Clearer in Time
folder
Zelda › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
25
Views:
19,625
Reviews:
50
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Zelda › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
25
Views:
19,625
Reviews:
50
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I am not and have not, nor will I profit from this story in any way. All characters/settings/etc. belong to the creators of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and not to me. I don't own any of them. I didn't create them. They belong to their respective cre
A Long Lost Friend
Chapter I. A Long Lost Friend
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The stairway leading up to the entrance of the Forest Temple was long since destroyed, with only a few crumbled steps left protruding from the ground. There were gnarled trees overgrown with moss on either side of the ruined staircase, and one of their skeletal branches loomed over the temple’s doorway. The young, green clad Hylian inspected his surroundings with deep blue eyes, eyes that presently held a touch of melancholy.
He had only been here once before, but even so, stepping over the threshold into the Sacred Grove brought forth a wave of nostalgia. The place was silent and echoed with his every step, but he felt he could almost hear the cheery tune playing from Saria’s ocarina. Where could she be, he wondered to himself. He didn’t like the indications he had already seen. There were monsters all over the village, and none of the Kokiri Children had seen her anywhere. For all they knew, she could be…
He shook his head. It wouldn’t help him at all to dwell on such thoughts. He wouldn’t believe it until he made certain. And besides, he had a job to do.
The young blonde man reached down to his side and unhooked something from his belt. It was a strange looking contraption with an arrowhead-like hook at the tip. He held onto it with both hands, aimed and pulled the trigger at the tree branch hanging over the temple’s doorway landing. With a metallic thwip, the arrowhead, with a length of chain streaming behind it, shot out and latched onto the branch. Immediately after, the young man was yanked forwards and up as the chain retracted. He landed perfectly on his feet at the temple entrance.
He looked down at the contraption in his hand. The hookshot. What a nifty tool. Perhaps Sheik could be trusted after all.
Without another thought on the matter, the young man entered the Forest Temple to awaken the sage trapped inside.
...
Seven years.
Seven long years had passed since he had pulled the Master Sword from it’s pedestal. That’s what the sage had told him when he had awoke.
“Welcome, Hero of Time,” the old man had said as the young man stood up, still heavy with years of slumber. “Where am I,” he thought to himself?
“You are in the Temple of Light, in the heart of the Sacred Realm,” a voice answered in his head. The young man gasped and looked up at the old man, who nodded. “I am Rauru, one of the seven Sages of Hyrule.” The young man said nothing, just thought: “Why am I here?” The sage began his lengthy explanation.
“When you pulled the Master Sword free from the Temple of Time, Ganondorf had followed you. He made his way through the Sacred Realm and obtained the Triforce. As of late, Ganondorf rules, and the land is cast in his shadow.”
The young hero nodded his head, trying his best to keep up by asking few questions. If this was true, then time was crucial. “What must I do?”
The sage smiled at his willingness. “There are five other temples about the land of Hyrule, with a sage to each one. You must rid the temples of Ganondorf’s evil and awaken the sages within. Only then will the other sages and I have enough power to seal Ganondorf away.”
The hero was puzzled. “Five temples? I thought you said there were seven sages?”
Rauru smiled once more and lowered his head. “All will become clearer in time, young hero.” The hero nodded his agreement, ready to begin his task.
"There is someone awaiting your arrival in the Temple of Time, an aid. Heed the advice well. Good luck, Hero of Time." The hero nodded again, and closed his eyes as he felt himself being transported back to Hyrule.
...
The hero opened his eyes to see the cathedral window of the Temple of Time, the light shining ethereally throughout the room. He looked around to see that the temple had not changed in the past seven years, which to him felt like yesterday. He had yet to become accustomed to the notion.
As he descended the steps away from the Master Sword’s pedestal, he heard a noise from behind him. He froze, listening intently. His long, elfin ears homed in on the source of the noise. Someone was in the temple with him, an unseen adversary. He remembered momentarily of Rauru mentioning somebody waiting for him at the temple. But what sort of ally would be sneaking up on him? There was no lock on the temples doors. It could just as easily be an aid to Ganondorf. He could hear the figure creeping closer and closer behind him. Then the footsteps stopped.
“Hero of -” was all that was said before the hero was upon the foe. He spun around and caught the figure by the arm. In one swift movement, the young man had the assailant’s body pinned against the wall with his own, sword unsheathed and held at the attacker’s throat. It was only then that the hero took in a good look at the character.
It was a woman. A young woman, perhaps about his age. She wore a skintight, white and blue body suit bearing, in red, the crest of the Sheikah tribe on the chest. White gauze wrapping covered her face, revealing only a bit of dirty blonde hair and deep, beautiful amber eyes. Eyes that were presently full of fear, yet, at the same time, some other emotion that the hero could not read.
Before he could demand the woman’s intentions, she spoke, her voice quivering, almost sensuous.
“I am your ally, Hero of Time. Rauru sent for me. Please, do not hurt me.” At the mention of Rauru’s name, the young man released her, with slight reluctance. He couldn’t quite say why, but having the woman against the wall like that was appealing somehow, The warmth and softness of her body welcoming. As he stood back to give her room, he took in the sight of her figure. Lithe was the perfect word for her. Her outfit clung to the curves and swells of her toned body, muscles standing out definitively like an athlete. The hero unconsciously eyed the swell of her breasts. Smallish but supple, the only indicator, along with her girlish voice, that she was indeed a woman and not a very feminine man. In spite of her unorthodox beauty, the hero felt disappointment. He had secretly hoped, when Rauru had mentioned an ally, that it would’ve been the princess. He longed to know she was safe, free from Ganondorf’s clutches, but had forgotten to ask in the Sacred Realm.
He raised his eyes to the woman’s, breaking free of his thoughts, and noticed that she had been watching him watching her. He dropped his gaze in embarrassment. The woman seemed, or at least pretended, not to notice, and spoke once more.
“Hero of Time, my name is Sheik, one of the last survivors of the Sheikah tribe. you must hurry with your task. I’ve only come to point you in the right direction.”
He looked up at her, embarrassment gone, ready to carry out his duty. Sheik continued.
“The first temple is familiar to you. It is in the forest, the favorite place of your childhood friend.” At this the hero stirred in realization. She nodded, and continued.
“To reach the temple, however, you will need a special tool. It lies in the graveyard of Kakariko Village. Do you understand?”
The hero nodded his head and finally spoke.
“Yes.”
“Good,” she said. “We are all counting on you , Hero of Time. The sages, Princess Zelda, and all of Hyrule. At the mention of the princess, the hero stirred a bit. Sheik noticed, and almost seemed to smile beneath her wrappings.
“The princess is safe. I’m sure you will see her again soon enough. But for now, the Forest Temple. Make haste, and good luck.” With that, the mysterious Sheik stepped back from the young man, and, with a flash, disappeared without a trace.
...
And so had begun the hero’s adventure. Five temples to cleanse, and five sages to awaken. The Forest Temple, although full of ghosts and other trickeries, had proved effortless to the young, capable hero, and was as good as checked off the list. He had even found a bow and some arrows along the way. Just one more room to go.
The hero retrieved from his pocket a stone key with horns and teeth on it, obviously intended to fit the lock on the door before him. With a turn and a click, the giant, horned padlock fell to the ground, and the door opened. The hero entered the forest monster’s lair.
Inside it looked like an art gallery. Along the walls of the cylindrical room were eight identical paintings of an old dirt path winding through the woods. As he looked at the paintings, he noticed something different in one of them. A man, on horseback, carrying a long, spear tipped staff. It looked as thought it was moving. The longer the hero stared, the closer the horseman came towards the canvas, until it seemed ready to burst out of the painting. The hero gasped and jumped out of the way just as the horseman exited the painting into the real world. The hero turned around in time to see the horseman disappear into another painting and gasped again.
Ganondorf?
No, he realized. Just a look alike. A phantom, perhaps. The hero looked around for the phantom Ganon to appear in another painting, his bow knocked and ready. He heard a noise too late, and dodged just in time to avoid a fatal blow from behind. The phantom’s weapon, rather than impaling the hero through the chest, sliced deeply into his right shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound, staining his green tunic a morbid brown-red.
Ignoring the pain, he shot an arrow and pierced the phantom in the chest, knocking it off it’s horse. The horse itself continued through a painting without the rider, leaving the phantom trapped on the other side. It made to get to it’s feet, and looked around just in time to see the injured hero swinging the glowing blade of the Maser Sword with both hands.
The monster’s head came off with one clean chop. Black liquid sprayed profusely from the stump of it’s neck, drenching the far wall and ceiling as the body writhed and twitched. After a while, the spray stopped, and the thing’s body fell to the ground with a thump. From there, it started to disintegrate. The hero fell to one knee, panting from exertion. He felt a little light headed from the loss of blood, but the wound wasn’t dire. Already it was beginning to clot.
As he caught his breath, the hero noticed a glowing blue light around him. Just as he looked to see a glowing ring at his feet, he felt himself being transported out of the temple.
...
He was back in the Sacred Realm. Rauru was nowhere to be seen. Instead, standing before him was a familiar little girl with green hair.
"Saria!" He thought. Being in the Sacred Realm, their thoughts could be heard to communicate, and his greeting was answered with a childish giggle.
“Hello, Link,” Saria thought. “It’s been so long. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, Saria. I thought maybe something terrible had happened to you. What are you doing in the Sacred Realm?”
More giggles. “Isn’t it obvious? I am the Sage of the Forest Temple. You saved me.”
Link smiled. He was so happy to see her, and just as happy to hear his own name. He had grown tired of hearing “Hero of Time” over and over.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Saria,” he said. “I was so worried.”
“Well, I’m safe now, thanks to you,” she replied. “Keep this up and you’ll save Hyrule in no time.”
She sounded cheerful enough, but her eyes seemed filled with sorrow as she looked him over.
“What’s wrong,” He thought?
“Oh, nothing…,” she replied. Even telepathically, he could hear a trace of tears in her voice. “It’s just… I didn’t want to believe it was true… that you’re really a Hylian. I always told myself you would return someday, just the same as you had left. That you would come back to me…” Saria looked down at her feet for a moment. Link was glad. He didn’t know what to say, or what to feel. They had always been the best of friends, and more than once he had wondered if maybe it could have been more, but…
Saria looked up at him once more. She smiled at him. “But it’s okay now,” she thought. “You shouldn’t feel bad. Together, we’re going to save Hyrule. And… we’ll always be friends, right?”
Link smiled back at her. “Yeah. Best friends.”
“Good,” she thought. “Okay… I have to send you back now. Thank you for saving me, Link. And good luck. BYE!”
“Bye, Saria,” Link thought. Just as he did, he felt his body one more returning to Hyrule, the sight of his long lost friend fading from view.
...
Link’s blood lay in a small pool on the Forest Temple floor. A tall, dark figure entered the room. The blood of his phantom servant was all over the wall. He trembled with rage. To think that that foolish little boy would do such a thing. Where was hiding all these years?
The dark figure clenched his fists. He would destroy that insolent child if it was the last thing he did.
He kneeled down to the pool of Link’s blood. He retrieved a vial from the pocket of his cloak and stored some of the blood inside. If his phantom had failed, then perhaps the boy’s own shadow would prove more deadly. Time to fight fire with fire.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE R & R!!! I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS (MAYBE)!!!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The stairway leading up to the entrance of the Forest Temple was long since destroyed, with only a few crumbled steps left protruding from the ground. There were gnarled trees overgrown with moss on either side of the ruined staircase, and one of their skeletal branches loomed over the temple’s doorway. The young, green clad Hylian inspected his surroundings with deep blue eyes, eyes that presently held a touch of melancholy.
He had only been here once before, but even so, stepping over the threshold into the Sacred Grove brought forth a wave of nostalgia. The place was silent and echoed with his every step, but he felt he could almost hear the cheery tune playing from Saria’s ocarina. Where could she be, he wondered to himself. He didn’t like the indications he had already seen. There were monsters all over the village, and none of the Kokiri Children had seen her anywhere. For all they knew, she could be…
He shook his head. It wouldn’t help him at all to dwell on such thoughts. He wouldn’t believe it until he made certain. And besides, he had a job to do.
The young blonde man reached down to his side and unhooked something from his belt. It was a strange looking contraption with an arrowhead-like hook at the tip. He held onto it with both hands, aimed and pulled the trigger at the tree branch hanging over the temple’s doorway landing. With a metallic thwip, the arrowhead, with a length of chain streaming behind it, shot out and latched onto the branch. Immediately after, the young man was yanked forwards and up as the chain retracted. He landed perfectly on his feet at the temple entrance.
He looked down at the contraption in his hand. The hookshot. What a nifty tool. Perhaps Sheik could be trusted after all.
Without another thought on the matter, the young man entered the Forest Temple to awaken the sage trapped inside.
...
Seven years.
Seven long years had passed since he had pulled the Master Sword from it’s pedestal. That’s what the sage had told him when he had awoke.
“Welcome, Hero of Time,” the old man had said as the young man stood up, still heavy with years of slumber. “Where am I,” he thought to himself?
“You are in the Temple of Light, in the heart of the Sacred Realm,” a voice answered in his head. The young man gasped and looked up at the old man, who nodded. “I am Rauru, one of the seven Sages of Hyrule.” The young man said nothing, just thought: “Why am I here?” The sage began his lengthy explanation.
“When you pulled the Master Sword free from the Temple of Time, Ganondorf had followed you. He made his way through the Sacred Realm and obtained the Triforce. As of late, Ganondorf rules, and the land is cast in his shadow.”
The young hero nodded his head, trying his best to keep up by asking few questions. If this was true, then time was crucial. “What must I do?”
The sage smiled at his willingness. “There are five other temples about the land of Hyrule, with a sage to each one. You must rid the temples of Ganondorf’s evil and awaken the sages within. Only then will the other sages and I have enough power to seal Ganondorf away.”
The hero was puzzled. “Five temples? I thought you said there were seven sages?”
Rauru smiled once more and lowered his head. “All will become clearer in time, young hero.” The hero nodded his agreement, ready to begin his task.
"There is someone awaiting your arrival in the Temple of Time, an aid. Heed the advice well. Good luck, Hero of Time." The hero nodded again, and closed his eyes as he felt himself being transported back to Hyrule.
...
The hero opened his eyes to see the cathedral window of the Temple of Time, the light shining ethereally throughout the room. He looked around to see that the temple had not changed in the past seven years, which to him felt like yesterday. He had yet to become accustomed to the notion.
As he descended the steps away from the Master Sword’s pedestal, he heard a noise from behind him. He froze, listening intently. His long, elfin ears homed in on the source of the noise. Someone was in the temple with him, an unseen adversary. He remembered momentarily of Rauru mentioning somebody waiting for him at the temple. But what sort of ally would be sneaking up on him? There was no lock on the temples doors. It could just as easily be an aid to Ganondorf. He could hear the figure creeping closer and closer behind him. Then the footsteps stopped.
“Hero of -” was all that was said before the hero was upon the foe. He spun around and caught the figure by the arm. In one swift movement, the young man had the assailant’s body pinned against the wall with his own, sword unsheathed and held at the attacker’s throat. It was only then that the hero took in a good look at the character.
It was a woman. A young woman, perhaps about his age. She wore a skintight, white and blue body suit bearing, in red, the crest of the Sheikah tribe on the chest. White gauze wrapping covered her face, revealing only a bit of dirty blonde hair and deep, beautiful amber eyes. Eyes that were presently full of fear, yet, at the same time, some other emotion that the hero could not read.
Before he could demand the woman’s intentions, she spoke, her voice quivering, almost sensuous.
“I am your ally, Hero of Time. Rauru sent for me. Please, do not hurt me.” At the mention of Rauru’s name, the young man released her, with slight reluctance. He couldn’t quite say why, but having the woman against the wall like that was appealing somehow, The warmth and softness of her body welcoming. As he stood back to give her room, he took in the sight of her figure. Lithe was the perfect word for her. Her outfit clung to the curves and swells of her toned body, muscles standing out definitively like an athlete. The hero unconsciously eyed the swell of her breasts. Smallish but supple, the only indicator, along with her girlish voice, that she was indeed a woman and not a very feminine man. In spite of her unorthodox beauty, the hero felt disappointment. He had secretly hoped, when Rauru had mentioned an ally, that it would’ve been the princess. He longed to know she was safe, free from Ganondorf’s clutches, but had forgotten to ask in the Sacred Realm.
He raised his eyes to the woman’s, breaking free of his thoughts, and noticed that she had been watching him watching her. He dropped his gaze in embarrassment. The woman seemed, or at least pretended, not to notice, and spoke once more.
“Hero of Time, my name is Sheik, one of the last survivors of the Sheikah tribe. you must hurry with your task. I’ve only come to point you in the right direction.”
He looked up at her, embarrassment gone, ready to carry out his duty. Sheik continued.
“The first temple is familiar to you. It is in the forest, the favorite place of your childhood friend.” At this the hero stirred in realization. She nodded, and continued.
“To reach the temple, however, you will need a special tool. It lies in the graveyard of Kakariko Village. Do you understand?”
The hero nodded his head and finally spoke.
“Yes.”
“Good,” she said. “We are all counting on you , Hero of Time. The sages, Princess Zelda, and all of Hyrule. At the mention of the princess, the hero stirred a bit. Sheik noticed, and almost seemed to smile beneath her wrappings.
“The princess is safe. I’m sure you will see her again soon enough. But for now, the Forest Temple. Make haste, and good luck.” With that, the mysterious Sheik stepped back from the young man, and, with a flash, disappeared without a trace.
...
And so had begun the hero’s adventure. Five temples to cleanse, and five sages to awaken. The Forest Temple, although full of ghosts and other trickeries, had proved effortless to the young, capable hero, and was as good as checked off the list. He had even found a bow and some arrows along the way. Just one more room to go.
The hero retrieved from his pocket a stone key with horns and teeth on it, obviously intended to fit the lock on the door before him. With a turn and a click, the giant, horned padlock fell to the ground, and the door opened. The hero entered the forest monster’s lair.
Inside it looked like an art gallery. Along the walls of the cylindrical room were eight identical paintings of an old dirt path winding through the woods. As he looked at the paintings, he noticed something different in one of them. A man, on horseback, carrying a long, spear tipped staff. It looked as thought it was moving. The longer the hero stared, the closer the horseman came towards the canvas, until it seemed ready to burst out of the painting. The hero gasped and jumped out of the way just as the horseman exited the painting into the real world. The hero turned around in time to see the horseman disappear into another painting and gasped again.
Ganondorf?
No, he realized. Just a look alike. A phantom, perhaps. The hero looked around for the phantom Ganon to appear in another painting, his bow knocked and ready. He heard a noise too late, and dodged just in time to avoid a fatal blow from behind. The phantom’s weapon, rather than impaling the hero through the chest, sliced deeply into his right shoulder. Blood gushed from the wound, staining his green tunic a morbid brown-red.
Ignoring the pain, he shot an arrow and pierced the phantom in the chest, knocking it off it’s horse. The horse itself continued through a painting without the rider, leaving the phantom trapped on the other side. It made to get to it’s feet, and looked around just in time to see the injured hero swinging the glowing blade of the Maser Sword with both hands.
The monster’s head came off with one clean chop. Black liquid sprayed profusely from the stump of it’s neck, drenching the far wall and ceiling as the body writhed and twitched. After a while, the spray stopped, and the thing’s body fell to the ground with a thump. From there, it started to disintegrate. The hero fell to one knee, panting from exertion. He felt a little light headed from the loss of blood, but the wound wasn’t dire. Already it was beginning to clot.
As he caught his breath, the hero noticed a glowing blue light around him. Just as he looked to see a glowing ring at his feet, he felt himself being transported out of the temple.
...
He was back in the Sacred Realm. Rauru was nowhere to be seen. Instead, standing before him was a familiar little girl with green hair.
"Saria!" He thought. Being in the Sacred Realm, their thoughts could be heard to communicate, and his greeting was answered with a childish giggle.
“Hello, Link,” Saria thought. “It’s been so long. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, Saria. I thought maybe something terrible had happened to you. What are you doing in the Sacred Realm?”
More giggles. “Isn’t it obvious? I am the Sage of the Forest Temple. You saved me.”
Link smiled. He was so happy to see her, and just as happy to hear his own name. He had grown tired of hearing “Hero of Time” over and over.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Saria,” he said. “I was so worried.”
“Well, I’m safe now, thanks to you,” she replied. “Keep this up and you’ll save Hyrule in no time.”
She sounded cheerful enough, but her eyes seemed filled with sorrow as she looked him over.
“What’s wrong,” He thought?
“Oh, nothing…,” she replied. Even telepathically, he could hear a trace of tears in her voice. “It’s just… I didn’t want to believe it was true… that you’re really a Hylian. I always told myself you would return someday, just the same as you had left. That you would come back to me…” Saria looked down at her feet for a moment. Link was glad. He didn’t know what to say, or what to feel. They had always been the best of friends, and more than once he had wondered if maybe it could have been more, but…
Saria looked up at him once more. She smiled at him. “But it’s okay now,” she thought. “You shouldn’t feel bad. Together, we’re going to save Hyrule. And… we’ll always be friends, right?”
Link smiled back at her. “Yeah. Best friends.”
“Good,” she thought. “Okay… I have to send you back now. Thank you for saving me, Link. And good luck. BYE!”
“Bye, Saria,” Link thought. Just as he did, he felt his body one more returning to Hyrule, the sight of his long lost friend fading from view.
...
Link’s blood lay in a small pool on the Forest Temple floor. A tall, dark figure entered the room. The blood of his phantom servant was all over the wall. He trembled with rage. To think that that foolish little boy would do such a thing. Where was hiding all these years?
The dark figure clenched his fists. He would destroy that insolent child if it was the last thing he did.
He kneeled down to the pool of Link’s blood. He retrieved a vial from the pocket of his cloak and stored some of the blood inside. If his phantom had failed, then perhaps the boy’s own shadow would prove more deadly. Time to fight fire with fire.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE R & R!!! I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS (MAYBE)!!!