back. The phantom sent it back as well. This continued for five minutes. Neither Brad nor the phantom missed a swing. After a while, the phantom was getting tired. He went to swing and ended up missing it and it hit him in the forehead. Brad ran over and swung at the phantom's forehead. He groaned in pain. After a few minutes, he rose into the air. Brad was breathing heavily. That took a lot of energy. He looked over at Link. He was flexing his sword arm.
"Are you good to go again? I'm starting to feel tired."
Link nodded.
"I think so. My arm is a little tingly, but it feels better."
He walked up in front of the phantom. He grinned at the Hero of Time.
"So, are you ready to get shocked again? My shock spell will wear you down bit by bit and that's when I will make my killing blow."
Link glared at him.
"I'm not going to give you a chance to carry out your empty threats! Let's finish this!"
The phantom laughed.
"So be it. After I'm done with you, I'll take care of your short friend. My lord commands it!"
He launched another ball of electricity at Link. He swung his sword and sent it back. The phantom returned it with a swing of his wand. Suddenly, Brad was beside Link swinging at the ball of electricity. Link glanced at him quickly.
"Brad! What are you doing?"
Brad grinned at him.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm giving you a hand. Nobody talks to us like that. I'm going to make him eat his words when this is over. I'm not about to stand by and watch him kill you. We're best friends to the end! Let's rock!"
Link and Brad worked together to send the balls of energy back to the phantom. He was having a hard time keeping up with the two friends. The next time it came back, Link and Brad both hit it at the same time. This sent it flying at a blinding speed towards the phantom. He tried to swing, but it was far too fast to hit. He missed and it hit him on the forehead. They walked over together and swung their swords at the phantoms head. Finally, the phantom had taken too much damage and collapsed on the ground in a heap. His lifeless body began to float in the air. Suddenly, there was a booming voice echoing around the room. It belonged to the REAL Ganondorf!
"Well done, kids! It seems you two have gained some skill. But you have defeated only my phantom. I won't fall as easy as that worthless creation did! By the way Link, your friend Max has been most useful in helping me with my evil plots. It seems I have come to rely on him more and more these days. You understand if you never see him normal again don't you. Of course you do! See you soon, kid! Hahaha!"
Link was striking a rock with his sword in anger.
"You bastard! I want my friend back! You will pay dearly for taking my friend away from me! Are you even listening?!"
Brad put a hand on Link's arm.
"Calm down, pal. He's gone and he can't hear you. Let's find Saria."
Link was still angry. He held up his sword and stared at the blade closely.
"Someday, Brad. I'm going to send this blade right into Ganondorf's heart! When we meet in battle, I'm going to give him a fight he'll never forget!"
Suddenly, a portal appeared around them, and they were transported away.
When Link opened his eyes, he realized he was back in the Sacred Realm. He gasped. Saria was standing on the green pad! Brad opened his eyes and looked around.
"Link, where are we?"
Saria answered him.
"Hello, Brad. Welcome to the Sacred Realm. You two defeated the phantom. That enabled me to awaken as the Sage of the Forest."
Brad turned around and gasped.
"Saria! What are you doing here? You say you're a sage? That's awesome! Now, let's go back to Kokiri Village."
Saria smiled and shook her head slowly.
"I'm afraid I can't, Brad. I must stay here as the Sage of the Forest. Link, you've grown into a handsome man. But you're not sure why, are you? I'm sure you will find out eventually. I want you to take Valerie with you. She will be most useful in your quest."
Link gasped. He had forgotten about the fairies in his pocket! He reached into his pocket and pulled them out. Valerie stood up and stretched.
"I feel much better now. Thank you for keeping us in your pocket, Link. It reminded me of a bed."
Navi stood up as well and looked at Link.
"That was kind of cozy."
She looked at Brad and smiled.
"I'm glad our spell worked on you It's good to see you up and about."
Brad smiled.
"Likewise."
Finally, Izzy woke up. As soon as she saw Brad, she was ecstatic.
"Oh my god! You're okay! Thank God! I thought you were lost to us forever."
Brad shook his head.
"Nope. I'm still alive and kicking thanks to you guys."
Valerie looked around.
"What is this place?"
Brad smiled.
"This is the Sacred Realm apparently. Turn around, Valerie. I'm sure it will surprise you."
She turned around and she was looking at Saria! She laughed aloud.
"We finally found you! Now we can go home together."
Link shook his head.
"She can't come with us, Valerie. She is the Sage of the Forest. She must stay here."
Valerie gasped.
"No way! After all that, you can't come with us?"
Saria shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. I want you to go with Link and his friends on their quest. You will be a great help to them like you once were to me."
Valerie sighed.
"If you insist. It was nice to see you again, Saria. Even if it was only for a short time."
Saria turned to Link.
"Now, I want you to take this medallion. Good luck on your quest, Link!"
She handed him a bright green medallion. Like the gold medallion, it had the triforce symbol on it and on the other side, it had some other weird symbols. Suddenly, a bright white light surrounded Link and his friends. Within seconds, they found themselves back in the Kokiri Village. Fado noticed them appear and ran over to greet them.
"Hello, everyone! Where did you all come from?"
Link smiled.
"It's a long story. What matters is we're back and we've cleared out the Forest Temple."
Fado scratched her head.
"Okay. That's good news. What about Saria?"
Brad answered him.
"She is the Sage of the Forest. She had to stay behind."
Fado groaned.
"I wanted to see her again though. Oh well. As long as she's alright. Oh, by the way, Brad. I've been taking care of everything in your absence. Everyone in the tribe seems to be happy. Are you going to take back your command now?"
Brad shook his head.
"No. I'm not ready to do that. I am going to travel with Link and his friends. I want you to be chief from now on."
Fado was taken aback.
"You...You want me to be permanent chief here? That's such a huge responsibility."
Brad patted her on the back.
"I have faith in you. I know you won't let me or the tribe down. By the looks of things, you've done a remarkable job so far."
Brad looked around the village. There were Kokiri gathering firewood, harvesting fruit and vegetables and even cleaning around the houses. He smiled at her.
"I couldn't have done a better job if I wanted to. You will do just fine."
Fado smiled.
"So be it. Thank you very much, Brad. I won't let you down."
Link stretched his arms.
"Well, I guess we should head back to Kakariko. Let's go, guys.
They made their way through the Kokiri Forest and out to Hyrule Field. Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them. They turned around and Ralph was standing there. He looked frightened. Link walked over to him.
"Ralph? Is everything alright?"
He shook his head.
"Everything couldn't be worse. Ganondorf and Vaati managed to breach the barrier around Kakariko. They went into the Hyrule Resistance building and attacked everyone. Then, they went to the infirmary and captured your friend Charlie and took him away. We tried to fight them, but they were far too strong."
Link grabbed him by his arm.
"What? My friend Charlie was captured? Do you know where they are now?"
Ralph shook his head.
"No. As soon as they got Charlie, they disappeared. It's almost as if they attacked the Hyrule Resistance building just to get to Charlie."
Link turned to his friends.
"We got to get to Kakariko right way and sort out this mess! I don't want Charlie to end up like Max!"