FicWad

Legend of Zelda: Ultimate Quest

Part 1: The Hero Through Time

Chapter 1-Lament of a dying god

“No silly!” The green haired girl chortled. “You need to hold the ocarina like this!” she took the tan instrument from the blond boy demonstrating the proper technique.
“Aww, Saria!” The boy cried “It’s not my fault I’m not as good as you. I don’t even have a fairy! Mido says it’s because I’m so worthless no fairy wants anything to do with me.”
A sober expression came across the girl’s face blue eyes stating warning. “Link…if Mido says anything else like that to you I want you to tell me ok?”
Link scratched the back of his head under his pointed green cap. “It’s really not that big a deal…after all there must be something wrong with me. Why else wouldn’t I have a fairy by now?”
“Oh Link don’t say that! The Great Deku Tree let’s you stay here right?”
“Yeah…” A doubtful expression crossed his face.
“Then the Great Deku Tree thinks you’re worth something and the Great Deku Tree is far wiser and smarter then silly old Mido right?”
Link shrugged “I guess so.”
Saria sighed “…I guess you’re not going to learn anything else today. It’s getting late too. Why don’t you go back home? I’d walk with you, but I have something I need to check in the temple. Tari will go with you.” Saria’s green fairy chimed around Link.
“Okay, goodnight Saria.” He waved at her disappearing among the trees following his friend’s fairy.
Saria smiled sadly “Goodnight…Link.” She turned around and shimmied up the tree into the temple.

As Link emerged from the final tree tunnel in the forest Tari left him behind back to find her mistress.

“Oh look, the fairyless wonder survived the forest!” A freckled Kokiri sneered at him his red fairy floating around him in lazy circles.
Link glared “Go away Mido! I was there with Saria!”
He realized his mistake in bringing up the girl immediately, but it was too late. Mido’s glare became even more resolute. “You left Saria alone in the forest!? You stupid brat! If it weren’t for the Great Deku Tree I would have kicked you out long ago for crap like this!” Mido ran into the Woods shouting “You BETTER be in bed by the time I get back!
“Saria can take care of herself Mido.” Link sighed tiredly.
Mido sneered. “Without her fairy? I’m going to go find her since you’re too much of a failure to stay by her side.” With a sneer on his face Mido disappeared into the woods.

As he made his way back to his tree house Link considered going to bed, but the encounter had left him too worked up. Besides it was only just starting to get dark. He grinned as he came up with an idea and ran to his secret place. It was a small clearing just by the entrance to the Lost Woods. It wasn’t reachable through the real entrance, but somehow still a part of it. He’d found the spot one time when Mido’s teasing had gone a bit too far.

He picked up one of the Deku sticks from where he’d hidden them under a bush, and gave it a few experimental swishes.
…
“All hail Link! Hero of the Forest!” said what Link imagined to be a Hylian a tall elongated creature. “He has saved us from all our foes!” the “Hylian” said putting a cape of leaves on Link.
“Link! I beg you! I’ll do anything to hang out with you!” A repentant looking Mido was kneeling at Link’s feet. “No. Well…maybe if you do whatever I say!”
Mido put his head down “Yes great Hero!”
“Oh Link!” Saria smiled at him “You’re the greatest!”
“Yeah!” Said a green fairy by his side “I’m so glad to be the companion to someone as cool as you!”
“Link! Another Kokiri called “I found another patch of Deku Babas!”
“Don’t worry!” He cried “Your hero will take care of it!” He unsheathed his mighty sword and swung at the villainous plants their blue buds snapping at him.
“Yay! Link!” Everyone cheered as he severed the sinuous stems. As he raised his sword for that final smack a resounding crack filled the clearing.

Link panting looked at the broken stick in his hands the rude awakening from his fantasy realm revealing how late it had become. The clearing was dark the moon fully out. Looking around Link realized how tired he was. Happy from his fantasy if tired, he walked back to the village and climbed the ladder into the tree he made his home. Not even bothering to undress he fell into bed into sleep.

He was standing in a field. It was raining. A white horse came galloping past him carrying a big person. A girl looked back at him blue eyes wide with fear. Behind them in pursuit a black horse with a very large person stopped just in front of Link He smirked like the devil and chuckled, and then everything went to flames.

“…link? Link. LINK! Get UP you lazy boy!”
A blue light with dragonfly wings began bouncing around Link hitting him a few times. Link twitched restlessly a couple of times.
“…geez.” The blue light floated a bit away and sighed “I can’t believe we’re relying on such a lazy boy.”
Link had woken up and started staring at her. On closer inspection inside the blue light seemed to be a tiny girl in a simple dress with her hair in a ponytail.
“Oh! Hello, I’m Navi. The Great Deku Tree has sent me to be your fairy companion. Now hurry! He has summoned you, and you don’t want to keep him waiting.
Link blinked sleepily “…Oh. Another dream? How disappointing…”
Navi twitched her wings folding together as she made a series of chirping noises “You think I’m what?!” She flew into his head hard enough to knock him back “There! Does that prove I’m not a dream to you lazy boy?
“Ow.” Link rubbed the spot where she hit. “That hurt.”
“Yes well, gods wait for no one. Let’s just get going already.” The fairy flew around impatiently.
Link got up and stretched. He was stiff from just falling asleep. Opening the front door of his tree house he blinked blearily.

“Linnnnnk!” A voice called. Still squinting from the sunlight he looked down. Saria was smiling and waving up at him. “Good morning.” She smiled. She did a double take as she noticed Navi. “Oh! I see you have your own fairy now! You’re a real Kokiri now! Do you want to go to the forest to practice more?”
Link grinned “I would love to!” He noticed Navi seemed to be looking at him disapprovingly. “But…I can’t. The Great Deku Tree has summoned me apparently. So I have to go.”
Saria looked disappointed for a minute “Oh…” but her expression quickly cheered up again. “But that’s great news! That means the Deku Tree is finally noticing you! If you need me I’ll be in the Sacred Grove. Since you have a fairy now you should be able to get there on your own.” She turned away and ran off.
Link looked a bit upset as he started climbing down the ladder of his tree house. Navi tried her best to console him a bit. “It’s alright Link…I’m sure it won’t take all day. You can finish with the Deku Tree and then play with your friend. Until then, follow me!”
Link shrugged and ran after the speeding blue light. He passed several of the Kokiri in the process, a few of the green-clad children turning to stare at him. Quickly he jumped across three stepping stones in succession and catching the blue rupee a Kokiri threw at him in admiration. He ran to the path leading to the Great Deku Tree, but slowed down and felt a chill go down his spine as he saw a familiar figure.
The other Kokiri turned to him with a sneer “Oh look it’s the fairyless wonder…” he trailed off as noticed Navi. “What? Well, whatever. I still refuse to acknowledge you as one of us. What are you doing here anyway?”
“I…” Link trailed off eyes downcast.
Navi jumped in “The Great Deku Tree has summoned him for an audience. Now out of the way, you’re blocking us!”
Mido glared “You expect to present yourself to the Great Deku Tree like that? You don’t even have a sword or shield. Get properly equipped and we’ll talk.”
Navi’s wings tightened “Why you…” She started to fly at Mido in an attempt to knock him out of the way, but his red fairy blocked her. He started speaking in the chiming language of the fairies.
“Look Navs…normally I wouldn’t care what you do, but this is my charge understand? You can’t do anything to him under my watch.”
Navi looked disgusted “Faren I don’t believe you! Ignoring the orders of the Deku Tree is treason!”
He sighed “Navi, just relax. It’s not like he’s saying you can’t go through at all. Just do what he says. It shouldn’t take you that long.
“But-The Deku Tree…!”
“He’s waited this long Navs. He can hang on a little longer.”
“Fine.” Navi sounded annoyed and switched back to Hylian “Let’s go Link.”
She fluttered back. Link shrugging followed her along the path.
“But Link...” she complained “Where are we going to find a sword and shield?”

A Kokiri boy with long bangs and a short ponytail jogged up to Link “Hey, my fairy told me what Mido did to you. That was really crappy. Since you have a fairy now, I guess I can tell you that deep in the training ground’s maze is rumored to be the Kokiri sword. If you could find it I’m sure not even Mido would argue about you being worthy to see the Deku Tree. So see you around I guess. By the way I’m Plahdee. If you need anything I’ll be around.” He walked off his violet fairy bobbing behind him.

Navi blinked “That was…interesting. Well I guess we’d better get to this maze then.”
Link nodded “Yeah. I think the shop sells shields, but I need to raise money first.” He ran to the forest maze a grinning Plahdee loitering by the entrance. “Link, what took you so long?”
“Slowpoke!” His light violet fairy trilled.
He looked at his fairy “Now be nice Deus.” He admonished. “Not everyone can be as gifted with speed as I.”
Plahdee walked with Link through the fenced area. “So as you’ve no doubt noticed before this is the training ground where we Kokiri do…well mostly pushups and stuff like that. Every once in awhile we just throw rocks at each other, or beat on one another with deku sticks. Morning Lori” He said the last to a tough looking Kokiri with her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail with a black fairy. She seemed to be practicing footwork. The girl grunted a greeting back to Plahdee.
“Now this” he gestured to a small hole in a stone wall “is the entrance to the maze where the Kokiri sword is said to reside. You’re going to have to crawl to fit.”
Nodding Link bent down and started wriggle through.
“Oh!” Plahdee yelled through the tunnel “And watch out for the boulders!”
/Boulders? Link thought. /What do boulders have to do with anything? He dusted himself off from the tunnel when Navi tinged in an alarmed fashion.
“LINK! MOVE!”
Without thinking he jumped forwards and looking behind him saw a massive boulder rolling where he just was.
“Link, that was too close. You have to be careful!” Navi chirped at him.
Link sighed feeling his heart rate slow down a little. Carefully he looked around the wall and ran to where the next crevice was. As he dodged the boulders he realized that it wasn’t really much of a maze as the boulders and crevices made his path fairly linear. Finally dodging the last boulder he wound up in a wider open area. A treasure chest sat on a stump.
“Link, that must be…” Navi trailed off in awe.
After catching his breath Link stepped forward and opened the chest. Reaching in the dim velvet lined exterior he felt his hands close around hard leather. Pulling it out into the light he examined the scabbard. It was a simple leather scabbard with the accompanying belt designed to go over the shoulder. It was adorned with the Kokiri symbol a swirl like design.
Link pulled out the blade by its bronze hilt. There was a blue and red gem as its sole decoration. It was short, but the perfect size for a child. He gave it a few experimental swings, and put it on.
“Wow!” Navi bounced up and down happily “You got the sword already! Now let’s get out of here.”
Link nodded “Definitely.” Running he made his way back out of the maze crawling the last bit. He was greeted by the site of Plahdee chatting with Lori.

“Link!” Plahdee smiled “Back already?”
Lori looked at him coldly “Fado wants to talk to you. You should go find her.”
Link scratched his head awkwardly at the hostility in her voice. Normally only Mido was so harsh when speaking to him. “Uh, ok. Bye.” He walked away mildly confused.

“Hey Link!” A Kokiri standing in front of Saria’s house tugging on a weed hailed him.
“What is it?” Link asked curiously. He was definitely being treated differently today.
“You got the Kokiri Sword? That’s great! Maybe you could help me out a little. Mido told Saria that he’d pull her weeds, but he’s busy guarding the path to the Great Deku Tree for some reason, so he’s making me do it instead. Now it’s tedious work with just my hands, but I bet you can do it really fast with that blade. I’ll pay you of course.”
Link shrugged “Not like I have anything better to do. I need money to pay for a shield anyway.” Link started hacking at the spiky plants, and soon enough Saria’s lawn was clear.
“Hey thanks!” The Kokiri grinned and handed Link a yellow rupee.
Link nodded “Of course, by the way have you seen Fado?”
“Yeah. I think she was at the end of the platforms. You know, the ones reachable off the top of Mido’s house?”
Link sighed “Yes I know the ones.”

Link trudged over to Mido’s house only to be hailed by yet another Kokiri.
“Hey could you help me with this? Mido’s making me pick the rocks out of his lawn.”
Link sighed “Fine.” Picking up the rocks he loaded them into the other Kokiri’s wheelbarrow.
“Thanks. I owe you one.” This time he got handed a red rupee for his troubles. The Kokiri ambled off with his wheelbarrow full of rocks.

Link sighed and made his way up the spiraling ramp to the roof of Mido’s house. Cautiously he stepped on to the wobbly wooden bridge. Keeping in the center he made his way to the first platform. Then steeling himself he walked across the river to the last platform. For his troubles he was greeted by a Kokiri with two puffs of blonde hair at the sides of her head grinning a creepy grin.
“Hello…Link. To have made it this far you must be a real man. I suppose you’ve earned the right to own this.” The girl handed Link a slingshot and a bag. “That’s a slingshot. You shoot things with it. They die. The bag contains deku seeds, the ammo for it.”
“Thank you Fado.” Link told her slightly unnerved.
“You’re welcome…Link.” With a giggle she got up and leaned up against him…pushing him into the water below. Spluttering Link swam to the shore. To his surprise he was right by the shop.

Walking in to the building he saw the abnormally short Kokiri at the counter. “Welcome. Say what you want.”
Link shrugged “A shield if you have one”
“If we have one? Why my good man we have the finest shields in all of Hyrule carved from the Deku trees very own bark! Imbued with the Kokiri symbol this fine piece of craftsmanship can be yours for the low, low price of 40 rupees!”
Grinning with relief Link dumped out his wallet and examined the contents. A red which was worth 20, a yellow which was worth 10, and finally the blue that was worth five. Link’s face fell as he realized he only had 35 rupees.
The shopkeeper looked at the meager pile “My good man, you’re coming up short. Don’t look like it’s the end of the world now. Go cut some grass and come back later. What do you even need it for anyway?”
Navi spoke up for Link “The Great Deku Tree summoned us, and without a shield Mido won’t let us pass.”
The shopkeeper’s expression changed, and his oink fairy whispered something in his ear. “Now that is a conundrum. It would practically be a sin for me to not let you have it. How about just this once I give you a five rupee discount?” Swiping Link’s money he handed him the deku shield. “…but remember you owe me.”
Link smiled broadly “Thank you so much.”
“Yeah!” Navi piped in “Thank you, thank you!”

Link grinned as he put on his new shield and ran out to where Mido was blocking the path. “Mido. I got the sword and shield.”
Mido paced around him examining his new equipment. “Ok…a deku shield that’s pretty standard and…is that THE Kokiri Sword? Good grief! Well, whatever…grumble, grumble I can’t believe you’re the favorite of both Saria, and the Great Deku Tree.” With that he moved out of the way.

Farin chimed to Navi “That wasn’t so bad was it? Besides if he couldn’t complete even so basic a task he’d hardly be up for what’s ahead.”
“…” Navi was quiet “I suppose…”

Link started cautiously making his way down the path to the Deku Tree. There were blue deku baba buds around him. He moved carefully as to not trigger the killer plants instincts to strike. However he stumbled and the plant quickly reared around knocking him down with the hard “head” Link pulled his sword and blindly stabbed at the carnivorous plant hitting it in the bud causing it to rear back.
“Link! Slice the stem!” Navi cried.
Slashing forward the plants bud was neatly severed from its stem. It fell revealing a deku stick and nut.
“Pick them up.” Navi ordered “They might come in handy later. Deku nuts make a flash on impact which can stun many monsters.”
“Sure Navi.” Link gathered them putting them in his bag.
Walking more cautiously Link made his way to the Deku Tree without further confrontation.

He was in awe as he walked into the Deku Tree’s Meadow. In the center was the Great Deku Tree himself, a huge tree that appeared almost to have bushy eyebrows and a mustache of all things.
“We’re here oh Great Deku Tree!” Navi chimed happily flying around it.
The tree slowly began to speak “Greetings…Navi…Link…you have been sleeping uneasily of late have you not?”
The overawed Link nodded too surprised to speak.
“There is a great evil on the horizon. It is only natural that it would disturb those sensitive to such things. I’m afraid the Evil has already struck here. He has laid a death curse upon me. Link, I implore thee to climb inside me to free me of my curse. Afterwards I will explain everything.”
With that the mighty tree stretched open it’s maw to allow the young hero entrance.
Cautiously Link went inside the dark cave. The first thing that greeted him were sticky threads. Blindly flailing around he stumbled forward until he felt the ground underneath him give way. Screaming he fell for what seemed like a very long time into water below. Flailing in the water he finally got most of the sticky gray material off. Spider webs…/suddenly he had a terrible thought Spiders eat bugs./. “Navi!” He cried “NAVI! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine Link.” She admonished floating down beside him. “Link, we must be underneath the Great Deku Tree!” She floated around her luminescence Link’s only source of light. “Hey! Here’s a tunnel.”
Paddling through the chilly water Link made his way to where Navi was waiting. After going through the tunnel he found himself in a large cave lit with torches. There were more spider webs along the walls. Crawling onto land he shivered as he caught his breath.

“Look out!” Navi cried.
Link jumped up and felt something hard hit him in the side where his head had been a moment before. His attackers were three Deku Scrubs plant creatures with wooden bodies and leaves on their heads. They had blowgun like mouths which the used to shoot Deku Nuts.
“Link…shield!” Navi advised pointing out a scrub.
Complying Link pulled his wooden shield off his back and hunkered down. He felt the first nut hit, and he winced as he pushed back on the shield. He heard a clunk and the middle scrub collapsed squeaking. The next one to fall was the one on the far right. His arm aching from the impacts Link prepared for the final strike…but it never came. “
“We surrender!” cried the last standing deku scrub from in front of him. “Qu-queen Gohma’s weak spot is her eye! Please let us go without further torture!”
Slightly surprised Link nodded. “Ok…”
“I’m sorry Queeny!” The Deku Scrub yelled before he and his brothers burrowed back into the ground.
“…that was…different…” Navi sighed “Oh well, I guess we’re almost to this ‘Queen Gohma’ character. From all the webs I’m guessing she’s a spider…”
Link looked around “Navi, is it just me or does there seem to be a passage behind this web?”
Navi flew by Link and examined the area. “There’s definitely something behind it…but how do we break through?”
Staring at it for a few minutes Link took out a Deku Stick.
“I don’t think hitting it with a stick is going to help Link…”
Link ignored her and stuck the end of the stick into the fire until it caught.
“A…torch? But we can already see, and it’s not like you can take it through the water.”
Link stuck the burning edge of the torch into the spider web. It caught like tissue paper going up in flames.
Navi flew back startled “You…you utter pyromaniac! What’s the deal!?”
Link grinned “It cleared the way.”
“Well…I guess…”

Link shrugged and went through the now open tunnel. In the middle of it he heard a metallic scratching.
“Navi, what’s that?”
Navi looked confused “What’s what?”
“The source of the noise.”
“What noise?”
“The scratching…never mind found it.” He said as his eyes adjusted to the gloom revealing a large shiny spider.
“Found what?” Navi cried in frustration.
Link lifted up his leg and brought his boot down squishing the spider. It disappeared as it died leaving a skull shaped golden token in its place.
“Link, a token just appeared where you stomped!”
“Navi, you really couldn’t see the spider?”
“There was a spider? …I guess some curses are invisible to fairies…”
“Well not like there’s anything you can do about that.”

At the end of the tunnel it expanded again into another spider web filled cave. A disgusting pulsing sound could be heard. A few round things fell with a plop.
Navi stared “Are those…eggs?”
Link looked up at the ceiling and saw a large glowing red eye. As he noticed it the eye stared at him and the creature fell and roared. The colossal spider was taller then he was! Running out of its way as it made its way back up the wall Link desperately kicked and slashed at the baby spiders. He looked around for the monster.
“Up here Link!” Navi cried circling the monster hanging from the top of the cavern.
Hurriedly Link drew the slingshot he’d gotten from Fado and shot it in the eye. It fell down stunned on the ground. Drawing his sword he impaled it in the eye. It died screeching as green black flames burned its body into nothing. A blue light shone.
“Good work Link!” Navi said “The blue light should take us back to the entrance. She flew towards it “So whenever you’re ready…”
Breathless from his battle Link stumbled into the portal. He felt himself floating and then he saw nothing but blue for a minute before being gently deposited in front of the Great Deku Tree.

The Deku Tree began to speak “Thank you Link, Navi. I will now tell you about the evil man who placed the death curse upon me…Ganon, the king of Evil is a dark thief from the West. He desires to place all of Hyrule, nay the world under his influence! However if he continues to gain power it will not end well for anybody except the monsters he controls. Link, Navi go to the Princess of Destiny, Princess Zelda in Hyrule Castle, and take her the object that man was willing to kill me to get…take the Kokiri Emerald!” With that last phrase a sparkling green gem set in a golden swirl floated down from its branches into Link’s hand.
“You…fought valiantly…however…it was too…late for me…before you began….go..od…bye…na…vi…” With those last few words all the color drained from the Deku Tree and he died.
“GREAT DEKU TREE!!” Navi yelled swirling around it desperately.

At that worst of times Mido decided to come charging in “What is this racket about!?” He saw the Deku Tree “WHAT DID YOU DO!?” His eyes narrowed as he registered the scene. “That’s it. Get out of this forest. You are not welcome here anymore.”

In shock from the days events Link just followed orders. As he dazedly made his way out all of the other Kokiri stared at him in stunned surprise. Even the one who normally guarded the way out just stared.
He was halfway across the bridge out of the forest when he heard a familiar voice “…wait.”
Saria was looking at him sadly. “I made this for you…before you go take it please…”
Staring into her eyes Link saw sorrow he hoped he would never know, and things words didn’t exist to say. Ultimately however being a child Link took the proffered ocarina and ran away with tears in his eyes not even understanding why he wanted to break down and cry.
Saria watched him go until he disappeared in the distance.