Should've Been Lily [Eevachu + Chaos James][Skyreach]

Rika circled the Moldermaw as Nicholas began to attack, attempting to move out of the way of the monster before it fell on and flattened the Kokiri. As Nicholas's powerful, flame-soaked fist collided with the monster's hind leg, the unmovable spire launched itself from the wood below, piercing the Moldermaw's leg and causing it to fall forward onto its knees, its body lurching partially over the side of the tower. Grabbing the small pouch containing the Ignition Powder, Rika shouted at Nicholas, "Now!"

Swinging his arm forward, Rika slashed at the air in front of him. As he did so, a few pockets of Ignition Powder flung out from the pouch's opening, scattering through the air and meeting Nicholas's as they collided with the monster. A furious explosion of force was unleashed as the monster was thrust forward, its body sliding off the edge of the tower. Rika and Nicholas were thrown backwards and on their feet due to the power of the force, the monster letting out a powerful, bellowing cry as it fell.

Rika clenched his head in pain, slowly crawling over to the edge to see the monster sinking further and further down the tower, until eventually it hit the ground with a resounding crash. The air was silent for a few moments as Rika stared down, as if he were trying to examine the remains of the creature. The tower still stood, so it certainly was not alive, right? Tension filled the air, and Rika could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand as he anxiously waited for something- anything- to happen. If his plan had failed, then the monster was surely unbeatable.

Suddenly, the entire tower started to vibrate wildly. Walls started to crash and dissolve, trees started to vanish, and the very tower they stood on was disappearing. Rika ran over to Nicholas, shouting with a voice filled with panic, "The tower is collapsing!" Rather quickly, the ground below them crumbled away and dissolved, leaving them falling, almost sky diving from extremely high into the air. It was an unfortunate predicament, but the tower had completely vanished from sight, the only thing remaining below them being a wide, leveled plain about the width of the tower.

Despite the poor situation the three of them were in, one thing was clearer than it had it had ever been; that the tower- no, the evil- that had tainted the Kokiri Forest was no more.

--- Skyreach Part 2 END
(To be concluded in Should've Been Lily - The Aftermath)​

A wave of relief washed over Rika as his eyes bore witness to what occurred. As he fell, it was like an ocean of purity crashed onto Kokiri Forest, purifying the evil within. The sickening miasma hanging over the forest began to disperse as the thick, body-sucking swamp-lands began to revert back to normal. While the damage that had been dealt was not undone- parts of the forest were still ruined, and many Kokiri and Deku Scrub lives had been lost to the widespread epidemic-, the forest itself was still reverting to how it once was. As Rika neared about one-hundred feet away from the ground, his feet pressed off the air once again. As if stopping his trajectory, the Kokiri pushed off, slowly beginning a declining glide forward. Soon enough, his toes touched the ground; not an artificial tower, or a deep puddle of swamp water, but the Kokiri soil he knew oh so well. He never thought he'd be so happy to be here.

As he landed, he began to take in his surroundings at a more regular pace; the sun had fallen, meaning they had been in the tower for roughly an entire day. It hadn't felt exactly like a day, but one's perception of time can become warped while scaling a gargantuan living tower. That was when Rika realized Nicholas was not by him. Shit, he couldn't leave that idiot alone for one second. He probably decided to wander off on his own; didn't he know anything about the Kokiri Forest? Even if he wasn't being tricked by the magical protection the forest possessed, there was no way he'd be able to find his way back on his own, and instead he would be endlessly trapped in a layer of trees, doomed to become a Stalfos or some other horrible abomination; thinking about it, the fact that he ended up in the forest at all was surprising. Though, knowing Nicholas, he was just the type of guy to end up accidentally wandering into Kokiri Village while something like that was happening.

With a snap of his fingers, a small spark turned into a whisp that swirled into a floating purple orb of flames, levitating gently across from Rika's shoulder. "Nicholas!" Rika called out, trying to get the Hylian's attention. "Get over here unless you want to die! Come to the fire!" Rika finished, grabbing at the orb and waving it around to get his attention. He would certainly be able to see the light in this light level, though that was if he was paying attention at all, which Rika held doubts about.

Rika let out a light sigh of relief as he saw Nicholas approach in the distance. It would have been bad if he had gotten lost again. "Yeah," Rika replied with a somewhat tired tone, "For now we'll head back to the village. We can rest there, and I'm sure there will still be monsters that need exterminating or repairs that need to be done." Rika answered, though he expected Nicholas to collapse at the mere thought of doing more work. Truth be told, Rika was feeling rather similarly; the excursion through the tower had left him completely drained, physically, and he wanted to do nothing more than collapse and sleep right now. He could feel the hunger biting at his stomach, and though it wasn't severe, he definitely required nourishment soon after what he had been through. They couldn't just yet, however, not in the middle of the forest. "Anyway, just follow me, it's not that far of a walk."

. . .

They hadn't really been walking for that long of a time. Though he witnessed it change with his very own eyes, Rika was still amazed by how drastically the forest around him had changed. They were actually making far more progress than before, despite moving at a slower speed, as they weren't inconvenienced by the terrain or life living within the forest. In fact, they seemed to encounter little to nothing in the way of life, though whether that was due to the lack of it or another reason altogether was unknown. Perhaps Rika had been understating it when he said it was 'not that far of a walk', as they had certainly been walking for some time. The sun was beginning to rise, its golden glow shining just over the cusp of the sky, the moon beginning to make its descent as well. It had evidently been late-night when they first exited the tower, though that was soon to change.

"Finally, we're here." Rika complained, as the duo broke through another layer of trees to view wooden housing not too far off. Finally, he was home, and it was his home. It was eerily quiet, as the scurrying of combat, ravaging Mad Scrubs, or other vile forces was oddly absent. The Kokiri were likely asleep still, so perhaps the monsters were too? Rika wondered for a moment what would befall the Mad Scrubs; would they revert to their original forms, free of the horrid curse placed upon them, or would they be doomed to insanity for the rest of their waking hours?

Rika stiffened up a bit. "Yeah. . . Well. . . " He muttered, his usual demeanor withdrawing somewhat. "There's the Great Deku Tree. . . He's like, my f-father. . ." Rika tensed as his mouth trailed the words father a couple times, his voice nervous. "Well. . .I uh, have to go check on the village itself. I know the village far better, so I can do that. You should go talk to the Great Deku Tree instead. Ask any Kokiri you see, they will know!" He hastily commanded, running off before Nicholas could deject his idea or offer any sort of retort.

The Kokiri ran a few paces away before ducking behind a house. He stopped, his back leaning against the partially collapsed structure. His chest heaved up and down, his body heaving up and down. Glancing down, he brought his quaking hands to his face, placing them gently on his face. He hoped Nicholas wouldn't follow. He stood in silence for a few moments, his trembling slowly coming to a slow as there was no sign of the Hylian- whether out of respect, ambivalence, or something else entirely, he had not pursued the Kokiri. Finally, his body began to stop as he became more aware of his movements- even the mere thought shook him at his very core, didn't it? He was truly pathetic, even at this point.

Well, regardless, he would have to do his part, which meant fulfilling what he said he would do to Nicholas. For now, he would head back to his home and check on the state of Wollo. Perhaps Viole- or even Bapi- would be there watching over the Octorok, and he could receive an update about the state of the village in the last twenty-four hours since he left.

. . . The village seemed oddly quiet. There wasn't anything that particularly stood out about it being quiet, but simply due to the carnage that it had faced, it was quiet. He could see the ruins of what once was, but there were no longer any monsters or crazed mad scrubs attacking its parts. What Rika and Nicholas had done accomplished something then, at least. That was the one fear in Rika's mind- what if, after destroying the tower, the status of the village had gone completely unchanged? He doubted that would be the case, but the idea still haunted him. So, seeing the idea at least partially thrown away made him feel genuinely happy.

In short time, Rika had arrived at his house. Leaping onto his balcony and entering, Rika was immediately met by a huddle. "Rika!" He heard a Kokiri girl call out, as Viole tackled him and embraced him in a hug. Wollo rushed to his side, and the Deku swarmed him as well. "Ah, mister sir, we're so happy you've returned safely!" They cried out.

"I'm so happy you made it back!" Viole cried, clenching at him for a moment before letting go. Rubbing Wollo on the head, Rika glanced over at Viole. "Is. . . everything fine here?" He asked somewhat cautiously. She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes, everything's fine! And. . ." As she paused, a fairy darted out from out of her hair. "Rika!" The small creature called out. "Thank you so much for saving me! I've told Viole all about how you rescued us!" It took Rika a brief moment, but he realized what she meant. "You were in the tower?" He quizzed.

"Yes, this is. . .my fairy, Brixy. She was taken during the attack, and. . . thank you so much, Rika." Viole choked out her words as she held back her tears.

"The other scrubs have calmed down, too, sir mister!" One of the Deku Scrubs called out. "It seems you defeated whatever was causing them to go crazy!" Rika already had a suspicion that was the case, but hearing it be confirmed was still nice.

"Then. . .I suppose it's over." Rika couldn't help but grin and start laughing. He had really done it. He had saved Kokiri Forest.