Anyway...

I just now finished up chapter 4. It's rather short though. I did make it longer than it was before, but not all that much longer. I just couldn't think of anymore to add to it. Enjoy. :]


Chapter 4: Where’s Saria?

As Link began walking through the Kokiri Forest, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The village had been torn apart so badly, that it was as if the Kokiri were all killed in the act. Link’s somewhat calm facial expression from before had now turned to a frown of concern and decided to look for them. He was even concerned about Mido, despite the things he’d done and said to Link when he was a kid. Link never cared, though, because it didn’t matter at all to him. He always remembered what Saria told him after the first time Mido ever made fun of him: “Don’t let what he says get to you, Link. Mido bullies everyone. And as long as we’re friends, nothing he says should get in our way.” Now though, Link didn’t need to worry about Mido teasing or making fun of him again, because he knew Mido wouldn’t dare be mean to someone nearly twice his size.

As Link walked by the remains of the houses and the fallen trees, he fended off the Stalchildren and kept an eye out for any signs of the Kokiri. If they weren’t dead, he wondered where they could be on account of the houses being half destroyed. He looked for any bodies under the trees and around the rubble of the destroyed parts of the houses, but found none. The only life Link could find to currently exist in the forest besides himself and Navi were monsters and more monsters. Chances seemed slim that the Kokiri weren’t even nearby at all.

However, when Link was looking around what remained of the Kokiri shop, which only had half of its red roof and holes in the walls now, he saw part of the wall of the cliff behind it slightly budge. Thinking he was just seeing things, he attempted to take another step, but saw it happen again before he could go anywhere. Suddenly, a door-sized piece of the wall opened to reveal a secret room behind it, filled with Kokiri children. Link’s eyes grew wide. Every single Kokiri except Saria was standing in there, eyeing Link with curiosity. Mido was the first one to speak up.

“Who’re you?” he asked. “A gut feeling tells me I know you.”

“Hello, Mido. I believe you do know who I am,” Link replied with a smile. “Care to take a guess?” Mido fell silent to think for a minute. When he took note of the sword and shield that hung at Link’s back, he realized who might be standing before him.

“You know my name? And own a sword and shield? You wouldn’t happen to be the Hero of Time, would you?” he cried. “You kinda match the description of him that I heard.”

“That’s right,” he said. “I am indeed the Hero of Time, but not only that.” Mido gave Link another curious look.

“Hm, now that I think about it, you do remind me of somebody else I know of,” he said. Mido then turned to the other Kokiri and said, “Doesn’t he, guys?”

All the Kokiri looked at Link. They examined him as if he were some kind of stranger who’d just wandered into their hiding place. They walked around Link, obviously looking like he looked familiar to them. All of them seemed mostly focused on Link’s green Kokiri Tunic, which was only natural because it was the Kokiri garb. Eventually, though, the children stopped and concluded he did look like someone they knew.

“Yeah…” a Kokiri girl standing directly behind Mido said. “I think he looks like Link. Remember him? That boy you always bullied more than the rest of us?”

“Yeah, him. I always wondered where he’d gone off to since he first left the forest,” Mido agreed. Link gave a small chuckle.

“Guys,” he said. “I am that boy!” Mido gaped in amazement. The other Kokiri did too, but they all remained silent. For how could this young man be Link? Wasn’t Link a Kokiri like themselves? It soon came back to them that Link originally had no fairy and was different from everyone else. The young man standing before them also wore the green Kokiri Tunic just as Link had as a kid. Mido didn’t find words until a few seconds later.

“Whoa…is it really you, Link?!” he said. “You look so much bigger and stronger…” Link nodded.

“That’s because I’m actually a Hylian, not a Kokiri,” he responded. “But I am Link. I’ve still got the Kokiri Tunic, the hat, and even Navi the fairy. The same fairy that was with me when I was a kid. Oh, and I can’t forget Saria. In fact, the notes of her song still play in my head every now and then.” Link then pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played Saria’s Song. The Kokiri all put great smiles on their faces, including Mido.

“Link, it really is you!” a Kokiri boy cried. Everyone except Mido gathered around Link and hugged him. “I don’t know about Mido, but the rest of us missed you!” Link smiled as he felt a number of little pairs of arms around him.

“Well, I kinda did too,” Mido said, scratching the back of his head. “I also feel kinda bad that I made fun of you, with you being such a hero and all now.”

“It’s okay, Mido,” Link replied with a smile. “I never really cared that you did anyway. Besides, why would you try to mess with me the way I am now anyway?” At that, Link let out a chuckle. Mido had gone pink in the cheeks before responding.

“…Thanks.” He then joined in on the group hug. After everybody let go of Link, he explained his situation involving finding Saria. He said to them that he had no clue to her whereabouts and thought they might know something. Mido said they didn’t know for sure where Saria was, but had an idea of where. Wondering where this place might be, Link had a strong feeling that it wasn’t a paradise.

“We think she may have been taken to the Death Forest,” Mido explained. “No one’s been there for ages, but the evil around here seems to be coming from the direction of the forest’s entrance.”

“Death Forest?” Link replied, giving Mido a blank look. Mido gave him a small nod.

“It’s a dark, dead forest underneath this one. All the dead trees from here eventually end up there because of the Great Deku Tree’s magic,” Mido replied. “Even the Deku Trees themselves go there.”

“I see,” Link commented. “How can I get to this Death Forest?”

“Oh, the entrance is somewhere in the Lost Woods, but it’s been sealed up for ages now,” Mido replied. “But with all the bad guys around, it may have been opened. I suggest you check with the Great Deku Tree Sprout. Only he can tell you if there’s really something going on there.”

“Okay,” Link said. “I’ll be back to check on you all later.” Link then left the secret cliff room and headed for the Great Deku Tree’s Meadow. He guessed that secret room was where the Kokiri all went to on emergencies such as half destroyed houses.

Upon crossing the pond and arriving at the entrance to the meadow, Link fended off some more Stalchildren and entered. As he walked down the passageway, a light fog started to appear. Something’s not right here, Link thought. When he reached the meadow, Link saw to his dismay, the Great Deku Tree Sprout encased in thick, red ice. He knew that the only way to melt the ice was to use blue fire and if the sprout stayed that way long enough, he would suffocate and die. Since Link didn’t currently have any blue fire, he had to hurry and find some of it fast if he were to get the info he needed from the Great Deku Tree Sprout. With that, Link dashed out of the meadow at the greatest speed he could, wondering where he’d find blue fire in a place such as the forest.

Link decided to head to the Lost Woods first. Remembering the place correctly, he refreshed his memory on the correct log tunnels that would lead him to another section of the woods. All of the other log tunnels took whoever went into them back to the entrance in the forest. When Link had stepped foot in the woods, another light fog appeared around him, giving Link some trouble in picking out the correct log tunnels. Link went along the route to the Sacred Forest Meadow, keeping a close eye and ear out for any danger. Eventually, he heard a fairly high-pitched cry for help in the distance.

“Help! Somebody, heeeeeelp!” the voice squeaked. It sounded a lot like a Deku Scrub. Link followed the voice and it led him to the bridge that led to Hyrule Field. He saw a Deku Scrub at the other side of it being attacked by four Stalchildren. Soon, it noticed him and gasped.

“You! Please help me! These Stalchildren won’t leave me alone!” it said.

“I’m begging you! Heeeelp!” Link saw one of the Stalchildren grab the Deku Scrub by the snout.

“Ow! Don’t just stand there! Do something!” the Deku Scrub shouted again. Link drew his sword and approached the bony creatures. One big charged up Spin Attack had been enough to destroy them both, and Link re-sheathed his blade once he was through.

“Hey, that was neat!” it said. “Thanks!”

“No problem,” Link replied. “Helping others is something I’m good at.”

“Cool!” the Deku Scrub commented. “For saving me, I want to give you a treasure I found during my travels. Here, this is a special rod that can melt even the thickest red ice! I call it the Rod of Blue Flames.” The Deku Scrub handed Link a long, blue rod that was only a little shorter than the Master Sword he once used. At the front tip, it was a darker shade of blue, probably where the blue fire came out.

“Wow…” Link replied. “A rod that can fire blue flames? Thanks!”

“Yep! I hope it will be of some use to you,” the Deku Scrub said. “Well, see ya!” And with that, the Deku Scrub burrowed into its Deku Flower and disappeared.

Knowing he finally found what he needed to save the Great Deku Tree Sprout, Link quickly headed back to the Great Deku Tree’s Meadow, making his way through all the fallen trees and rubble from the houses once more. When he arrived, he pulled out his new Rod of Blue Flames and fired it at the red ice surrounding the sprout. It melted instantly as the cool blue flames devoured the red ice. The Great Deku Tree Sprout stirred immediately after the ice was completely gone.

“Uhhn…what’s going on?” the sprout asked. When it regained full consciousness, the Great Deku Tree Sprout suddenly realized who was standing before it. “Link?!”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Link replied. “I don’t know what happened. I just wandered in earlier and found you covered in red ice.”

“I see. I’m surprised I can remember you, though. I must be one of the few who can remember what had happened when Ganondorf had taken over,” The Great Deku Tree Sprout said. “Well, what brings you here?”

“I’ve come about Saria’s disappearance,” Link explained. “Mido said she may be in the Death Forest, but only you can sense if anything is going on in there. Do you know if Saria is there?”

“I see. Well, I do sense evil in there and that the seal on the forest’s entrance has been broken, but whether or not Saria is there, I do not know,” the Great Deku Tree Sprout replied. “Regardless, it’s best if you to look for her there. If she is there, she could be in great danger.”

“Alright, where is the entrance to this forest located?” Link asked. “Mido said the Lost Woods, but…where in the Lost Woods?”

“While I don’t know the exact location, I do know this. It is somewhere near the Sacred Forest Meadow’s entrance,” the Great Deku Tree Sprout told Link. “I strongly advise you to be careful, however. There are a deal more monsters appearing in those woods than out here.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll go there right away,” Link stated and started out of the meadow.

Once he was back in the village, Link starting making his way back up to the entrance to the Lost Woods. He climbed over fallen trees, walked through rubble from the houses, and climbed the vines growing on the cliff where the entrance was, fending off Stalchildren and Mad Scrubs in the process. One Stalchild knocked him off the vines once, but Link managed to fling a pair of arrows into it and climbed back up. A big one surprised him just near the entrance and made him stumble, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. After getting rid of this new Stalchild via his sword, he entered the tunnel entrance into Lost Woods.

Inside, Link made his way through the fog again and also took the route to the Sacred Forest Meadow once more. When he was there, he carefully scanned the areas around the meadow’s entrance for anything that might lead to the Death Forest. Just as Link had entered the area where the tall grass that contained the entrance to the forest stage was, he noticed a thicker mound of fog around the tree in the center of the area. He decided to check it out, thinking there was something very odd about it. Link slowly walked towards the fog in front of the tree and just when he was in the thick fog, he suddenly felt himself descend into the underground as if he’d stepped in a pitfall trap.

Link screamed as he plunged down into the darkness below him. He landed flat on his stomach when he finally hit the ground, but ended up groaning as he slowly went to his feet from the impact. He looked at his surroundings. Blackened trees that bore no leaves were situated everywhere and more light fog covered the area. Monsters such as Stalchildren, Big Skulltulas, and Blue Bubbles roamed around and Keese flew about in the air. There were also rotted, black logs and dead plants on the ground. A doorway outlined with rotted vines could be seen in the distance on the other side of the room and was guarded by a Big Skulltula. Navi appeared to be creeped out, but Link wasn’t. He knew where they had to be.

“Navi, I think we made it,” he said. “This must be the Death Forest.”

“I don’t doubt you’re right,” Navi agreed. “But just look at this place…Ick, I’m almost frightened.”

“Well, to be honest, I’m finding it to be really creepy and disturbing myself, but we’ll have to endure it if we’re going to save Saria.”

“Yeah, I can’t argue with that.”


As the end of this chapter says, the next one is a dungeon chapter. This shouldn't need much revision. People always told me I'm good at writing dungeons. xP