Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers

by Lucar

Chapter 178: The Earth Temple

The group teleported to Headstone Island and entered the cavern with the stone tablet for the Earth God’s Lyric.

Toon Link took out the Wind Waker and faced Medli who readied her harp.

“Here we go. Ready?” Toon Link asked.

Medli nodded. “Ready.”

So they played the Earth God’s Lyric. As soon as they finished, the tablet cracked in two, light came out of the crack, and the stone crumbled, revealing the passage to the temple, with a staircase leading to a circular hole.

Link looked at everyone except his counterpart.

“Is this your first time exploring a temple?” he asked.

Sonic rubbed his head. “I explored temples in my adventures, but I’m guessing that it is not the same style.”

“I’m talking about exploring temples Link’s style.”

“No, we haven’t,” Phantom said.

“Well, there are three main objectives when exploring temples Link’s style: finding the unique item to add to Toon Link’s arsenal, finding the golden key, and finding the door with the golden lock, all to fight the big bad guarding the temple. These temples are trials to test Toon Link’s courage, wisdom, and power so he can grow as a hero, so while we can help him, no using your powers to bypass everything, like blowing up the locked doors or whatever. If we encounter puzzles requiring the temple’s unique item, then we wait to get that unique item before we solve them even if you have the power to solve them beforehand. And against the big bad, don’t overpower it. Give Toon Link a chance to fight it. Understood?”

“Understood,” everyone said.

“Certainly not my style, but let’s see how this goes,” Sonic said.

“It will be nice to slow down,” Amy said.

“I’m sure it will be fun with all of us together,” Makar said.

At that, the group approached the hole and, after Medli gave Toon Link a confident nod, they jumped in it one by one. Thankfully, like in the ice island, some power allowed them to land nicely.

Already, Toon Link found himself facing his first obstacle: a gap (not deep, thankfully). He had to somehow reach the other side to reach the door (which had a nice giant horned skull decorating it at the top, and it was surrounded by brambles).

Medli quickly understood what to do. She flew, and she let Toon Link grab her feet so she could transport him.

Apple Death looked at Link. “If she’s allowed to do it, we can do it too, right?”

“I guess,” Link answered. “Seems like this room is telling us that teamwork will be needed in this temple. By the way, I will also need someone to transport me. I can’t jump that far either.”

“Allow me,” Apple Death said before she used telekinesis to send Link to the other side of the gap.

Sonic looked at Makar. “Will you need help too?”

“No need,” Makar replied before he took out a large leaf that he used as a propeller to fly. “This is how us Koroks can move around rapidly.”

“Cool!”

They passed the door and entered a large room with a staircase and two large pillars, and a few broken smaller ones. Also, there were three Modlins patrolling, one on the stairs, one near the broken pillars, and one near the exit door which was behind bars. Toon Link went to fight the one on the stairs, Link took on the one near the broken pillars, and Amy opposed the one before the door.

Toon Link easily defeated his, already used to fighting them. Link took a bit more time, not having the Master Sword but still a very good sword. Amy easily avoided the spear of her Moblin and crushed its head with her hammer.

Defeating the Moblins didn’t unlock the door, so they had to search the room. Apple Death quickly found the solution: two switches, one on each of the large pillars. She tested one and discovered that they had to be pressed at the same time.

It was easy to understand that Medli would have to transport Toon Link from the top of the stairs to the first switch, then fly to the second switch. Instead, Apple Death pressed the first one while Medli flew to the second, unlocking the door.

The next room was smaller but had the particularity of having a beam of light in the center. As soon as they entered, they were ambushed by many ChuChus of the red, green, and purple varieties. The Red and Green ChuChus were easily killed, even Makar killed one by repeatedly jumping on it, but the purple ones revealed a nasty surprise: they reformed after being attacked. Nothing worked on them.

But then, Link looked at the beam of light and got an idea. Going in the light, he used his Mirror Shield to reflect it on the Purple ChuChus which had for effect to turn them into stone.

Link pumped his arm. “Yes!”

With the ChuChus in stone, it was easy to destroy them, unlocking the exit door which had been behind bars. Link also discovered that the light could destroy the weird elephant statues at the right of the room. There was also a weird distortion in the air on an elevated platform, so Link reflected light on it and revealed a chest.

“Light puzzles then,” Link said. “I guess that the unique item here will be the Mirror Shield. But how would you have reflected the light if I hadn’t been here?”

Medli showed her harp. “My harp’s golden surface can reflect light.”

“Am I the only one already seeing the teamwork puzzles where Toon Link will have to reflect light into Medli’s harp, or vice-versa?”

“No, you aren’t,” Link said.

“This temple really is for Medli,” Makar said.

“I understand the light puzzles for the harp, but the ones where I have to fly… It’s as if the fact that the next sage would be a Rito was planned,” Medli said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the case,” Sonic said.

Meanwhile, Toon Link opened the chest, finding the temple’s map, to his surprise. “Already?”

“Ah. I like it when we find the map right from the start,” Link said.

Amy looked at a jar with a wooden lid. A green mist escaped it. “What is this jar?”

“Oh, it’s a teleport jar. I jump in one, I go out of another in the same dungeon. We just have to destroy the lid and then find the other one,” Toon Link answered.

“A nice shortcut then,” Apple Death said before she destroyed the lid.

They then passed the door and entered a large room with a tall statue with a large cloud of blue fog covering the ground in front of it. The statue was very creepy, with a large head with two large round eyes and a large fanged grin. In the eyes were two suns.

Link nodded. “Yep. Light puzzle. Reflect light into the suns. I got a similar one in the Spirit Temple.”

“And I’m guessing that entering this fog is not advised…” Toon Link said.

There were two beams of light in the room, and two doors, one at the left which was locked and one at the right which was blocked by bars. They could see nothing that would remove them.

“There must be something hidden in the fog,” Phantom said.

At that, Medli went into the right light beam and used her harp to reflect light into the fog, clearing part of it. However, if Medli moved the light away, the fog returned. Still, she searched in the fog until she found a stake. Amy went to pound it with her hammer right away, passing by the path in the fog cleared by Medli’s light. Hitting the stake unlocked the right door. They passed it.

They were now in a long room with two coffins.

“There are undead in this world, right?” Sonic asked with a resigned sigh.

“Oh, yes, many,” Link answered. “Bubbles. ReDeads. Poes. And the worst of all: Dead Hands.” Link shivered at the last one.

After advancing a bit, the coffins opened. However, instead of ReDeads like Link expected, Bubbles came out. Red ones. They were easily killed.

Beyond the coffins, on a small platform, was another distortion in the air, but no beam of light to reflect on it. They spotted, however, a large cube near the top of a ladder at the left. Pulling it revealed a hole in the wall out of which came light. Medli immediately reflected the light into the distortion, revealing a chest containing a key.

As soon as they got the key, some kind of black hole appeared on the floor behind them. The hole was approaching the nearest person, which was Makar. Phantom placed herself between him and the hole, and when the hole got close enough, out of it came a black hand that went to grab her. Phantom easily sliced it in half, killing it.

“It looks like a Wallmaster, or Floormaster, I guess,” Link said. “They look very different from the Floormasters I know.”

They saw a second hand at the beginning of the room, and Link went to kill it. Meanwhile, Toon Link went to walk on a switch near a blocked door at the right of the room. Walking on the switch slid down the bars, but as soon as he moved away, the bars returned. Someone had to remain on the switch.

“If it had been just Toon Link and Medli, Medli would have been forced to remain on the switch, so Toon Link would have been forced to continue alone,” Phantom said.

Apple Death went to look at what was behind the door, seeing only a small room with a beam of light and a couple of symbols on the wall. She returned.

“A light puzzle that will need the Mirror Shield. It’s a dead end.”

So they backtracked to the room with the fog and the statue, and they used the key to open the locked door.

ChuChus dropped from the ceiling right away, including two purple ones, and no beam light in sight. They noticed some light through a curtain, so Toon Link used a Fire Arrow to burn it, revealing light. While Medli used the light to turn the Purple ChuChus into stone, Link tested the two switches in the center and saw that they were the kind that don’t remain activated if you walk away from them.

He quickly shouted, “Don’t kill the Purple ChuChus!”

When everyone looked at him, wondering why, he pointed at the switch.

“Oooh!”

They lifted the petrified ChuChus and placed them on the switches, causing a piece of wall to lower to become stairs to a blocked door. More Purple ChuChus then dropped from the ceiling.

“Incredible!” Toon Link exclaimed. “You found the solution so easily!”

“You would have discovered it eventually,” Link replied.

Not minding the ChuChus, they climbed the stairs, and then pulled a large cube off the edge onto a switch, causing the bars on the door to slide off.

The next room had a Floormaster easily killed, two cubes, including one with an elephant statue on it, and weird symbols on some of the bricks forming the walls, like in the dead end room that Apple Death saw.

They pushed the cube that didn’t have a statue on it to a switch against the wall, opening shudders in the ceiling and revealing light. Medli and Link both went in it to reflect it into the statue and the symbols on the walls, destroying the statue and parts of the walls. This revealed a third cube and a jar with purple mist.

They pushed the second cube on a switch against the wall, revealing a chest on the elevated part of the room at the end. The third cube was pushed to a switch in an opening against the elevated part of the room, unblocking the exit door there. Link and Toon Link were able to use this cube to climb while the others flew or jumped. They opened the chest and obtained the compass.

The next room had two Moblins and two blue masked ghosts holding lanterns, Poes. The Poes were intangible, but that wasn’t a problem for Apple Death. There was a beam of light on a ledge, and Medli reflected it on some statues at the opposite side of the room to reveal a chest containing some butterfly pendant.

On the wall under the beam of light was a symbol like in the previous room, but Toon Link will need the Mirror Shield to reflect the light reflected by Medli to reveal what was behind it.

When all the enemies in the room were eliminated, the back wall lowered to become stairs with a locked door at the door. Climbing the stairs, they found another, unlocked door at the left.

Behind it was a crypt full of coffins against the wall in a lower section. Approaching the coffins caused their lids to fall, revealing what was inside: three ReDeads, a yellow rupee, and a key.

The ReDeads were expected, and Link told everyone what they did if you approached them, so as soon as the lids dropped, everyone moved away before even finding out that there were indeed ReDeads inside the coffins.

The ReDeads looked different from the ones Link knew. Their body was gray-blue, they had no mask on their head, and they had earrings. Also, while the top of their body looked like a normal zombie, their bottom was more skeletal.

Toon Link plugged his ears with his hands and approached one of the ReDeads. Once it finished screaming, he attacked, killing the ReDead in a few slashes. Sonic killed a second one before it even had time to scream by Spin Dashing into it. Phantom threw her sword right into the head of the third one. Its death had the effect of lowering a ladder so they could climb back to the entrance of the room.

“They aren’t a problem once you know how to deal with them,” Link said.

Toon Link nodded. “Easy!”

They grabbed the key and left the room, opening the locked door of the previous one.

They entered another crypt, this one with just two coffins, and bars blocked the door behind them. However, as they expected ReDeads to come out of the coffins, instead, they got a skeleton coming out of the ground, a Stalfos, which held a heavy spiked club. It was so heavy that the Stalfos was dragging it on the floor. It also had… hair?

“Uh. Not at all like my Stalfos,” Link said before he looked at Toon Link. “Go on. It shouldn’t give you any problem.”

Toon Link nodded and approached the Stalfos which swung at him with difficulty. Link jumped back to avoid the club, then used the opening to attack the Stalfos. He quickly moved away to avoid a second swing, not trusting to be able to block it with its weight, then resumed attacking. The Stalfos exploded into pieces, but it wasn’t over. The head, still alive, began to jump around, avoiding Toon Link who quickly went after it.

With some difficulty, Toon Link caught the head and attacked it. It surprisingly took many hit from the Master Sword to finally destroy it, killing the Stalfos.

But it wasn’t over. The coffins opened, revealing two more Stalfos.

Link decided to take on one while Toon Link took on the other. Toon Link actually had the idea of grabbing the club of the first Stalfos before throwing it at the new one, making it explode into pieces. Toon Link had some difficulty catching the head, but easily killed it afterward.

As for Link, he threw a bomb at his Stalfos, making it explode, then used his boomerang to stun the head before he killed it.

Toon Link looked at him in awe.

“You really did good,” Link congratulated his counterpart, making him squeal.

Killing the Stalfos had the effect of lowering a wall, forming stairs to a chest that contained the Mirror Shield. Shudders then opened in the ceiling, allowing Toon Link to test his new shield to reflect light on a sun above the entrance, unlocking the door.

They returned where they fought the Moblins and Poes and Medli went to reflect the light on Toon Link who reflected it on the wall under the beam of light, destroying it and revealing a secret passage.

Inside it was another symbol on a wall and an elephant statue. There was also a beam of light at the end, allowing Medli to reflect light on the statue only to reveal a blue rupee. Toon Link reflected the light on the wall with the symbol, revealing MORE rupees, four blues, four yellows, and a red one, for a total of eighty rupees.

They passed the door at the end of the passage and found themselves on a ledge above the tall statue with the fog, at its left. Medli flew Toon Link to the part of the room without the fog, and the others followed.

They briefly returned to the room where they fought the first two Floormasters where Toon Link entered the small dead end room to reflect light on the symbols, destroying the wall and revealing a chest containing a butterfly pendant.

Back in the room with the statue, Medli and Toon Link reflected the two beams of light into the eyes of the statue, lighting the head and turning it into a large sun. This totally cleared the fog and caused part of the floor to lower to become stairs to a door.

Behind the door was a curved staircase to a room with a bridge above a fog, with two Blue Bubbles, Bubbles emitting the same blue fog as before. Toon Link had the idea of using his Deku Leaf to clear the fog around the Bubbles, allowing the heroes to touch and kill them.

At the other side of the bridge was a stone tablet like at the entrance of the temple, forcing Toon Link and Medli to play the Earth God’s Lyric to destroy it and reveal the door behind.

In the next room, they killed two ReDeads and Toon Link used a light to destroy three elephant statues, a small one on a cube that they could push to reach a locked door, and two large one blocking doors at the left and the right. For the left one, he had to deflect the light on a large mirror into the statue because it was behind a pillar.

“According to the map, the right door leads to a dead end,” Medli said.

“Let’s start with it, then,” Apple Death said.

They entered a room with a part filled with fog. They had no choice but to enter the fog to traverse the room and reach a chest containing a key. On the way, they had to avoid Floormasters, the fog stopping the heroes from attacking somehow.

As soon as they obtained the key, the fog disappeared, allowing them to kill the Floormasters, no less than six! Killing all of them revealed a chest containing a treasure chart.

Back in the previous room, they could use the key on the locked door, but they decided to first see what was behind the other door, behind the pillar.

They entered a hallway with a lower section filled with fog. Floormasters revealed to be in this fog. Avoiding them was almost impossible.

They had to bait the Floormasters out of their hole, and then attack the hands that poked out of the fog from a distance while avoiding the skulls they were throwing. Medli and Makar were the ones who flew to bait them out, letting the others attack. Once all the Floormasters were killed, they traversed the fog and pushed a large mirror into a switch beside a grid that blocked the path. The switch opened shudders, letting light enter and hit the mirror. The light was reflected through the grid.

Done in this hallway, they returned to the previous room and passed the locked door, entering the room that had been behind the grid. Red Bubbles and Poes welcomed them, but thanks to the light from the mirror behind the grid, it was easy to deal with the ghosts. The light turned them solid. Then, they used the light to destroy giant elephant statues, revealing a door.

Behind was a hallway full of coffins, and also some Keeses. They had to carefully advance to avoid the lids falling on them. Of course, in some of the coffins, there were Redeads, but also a Stalfos. At a dead end was a chest containing a red rupee.

The exit was blocked by another stone tablet, forcing Toon Link and Medli to play the Earth God’s Lyric to reveal the door.

Behind, they descended a staircase that curved left, then right, before they arrived in a large circular room that consisted of a staircase hugging the wall to go down at the left, and a teleport pot with yellow fog at the right, blocked by a boulder. There was also a platform on the opposite side of the room with the door with the golden lock, they will have to fly to reach it. Toon Link destroyed the boulder with a bomb.

They saw that the stairs eventually stopped only to restart further down, with ivy between them to go from one to another. Instead, Apple Death levitated the Links to the bottom floor, before the exit door.

They entered a very large room, the largest of the temple. There was a large platform with a switch in the center, and Medli flew to it to step on the switch, opening shudders to let light through.

Seeing where the light was going, Toon Link pushed a mirror at the right into the beam. Using Mirror Shields and harp, the Links and Medli reflected the light into an elephant statue and symbols on the wall, revealing two mirrors that Toon Link pushed and pulled until they reflected the light in a zigzag pattern, the last one reflecting the light through the central platform.

Now on the left side of the room, they had to repeat what they did on the right. They pushed a first mirror to reflect the light, then used Mirror Shields and harp to destroy statue and wall to push and pull two more mirrors. Thanks to that, the light reached elevated platforms from which Toon Link and Medli could reflect it into the eyes of a statue like in the first floor, revealing a door. Two chests were also revealed, and a last wall was destroyed.

In the chests were a purple rupee (fifty rupees) and a butterfly pendant.

They went into the little passage behind the destroyed wall and entered a room with three coffins, each containing a Stalfos. Toon Link copied his idol and used a bomb and the boomerang to kill one while Apple Death and Amy killed the others.

A chest containing a treasure chart appeared.

Returning to the previous room, they took this time the door they revealed by lighting the statue’s eyes and entered a room where the entrance barred behind them. A Darknut awaited them. When they approached, two Blue Bubbles also awakened, and Apple Death used wind to blow their fog away so they could be killed. Meanwhile, Link decided to try his luck against his first Darknut.

The Darknut didn’t last long. Link practically danced around him.

The monster’s death unlocked the door and opened the way to a large, ornate chest containing the golden key.

“All that remains is the big bad,” Phantom said.

“My bet on an undead,” Link said.

“Not taking the bet,” all the others said.

So they returned to the circular room and flew to the platform with the golden-locked door.

“Here we go,” Link said.

“Ready!” Medli exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Makar shouted.

Toon Link unlocked the door, and they entered the last room of the temple.

It was a circular room surrounded by spikes, including columns of spikes, there was the Triforce symbol in the center, and the room was full of Poes of various colors, fifteen in total. They were running around in panic in the light of the room. But then, they stopped and all turned as one to face the heroes.

Creepy.

But it only caused them to panic even more, running around.

Until the light disappeared, causing the Poes to turn intangible. Then, a large mask appeared in the center, and all the Poes immediately flew to it, and entered it. A giant ghostly body then came out of the mask.

A giant obese Poe with an orange vest.

Jalhalla

He materialized a lantern in his right hand, then cackled.

Beams of light appeared here and there in the room, and the heroes immediately understood what they had to do.

Apple Death decided to remain out of it. It would be too easy with her.

Toon Link, Link, and Medli ran toward one of the beams of light while Jalhalla sent fireballs from his lantern. They quickly used their Mirror Shields and harp to deflect light into the ghost, turning him solid and stunning him.

Looking at the columns of spikes, Toon Link then had the idea of lifting the heavy ghost and sending him rolling into one of the columns, causing his body to explode into the fifteen Poes that began to run around in panic as the room was suddenly plunged in light. The heroes then quickly went to kill the Poes, managing to kill five before the light disappeared and the mask reappeared, the Poes immediately floating into it to reform Jalhalla.

The ghost, however, barely had time to send a stream of fire from his lantern at Toon Link before Medli and Link stunned him with light again. Toon Link immediately lifted him and threw him at the spikes, causing him to explode again.

Five more Poes were then killed before the obese ghost reformed again.

There was only one beam of light now, but it was enough as Medli used it to stun the ghost for the third time. Jalhalla was then lifted and thrown, he exploded, and the last five Poes were killed.

The last Poe dead, the mask reappeared only to discover that nothing was left to reform its body. Jalhalla then tried to escape, but he had the bad idea of flying right under shudders that opened, letting in a beam of light right on him. The mask found itself stunned, and it fell to its death, the mask exploding upon crashing on the ground.

The central triangle of the Triforce in the center began to glow blue.

“Gosh. This fight was too easy even without Apple Death,” Phantom said.

“Three light benders may have been a bit too much,” Sonic said.

Medli laughed. “That’s true.” She then laughed at the blue light. “I guess this is it, then.”

Toon Link nodded. He planted the Master Sword in the center of the light. Then, he took out his Wind Waker, Medli readied her harp, and they began to play.

Rapidly, Laruto appeared beside Medli, playing too.

As they neared the end, the Triforce on the ground began to glow golden.

Finally, as they finished, power accumulated into the Master Sword.

As Toon Link went to grab the sword, Laruto disappeared.

Toon Link looked at the sword, wondering what changed. He then suddenly felt something great in him as the sword’s ‘wings’ opened.

As he admired the sword again, he said, “Halfway done.”

Medli nodded. “Yes. The power to repel evil is not yet fully awakened.”

Makar jumped. “Now, it’s my turn! To the Wind Temple!”

Medli nodded again. “Step into the light. Return to the surface. Go to the Wind Temple. I will remain here and continue to pray. You must hurry!”

Everyone agreed, and they stepped into the light.

“And, Link!” Medli continued. “Um… About Prince Komali… Please watch over him for me.”

“Will you be alright here by yourself?” Sonic asked, looking at all the skull littering the ground.

“Yes. Don’t worry. The monsters are all gone now.”

And with that, they began to float in the light before they disappeared.

"Good luck."

Comments

[Windy0]

Nice work with the chapter.

[Lucar]

11896781
Thanks.

[ComradePresident]

They were now in a long room with two caoffins.

Extra a here, should be coffins.

Behind the door was a curved staircase to a room with a bridge above a fog, with two Blue Bubbles, Bubbles emitting the same blue fog than before.

This has been a recurring issue in your fics, but i hadn't had the opportunity to comment on it. Than is used only with inequal comparasions, more x than, less x than, x-er than etc. Here you use same, a word indicating equality, which should be used with as instead. There has been a lot of similar cases where you used than when it should've been as or with.

Two chests wre also revealed, and a last wall was destroyed.

Missing an e, should be were.

as he admired the sword again, he said, “Halfway done.”

This should start uppercase.

[Lucar]

11896991
Thanks. All corrected. I will try to remember for 'than'.

[Herald of Opera]

They spotted, however, a large cube near the top of a ladder at the left. Pulling it

Since when does Link get to pull stuff? Most games, inside the franchise or otherwise, are built around only being allowed to push.

[Lucar]

11897201
https://youtu.be/UYUplkfclL0 At 5 minutes.