The Ebony Portal and the Colossus Arm [Skyreach Dungeon]

((Continued from Part 1))

Lucia ran to the Great Deku Tree, she needed to say something. She scratched her head nervously. Was Ganon really the source of these dark branches? Why was it turning against everything? But it was already too late to ask these questions. The music had begun once more to maintain the health of the guardian. Lucia was disappointed, she couldn't even ask him if he was going to be okay. It was a girl's worst nightmare. Her father was ill and could not even speak to her.

The alien power in the woods. . . if the all-knowing tree said it was Ganon, it must be true. Lucia bit her fingers in dismay. That Ganon could have this kind of power, it shook her and froze her down to her soul. How would they get through that fog? How would they enter that place? The questions bombarded Lucia and filled her with unease. Usually she knew all the answers, but this was something that could not be studied.

Looking to Julius, she was suddenly filled with courage. Lucia realized that she could know all about the matter if she was the first one to study it. There was another explosive blare of a horn in the woods. Now she was fully determined to go out and destroy that thing. That was how they would survive and navigate to the massive arm. They could just follow that irritating horn deep in the woods. It was tricky but probably worth a shot. Lucia motioned to bring Julius back out of the clearing.

"You have a fairy now. I believe we can navigate these woods. You're going to have to trust me when I say this. The only way to survive and get into that spiny tower. . . is to follow that loud horn. I didn't believe it at first, but it looks like Ganon's army really is responsible for all of this. That creature out there knows everything about this growing pile of horrors. The pack of Lynels out there knows the secret of that tower. We can combine our senses and navigation abilities to reach the sound. We may have to kill a few Lynels but we can get inside that insidious colossal monstrosity. Let's go kick some Deku nuts."

It was clear that the danger was getting worse. The fog was thick and toxic feeling in Lucia's throat. There wasn't much time. Even the Deku Tree wouldn't survive if it got much worse. There was another mixture of loud noises in the woods. This was their only chance to face it head-on. Their fairies swirled about in the air as Lucia stretched and got limber for the impending run.

"Lynels... know anything about them, Lexi?" Julius queried to the fairy. Perhaps she knew a bit about monsters and lore, but frankly, he doubted it.

"Those are the lion-headed dudes with the horse bodies!" The small sphere of softly glowing green light shouted in response. So, it seemed she did know a bit. Let's test her a little more, Julius thought for a moment, wanting to get a total grasp on what he was up against. He had seen pictures and heard myths; there were even brief mentions of them in Xerxes's journal, yet none of them detailed exactly what they were capable of.

"Their more precise abilities include being able to breathe fire at their enemies. They're also pretty formidable in close combat, but nothing you won't be able to handle, I'm sure~" she chamted, flying around his helmet as they followed the blaring horns of the warband. Gradually, they travelled from the Great Deku Tree's clearing back into the wilder, untamed, and no doubt dangerous parts of the forest.

Their journey continued. One step turned to ten; ten to fifty; on and on. The smaller, weaker creatures of the forest hid, intimidated not by their presence, but by something more malevolent...it became more obvious than it had ever been before; something wicked was at work. All around him, he could feel the presences of forest creatures; dozens of lives around him, and the sensations they returned to him chilled him to the bone. Every hair on his body stood on end, his senses being overpowered by a strong force that suddenly swept over the area. Thick, black fog surrounded the immediate area; five presences, if not more, suddenly surrounded them. It was too hard to tell where each individual was, though it seemed they formed a pentagon. They closed in; a barrage of spear attacks poked at him from behind, and though he turned in time to barely evade a powerful thrust directly towards his helmet, several others pierced through the smoke. It was too dark! Even Julius couldn't fight what he couldn't see... or could he? He closed his eyes. Lexi began shouting, yelling at him to act. He focused his energy into his blade once more, threating objects flying through the smoke. His blade began to pulse with a bright radiance. "Lucia, hit the deck!" He yelled, a wave a force slicing into anything it collided with. Cries of pain came from three different directions; excellent, he thought. He could tell where they exactly were more clearly now. Red-orange leaves, sticky with sap, fell to the ground as it became obvious who their aggressors were: Mad Scrubs.

"They look more like lion-bodies to me." Lith replied.

"Shut up we already said horse bodies, we can't go back on it now. The tails don't all look like horse or lion tails, let's just say they're all chimeras and call it a day." Lucia growled while swatting at her fairy.

But it was too late to argue. The long journey took them back into the woods. Lucia knew it to be true, the fog was making the air harder to breathe in. The closer to that tower they got the harder it became. She tried to cover her mouth but she didn't have a garment capable of filtering the air. Out of all the days to wear her sleeveless shirt, this was probably the worst one of all. She made a mental note to get someone to make her a new outfit later.

She had been walking in front of him. Lucia was still caught up and distracted with her breathing to even notice at first. Julius was being pelted from behind and turned to meet the attack. Lucia held her boomerang was close to her chest. The enemy was close, and gaining. Red eyes and swirling leaves came out of the black fog. Drooling and blood-thirsty Mad Scrubs poured out around them. It was then that Lucia turned with Julius. She didn't entirely see his actions, but she was sure to try to help him. There was a hesitation in her arms as she tried to spot the enemies. The fog made it hard to count them, but there was around five.

Lucia tripped and landed in the dirt. She saw a nut coming at her, and had moved back. A root had tripped her leg and pulled her down not long after she finally threw her boomerang. It whacked against the head of a Mad Scrub but did minimal damage. The weapon swirled back in the air and swooped down to return to Lucia. The wooden device embedded into the soft earth near her head, almost cutting her face. At that point Lucia realized her ability to fight wouldn't help in this fog. Only her navigation would be very useful. She left it up to Julius to cover her and stop the projectile bombardment.

The dark haze dissipated, softening into soft, grey tufts, which then faded entirely into the already dangerous atmosphere. Five Mad Scrubs definitely surrounded them. A pair of them were actually armed; brandishing two somewhat primitive spears, though still crudely constructed of iron. A harsh blow of the horn resounded throughout the forest, shaking the surrounding foliage. Everyone, even their aggressors, stood completely still for just a moment, listening. Three bursts of sound, then silence.

Looking into their bright orange eyes, Julius saw fear take a strangle hold of the scrubs, an intense wailing being faintly heard from quite a ways away.

Then their motions began again, uninterrupted. A barrage of Deku Nuts and jabs from their lances assaulted Julius all at once. One spear fell against his his shield; the other, parried by his glistening blade as he fell into a riposte, hacking away a decent amount of his bark-like body. One nut collided into the back of his cuirass, turning into two, then three. There was a decent amount of sting, but nothing he hadn't experienced before. The flash was easier to deal with; having faced Deku Scrubs many times before, he simply shut his eyes tight, feeling them impact hard into his back, even with his armor protecting him.

He took a dive onto the slick forest floor, his own weight and speed propelling him towards the spear-armed scrubs. His armor collided with a rock, harsh scraping sounds rattling the ears of those involved, as he continued towards the Scrubs at a decent pace. Soon, he was biting their heels, lifting his blade as he stopped mere inches from their stomachs...or at least, where their stomach would be, were they Hylians. His blade plunged itself deep into the orange-leaved kook's wooden abdomen, carrying his speed, weight, and force with it. Carrying his body up with his blade, he totally pierced its flimsy, wood body, and with a vicious force withdrew his blade, the wooden body of the other's spear snapping as thought it were a twig...which wouldn't be inaccurate to say, given it appeared to be made from an assortment of locally found materials, save its iron head.

With an almost effortless stroke of his blade, a slash cut deep into the chest of the Scrub, trailing up to his neck as sap began to flow from his wounds. As far as Julius was concerned, this was awful; sap is tremendously difficult to clean properly! As their final armed compatriot fell to the ground, bleeding severly, the other scrubs decidedto simply burrow into the earth again, realizing there was nothing more they could do against the armored goliath.

Staring at his blade for a moment, Julius sighed, aggravated. "We're safe, but this sap is definitely going to affect my sword's edge for a while," he spoke, having already pulled a dirtied cloth from aside its leather scabbard, mopping up with it what he could of the sticky resin.

There was a cough from the ground. Lucia picked herself up and wiped the muck off her face. The ground. . . it was getting wetter and stickier the further they went. A couple more explosive rounds of the horn told Lucia that they should keep following the noise. As she stood back up she noticed the Mad Scrubs' smoke attack had subsided. That meant they would have to be pursued to have their vision entirely obscured by them. It was hard enough to see with the mist and fog this tower was giving off. From the increasingly wet ground, Lucia knew it was coming from some kind of marsh.

The poisonous mists were becoming less of a bother visually as they were more restricting on respiration at this point. Lucia looked back up at the sky to be sure of the weather. The sun was but a dim pepperoni slice on the dark pizza that was now the sky. The boots of the two travelers became truly wet as a purply-brown hazy fluid deepened around their determined feet. A crack of thunder clattered out from nearby. Lucia looked around, shocked. The stony Julius seemed much less shaken up by the noise. With a wayward gaze and a falsetto shriek Lucia saw a wiry, chunky set of tendrils rising from the soft earth.

The massive roots of varying thickness cracked and popped under their own weight. Their very movement had caused the thunder. High above and in center of the two: a grisly warning to turn back. A small body hung impaled on the sharp ends of the roots. Their impervious husk was a taunt at the pair. A reminder that they couldn't scratch this abysmal tree. A sickly morbid fluid dripped from above. Lucia thought she would cry at any second, her childish face twisting up in dread.

"JUUUULLLIIIEhhhehgh!" Lucia wailed and clawed at Julius's boots.

Aldo's body was no longer anything but a bleeding husk. His once-silly face; a round and quirky leaf, hung torn from his rapidly decaying body. Lucia had seemingly lost it completely at this sight. Her gaunt nose and mature glasses no longer held any testament to her wisdom. Every calm feature of her had vanished as she ran from the twisting arms of the gigalithic abomination. The taps of her legs on the mud became splatters as she sunk deeper into the marsh. Her quick feet outsped the tired Julius and she was soon a hundred feet from him. In panic, she tossed her boomerang out behind her.

The wooden instrument pathetically splashed into the water in some random location lacking in any accuracy. There was a loud, audible gasp and wheeze from under the water. Out of the toxic gunk erupted a massive ephemeral figure. Lucia stopped in her tracks, tears gushing from her face. There was a deep and calming womanly moan that rang throughout the woods. But the figure before her had already been perverted by the gnarly menace. Another gasp and wheeze followed as she cleared her throat.

The Great Fairy of this part of the forest hovered before Lucia and Julius. Her head was lopsided, a swollen amassment of her gleaming flesh straining her eye had been roughly the size of a basketball. Her right forearm appeared to be bent at a right-angle as she lifted it to greet the heroes. Her dress was torn at a seam near her thigh, showing a mess of varicose veins pulsating beneath her soft, ghostly skin. Around her feet was nothing more than a trailing ribbon of her skirt spiraling around until it touched the water. Then her hair, her beautiful hair was thin and stringy. . . on the side that wasn't completely bald. Her second and third arm rose to meet her bent one. In them was a boomerang.

"My poor children. It was you who cast this into my fountain. It's . . . cough. . . not much to look at anymore. You've come to fix this plague, haven't you? There's no time for poetry then. Pardon, but you may have thought you dropped that trusty but worn thing into here. What you really dropped was this one, which I will give back to you. No need to thank me, the creatures inside that twisted machine will be difficult to face even with this weapon in hand. My prayers are that you succeed." the Great Fairy wheezed whimsically. She blew the boomerang on a swirling gust over to Lucia's hands.

The tool was now embellished with a swirling wing on each side. The surface, an enamel-like coating of mint green accompanying the silver wings and a beetle-shaped gem inlay at the apex. The center of each swirl and the inlay were strangely hollow, as if something might fit there. This enhanced device was pulsing with a swirling energy akin to what had whisked it over to her hands. Just then, the roots caught up with them. Lucia tossed the enhanced weapon with ferocity.

Her throws did not seem to get the weapon out of her hands at first. After three tosses her hand was finally empty. With a look up, it seemed that she had tossed three of the very same weapon. The Gale Boomerang soared around thrice, disengaging the outstretched arms and freeing the corpse of Aldo. The Korok's body was caught on the wind and leveraged over back to Lucia's arms with the weapon. She was not yet sure what was happening.

"Worry not, child. This heroic soul has worked so hard to save us. It is not too late for my powers to bring him back to us." the Great Fairy sang softly. She blew into a lotus flower, releasing the petals onto a breeze that took them to Aldo. The black roots shriveled and dislodged as Aldo's body repaired itself before Lucia's eyes. The Korok was not yet conscious, but seemed to be alive again. The cries of the green beast shattered the air high above. That thing was enraged.

"I will care for this one. Now go and stop this blight, Lucia. Step forth, Julius, and take my blessing."

Julius approached the Great Fairy, undoubtedly both disgusted and disturbed by her vile, warped form. Lexi hovered a short distance behind him, shuddering from her repulsive form. An eye popped out of its socket as she begam to speak, coughing, wheezing amd gasping, the bog's affect apparent, "Brave warrior...for the upcominhhhh." She began to choke, gagging on the very air around her, descending to the ground as she began to vomit a greenish mess, splattering all across the tainted waters. The stench was so bad that Julius's eyes began to water; Lexi rang out like an alarm, "Good heavens!" Fluttering to the Great Fairy's shoulder, she rested there attempting to help as the bile kept pouring from her mouth. "Julius, help!" The fairy rang again, sparking Julius into action.

He hastily shuffled the short distance between them, as he began to lift her from the ground, attempting to stabilize her body on his arms. Eventually, the bile ceased its flow, turning into dry heaves. The sound alone was almost enough for him to begin vomiting. He managed to hold off, thankfully, as the once-graceful being began to regain her composure, beginning to float upwards once again.

"Pardon me...the vile, toxic nature of this place makes it difficult for me to sustain myself. However, I pray my troubles will soon end. Take these," she said, manifesting a blue-grey cape. Examining it closer, it appeared to have a beige colored crest emblazoned upon it. Upon unfolding the cape, what seemed to be a hawk's feather floated to the ground, landing gently at his feet as he fastened the cape into place, seemingly custom-tailored to him exactly. It fit perfectly with his armor. He glanced at his feet briefly, noticing the feather. He glanced back at the disfigured entity.

"Go on. Take it," she uttered, her womanly voice echoed through the remains of the forest as it morphed into a disfigured, toxic swamp. "When the time comes-" she began, quickly interrupted by hooves rapidly beating against the swampy muck, squishes and squashes resounding all about as a pair of lion-bodied, lion-headed centaurs broke through the tree line, stirring up leaves and mud into small vortexes all around them as they landed directly in front of the two of them.

"Julius, those are Lynels!" Lexi spoke, hushed as they examined their bodies. A wild, orange mane proudly decorated one's neck, trailing to the spine of his horse-like body, hooves and all, even covering large amounts of its otherwise bare chest. In its human arms, it held a menacing scimitar, wrought from steel. Its blade curved sharply into a crescent shape, appearing very capable of tearing flesh and rending even the toughest of armors. To complete the creature's deadly ensemble, it glew a bright orange. Its companion was notably unarmed, with a mottled mane, similar to a cheetah's fur. The orange-maned one began to speak in a loud, pompous voice, "Tailin' us ain't the smartest idea, mates. Neck 'em!"

Immediately, he set his sights on the most vulnerable member of their pair: the young Kokiri girl from the village they'd just finished raiding. He let out a loose, mind-numbing cackle, sounding more like a hyena than horse or lion, and began stampeding towards Lucia. His demented giggling continued, his scimitar seeming to burn the air around it; you could smell it, it was so hot. Fifty feet had been narrowed to ten. Julius was already in place, his shield raised as a powerful slice impa ted into his shield, the sudden obstruction of such a strong blow causing the lion-man to stumble a bit. It was clear they were fighting to kill.

Rustling, to a particularly observant combatant, could be heard from behind the Lynels, however, as it currently stood, the wailing in the distance mixed with the blares of the war horn made it almost impossible to single out. The mottled-maned Lynel slowly began pacing around the group, seeming to not be nearly as adept at combat as its partner; however, it was sure to knows spells and the like.

The bastards were not going for the clear threat, it seemed to Lucia. A group of barbarians like this didn't have any semblance of a morality to stop them from going for the weakest defense first. That's how Lucia realized the real fight had already begun. As if it wasn't enough with the Stalfos in the village, now Lucia knew she had to stand up and fight. Not just for everyone else, but for herself.

Lucia jumped back as Julius took the hit for her. She threw her boomerang twice, thumping the Lynel's body curiously as the twirled the air around them. A third throw popped him in the face while Lucia stepped back slowly. She was preparing to catch the main body of the boomerang, while at the same time planning a strategy. She examined the beastly man, devising a layout of his ability to give Julius.

"Lynel infantry. He and his comrades are solid all around. One alone will take many attacks to stop, their defense is stronger around the arms. Any given Lynel is known to be proficient with their flaming breath and sword-projected waves. They run fast too."

With even basic knowledge about these creatures alone, it spelled a miserable flavor of trouble for the guard and his client. This kind of enemy laughed at strategy, challenging fighting prowess almost exclusively. The one with the cheetah-mane spewed a fireball at Julius. Though this was the kind of attack Julius was geared for, Lucia would be at deadly risk if she entered his fire-breath range. She kept running, making the distance between herself and Julius wider. This was a horrible misjudgement. Only Julius could hear where the rustling was coming from. Before any kind of warning could reach her, the archer squad took aim.

A hail of arrows twanged from deep in the bushes. Lucia stopped when she heard the strings reverberate. She tossed her gale boomerang to answer the attack. The cloud of around seven arrows was met with a small twister, rerouting them all in different directions or sending them to the ground entirely. Lucia dove, one of the arrows sped by and sliced open her arm. There was a yelp of pain, Lucia caught her boomerang this time as she fell to the dirt. Out in the brush was a pair of bow-armed Lynels and five other Bokoblins of the same type.

Realizing perfectly well she needed to bandage her arm, Lucia knew the strategic option would be to stop them from firing again. She tossed her boomerang multiple times into the sniper nest to cause discord amongst the soldiers of Ganon. Some of them dropped their weapons as the twister ripped through their arms and tangled them up. The Lynels exhibited a much better grasp on their weapons with their herculean strength. These two grey-maned beasts stumbled a bit as the swirling winds blew over them. Lucia pulled yet another strap of cloth out of her backpack. She was really starting to run out of bandages because of this outing. She tied the cloth tightly around the small gash on her left arm.

The boomerang fit neatly in her backpack as Lucia shakily readjusted her position. A little further from the squad was all she needed. With the quill and infinite novel fresh out of her pack, she started writing fast.

With a rip of the paper this shield grew in front of her in time for the arrows to begin falling again. This shield was too ridiculous to carry around but it was perfect to hold over her head as a bombardment wall. Arrows snapped across the surface of the large white L. Lucia began to think she really needed a better strategy if it had come to this. She started to think of another plan as she allowed the great piece of wood and metal to lean on her back.

A single burst of flame spewed forth from the creature's maw, launching itself at a ravenous speed towards Julius. Funnily enough, his sword wasn't just for show; its silver gleam was the same as a Mirror Shield, allowing him to effortlessly parry spells directed at him.

A single sword stroke; the flame easily gliding off his blade with no significant force or impact. It flew back in the same direction as its caster; however the Lynel was simply too fast for Julius to keep up with, or even the spell, as it nicked him at almost breakneck speeds. A whinny of slight pain escaped from Cheetah-Mane, as Lexi flew about the battlefield, attempting to not be struck by a stray spell or arrow. The galloping of hooves continued, the orange-mane's maniacal laughter ramping up again as he stampeded toward the Kokiri girl again. "Julius!" His fairy friend shouted, gaining his attention toward the two, as the Lynel shouted, "You can't hide under there forever!" His laughter continued all the while. You couldn't spell slaughter without laughter, and this particular Lynel couldn't spell at all unless he had just gutted someone. He continued slashing at the shield haphazardly, beginning to tear away at its cast iron top of the shield. A satisfied snort sounded from his nose, "Surprise!"

Another projectile was launched from Cheetah-Mane. A sphere of concentrated darkness had manifested at the openong of his maw, and before Julius could react, it impacted into the side of his cuirass. Briefly, he was terrified, memories flooding into his mind. The smell of ashes on the wind cascaded into his nostrils. For a moment, it seemed as though he was in that moment again: the flaming wagon, the bodies of his compatriots stained with their own blood as each lay there, dead or dying, each one gasping and crying for his name as they stared Death in the face.

He snapped out of it within ten seconds. Cold, clammy sweat had begun to drip down his body. The burning sensation of the acidic, toxic fog filled his lungs. His eyes filled with anger, with hate, at the Lynels, but there wasn't any time for him to react, the release of bowstrings resounded again, though far fewer in number thanks to Lucia. Am arrow collided with his armor, though thankfully it panged off harmlessly. The other didn't seem to be targeted at him; no, instead, it flew towards Lucia. It collided into the massively broken shield, though Julius couldn't tell where it had landed with Orange-Mane's massive, powerful body blocking most of his view of Lucia.

"Help her!" Lexi rang into his ears, like an alarm waking him from a deep slumber. He sprang to life like a wind-up toy, sprinting towards Orange-Mane, his blade poised to strike. A shimmering sphere of icy-blue cold collided past his left arm, a thick layer of frost coating his outer plating. At the all too familiar sensation of cold, he leaped. It was a tremendous leap, much further and higher than he would have reasonably been able to; so much so that Julius himself couldn't even comprehend it. Finally, he realized he was still holding the feather; a gift of the great fairy!

Steel-on-steel resounded as Orange-Mane caught Julius's shining sword with his scimitar. A burst of searing heat flowed from blade to blade, flames beginning to flow from Orange-Mane's sadistically sharp scimitar, starting to wrap around his blade as though it were a serpent, winding towards his arm as it began to consume the length of his blade. As it snaked nearer to his gauntlet-outfitted hand, he instinctively reached back for his cape, his feet somehow firmly planted onto the back of the Lynel, as he leapt up again, only this time he slid backwards through the air effortlessly, gracefully landing almost as nearly as his feet had left the back of the chimera.

At this point, the flow of the battle had slowed. It seemed that the various archers, and even the most magically adept of the group, had ceased their fire, though it couldn't be said if it was simply due to a lack of resources or fear of striking their comrade. Julius realized that his foe would have to simply be worn down, and slowly moved to engage him once more. He would need to watch for that glow on his blade...it seemed dangerous, especially so when his sword didn't deflect it.

Their blades clashed again, though this time they were on less equal ground. The Lynel struck down harsh, vigorous slices, though there wasn't much Julius could do, blocking each of his blows with his battered iron shield. He hacked and slashed with a ruthless efficiency.

Lucia wrote fast, spewing ink all over the page. She even went so far as to place a diagram box next to the caption. Figure one and "fig 2." were duly marked off next to the tiny drawings. Lucia steadied her hand as much as possible. The drawings were as close as possible to the accompanying text as she could make them.

The enemy had been passing around a torch to light rags on fire. These wrappings were put on their arrows in an attempt to smoke Lucia out. What really was happening here was a bunch of Bokoblins wasting time on something that wasn't going to work in the first place. The torn paper became this bow in Lucia's hands. She wasn't fully prepared for what came next. A powerful missile of flame struck Lucia's shield and threw it off of her back. The girl's face slammed into the dry leaves on the ground. The pair of Lynels were better equipped than their smaller subordinates. Each of them was already armed with a Fire Enchantment on their ammunition.

Lucia aimed her single shot at one of the Lynels. She pulled the string all the way back. Completely new to this, Lucia could only hope her arrow would do something against them. She let it fly, and the Lynels didn't see it coming nor could do a thing to stop it. The arrow was firmly planted into the meaty back flank of the rightmost of the grey-manes. On the horse-types, this wouldn't mean much. But this pair was built more like mountain lions at their abdomen. Caught at the joint of his leg, this archer Lynel stumbled over. With a deep hissing curse he urged his group to murder the girl.

This was the moment that counted most! Lucia needed to get back to Julius in order to keep ground between all of the enemies at once. Julius was fighting one side, and Lucia could launch gales to parry the arrows of the other. The girl sent out a notification to the Pirate's Charm.

"I'm coming back around! Keep those guys occupied and we can split their ranks."

Julius whirled around, still ready to fight. No matter what they might throw at them, it was all too late to surrender. He kept an eye on the orange blaze coating his opponent's scimitar, while simultaneously deflecting whatever spells the Cheetah-maned Lynel might decide to cast. It was then that Lucia's strategy came into play.

A swift shift to his left set the scene for the battle. Both Lynels now lay equidistant from him, and his back met with the much smaller Lucia's. His eye met with a quick flash of steel as the pack leader slammed his blade once more into Julius's increasingly battered shield, its ornamentations becoming little more than warped nonsense and its paint chipping off from the intense heat. With a swift thrust of his blade, it impacted the Lynel's abdominal flesh, filling his muscular form with as much as he could give him... which wasn't much, admittedly. About a quarter of his blade had penetrated through the beast's ribs, blood spurting out from the thing's new wound. The Chimera howled in response, a deeper, darker giggling setting in. "I've had worse from mates twice as bad as you!" Galloping off again, he maneuvered himself so that he was again positioned by the archer squadron. "Fire! Fire with all ya got!" His orders rang clear throughout the noise of combat.

Bowstrings being drawn was all anyone, even the Lynels, could hear as several shots, enchanted with various spells and magic, were fired almost immediately. Sparks of energy flared from the cheetah-maned Lynel's casting, and it was clear what they intended to do. "Duck," he spoke, just loud enough for her to hear. A second passed, as spell and arrow alike flew from every side of the battlefield.

His blade sliced through the toxic miasma, a whirlwind of energy surrounding the duo as he unleashed a powerful Spin Attack, deflecting every attack launched in their vicinity. Even mastery of the basics were essential to combat; Julius's first drill sergeant had said that to him, and how right he was. As his sword finished sailing through the air, he came to face the pack leader yet again... only this time, closer than he'd have liked. "A taste of your own medicine, eh pops?" He howled amongst his crazed giggles. The chimera's scimitar met his armor, slicing through his already worn plate. The blade collided with his pectoral. Julius's body moved with the blade, keeping a slice from becoming a cleave.

Lucia effortlessly parried another round of arrows. Her twisters could control entire areas of fire with just the three arcs each time. However, the time it took to cast them out again gave the archers a free shot. Luckily Julius had parried the last round before this one. But Lucia was no longer safe. As her boomerangs were coming back, the archer line loaded their arrows and fired. There was a slow hesitation as each arrow launched one after the other.

Everything slowed to a crawl as Lucia's pupils turned into tiny ants. One after the other. . . arrows in the air. They chopped into the tiny water droplets in the air. There was a noise, Lucia could faintly hear it. It sounded like coconuts smashing together. Somewhere nearby, something was coming. Lucia heard and looked to her immediate right. It was the clopping of hooves on the ground.

"Well, howdy!" sang an animal voice, that Lucia heard with Language of Fauna.

A green pony ran by, clopping her feet loudly on the ground. She jumped into the picture just in time to alter the playing field. The pony grabbed a boomerang in her mouth and threw it with a flick of her neck back at the new hail of arrows. The boomerang danced back into the air and tore the arrows out of their arch. The pony stood before Lucia, as if recognizing her, but not quite. She trotted over and neighed musically.

"What's your name? I'm Rainbowjack!" She squealed through hilarious buck-teeth.

The little steed was a lot to take in. Her mane was an amalgam of the entire spectrum of colors, tied together in a large cyan bow. Her eyes were an amber color, and her skin was a bright shade of chartreuse. Lucia was now convinced she was hallucinating. The pony knelt down as if to let Lucia ride on her.

"M-m mY name is Lucia??? Pony????" Lucia spat out through a bewildered face.

"GET ON MY BACK!!" shouted the pony.

Lucia jumped onto the pony, fearing the worst was far from over and there was now not a single reason she shouldn't be riding this pony. She grabbed the pony's neck and held on for dear life. The beast ran like the wind and dodged the next round of arrows perfectly. Each arrow whizzed by just barely scratching the hide of the colorful animal. She bucked and cantered toward the sniper line. It was time.

Lucia raced on the pony to the head of the sniper line. She ripped the very air apart, slinging her boomerang trio into the faces of the Lynels and crushing the line of Bokoblins. The haze shrouding the area began to falter. The thick fog cleared and a massive black doorway appeared behind the Lynels Julius was fighting. A single Lynel was seen behind the glowing plasma of the portal.

The Lynel blew his horn one last time and entered the portal. Lucia had not seen this, but Julius may have. She continued wailing on the lynels with her boomerangs. There was a noise like crackling as the Lynel entered, lightning struck him and transported him to the interior of that tower. Lucia swung her arms around to keep the boomerangs going. Rainbowjack trotted left and right to keep them in motion before the firing line.

The Bokoblins fell, bruised and exhausted of fighting. The pair of Lynel archers braced themselves with their arms. Lucia kept up the pressure and managed to stun the rightmost one. In his daze, she whacked his face directly. Not currently able to update Julius, she kept the news of her impending victory to herself for now. The portal hissed as if accepting more passengers into its menacing maw.

His body was thrown with the already fierce impact of the blade. If he had not been so light on his feet, it would have sliced completely through his body, possibly even so much as to sever his arm. He was in a pickle. The crazed, giggling chimera charged once again, only this time it was met with staunch resistance. Julius's shield and blade alike met his gleaming scimitar, throwing the beast off balance as, within a moment, he unleashed a whirling Spin Attack, tearing through the beast's hide and rending bone and muscle alike. It tore right through his horse-like legs, slicing deep into his man-like torso and underbelly.

The next scene, unbeknownst to Julius, would be completely ridiculous. A bright, multicolored horse leapt through the foliage, making its way into combat. What sort of wizardry is this, is all that Julius could think in the moment. No one had ever heard of a green-looking horse with a rainbow mane. No one. Yet, the situation was all too real; yes, there was a rainbow-maned pony parading around the battlefield, and yes, it had even picked up his Kokiri companion. As ludicrous as it was, it somehow managed to stun even the Lynels in its show of awe. The sheer shock value of the situation seemed to paralyze everyone on the battlefield, including Julius himself. Time seemed to slow for all involved; a flurry of arrows fired, though nearly all of them seemed to travel so slowly that they could be just as easily evaded as though they were a mile away.

Only, Julius saw it happen in real time. The arrows whizzed and flew through the air, a green blur seemed to race around the battlefield, and the cackling hyena was reduced to nothing more than an overturned pile of gore and wailing screams. His companion, the spell-casting Cheetah-maned Lynel, launched yet another ball of flame. It was predictable as to what the result would be; Julius sliced forth, through the fire and flame, deflecting its magic to the wailing, immobile Lynel, still only a few feet from where Julius stood. It was reflected directly to his face, as it made impact. It hurled forth, burning through the air, as it smashed into his face, burning and singeing much of it. His pained wails faded into nothing, as it became clear what had become of the obnoxious, overconfident Lynel. A portal had opened since; many of the battle's combatants had escaped into it since, Julius concluded, judging from the lack of a Lynel or two.

"Lucia! The portal!" He yelled as he sprinted into the plasma-like entombment. It hissed, screamed, and crackled as he rushed through it. He held on for dear life, unsure of where he would end up...

"I've been waiting three years to meet you." proclaimed the Horse. "I got a little lost in these woods and this fog so I'm a little bit late."

"Now that you mention it. . ." Lucia began. ". . .I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"What? But I just got here neigh even twenty seconds ago." The equine responded.

"Exactly, that's long enough. You don't belong here. Let me rephrase that, actually. It's far too dangerous for you to follow us where we're going. You don't need to get hurt out here, so please go. If you really want, we can meet up again after this blows over."

"Oh my. Well I can teach you a song that I can find-"

"Not necessary. Just wait in Kokiri Village. I'm not even sure what to think of you yet, we aren't friends. Is all that ridiculous coloring even natural? What leafy horse-ranch did you crawl out of, anyway."

"Well there's a colorful pony ranch in Impa, haven't you been there?"

"If you think for even a second that I wanted to hang out in a smelly pen with artificially colored horses, you have another thing coming. You know what, just go. Right now. Leave. I'll talk it over with you after we fight that thing."

Lucia ran off to the portal. The enemies were stunned just long enough for Rainbowjack to run off and for Lucia to reach the portal without harm. The phantasmal screen crackled like thunder. Lucia put her arm up to the entrance to feel if it was safe. Her arm went through the hazy plasma. This portal was created to send only the whole body of the person entering. Without another hesitation, Lucia put her entire body into the massive doorway.

"Can you believe that? A freaking rainbow horse. Julius? Hello?" Lucia asked anxiously.

Julius wasn't there. She was inside a black wooded interior of the bottom of the tower. Behind her there was no portal exit, it seemed it only went one-way, and possibly to different places each time.

Lucia clenched her fist angrily. "Manaku."

Up this tower there would be two powerful adversaries. Lucia couldn't help but feel an ominous chill. She looked up from herself and saw a winding stairway up the perimeter of the tree-like building. She set foot on the firm stair and began to work her way up. For the Koroks she thought as she tried to avoid thinking about her impending doom. It felt possible she would make it through alive. She tried to remember the encouraging words of the Great Fairy. The fairy did say it would be difficult. Lucia began to feel unsure.

She peeked her head up the top of the stairs. It seemed there was an enemy after all. A small clump of Morths bounced around nearby. She looked at how small they were and laughed aloud.

"Haha, is this all there is? What a joke."

Lucia threw her boomerang, which caught the Morths in a large whirlwind and carried them to the wall where they splattered to pieces. Still giggling, Lucia walked to the center of the room. Her chuckles were answered with a sizable gust at her back.

"Hahaha, I didn't throw a boomerang that time. Ha. . .ha. . .ha."

The wind increased intensity. Lucia turned around to see a Mothula hovering several feet above her head. Lucia stopped laughing. Her laugh quickly turned into a scream. She looked up at the Mothula and ran for it. Her scream turned into a persisting shriek.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The Mothula dive-bombed at Lucia as she tried to sprint away. She ran in circles trying to shake it off. It continued a pattern of swooping and turning. This did not give Lucia any hope. She continued to scream and run around in circles. Lucia gasped for air and stopped against the wall, unable to scream anymore. The Mothula fluttered closer and nearer. Lucia clinged weakly to her boomerang. The fight was on.

Julius thumped onto the bare ground of a hardly forested area. Everything smelled of death, of decay. There was a stillness in the area. And then there was a rustling. Lexi piped up, nestling close to Julius’s helmet, obviously fearful of the recently transpired events. A long, gnarly wooden arm reached through a clump of dead shrubbery, carrying a sort of staff in his hand. It was long, narrow; it seemed to be more of an object of ritualistic importance than any sort of practical implement. His body, short, stout, and clothed in leaves, made its way through the dead arms of the shrub.

His red eyes shined through the dusky light that bathed the clearing. Julius wasn’t sure if it was night, day, or if time even had any meaning here. He dropped into a defensive stance, his shield extended in front of him. Its massive steel body curved around his arm, his blade poised to strike at his side. He circled what he presumed to be an enemy as the Deku Scrub merely stood and watched. He raised his staff into the air, beginning to speak in a tongue Julius didn’t quite understand. He barked back, “Who are you?!” He braced his shield, preparing for some form of attack or strike.

But it never came. He looked at the Deku, who still stood there, his red eyes seeing Julius quite well through whatever fog or haze seemed to roam the area. It was quite dim as well, Julius being able to barely make out the outline of the creature, save for its glowing red eyes.

The light that radiated from Lexi did not help, either. It made it difficult for his sight to adjust to the forthcoming darkness. The scrub only continued to stand there, staff in hand, as Julius poised himself to strike.

“Come with me,” was all that it said as he disappeared into the bushes again.

The dim light settled into darkness as the Scrub disappeared into the eerie woodland and soon, Lexi’s glow was all that remained. Julius stood there a while, dumbfounded.

“Well~? What are you doing~? After him~~!” Lexi yelled out in her usual sing-songy, high pitched voice. Really, it reminded him of the choirs that sung in temples, but that didn’t matter now. He gave chase to the scrub almost immediately, charging through the darkened forest with only a dim, light green glow to guide his path. He searched the area with his finer Senses. Nothing, other than his newfound Fairy Companion. Still, he dove into the darkness.

And soon, he would be rewarded. A hundred yards ahead of him, he saw a dim light stretch throughout the area; an orange glow hung to it. A fire. He could smell the dead straw burning, the thick smoke passing into his lungs as he coughed it out. He took his helmet from his head, holding it by its visor. With his sword sheathed and his shield hanging from his back, he took his Backshift Cape and put it over his nose, the indigo fabric being smooth and silky in its movement and flexibility, yet still thick enough to effectively filter whatever the air carried in it. Wary of the Deku, he approached the fire closer. Closer. Until he was so close the embers and roaring flames shined through the dead, poisoned trees. The glow of his companion was negligible at this point, the glowing sphere of light coming to rest on his shield, just above his head in his now crouching form.

Julius watched the Deku. The glow of a campfire illuminated their surroundings. The Deku he had seen earlier stood in front of a group of about ten others. He seemed to be saying something – Julius wasn’t sure what. It was being spoken in some form of tribal dialect, alien to his or Lexi’s knowledge. Soon, the Deku whom Julius had ascribed to be their leader turned his back to the crowd and faced Julius’s direction. He spoke out in a loud, echoing voice, “And now, our savior joins us!”

He shot up, dropping his cape and drawing his blade nearly immediately. The Deku guffawed at his defensive reflexes, throwing his arms into the air as his near maniacal laughter broke into the otherwise dead air, filled with nothing but the crackling of burning wood. His voice settled soon after.

“You are here to cleanse this forest, are you not?” He spoke, still terribly loud. Julius kept his Senses alert, wary of any foes drawn on by the creature’s boisterous speech. “Do not worry, this is sacred ground. Evil dares not to touch it, yet I fear the seal placed on this land by my ancestors may break at any moment. Many of the Deku who once protected this forest now stalk the shadows, tainted and broken back into the beasts we once were. They have come to revere the beast, that which howls into the night, as a savior. A lord. A godsend from the Holy Goddesses, sent here to free them from the shackles to this land. But listen,” he said, becoming quiet immediately. Nothing but the sound of the campfire filled the air of the night. “Do you hear that?” He almost whispered, Julius just barely hearing him above the noise of the fire.

He listened into the silence for a moment, searching for something… but nothing would be found. “No. What is it I’m supposed to be hearing?” He asked, sheathing his blade.

“Ah, that is good! It means that even you cannot hear its rage-filled screams. What I have managed to deduce from this beast is that… its screams. There is something with its rampant yelling, that brainwashes us Deku Scrubs. It has even been said to corrupt the messengers of the Great Deku Tree, the Korok, and instills fear even into the pure Kokiri. But you. You are not so quite affected by its howls of madness. It does not break your mind or bend your will like it does to the forest dwellers. This, is why I have lead you here. It is also why I believe you to be sent here: a message from the goddesses of old, and a servant of the Great Deku Tree, no? That fairy you have, is what tells me. It is a companion to the Kokiri.” He spoke to Julius.

“I… was here, with a Kokiri. A Kokiri named Lucia. We fought the servants of Ganon’s will, but… we were separated. A portal had opened and it sent me here. But, I cannot stay here. If it is as you say, I must enter that blackened spire that pierces the sky. That seal of your ancestors cannot hold forever. I would rather not lose any more souls to that twisted beast’s thirst for power. It simply cannot be done, and I will bend and break any who oppose me on my journey.” He answered, putting his helmet back onto his head.

“Then it is good that we do not cross you. However, if you really do intend on entering that massive tower, that colossus arm . . . if we had more a view of it, and you looked towards the top, you would no doubt see its charred fingers reaching for the heavens, seeking, searching for the Goddesses’ power, and to no doubt bring an end to them. It is what he, the King of Darkness, Root of all Evils, would value more than anything. Limitless power. Hope, banished from this realm. A power undeniable even to the greatest heroes of Hyrule. That is what he values most. He has spread his evil seed here, I know as much. There are few with this sort of malevolent power, and even fewer who still actively roam Hyrule. Of all ancient sorcerers and great evils, he is the only one who may be awakened at this point. But, to stop his conquest of all that remains, all that is still good and just in this world, you must enter that tower. It is a testament to his power, in fact. But few know of the entrance, and even fewer have laid eyes upon it. Do I know of it? Yes. Can I lead you there? Unfortunately, if any of my tribe step foot from this ground, we will fare no better than our brethren who have already fallen. So you must listen,” he finally finished, his tales becoming an epic ballad of their own.

Julius moved forward, taking a seat at the edge of the fire’s warmth. “Then I will listen. And Lexi, my fairy, will listen too.” The floating green ball hovered over the Deku, and then shook about a bit, as to confirm Julius’s orders.

“That is good. Now… along the base of the tower, through the poisoned swamp and bog, there is a path. I am unsure of anything else. But, when you find the path, you will know.” He spoke, imparting the last of his wisdom upon the aged Hylian knight.

“That’s… it? I had expected it to be some epic task, worthy of regaling for ages by the minstrels.” Julius spoke, somewhat dissatisfied at the lack of intensity.

“And it will be. For, it is not the journey, but the destination, in this sense. Once you finally clear these tainted lands, you will be remembered by all that inhabit these forests as a savior sent by the Golden Goddesses. He Who Wielded the Shining Sword.”

And so, the shaman of a Deku Scrub led him to the edge of the barrier. It was true: the seal’s magic was beginning to weaken, to decay. Strands of a light, airy substance floated through the air, and on the outside, he could see clouds of miasma, pool of off-colored water, violent beasts struggling against each other. Moblin and Mad Scrub alike struggled against each other, with the Moblins’ pig-like snouts sounding a snorting grunt. It speared the Scrub through the chest as it broke the struggle with a final push, before resuming its jaunt about the decaying woodland.

Mad, enraged shrieking could be heard in the distance. It truly did seem the barrier was thinnest here. The Shaman’s dark eyes glazed over for a moment, becoming an amber colour. “You… you must leave now. I cannot continue,” he spoke, retreating to the rest of his tribe as Julius stood at the barrier. He put a hand up to it… phasing directly through it. It was visible, at least to him, but the creatures beyond seemed to pay it no attention. Withdrawing his hand from the barrier, he strapped his shield to his arm again. He stepped through the barrier. It was time.

A grisly bark came from the Mothula's mouth. Digestive fluid seeped out from between her mandibles. Lucia recoiled to the wall. She had to finish this fight or the horrible insect would soon eat her whole. Chills ran down her spine, she didn't know what action to take first. She ducked under her boomerang as a cloud of dust shredded into her from the Mothula's impressive wings. Lucia recoiled as it suddenly occurred to her. The Mothula's weakness was in its wings, without those it wouldn't be powerful. Lith appeared from Lucia's pocket. She hovered up into the air to make a demand.

"Just throw the boomerang already you dense chunkass!"

"No!" Lucia replied furiously.

The Mothula was actually charging at her again, so the priority was to get out of the way. Lucia performed a roll to the side and braced the fall with her forearms. The Mothula continued charging head-first into the wall. Lucia readjusted herself after picking herself up from the dive. The Mothula was distraught by the crash and landed in a heap on the ground. Lucia brandished her boomerang and took aim at the recoiling monster.

"See, now I can hit her."

"You could have hit her an hour ago you moron!"

"We haven't even been here an hour!"

Lucia heaved the weapon at the monster, seeking to clip its wings. The weapon whizzed around, barely grazing the back muscles of the Mothula. The girl utilized her multithrow to toss the weapon again in the same spot. The wing began to tear as the third one struck. The Mothula let out a screech, shrill and pained. It struggled to pull itself up, and then took flight once more. Albeit sloppy without all of its wings, it managed to fly nonetheless. Lucia caught the converging copies of her boomerang and backed off as the Mothula regained composure. The Kokiri backed up in anticipation of the Mothula's next attack.

The Mothula bounced through the air like a fishing lure bobbing. Lucia kept her distance, not sure what a cornered beast would do. The abdomen of the Mothula creaked and groaned. It teetered in the air and began to launch Morths from its body. The spray of little larval creatures splashed over Lucia. She struggled with the burr-like hooks clinging to her clothes. The weight of all the Morths stuck on her hindered her movement. She fell to the ground and started to roll on them. Two or three fell off of her as she flopped around.

Over Lucia's head, the Mothula swooped down. It tried to snatch at her as it fluttered by. The Morths weren't letting up. Lucia bent back and flipped her boomerang up in the air. It caused a small whirlwind as it weakly curved up and dropped back down. The wind threw the Mothula off, giving Lucia time to stand back up. She threw the boomerang again and it barely carved into the Mothula's wings. It fell onto the ground again, now debilitated. Lucia went in for the Coup de Grace by hopping onto its back and stabbing it with the weapon.

Once she smacked the creature to death, Lucia worked on ripping to rest of the Morths off. With a shake she tossed the last ones to the ground. Lucia examined the room for the exit. There was another stairway, precariously placed along the wall with planks. She could tell by the long walk it took that she was still in the wider base of the tower. She carefully began to climb the stairs. It was a laborious effort to go up the great array of stairs between the lower floors. Soon enough she could see the opening to the next floor. She grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up into the new area.

The first thing Lucia noticed was the emptiness of the leaf-caked floor. She went for her infinite novel to prepare herself for whatever dangers the next floor might have. But she was interrupted when a hooked tendril flew over and tripped her. Many more cut through the dirt, and Lucia barely managed to see what was going on. There was a huge colorful thing hanging from the ceiling. Lucia rolled to the side and began to outrun the tendrils. Before making another move, Lucia got a good look at the new enemy.

KALLE DEMOS
​

"Could they be broken?" Lucia wondered.

Her spectacles of agony weren't detecting any weak points on the massive plant. It was bulbous and colorful, covered in many blues and purples. Lucia worked up a sweat running from the constantly swinging hooks. She couldn't quite get a strategy together with all the ruckus. She dove out of the way as a hook came close to flailing her face. Grabbing a palm-full of dirt, she pushed as she sailed for the ground. She only just saw what she needed to as she rocked backward. Up at the ceiling was a number of roots holding the monster up. They weren't the vitals of the flower, but they were rather thin and suspending it.

Lucia threw her boomerang while the tendrils were still circling the room, confused. The spiraling weapon plucked against some of the roots, and soon enough a few of them snapped. The tendrils soon found Lucia's scent and piloted after her. Lucia huffed and started her run again. Aerobics were not her strong suit, so she made a beeline for the outer wall. The hooks didn't seem totally capable of reaching the outer ring of the room. Lucia stopped to take a breath. She gasped painfully as she tried to catch her breath. The tendrils became confused again as she exited their range. She took this opportunity to return and get another attack in. She launched her boomerang to the air. The weapon whirled around the center of the room, chopping apart the roots. The flower shuddered and fell down to the floor. The awful thing slammed to the dirt and opened up. In the center was a silly looking appendage that resembled a Deku Baba.

Julius knew that all which lay outside this barrier – growing ever weaker by the moment – depended upon him. Upon the actions of his compatriots. He set foot outside the barrier at once.

With a fierce growl, the Moblin shook the Mad Scrubs off of him. Three in total. He grabbed one by its frail, wooden wrist, lugging it over his husky, beefy shoulder and swung the body down with gusto. IT collided into the skull of another.

Falling to the ground, lifeless, its body crumpled under the force of the impact. Still grasping his makeshift weapon, the Moblin swatted to his left, sending yet another Mad Scrub flying. It landed alongside a silver armored figure, shield readied and blade drawn. As he drew closer to the spire, miasma filled his lungs. The toxic dust blew in flurries as gusts and howls echoed through the forest. Night was nearly upon them. Lexi floated at his side, providing dim illumination other than the faint glow of the cold night’s moon. As another breeze flowed through the envenomed forest, Julius twirled his blade in one hand. He saw the Moblin up ahead.

It was just another day to him. Ever since that thing had shown up and begun howling, it suddenly seemed as though there were far more of these maddened Deku. Usually, they avoided one another; but now, it seemed like he couldn’t sleep without them ganging on him. Not that he could sleep anyway with that beast howling day and night, without stop.

Ahead of him was a figure, cloaked in the steel of armor, wielding a painted shield and a mirror blade. He hadn’t seen many things like this before; once in a while, there came a being of great strength dressed in such garb. But needing it? It made him scoff on the inside. A sadistic grin spread across his face as he hoisted his weapon once more: the painted corpse of a Mad Scrub. Dizzying blues and reds were splattered all across it.

For a second, it occurred to Julius that this Moblin might be friendly. At least, his senses told him so. As that sly, sadistic, unbecoming grin spread across its face though, he immediately knew what to expect. IT rushed towards him in a flash, swinging the body in its hands wildly. It battered and smacked against Julius; disorienting him for a second at worst – but it had already been decided. In that split second, he concentrated all of his power into his blade – and soon the ripping sound of rent flesh filled his ears. In a hurricane like movement, his blade sliced cleanly into the beast’s ribs – splitting them apart as he tore deeper and deeper into its gut. As his dance slowed for a second, he swore he saw a look of ecstasy on its face – perhaps the eternal rest of death would help his soul.

The battle wound down, slowly. He had made little progress, but he hadn’t spent much time fighting the Moblin. It only took perhaps two – maybe three minutes. Decided in a single stroke. He flicked the gore from his blade and sheathed it, ready to carry on.

He had cleared about half of what he estimated to be the ten mile distance to the tower. Miasma only grew more intense, sometimes completely filling his lungs – there was almost an absence of air, here. And everywhere he stepped, there seemed to be caustic substances underfoot. Neither of them spoke as they continued. Separated from Lucia, Julius briefly wondered if she had made it to the tower. Perhaps there might be more allies waiting there for them? He steeled his mind as he grew nearer to the tower.

For what seemed like hours, they walked through the cold. Finally, it seemed like they had reached it. Large, thorny outcroppings surrounded the ebony veil upon the area. True to the shaman’s words, it certainly was a colossal arm. Julius stood there a moment, slightly bewildered by the scope of it. Surely, it was even greater than the Deku tree. As he shrank and shrank in comparison to the monument of power, it seemed overwhelming. For an instant, he disbelieved that such a thing could be conquered by mortal hands. It indeed seemed as though he hadn’t lied about the forces of evil being stronger than anyone could have anticipated. And, it would be this moment, an indiscernible amount of time later, which would steel him for other events that would transpire.

His body trembled. He felt a mighty presence – many hundreds of feet above him. Whatever it was that sent those ghastly wails shivering the spines of every tree in the forest – it resided here. He spoke to Lexi.

“What is it that makes a man, a man?”

“This is no time for riddles~~~! We’re so clooose~!” she sang back.

“It is not courage. It is not their strength or form. It is their inevitable resilience: that which makes them able to withstand what others cannot. That is what it means to be a man,” he uttered, stepping through the black shroud as a wave of immense, horrible pain gripped his being.

It grew stronger and more intense the further he got – like his being was being shredded and then glued messily back together. He felt his shoulder pop from his socket, his flesh tear, burn, and freeze all at the same time – for a second, he thought he felt his eyes melt as his body was consumed in a blaze of jet black flames. And, as his body began to reemerge from whatever abyss he had been sucked into, he faded and split, sputtered and spat into a grassy room. It didn’t seem to him that anything was here, and for a while he had wondered precisely what had happened – was he there, in the spire? It felt like he had been standing in front of it an eternity ago.

Lexi swept the room. The black wooden walls seemed to give no escape – that is, until they both saw a wooden staircase leading upwards. As he climbed all along the walls, he thought he might be in the tower – further confirmed by the sight of a whirling, gusting boomerang splattering the vines of a gigantic plant as it clattered to the floor. A strange, neon colored plant – closely resembling a Deku Baba – lay in the center. He hustled into the room, gripping his blade in one hand, and shield in the other. A sweeping strike struck through the Baba, his blade tearing into it, but it was far, far more durable than it seemed: though he put almost all of his force and momentum behind that attack, it seemed barely touched.

As he ran through the flower, he noticed Lucia darting along the edge of the room. He stopped in surprise, just barely on the edge of a petal. “Lucia!” he uttered in shock, as the plant began to close . . .

Lucia wiped a tear from her eye. This had become too many enemies for her regular-person body to take. Now, Julius was enclosed in that giant. . . thing. There was no time for fancy words. Lucia swatted at the plant with her boomerang. She screamed at it as the mass of flora shuddered. It was trying to connect its vines back to the ceiling and re-root itself. Lucia fell back in a huff. It was no use without exposing the inside again. . . freeing Julius.

She waited again for the mass to pull itself up toward the ceiling. Apparently she had to knock it down again to get it to open up. A nasty hissing noise came from the plant. It was raring to attack again. Lucia jumped in terror and broke into a run. The thorned vines ripped through the floor like paper. Lucia tossed around on the ground in an attempt to evade the advancing line. She fumbled with her boomerang and gathered herself up. There was no time to write up herself a different weapon, it looked like she was meant to fight back with this boomerang of hers.

Lucia gave it a throw, as the vines stuck themselves out once again. The breezy aircraft sailed into a couple of the plant's roots. But she'd thrown crooked and missed a majority of them. Lucia staggered back. A thorn sprang out and stabbed for her heart. She blocked with her elbow and received a gash in her upper arm. Lucia let out a wail of pain. She clutched at her arm, this had never happened before. Lucia held back tears. She blubbered to herself for comfort.

"If I don't do anything, who will save Kokiri Forest?" she hiccuped as tears streamed down her face. She fell back and clasped at her arm harder. This wasn't going to work this way. She grabbed her infinite novel with her other arm and scribbled in a quick annotation. It was a crude description of a plain cloth strip. She tore out the page and crinkled it into shape. The few seconds ticked down and it became a bandage. She tightly wrapped her gushing wound with the cloth. It was going to be difficult to get back in range of those thorns. She had to, though. She knew this was her finest moment in regards to Julius' safety.

She used her left hand to toss her weapon again. She knew it didn't matter if she was a bit far off. With about three of the roots cut, she just had to work her way to the rest. Lucia snatched the boomerang back and squinted to see how many she had hit. About half of them were severed, this was a good start. The girl knew she had to get back in range of the roots to reach the last few. She gulped and made a run for it.

With a scream of triumph, she threw her weapon one last time. Her voice made the even the plant quiver in horror. There came a slice to the wind itself, the boomerang spattered about through the plant matter like a weed whacker. Soon, the plant once again fell open.

"JULIIIIIIIIIIE!"

Julius felt his feet come out from under him as he landed on his back. Its petals were surprisingly... fluffy. Meaty, sort of ; it had this nice, almost felt feeling to it... and then he realized he couldn't see any more. He began to struggle, trying to tear himself free from whatever adhesive the plant had produced... only to feel a slight tingling suggestion. It quickly turned to burning. The plant was digesting him! He struggled just a bit more. It got worse, quickly.

He heard something from outside of the plant. It sounded like Lucia was calling for him. That's right. He was trying to save the forest, wasn't he?

The plant thudded as it landed on the ground, its petals opening again. He still gripped his blade as he hacked into it with a fervor. Words, hardly comprehensible, accented every slice and every thrust of his blade. Just as the plant began to close once more, he tore into its neon-coloured mandibles with a Spin Attack.

This time, as it began to close, he activated the marvelous ability of his Backshift Cloak. He jumped backwards and, without much effort on his part, landed easily two meters or so away. The petals closed as the carnivore took root on the cieling again.

His speed, even in his armor, was still quite impressive. He easily outran the roots for now, but he had no idea how long he could endure. He raced to Lucia, who was quickly being threatened by those spiked... tentacles? that seemed to uproot and overturn the earth. Julius quickly got to Lucia, sweeping her up in his arms.

"Think you can throw that boomerang of yours like this?" He panted as he slowed to what seemed to be a jog. He still outran the roots, by just a bit, as more hooked tentacles sprouted from the bottom of the plant. They lashed, flailed, and sought any target they could. Perhaps they wouldn't be so active when the flora hit the dirt once again. Or was it dirt? Maybe it was wood. It was unimportant, the trivial questions of a guardsman's mind, as he increased his speed ever-so-slightly.

With the air calming, Lucia leapt from Julius' shoulder. She landed in the dirt in a messy rut. Lucia reeled as the creature began to thrash again. She held her boomerang aloft once more.

"Sorry Julius, I can't really aim from on top of you."

Lucia snapped back to her feet. One last time was too much to ask for. This flower had some kind of unseen bonus vitality. Lucia roared and threw the weapon again, loosing off but four tendrils. There was another crash as the thorns ripped wildly. An upheaval of soil shook the air. The monster was acting in desperation, flailing its whips violently in random directions to protect itself from taking another blow. Lucia was tossed back, sore and broken at this point.

The girl heaved and a stream of blood leaked from her nose. Julius held his ground, his stance deflecting many of the whips. This was her chance to attack, she just had to run up and use him as a shield. Lucia ducked as a spray of dirt sodded the air ever more. Lucia too wondered why the floor was layered with so much dirt. Maybe it was to keep the plants in top form? This moss monster had thought of everything. Regardless, it was preventing the thing from ripping out the ebony floorboards and stopping them from proceeding.

With Julius standing well above her small form, Lucia advanced. She twisted herself just so, to make an angle where her attack wouldn't just bounce off her friend. With a great whoosh, she sent the boomerang at a bizarre curve. It sailed circles around the room, almost in a spiral pattern. The thick dirt in the air was caught in the cute tornado the boomerang made. The brown cone carved through each and every root left, spinning furiously like a storm.

Lucia chuckled and sighed as the monster came crashing down once more. This was probably the last time she had to do this, she hoped. Even as a tactician, she couldn't easily see just how resilient this thing truly was. The brown tornado circled the room, tormenting the little flower. This was Julius' chance to curb stomp this thing once and for all.

Julius bounded to the plant, noticing that its tentacles had ceased their flailing. He kept sprinting, running, pushing himself as hard as hard as he could. His blade connected with the beast. It tore clean through its maw, impaling straight through both lips. A shriek -- less a shriek and more of a squabbling noise -- echoed through the somewhat large room. It died.

Its petals began to wilt and decay -- it soon shriveled, dead, as vines and other such foliage began to fall from the walls, revealing a doorway. It was odd, to Julius, that this place seemed to be built so as to accommodate Hylian-sized people. Either way, it was of no concern to him.

He checked Lucia's injuries. They weren't too severe; she would survive. "You'll be fine," he said, picking her up again. "Come on. I'll carry you, since you need to rest. I hope we don't find something like that again," he muttered this last part under his breath. Lucia shouldn't hear it, "I don't know if you'll be able to handle something like that again." With Lucia in tow, he crept through the doorway.