//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14: The Zora's Domain. 
// Story: Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers [Parallel Quest] 
// by Cyrus Colter 
//------------------------------//

"Let's return to the crater," Link suddenly said before he turned around to reenter the crater of Death Mountain.

"Huh? Why?" asked Sweetie Belle at his side.

"I was never able to explore the crater before, for obvious reasons. It's important to explore everywhere, you never know where you may find something useful. A secret grotto with a treasure inside, or even a Fairy Fountain with, if we’re lucky, a Great Fairy."

“Fairies? In that heat? Are you sure?” The filly questioned.

“Need I remind you that Navi spent the whole time we were in the temple at our side and she’s just fine?” Rota snarked as Marko nodded.

“Yeah, we fairies can survive in any environment in this world,” Navi confirmed.

“Good point,” Sweetie conceded.

So they returned to the crater, searched, and found something. However, it was blocked by solid boulders that couldn't be destroyed even with the bombs. But then, having a hunch, Link used his hammer, managing to destroy the boulders and free the path.

The tunnel behind the boulder led to a Fairy Fountain, a very enchanting place full of fairies with a Triforce symbol at the front. Standing on it, Link played Zelda's Lullaby, invoking a Great Fairy.

She didn't look at all like Sweetie Belle and the Bage siblings expected... Fairies were generally small and adorable...

Not this one.

The Great Fairy was actually very tall, easily dwarfing the three humanoids, had only a light cloth covering her body and two long socks covering her legs, and had a lot of makeup. She didn't even have wings like all the other fairies.

But the filly, Saiyan and Human could feel the power she commanded. Despite her appearance, she was clearly a force to be reckoned with.

As proof of her power, she enhanced Link’s magic reserve, effectively doubling the amount of magic he could utilize before needing to recharge.

And before leaving, the fairy gave one last piece of advice. "You are going to the Zora's Domain now, right? Then, I suggest that you keep a spare bottle empty. You will need it. If you don't want to empty the ones you possess right now, then you should return to Hyrule Castle Town. A man there will give you another bottle in exchange for a... favor."

With these words, the Great Fairy disappeared.

Sweetie Belle and Link turned to stare at each other while Rota and Marko respectively dragged her palms down her face and slapped his own forehead.

“A man? In that place infested with bloodthirsty zombies?” Sweetie Belle wondered.

Link shrugged before Rota cut in. “Moving past the fact that, vague as they can be, deity-like beings never outright lie about their own worlds in a situation like this, you would be AMAZED at the lengths some people will go to in order to do something they’ve set their mind to. Long story short, if she says there’s someone in that town, then there’s someone there.”

Link then said his own thoughts. “Besides, a fourth bottle could come in handy in other ways.”

“Alright then. Back to Hyrule Castle Town it is." The filly conceded.

So Link played the Prelude of Light to warp to the Temple of Time, gaining time. Sweetie Belle and the Bage siblings followed him with a teleportation and Instant Transmission, respectively.

Back in Hyrule Castle Town, they left the Temple of Time, quickly killed the ReDeads around, and began to search for that man.

They found him inside the old guardhouse, beside the drawbridge.

The man was very... weird... to say the least. He was cloaked, only had one eye, loved Poes, and even was able to keep spirits in cages.

Then he told them that he would buy any Poe they would bring him, and there were apparently ten large ones haunting the Hyrule Field that he would like to have. If they managed to bring the ten big Poes to him then he would recompense them.

What he forgot to say, that the Great Fairy also didn't think about, was that they needed an empty bottle to keep the Poes trapped, so they still needed to empty one of the ones they had.

Thankfully Sweetie Belle was there. She could perfectly keep a ghost trapped thanks to her powers.

So, with the help of Epona (that Link had to call with her song), they wandered Hyrule Field in search of the Poes, finding them one by one. As soon as they found one, Sweetie Belle trapped it inside a magical cage that she kept levitating beside her. Once they had the ten Poes, they returned to the guardhouse and gave them to the man who gave a bottle in return.

With the bottle in their possession, they then went toward the river and went up it.

The river was full of Octoroks, but thanks to a magical floating plant that Link had apparently planted seven years ago, they passed above most of it before landing not far of the entrance to the Zora's Domain, which was hidden behind a waterfall. Link playing Zelda's Lullaby at the right place parted it, opening the way for them.

They entered the Zora's Domain…

Only to look in horror as they discovered the place entirely frozen, and not a single Zora could be seen.

Link grit his teeth. "Here too..."

Sweetie Belle huffed while Rota and Marko seethed with rage, the former flashing into Super Saiyan momentarily as flames subtly wreathed the latter. "Seems like there really isn't a place on Hyrule that has been spared by Ganondorf. Let's still search to see if we can find the Zoras."

Link nodded and, once the siblings had calmed down a bit, the group began to search. But they couldn’t find the Zoras anywhere, not even in the houses. What confused them most, however, was the presence of what seemed to be red ice blocking off what Link remembered was the shop entrance.

Link sighed at this. “Of course…”

“Something you need in here?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“A blue tunic. If the next temple is where I think it is, then I’ll need that tunic to breathe underwater,” Link confirmed.

“Right, the next temple is likely underwater. Though for now, we’ll need to melt this ice.” Marko pondered before turning his attention to the red ice. He then gestured for the others to get out from in front of him as he leveled his palm to it. He then unleashed a torrent of flames on the red ice, melting the normal ice around it, but not affecting it directly. “Damn.”

Not sure what else they could do about the red ice, they continued to explore the Domain, eventually going to the King's throne room. There, they found the Zora King himself trapped in more red ice.

"Oh no..." said Sweetie Belle as the Bage siblings hung their heads in respect..

Link sighed. "In the end, there's nothing we can do here... No, wait... There may be something."

"Really? What?"

"Follow me."

Link entered a tunnel that was behind the frozen king, followed by the filly. Midway through the tunnel, which was also filled with frozen water, they reached a point where the water wasn't frozen, but very cold. Eventually, they reached the Zora's Fountain, which was the den of the Great Jabu-Jabu, now gone too. The Fountain was only partially frozen however, and it was snowing. A fog also limited their view.

"As I thought..." muttered Link before he looked at the group. "I remember that there is a cavern that I couldn't reach before. Now that the water is partially covered in ice, maybe I will be able to enter it. We may find something in it."

Sweetie Belle, Rota and Marko all nodded in understanding.

So they went on the ice and jumped from ice platform to ice platform, dealing with Octoroks on the way, before reaching the cavern Link talked about, and they entered it.

The cavern was absolutely frozen, filled with stalactites that could fall anytime to impale them, so they made sure to destroy all of them for their security. On the way, they also found more of that red ice, thankfully not blocking the path, just being a small obstacle to circle. They however had to also destroy stalagmites blocking the way.

They then reached a room with the ground covered in slippery ice. Some enemies looking like statues of ice named Freezards were present, sending streams of ice at the heroes and even sliding on the ice to charge at them. The Freezards weren't hard to approach and to destroy once the heroes avoided the streams, but a Blade Trap (a metallic object covered in blades that kind of reminded Sweetie Belle of Gordos) circling the room made the task much more dangerous because it was easy for them, especially Link, to slip into its path.

So Marko simplified things by carrying Link to the center of the room where the Hylian used Din’s Fire, killing almost everything in the room. The survivors were then picked off by Sweetie Belle and Rota.

Their destruction caused bars blocking a passage between two crystals of red ice to rise, letting the heroes continue.

"Uuh... Is it just me or is this cavern actually a dungeon?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"It seems to be," agreed Links. "I frankly didn't think that we would be exploring a dungeon in this cavern, so close to the Zora's Domain."

Following the new passage, they reached a new room with a giant spinning blade and some silver rupees floating here and there. The blade wasn't a big problem as it was high enough that Link and the siblings could avoid it by ducking, and the blade passed above Sweetie's head (it was good to be small!).

It wasn't the first time they saw those silver rupees. Back at the bottom of the well, there were some of them on the bottom floor. They had to take all of them in order to open the path for them to return to the top floor.

If it was the same thing here, then it meant that they had to find all the silver rupees in the room while avoiding being beheaded by the blade. No problem! Although, as they entered the room, some jars acted like the tiles back in the Fire Temple, levitating and charging at them. Sweetie Belle and the Bage siblings simply destroyed them with their beams.

Three rupees were all over the room, a fourth was hidden in a small alcove behind stalagmites, and a fifth was up in the air. Link could reach it by jumping from a ledge (where an exit of the room was), but Rota simply flew to it. With the five silver rupees in their possession, the bars blocking the exit on the ledge disappeared, letting them continue.

Following the path, fighting a Freezard and avoiding more Blade Traps moving back and forth, they reached a third room also with slippery ice floor. There were some more Freezards as well as many Ice Keeses that the heroes quickly dealt with, mainly Sweetie Belle with her beams. More Blade Traps were also present, but they weren't dangerous as long as the heroes followed the path formed by the platforms that they climbed on.

On one of the platforms, they found a blue fire that wasn't natural, like Navi noted. The fairy also said that this fire could probably be used for something.

It wasn't hard to guess what that something was: melting the red ice. Speaking of, there was a crystal of red ice covering a big chest further.

But now, they had to bring the fire to the red ice, and using a Deku Stick didn't work. Link also fired an arrow through it, but no luck either.

Marko tried controlling it, but could only call a handful of it to him at a single time.

Seeing that gave Rota an idea. She grabbed Link’s empty bottle and told her brother to try and put the blue fire in it. Somehow, it worked.

“OK, that’s new even for us,” the Saiyan said as she handed the bottle back to Link while Marko took another handful of blue flame and tossed it on the red ice trapping the chest.

“It at least explains why the Great Fairy told us to have a spare empty bottle,” Navi said.

Sweetie Belle stared at the fire in the bottle in wonder. "Okay... Even for me, this is very far-fetched. And I saw many weird things in my adventures. Fire in a bottle, really..."

“At least, now, we can melt the red ice,” Link said as he moved to the chest that Marko freed from the ice. Opening it up, he found a map of the cavern.

“Hopefully there are more of these blue flames. Having to come back here every time we need one would get annoying quickly,” Marko said.

Link agreed, but he only had one spare bottle. He could empty the others, but he didn't want to release the fairy and to waste the potions he bought.

For now, he stowed the bottle of fire on his belt and they returned to the room with the spinning blade where they used the fire to melt some stalagmites of red ice blocking another exit that led to a room that was a dead end. But within said dead end room was possibly some form of treasure.

So they entered the room and immediately spotted another big chest trapped in red ice. Thankfully, there was a blue fire in the room too, so they destroyed the many stalagmites that were a little everywhere, filled the bottle with the fire, and used the fire on the red ice to open the chest and get the compass in it. Link then filled his bottle again with the fire and they returned to the previous room for the third time, this time using the fire to melt a wall of red ice blocking the last exit..

The passage led to a huge room with a strangely checkered ice floor and a big ice block. Blue fire was present in an alcove too far up to reach it with a jump, silver rupees were around mainly on pillars, and some Ice Keeses too.

Their goal: push the ice block around so they could use it to reach the silver rupees and the blue fire that they needed to melt the red ice covering one of the rupees in another alcove. The problem? Because of the slippery floor, once the block was pushed, it didn't stop sliding until it was either stopped by an obstacle or fell in a pit surrounding the area.

“So, we can either let you do this while Sweetie, Marko and I deal with the Keeses, or one of the three of us capable of flying can just go around and grab the silver rupees with the bottle, if it isn’t Marko,” Rota said.

“Let’s do the former, looks like fun. Just make sure those Keeses don’t get annoying,” Link answered, receiving a trio of nods in return.

It wasn't hard in the end. Link managed to push the block toward the alcove with the fire to get it before pushing the block into the pit around. As he thought, a new block appeared at the beginning, and he managed to push it toward the alcove with the rupee trapped in ice. He then pushed the block in the pit again to reset it.

Instead of losing time by pushing the block to the alcove with the fire, he then gave the empty bottle to Sweetie Belle (who had let the Bage siblings handle the Ice Keeses) so she could fly to the fire with it and fill it. Meanwhile, Link pushed the block around to get the four remaining silver rupees (one of them didn't even need the block to be reached), doing a full loop with it before he pushed it toward the ledge on which was the now opened exit.

The next passage held some Freezards that they had to deal with before they reached a wall of red ice. Rather than have Link use the bottled blue fire, Marko simply went back to the previous room, grabbed a handful of it from the alcove, came back and tossed it on the red ice wall, melting it in one go. The group then continued before they passed a door camouflaged in the ice, entering a beautiful room with walls full of little blue lights.

Behind them, bars appeared to block the door.

And suddenly, a White Wolfos appeared.

Easily killed. It wasn't because it was white that it was harder to kill than the normal Wolfos. It was just as easy.

Just after it died, a big chest appeared, containing iron boots for Link.

To put it simply, the boots were so heavy that, while Link won't be able to run while wearing them, he will be able to walk in the bottom of the water without the whole floating part. Useful to explore the seabed, without forgetting that Link will be able to resist strong currents and to step on rusted switches without using the hammer.

And since the next temple was apparently under water, these boots will quickly get many uses.

Rota smirked before speaking. “Well, you’ve got some timing there, Sheik.”

Link and Sweetie Belle gave a slight jump as they turned around at the proclamation to see, sure enough, Sheik was behind them. They hadn’t even heard him enter! Marko, on the other hand, was as calm as Rota.

“Seriously, he’s a ninja…”  Sweetie belle muttered to herself.

“If you’ve come seeking to meet the Zora, you have wasted your time… Save for one, they are all trapped beneath this thick sheet of ice we now stand over,” Sheik said, foregoing greetings.

The four heroes sighed in relief at this. “So they are safe, in a way,” Link said.

“For a moment I was afraid it was like with the Gorons,” Sweetie Belle added.

Sheik nodded at them before he continued. "I managed to rescue the Zora princess from under the ice, but... she left to head for the Water Temple..."

Link groaned at this, covering his face with one hand.

"This ice is created by an evil curse..." continued Sheik again. "The monster in the Water Temple is the source of the curse. Unless you shut off the source, this ice will never melt..." He then fully looked at Link. "If you have courage enough to face the danger and save the Zoras, I will teach you the melody that leads to the temple."

Link nodded and prepared his ocarina.

But before, Sheik continued to talk. "Time passes, people move... Like a river's flow, it never ends... A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth... Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself..."

At this, he finally took his lyre and taught Link the song.

Between Sheik's words as deep as the sea and the song, Sweetie Belle couldn't help but reflect on her own personal growth since... Since that accident. Time sure passed since then, and Sweetie Belle was now a very different filly than she was back then. It certainly wasn't the Sweetie Belle of back then who could have snapped the neck of a wolf, dying or otherwise, without even giving a second thought. The Sweetie Belle of back then would have frozen in horror at the sight of the Dead Hand. And she knew that these changes will continue as time continues. How different will she be by the time she finally becomes a Goddess? She could only guess. She just knew that, when she will be a Goddess, she will be beyond Time, but does it mean that she will stop changing? Stop growing?

Rota and Marko, on the other hand, glanced at each other with a familial fondness as they reminisced on the memories of them and their siblings, sharing a hug.

After they were done, Sheik left like he always did, leaving them to continue, both their journey and their reflections.

"He sure knows how to make us think upon our life," commented Sweetie Belle.

Link nodded. "Yeah..."

Rota and Marko both just grunted in affirmation.

Continuing, they approached a hole full of water and Link equipped the boots before jumping in it, followed by Sweetie Belle and the siblings. At the bottom of the hole, Link opened a door that led to a path eventually coming out of water and leading back to the first room where they fought the first Freezards. There, Link took off the boots before they left the cavern.

“We have some blue fire, right?” Navi suddenly asked. “We’ll need it to thaw out the King Zora.”

Checking his spare bottle, Link found that the blue fire was still there and sighed in relief.

Returning to the throne room, Link handed the bottle of blue fire to Sweetie Belle, who poured it over the frozen King Zora’s head. Within seconds, the king was free.

"Oh! I've come back to life!" shouted the regal fat fishman before he looked down at the filly who jumped on the platform facing the king, followed by Link and the Bage Siblings. "Is it you who saved me?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Uhuh! We got the blue fire in the cavern behind the Fountain! Uh, speaking of, I should return to get more fire to melt the red ice blocking the shop." She then bowed to the king before teleporting away.

The king then looked at LInk. "I think I recognize you. You saved my daughter seven years ago."

Link nodded. "And now, I must go to the Water Temple to save your people trapped under the ice."

"Aah... The Water Temple. You will need to breathe underwater to enter it. There. As an expression of my gratitude, I grant you this tunic. With this, you won't choke underwater. Sadly, we only have the one to give at the moment."

Marko spoke up for himself and Rota. “I know a water-breathing spell. Should last long enough to let us help in the Temple.”

Regardless, Link received the tunic he needed.

With it and the boots, he was now ready to enter the Water Temple.

Sweetie Belle then appeared beside them. "It's done. The red ice blocking the shop is gone. The shopkeeper Zora is still in it, so you will be able to buy stuff in it if you want. I also filled the bottle with another flame just in case."

Link nodded. "Thank you Sweetie Belle." He took his ocarina. "Now, let's go to the Water Temple."

And he played the Serenade of Water, warping to the Water Temple.

Sweetie Belle and the Bage siblings all sung the Serenade too, following Link.

The group warped to Lake Hylia. Or what was left of it, as they found out once their vision cleared.

The lake had been drained almost entirely!

"Seems like the Domain isn't the only place that has been affected by this monster," noted Sweetie Belle.

Link nodded before he put on the blue tunic. "Can you breathe underwater?"

"Yeah. Don't worry."

Marko then cast his Water-breathing spell on himself and Rota, granting them both roughly twelve hours reprieve from drowning.

With this done, Link nodded and approached the edge of the island they had warped on, equipped the boots, and jumped, disappearing in the little water that remained. Sweetie Belle followed, deciding to turn into metal to also walk at the bottom without problem. The Bage siblings, meanwhile, were able to use their flight to maneuver underwater just fine.

They landed just in front of the entrance to the temple.

"Alright! You all cleared the first two temples as if they were nothing! I'm sure you will have no problem with this one, too!" said Navi at this moment.

Sweetie Belle groaned while Marko facepalmed and Rota deadpanned at the fairy. "You just had to say that..."