Chapter 42: Lurkers of the Depths
The Legend of Sunset Shimmer: Majora's Mask
By Ganondorf8
January 23, 2017
Chapter 42: Lurkers of the Depths.
I had to be honest with myself. When it became apparent that the Great Bay Temple would be a place filled with water, it brought back memories of my previous journey that had me going through a similar location, the Water Temple. It wasn't a very good experience given that I had to fight against the she-demon--whose desire to become the real as she proclaimed proved very emotional--yet my fight with her overshadowed what made the temple difficult. Namely, all that water. Never had I seen so much gathered in one place--not even Equestria could boast something like that--and I had to traverse it.
Had it not been for that tunic that allowed me to breathe underwater, I probably would have drowned several times over. While I wasn't afraid of swimming in water--I consider myself to be pretty good at it--I wasn't keen on having it all around me especially in cramped locations. Also, those boots that had lead iron soles on the bottom proved incredibly useful despite being less than practical. Walking underwater was actually a lot of fun though those monsters proved annoying whenever they appeared in those narrow corridors. Just thinking about it gave me mixed feelings.
While I certainly enjoyed the majestic splendour of the temple in addition to seeing Rarity again at the time, I didn't like having to change the water level so many times just so that I could make some adequate progress. I also didn't like how Ganondorf--Lord Tirek--forced me into fighting Sunset Demon though thinking back on it now, I actually felt sorry for her.
Yes... I felt sorry for my demonic self because of what she had to endure. It wasn't her fault that she was created to be nothing but a hateful monster who cares more about destruction and oppressing anyone. I had issues back then as a result of self-entitlement. I know I've thought about this in the past yet it continued to haunt me because she exists the way she does because of me. Reasoning with the she-demon was never an option. She refused to listen to anyone making her stubborn and an unfortunate reflection of myself. It didn't matter what it would take to assume my life--even her own demise--so long as Sunset Demon succeeded.
Wherever she was in the afterlife, perhaps she could now achieve the peace her tormented soul needed. That's what I would like to see happen though I doubted it would be a reality as she did do some questionable things mainly because I did them in her name. I suspected she was being tortured in some inhospitable manner and yearns to be put out of her misery for good. Such thoughts aren't becoming of me but then I blame myself for acting like a spoiled brat. If I could go back in time, I'd prevent the she-demon from ever existing thus everything after the fact wouldn't happen.
Unfortunately, tampering with the past like that would make me no better than her. I had to accept the fact that she would forever seek to assume my life and nothing else would ever be able to satisfy such cravings.
I shook my head knowing I had daydreamed too much once again--I also didn't want Princess Twilight to bop me repeatedly on the head--and turned my attention to what was standing in front of us. Unlike the Water Temple's beautiful interior, the Great Bay Temple's interior reminded me of a sewer system and for some reason, an off-shore oil rig. It's as though whoever built this place had no tastes whatsoever, yet I knew I shouldn't be judgmental with stuff like this.
Hanging slightly below the ceiling connected via a large pipewas what appeared to be a waterwheel judging from the stream of water that was hitting it on one side. The water was coming from a yellow funnel and on the opposite side was a red funnel though no water was coming out of it. Connecting to each funnel were pipes of the same respective colour yet only one appeared to be working given how it glowed brightly. Nearby though slightly submerged underwater was a switch resembling a clockwork key with another similar switch at the bottom of the room indicating that if I wanted to reach it, I needed to be a Zora.
" This is absolutely amazing!" Twilight exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes. " I'm not surprised that you would be enamoured by this, Twilight."
" We don't have anything like this back in Equestria, Sunset, so I can't help it if I'm facincated." Twilight said. She floated upwards to get a closer look at the waterwheel making sure not to accidentally get caught in the stream of water coming out of the funnel. " The water is what's making this wheel spin though I wonder where it's coming from." Her Highness then noticed the red and yellow pipes continued on past this room and immediately flew back down to me. " Sunset! If we follow those pipes, we might be able to get a better understanding of how this place works."
" What about the switches around here?"
" One of them could operate the two funnels but I'm not sure about that."
" And the other?"
" I have no idea."
" You don't seem sure of yourself, huh?"
Princess Twilight scoffed. " This is all new to me, Sunset! I need some time to figure out how everything works so that we can make sense of it. I wouldn't be a gifted scholar if it meant ignoring what was blatantly obvious before my eyes."
I rolled my eyes again. " So what do you suggest I do?"
" Why not try pushing that switch underwater."
" But, you said you don't know what it does."
" That's the beauty of curiosity!" Twilight said. " You won't know what something does until you try it out. Besides, you've done this kind of thing in the previous temples so why question it now?"
While Her Highness had a valid point in that I had pressed switches, pulled blocks, etc., to solve the different puzzles of the temples, she made it sound like curiosity was something to embrace whenever possible. Personally, curiosity only resulted in making things worse even though you had noble intentions prior to that. I had no idea what would happen upon activating that underwater switch yet I couldn't just stand there doing nothing. Time wasn't on my side and I needed to complete this temple before resetting things back to the beginning as I still had some unfinished business regarding the Zoras.
Since the switch was underwater, I needed to become a Zora once again. Taking out the Zora Mask and putting it on my face, I squatted down and awaited for the magic to change me, and upon finishing, I simply stepped off the edge into the water only to hear something giggling coming from behind me.
Turning around, I saw a Stray Fairy trapped inside of a bubble that was hidden cleverly underneath the platform I had stood on. If not for its giggling, I might have ignored it entirely--maybe not as my eyes would have noticed it upon swimming back this way. My fins were practically blades so protruding them and slicing at the bubble, it easily popped and the fairy entered my body giving me two out of the fifteen in the temple. Princess Twilight said she would make a mental note of both fairy locations so that she could jot them down whenever we find the map hidden somewhere further within.
Swimming over to the switch while looking both ways in case there were underwater monsters--there weren't--my first thought involved how I was supposed to activate it. It wasn't a switch that you pressed for it to activate. No, it was a large object that couldn't be stepped on. I grabbed it and tried pulling on it in hopes that would do something but all I got out of it was sore hands and almost pulled my back.
I then tried pushing it using my shoulder due to my hands and I struck paydirt as the switch moved around until it mysteriously dropped into the ground. Looking down at the ground to see what happened to the switch, I had confusion written all over my face until the sound of water suddenly came out of nowhere.
" What happened?"
Princess Twilight flew up out of the water to investigate before coming back moments later. " Activating that switch has caused another funnel to start spouting out water, and I think you can use it to cross over to a platform that was previously out of reach."
" Guess you were right about me activating it."
" Like I said? That's the beauty of curiosity."
I wanted to slap my forehead but refrained from doing so but I hoped Her Highness wouldn't start bragging about this. While it was okay to be proud of being right about something, going overboard would only make others not respect you for your abilities, and instead make you nothing short of an arrogant braggart. Princess Twilight was better than that though she did slip into that kind of behaviour when she least expected it.
Looking back, I noticed a platform rising up and down with it going underwater for a few seconds upon coming down. Using my legs to push myself forward, I swam over to the platform just as it was about to go back up. To my left was another platform that contained several different coloured rupees with a Skulltula looming above as means of a trap in case I were greedy enough to go for the rupees rather than the exit. Still, the Skulltula seemed out of place as shouldn't it be closer to the ground? It's high-up position would make it too easy to grab the rupees unless something else was up.
Jumping off the platform and onto another one, I turned around and looked up at the Skulltula. " Twilight? I'm going to try something."
" What did you have in mind?"
" That Skulltula over there is bugging me."
" It's not in our way so you might as well ignore it."
" But that's just it!" I exclaimed. " Why would it be over there guarding a bunch of rupees? This will only take a few minutes." Grabbing my face, I took off the Zora Mask--I didn't need to flip my hair back--and placed it on the ground beside me before taking out the Hero's Bow and aiming upwards. " I hope I can hit it from this distance." In truth, I hadn't had much practice shooting at very distant targets--I usually hit close-ranged ones--so this would prove challenging--this was especially true since my quiver only had a few arrows left.
My first shot missed completely and hit the wall behind the Skulltula though I couldn't hear the plink sound, and my second proved just as bad though I did get a little closer though hitting the waterwheel wasn't what I would call close. My third arrow missed by several inches causing me to curse under my breath yet my fourth one hit the Skulltula, slamming it into the wall before it burned away to nothing. From its ashes came another Stray Fairy and I looked at Princess Twilight with a smug look.
" No need to brag about it, Sunset."
" Kind of like you, huh?"
" Yeah... I guess."
" I can't really be smug since I wasted four arrows just hitting the thing."
" How many do you have left?"
I quickly counted the remaining arrows. " About seven... Definitely not enough."
" Yes." Twilight said. " You should conserve them and only use them when necessary until you find some more, then you can go all crazy again. It's a shame though that you haven't acquired any larger quivers, Sunset. If you could carry more arrows, you wouldn't have to worry about running low."
That was something I really needed to look into once this temple had been taken care of. Not only did I need more arrows, but I also needed more bombs--you never know when you need them--so perhaps someone in Clock Town would have some answers. I recalled there was a Bomb Shop somewhere in town and a Shooting Gallery if my memory of shop signs was both accurate and reliable. My next seventy-two hour cycle should be dedicated towards getting better equipment and maybe some more masks.
Putting both the bow and Zora Mask away, I took out the Great Fairy's Mask, and put it on my face. The Stray Fairy immediately noticed the shimmering hair of the mask and flew over to me before entering my body and giving me three fairies. So far, I was doing a good job of picking them though I should be complacent about it. I had no doubt that it wouldn't be easy finding the others especially if this temple ends up being very complex.
Taking off the Great Fairy's Mask and putting it away, I took a single step before hearing a shuffling sound from above, and jumped back just as a Skulltula came down, hissing at me for avoiding its attempt to knock me down. Rather than waste time and risk being knocked over and down into the water below, I pressed my back up against the wall and slid my way past while staring at its hideous face. The Skulltula climbed back up to the ceiling after a while allowing me to jump across to the other platform using the water spouting forth from the funnel.
I walked forward until I stopped at a yellow pipe. " Huh? I have to cross on this!?"
" It does appear to be the only option."
" Guess I've no choice."
Princess Twilight took a closer look at the pipe. " The water coming from those yellow funnels is flowing through this pipe."
" Do you think there's a connection between the pipes and that waterwheel?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Most likely." She then looked back the other way for a split second before looking over at the red pipe. " That red pipe doesn't have any water flowing through it hence why it isn't glowing like the yellow one is. If we could bring water here along the red pipe, it should enable us to turn the waterwheel in the opposite direction, but I haven't quite figured out what may happen."
" I'm sure we'll find out eventually."
" I hope so."
The yellow pipe was narrow so walking on it required a delicate balance. If I were to fall off, I'd end up in the water and be forced to make my way back here again all while wasting precious time in the process. It seemed safe though the dripping water coming from above made me nervous about slipping, but I couldn't allow that to deter me so I stepped out onto the pipe and slowly walked across to the other platform before walking through a corridor and coming to a complete stop.
In this next room was a massive waterwheel that comprised of two pieces that were interlocked together with pipes connected to the walls and below the second wheel was a propeller that was churning the water around in a powerful vortex that looked too powerful for me to be able to swim through without getting pulled about. Looking down into the water below didn't reveal much other than confirming this room went down pretty deep, and on the other side was a chunk of ice that seemed out of place. Droplets of water occasionally dripped down from it indicating it hadn't been frozen for very long.
It seemed that the propeller--or whatever it was supposed to be--could be used as a platform as two high ledges on either side of me hinted at that, yet in my mind it sounded dangerous because it was possible that I could get killed if I were hit by it.
" And I thought the previous waterwheel was impressive."
Princess Twilight floated out in front of me again to get a closer look at this waterwheel. " Amazing! Simply fascinating! I've never seen anything like this! Can you imagine what something like this could do for ponies back home in Equestria?" If only I had some paper with me, then I could write down some blueprints that hopefully Princess Celestia's inventors can interpret to make something similar." Her Highness was completely enamoured and completely missing the point as to the significance behind the waterwheel. While I would have loved to have continued watching this spectacle, we did need to move on.
I whistled out to her. " Why don't we focus on this instead of Equestria!"
" Huh?" Princess Twilight asked, snapping out of her daydream. " Yes, of course."
" Guess I'm not the only one who daydreams, huh?"
Princess Twilight blushed before turning towards the waterwheel. " Hmmm... If this is being used to run the entire temple, then the other waterwheel is connected to this one. But, I don't see anything that could make us turn it the other way." She floated back down to me to fill me in on what she had observed. " From what I have gathered from my observations, this temple is like a giant machine with different pieces connecting to one another. Right now, only portions of the machine are connected leaving the rest needing to be 'fixed' so that other areas can be accessible."
" So that waterwheel is powering everything else?"
" Yes." Twilight answered. " As you can see from the glowing yellow pipe, water is still flowing through it but the red pipe isn't glowing, and that means we need to find our way to the source and turn on the water flow."
" The water below us doesn't seem all that inviting."
" It's just being pushed around by that giant propeller."
" I don't think I can control where I swim."
" All you can do, Sunset, is follow the flow of water wherever it leads and hopefully it will take us somewhere." Twilight said. She suddenly bopped me on the head prompting me to swat at her in response though she stuck out her tongue. " There's a barrel on each of those ledges."
" So?"
" Why not see what's inside them?"
I looked down at the water with a glum expression. " I don't know if I want to use that propeller as a platform."
" Then why not try using the Hookshot?" Twilight asked. " You haven't used it all that much since you got it and it has pulled you towards anything made of wood like in the Pirate's Fortress." She then took on a more serious tone. " Besides, you need to get used to the fact that you'll be pushed around by the current as you'll have to swim about in it as a Zora."
Once again, Her Highness was correct even though I wish she wasn't. As I took out the Hookshot, I quickly glanced down at the propeller as it slowly swirled around the room, churning the water about in a furious manner, yet I had to go down there in order to progress through this temple. No wonder this place was giving me painful memories from what I experienced on my previous journey.
The Water Temple was starting to look tame in comparison to the Great Bay Temple and I only just started with the latter. No doubt that this was going to test my patience to the limits of endurance.
Choosing to target the barrel on my left, I aimed the Hookshot at it and fired the chain. The tip sunk into the barrel, pulling me towards it though I ended up crashing into the side of the barrel--at least I didn't fall into the water--rather than make a safe landing. Knowing that I couldn't simply hack it to pieces, I thought about using the Goron Mask and simply punch it instead, but that seemed like a waste of using my Goron body just to smash a barrel.
Then I decided to just roll into it to see if that would be enough. What made me think of rolling? I'm not sure but something in my head was telling me that rolling into a barrel would smash it without any problems. Problems... Ha! My mind should have been more specific by saying that I needed some distance before rolling. My first attempt left me with a bruised head as I wasn't far away enough and my second almost sent me into the water. My third attempt broke the barrel releasing a Stray Fairy that somehow hadn't suffered any damage from my incessant rolling--I suffered damage--and when it entered my body, I jumped down to the walkway I should have noticed sooner.
Using a Hookshot was just a means to an end and I could have used the walkway and accompanying ladder for a safer trip. My eyes then caught sight of a pot situated at the very bottom of the pool of water. " Twilight? Who do you suppose put that jar down there?"
" I'm not sure but it seems strange don't you think?"
" It could contain magic power."
" Or it could contain rupees which you don't really need right now."
" In any case, I should break it otherwise I won't stop thinking about it."
" With the strong water current, you won't be able to smash it as a Zora as you'll just be thrown about at the water's whim." Twilight said. " Perhaps you could fire an arrow down there instead and smash it that way? It's a risk though since you only have seven left."
Taking out the Hero's Bow and aiming down into the water, I was beginning to understand why Her Highness said that it was a risk. I could barely see the pot down there and my vision was constantly obscured by that propeller though looking down had given me a new insight as to how it really operated.
I assumed there was only one propeller churning the water, the one that could be seen on the surface, yet it turned out that it wasn't the only one. There was a second propeller hidden beneath the first one--it's small size made it difficult to spot--though it was moving at a much slower speed. I couldn't help but be impressed that someone managed to construct a waterwheel of such magnitude to begin with.
Unlike Hyrule, it seemed Termina had a better understanding of technology, and the results in this room spoke for themselves. Granted, the world that I now called home could probably produce something a lot better in comparison to this given how far advanced things had gotten, yet I could appreciate the simpler things since Equestria had similar technological marvels--it was a kingdom that relied heavily on magic more than anything else. I was curious as to how often this waterwheel is maintained since it did look as though it were getting rusty in various places.
Firing an arrow into the water, I couldn't tell if it had connected with the pot or if it missed its mark, but a few moments later, something started glowing at the bottom of the pool and it looked familiar. Putting my bow away and donning the Great Fairy's Mask, whatever was glowing suddenly started floating upwards before jumping out and entering my body. To think that a Stray Fairy was hidden in such an inconspicuous yet obvious location though the water made it more difficult to see. The fact that I shattered the pot with one arrow showed how lucky I could be sometimes.
" That should be my fifth Stray Fairy, right?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " So far, we seem to be finding them at a relatively good pace."
" It won't last for much longer." I said. " We've only just started exploring this temple and I'm certain the rest will be scattered all over the place. I really wish we had the map of this place so you can use your magic to mark down where each fairy has been found so far."
" Why not make your own map?"
" I don't have any paper." I answered sarcastically."
" Oh."
" In any case, we might as well keep going."
" Time to become a Zora."
Putting the Great Fairy's Mask away, switching over to the Zora Mask, and putting it on my face, I immediately jumped into the water during the transformation, yet for some reason my jump became a dive and I ended up rolling on the larger propeller before crashing into the wall. Why did my body do that!? I clearly made a jump, not a dive! In any case, the crash left me dazed for several seconds before my transformation finished. Landing with a splash, I dove underwater only to experience first hand just how powerful the water vortex was. I tried swimming to see if I could beat it but it proved too much.
It actually reminded me of a room in the Water Temple that had a water vortex that prevented me from swimming normally yet this situation was so much worse. The vortex pulled me down to the bottom where it began pushing and pulling me about before throwing me into the wall. I dropped down onto my butt but had no time to react as I got pulled over to the other side, slamming into the opposite wall.
" This isn't working!"
" You need to swim with the current."
" Kind of hard to do that right now."
" Just swim like you usually do."
" Easy for you to say."
Princess Twilight then looked around for a path I could use to escape from this room. " There are four passageways we can take, Sunset, but I think some of them might not be available to you due to the water current coming from those directions pushing outwards rather than inwards." Her Highness then started to think which didn't settle well with me as I struggled getting back onto my feet. " I'm beginning to get the picture regarding how this temple works, and I can't believe I didn't realize it until now."
" I could do without the long speech."
" Sorry." Twilight said. " With the water flowing in its current direction, we can only access some areas of the temple while others are blocked due to the flow. We need to bring water back to the first waterwheel we encountered and reverse the flow."
" Do we even know where to start looking?"
Princess Twilight shook her head. " No, but that's what guessing is all about."
My jaw dropped in response to what she said. This is why I needed a map in case something like this happened as the thought of going around a proverbial maze without any hints as to what I was looking for left me wanting to just cry my eyes out. It wasn't bad enough that there were four different directions I could go but rather I couldn't go down all of them because the water current was too strong. What if what I was looking for ended up being down one of the paths that was inaccessible right now? I'd never be able to reach it resulting in wasting my remaining time for this cycle before having to reset.
I sighed knowing that the Great Bay Temple was essentially in control of my fate. Unless I lucked out and wound up in the right area of the temple, I'd have to make my way back here again and try a different path hoping it's the right one.
Pushing myself off of the wall, I began swimming in hopes that the current would take me down the right path, yet I ended up circling around the room and continued to repeat this cycle because of not knowing which path was correct. I needed something, a signal or some kind, to show me that this was the right way to take. That's when I noticed the red pipe from before that had no water flowing through it. It extended all the way down to the bottom of the pool and down a path where I sensed the water's flow working in my favour. Since I didn't have any other options, I decided to take a chance and swim towards that particular passageway.
It wasn't easy what with the current pushing me around but I managed to make my way into the passage the red pipe was moving though I couldn't stop as the current pulled me along down the passageway until it ejected me into a Shellblade that was waiting at the other end. A second one was located nearby yet didn't move but the first one did, bouncing along the ground ramming into me before closing up its mouth. I needed a few moments to gather my bearings and to find out where I was.
There were several columns stuck in the ground with each one surrounding a large pillar though I wasn't sure what it was supposed to be. Above my head were some of those exploding spikes so I needed to swim carefully otherwise I would take some damage. Then the sound of a familiar monster began ringing through my ears, and when I turned around to see what it was and confirm my supicions, I groaned upon seeing several Skullfish swimming towards me. I should have expected they would be here since this was an underwater temple, yet I didn't really want to run into them.
" It's like every underwater monster has gathered here." I moaned.
" There might be some new ones that we haven't seen before."
" I'm not looking forward to meeting those."
" I'll be able to give you the necessary information, Sunset, when the time comes." Twilight said. " Now, there is one thing about Shellblades that I never mentioned to you before, so now as good a time as any to mention it. When they close their mouths after opening them and charge towards potential prey, they can only move in one direction making them easy enough to avoid yet it will be awkward since we are underwater. Also, they can only move a certain distance before having to stop moving. It seems they tire themselves out easily by using up their energy by charging forward."
" In the past, I used a Hookshot to hit them when they open their mouths."
" You won't be able to do that this time."
" Without any Iron Boots, I can't walk around underwater." I said. The Skullfish were soon upon me and I used my magic barrier to destroy each of them as they came into contact with the electricity I was producing via magic. " That's what enabled me to use a Hookshot underwater last time."
" Um, Sunset?" Twilight asked. " You can already walk underwater."
" You know what I meant!"
Princess Twilight rolled her eyes. " Anyway, you can use your fins to strike their weak point inside of their mouths, but you'll need to get close to them otherwise they won't open up and could easily retaliate."
Even though being a Zora was way better than walking around underwater whilest wearing a specialized tunic and heavy boots, the fact that I couldn't use my Hookshot in this particular environment meant that I had to be more cautious when dealing with monsters. I guessed even something as underwater combat as a Zora wasn't perfect especially if it meant having to fight up close. My fins did give me some range though they weren't entirely accurate and could easily be deflected.
Walking up to the nearby Shellblade with my fins out and ready to fire, I inched a little closer and fired just as its mouth opened. My fins bounced off its thick shell before coming back around and striking it from behind destroying it. Rather than focus on the other one, I decided to swim up to the surface in order to see what was up with that pillar. As I floated up to the surface, the pillar began getting narrow though my eyes were looking at another familiar monster that suddenly disappeared into the water. The instant my head popped out of the water, something hit me from behind and I spralled up onto a small platform.
I tried getting back up only to be knocked down by the same thing though my eyes noticed bits of rocks scatter about. Crawling on all fours until I reached the corner of the room, I turned around and raised one of my fins to act as a shield, and learned that there was a second monster nearby spitting rocks in my direction. These things were slightly annoying during my last journey though I couldn't recall their names off the top of my head. My eyes then noticed another of those strange switches on top of the pillar though there was no way I could reach it as it was too high, and a locked door indicated that I had come the wrong way, or came here too soon.
" Those are Octoroks." Twilight said. " They will disappear under the water if you get too close to them and love to spit rocks at you as a means of attack. If you can bounce back their projectiles, they'll be taken down in just one hit, but make sure you're close otherwise they could fire a second one and both will crumble upon impact."
" I remember fighting them before though they weren't that annoying."
" If anything they are just a nuisance."
" Have you noticed the switch up on top of that--" I said before blocking another rock. " You know what, just give me a few moments, Twilight." Getting up and holding out my fin like a shield, the Octorok fired another rock which I easily bounced back into it getting rid of it before turning to the left and bouncing back a rock that the other one fired, defeating it and allowing me to breathe easily for a few moments. " Anyway, did you notice the switch up on top of that pillar? I think that might be what we need to activate to get some water flowing back to the waterwheel we encountered earlier."
" I don't think you can reach it."
" Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own."
" You might be able to if you could somehow use those Octoroks as stepping stones."
" They probably wouldn't let me do that."
" Unless you could somehow freeze them in place, I don't see any other option right now." Twilight said. " Not only that, but you need to find a key to open that locked door up ahead so it looks like we took a wrong turn."
" Again, I figured that out though not the freezing bit."
" Normally, we unicorns/alicorns would use our magic to freeze anything we want by using a simple freeze spell, but neither of us have access to our Equestrian magic right now so maybe you might get something that can freeze monsters. Who knows? It might be able to do much more in the right context." Twilight said.
" There was something I acquired on my previous journey that does sound like it could work."
" What was it?"
" It was called an Ice Arrow." I answered. " While it ended up serving no particular use as there wasn't anything I could do with it, the fact that it had the power to freeze anything the arrows came into contact with was too good not to use though now that I think back on it, maybe I should have used them to get past some pretty difficult monsters. I earned it by clearing a series of trials that many others before me had tried to conquer only to fail but I suppose that isn't really important. If those same Ice Arrows are somewhere inside this temple, I need to get my hands on them as soon as possible."
" You know, we should be glad that the pirates didn't manage to find their way in here."
" Why is that?"
" If this Ice Arrow is as powerful as you say it is, it would be dangerous in the wrong hands." Twilight said. " We saw how Rainbow Dash and her fellow pirates behaved especially when it came to their selfish lust for treasure. Had they acquired those arrows, they either would have sold them and earned a huge profit or used them against the Zoras thus allowing them to conquer Great Bay without any real opposition. I suppose they could have potentially waged war against the rest of Termina if they were feeling especially confident."
" Knowing them, they probably would have sold it off to someone in Clock Town."
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes, I suppose that does sound like the more plausible option. I can't imagine seeing Rainbow wanting to conquer anything and instead preferring to chillax--her words and not mine--and wait for something awesome to happen." Her Highness then looked at my body though not as extensive as what Coloratura did hence why I wasn't feeling uncomfortable. " Another reason why they couldn't have those Ice Arrows is because Zoras don't like hot and cold climates. While fire doesn't bother them too much, ice is especially cumbersome for them."
" Why didn't you mention it before?"
" I only figured it out now."
" Tatl's memories?"
" Yes."
I shivered knowing this new piece of information. It reminded me not only of the winter conditions of Snowhead but also my experiences dealing with winter in the world that I now called home. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get used to the sudden temperature drop followed by all that snow falling for what felt like forever couple with icy patches showing up everywhere. Even in Equestria, the snow just didn't resonate with me and I preferred to stay indoors and study--I may have been arrogant back then but at least I was smart regarding the snow.
Just thinking about being frozen as a Zora chilled me to the bone. It would be even worse than the time on my previous journey where I was trapped in a chunk of ice and almost froze to death--I did manage to break free before anything serious happened--because of it. That meant I needed to be even more careful especially if there were any monsters lurking in the temple that possessed ice-like powers.
" No matter what, I still plan on getting those Ice Arrows."
" That won't be easy what with the water currents in the central chamber forcing down certain paths."
" I wonder if there was another path I could take?"
" Only way for us to know is to go back there and find out."
" How do we get back?" I asked. " It's not like I can swim back the way we came."
" Maybe not but perhaps there is a path in this room that connects back to the central chamber."
Jumping back into the water, I began to swim around in hopes of finding a path that would take me back--it took me five minutes to find it--and when I did find it, I swam close to it and was immediately pulled forward and down the path, my body bouncing off the walls until I stumbled into the central chamber where I began getting pushed around by the strong water current again. No doubt that this temple was going to become my least favourite given how it was controlling my every movement and leaving me little in the way of being able to go about it at my own leisure.
Swimming around in the central chamber, I found a passage that I thought I could swim down but the current kept pushing me away so that route was a bust. I then swam towards another passage only to be rejected in the same manner leaving me feeling angry over how my progress was being impeded by water. One more passage remained and this one had both the red and yellow pipes lining either side of it, and since this was the only choice left, I swam towards in hopes that it would pull me towards it--it did.
The current pulled me down the passage--I didn't bounce around this time as I expected it--before ejecting me into a room that had columns strewn about everywhere with different sizes of Skullfish swimming about. Rather than fighting them--I'd be wasting precious magic as I didn't have much left--I chose to avoid them while heading towards a series of pots located nearby. Again, I had no idea who put them here but at this point it didn't matter as I could do with some magic jars.
Watching to make sure I didn't attract the Skullfish, I smashed the first three pots using my fins revealing a big magic jar and a couple of green rupees. Picking up the magic jar and the rupees, I opted not to break the other pots as I suspected they contained green rupees which would be wasting my time. At this point, money wasn't important as was my survivalin a temple that was already beginning to get on my nerves. I was about to swim up to the surface when I noticed a pair of skeletal hands embedded into the wall down a passage that I couldn't traverse due to the current.
" What in the hay is that?"
" That is a Dexihand."
" A what?"
" A Dexihand." Twilight answered. " It looks harmless and it actually is but don't underestimate its power. While it can't inflict any damage to you, it can grab you with its bony fingers and fling you somewhere else where you don't want to be. Most of the time they will simply impede your progress though some of them may be guarding something important like say a treasure for example."
" It doesn't look like I can attack it very easily."
" Most attacks are ineffective against it though your fins will prove effective."
" At least that's a positive sign."
" There is one more thing you need to be weary about." Twilight said. " When you defeat a Dexihand, another one will grow and take the place of the one you defeated several moments later so I suggest you don't dawdle around."
Just looking at those skeletal hands made me feel sick to my stomach. I knew there were strange monsters in this world yet this one in particular was one of the strangest I'd ever seen despite it being relatively harmless. It seemed that it was probably for the best to just avoid and only attack them from a distance rather than try to fight up close. Since they were down a path that I couldn't traverse, I had no reason to fight them so I turned around and was about to float upwards when something else caught my eye. Another group of Skullfish were nearby yet one of them was bigger than the rest.
Upon a closer look, it resembled a Skullfish though it looked meaner and appeared to be watching me as much as I was watching it. I took a step backwards in hopes of avoiding it yet it swam forward in response leaving me to suddenly swim upwards and it followed.
Reaching the surface, I quickly climbed out of the water and onto a platform--it was being supported by the column below it--and looked down to see that my would-be pursuer had decided to go back where it came from leaving me to deal with where I had ended up when I got ejected. This room consisted of a few platforms on top of the water with the one nearest to me housing a large treasure chest that either contained a map or a compass--not the temple's treasure--and a door was situated at the opposite end.
" Okay... What was that?"
" That was a Desbreko." Twilight answered. She looked at me and noticed my confused look so she ignored it and continued with her explanation. " While it does bear a resemblance to the Skullfish we've been seeing all over this part of Termina, they are much more aggressive in nature."
" How so?"
" If it bites you, it refuses to let go so you'll need to do whatever you can to shake it off."
" I'm guessing it's easy to defeat?"
" Yes." Twilight answered. " Desbreko don't handle hits very well and can be taken down using either your fins or your magic barrier in just one hit. Also, they are seen as leaders among Skullfish so if you defeat one while a swarm of Skullfish are around, the latter will also be defeated."
That was some pretty useful information right there and one that I would be sure to use in the future. Looking back at the large treasure chest, I surmised that it could be used as a potential Hookshot target given it was made of wood, but then the platform it was on didn't look all that high so perhaps I could jump over to it and grab onto the edge with my hands--my current body was much taller than my human form so the extra height could prove to be enough. Looking left was another platform housing a pair of pots and I decided it would be best to go for those first--I desperately needed arrows at this point especially if the treasure was the Ice Arrows.
Telling Princess Twilight of my plan, she took a few moments to look at both platforms before nodding her head in approval. Since the one on the left was slightly lower to the water, I only needed to swim over to it rather than do something overly complicated.
Jumping into the water and swimming over to the platform before climbing back out, I smashed the first pot with my fin revealing a set of twenty arrows--just what I needed--that I happily picked up, then I smashed the other one revealing another Stray Fairy. This was beginning to become a trend regarding their hiding spots. So far, the Stray Fairies had been hidden in common objects one would most likely ignore, inside a chest, and in the clutches of a monster.
On the one hand, I felt bad over how they were being treated just because they were parts of a complete whole. On the other hand, it told me that I couldn't afford to overlook anything as doing so would mean potentially missing one, and I'd rather not have to backtrack through this temple given how it was already testing my patience. Another thought that crossed my mind had to do with whether I should speak to Adagio first before the boss or afterwards. She could provide me with a powerful ability that could make it easier for me or something that wasn't as useful as appearances suggested.
Once the sixth Stray Fairy was inside me, I lined myself up with the treasure chest on the other platform, and made a leap of faith only to end up missing and slamming my face into the platform's side before sliding down to the bottom of the room--that definitely was one of my most embarrassing moments yet. Rubbing my slightly bruised face, I swam back up to the surface, climbed up onto the opposite ledge and attempted to leap across again. This time proved to be successful as I grabbed the edge of the other ledge with my fingers--though I was barely able to hold on--before picking myself up.
Princess Twilight chuckled a little. " That was mildly entertaining."
" At least I got it right the second time around."
" Maybe you should have used the Hookshot instead." Twilight said. " It would have prevented you from hurting your face."
" Yeah, I suppose that was the better option." I said. Opening up the large treasure chest and reaching into it by bending forward, I pulled the Dungeon Map and immediately unfurled it to get a better sense of how this temple was laid out room wise. " This place isn't as big as I thought. In fact, some of the rooms seem to share multiple levels while other rooms are distinctly small in scope."
Princess Twilight took a closer look at the map. " Despite how small Great Bay Temple is, it doesn't change the fact that this will be more difficult than the previous two temple, though now that I think about it, who knows what will await us when we reach the last one located to the east."
I sighed knowing that was true but I wasn't going to think about that. " Want to mark down where the Stray Fairies we've found were located on the map using your magic?"
" Oh, yes, of course." Twilight said. " She then used her fairy magic to create tiny marks on the map showing where the fairies were. " I'm surprised we've found five of them already given we only just started this place exploring but like I said, it will get much harder from here so we need to search carefully. " Her Highness then looked at the door on the opposite end of the room followed by the map and then the door again. " The room beyond that door doesn't necessarily lead anywhere but it's still a good idea to check it out anyway. That's what I want to say if not for the door being on a ledge that's too high for you to reach."
" What if I were to jump out of the water like a fish?"
" I'm not sure you'll be able to build up enough speed."
" I could try just in case, right?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " I suppose you could but do be careful, Sunset."
Putting the Dungeon Map away and jumping back into the water, I swam over to the wall, turned around, used my legs to propel me forward by pushing against the wall, and swam as fast as I could making sure to keep my eyes focused. I leapt out using a dolphin-like jump and for a moment it looked like I was going to make it, but unfortunately, my leap wasn't enough resulting in slamming my head against the side of the ledge the door was situated on. Dazed, I dropped to the bottom of the room before being pulled down another passageway courtesy of the strong water current flowing into it.
My body bounced around the passageway though I couldn't prevent it as I was numb from hitting my head, and when the vortex ejected me into the next room, I landed on the ground with a loud thud and remained there for several minutes before I finally regained my composure. Rubbing the bruise that had since formed on my head, I was beginning to think that perhaps it would be wise to wear a helmet otherwise any further blows to the head could cause some serious brain injury.
" I don't think I'll try that again." I said in a tipsy manner.
" Are you alright?"
" You were right about me not having enough speed."
" Well, now you know better, Sunset."
" Guess I'll need to find another means of getting to that door."
" First, you'd have to make your way back there." Twilight said. " The water current that pulled you into the passageway after your little stunt has thrown us into another room, but I think we should deal with the current problem before doing anything else."
Before I had a chance to respond, something suddenly lunged out at me and managed to bite me in the shoulder. Reacting quickly, I grabbed whatever was biting me and pulled it off after struggling for several seconds--it had a pretty strong grip--before it retreated back.
Looking to see what had just decided to take a bite out of me, I was surprised to see that it was just an ordinary Deku Baba. Had I seriously just allowed myself to be bitten by one of the most common and easiest monsters in this world? Upon taking a closer look, I noticed the strange arms attached to the stem along with the eyes--they were connected to the head via vines--moving about as though they were watching my every move. This thing wasn't a Deku Baba but rather it was a alterate version that screamed mutant.
" That looks like a Deku Baba."
" It isn't though there are similarities." Twilight said. " This is a Bio Deku Baba, a strain of the regular variant that somehow developed limbs in addition to eyes that enable it to see things and keep track of potential prey that comes into its territory."
" I'm guessing the eyes and limbs are just for show?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes, though the eyes can be really distracting because of how they move about. You need to be careful with this one, Sunset, when it comes to cutting down its stem. Unlike the regular Deku Babas, the Bio Deku Baba can still fight even if you cut the stem though if you attack its head, you can defeat it in one shot though that will require the use of magic as I'm certain your fins are likely to cut it down. There's one more thing."
" What's that?"
" Make sure you sever them from the lily pads they are attached to."
" I'm sure I don't need to do that." I said. " I can just avoid them by using the lily pads to go over them."
" Except they will turn them over and attack you quickly before you have a chance to defend yourself."
" Oh."
" I suggest using your magic here." Twilight said. " That way, you can take them all out without having to waste time cutting them down and then attacking them, and yes, they are capable of walking around using those limbs so don't think they just stand around after being cut down."
Just when I thought these horrid plants couldn't get anymore annoying, they had to spring this twisted version on me that had a much deeper bite than I thought. While my shoulder wasn't bleeding from being bitten by it, the pain was still there and would take some time for it to heal--I could've used the red potion Rarity gave to me just before I entered the temple but I planned on saving it for something more important.
Since it was easier to use magic, and lucky for me that I picked up a magic jar in a previous room, I opted to go for the magic barrier. I swam back to the beginning of the room which wasn't very far as the first Bio Deku Baba was practically next to it, and planted my legs on the wall before pushing myself forward and activating my barrier. The electrical magic flared up in an instant allowing me to go through each one like they were nothing, reducing them to pieces of mulch that drifted apart in the water before disappearing altogether. It wasn't a pleasant sight but I could more on now at least.
At first, I didn't think I could stand on a lily pad due to previous experiences over at the Deku Palace and the Southern Swamp--those lily pads could only handle the weight of something small like a Deku rather than someone bigger--so would these ones be able to hold my weight? I didn't really have time to ponder over it as I needed to continue on while there was still time remaining in the current cycle.
I climbed onto the closest lily pad near me and braced for it to drop underwater. It didn't--much to my surprise as I was expecting to fall--so I jumped onto the other lily pads, and entered the next room when I reached the door.
" I can't believe that she is able to become whatever that aquatic creature is called." Sunset Demon said in shock.
" The term you are looking for is 'Zora'." Midnight Sparkle said. " And I find it most interesting that she was able to harness such a power as changing her body. When we saw her walking around that palace in the swamp lands of the south, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It seems my vision wasn't impaired after all. I am curious as the power that is contained within her precious masks. Can you imagine what the two of us could do with that kind of power?"
" I'd rather be dead than wear one of those pathetic masks."
Midnight Sparkle sighed. " You just don't have an imagination, do you?"
Sunset Demon grew angry. " Those masks are just another reason why she is weak! If I were in charge of her life right now, I'd rely on her true power rather than borrowing it from creatures that are obviously beneath her notice." She then talked under her breath in hopes that her companion wouldn't hear what she was about to say. " Though it would be nice to be able to fight as an entirely different creature especially since you get to use their abilities as your own."
" Did you say something."
" No."
Midnight Sparkle shrugged her shoulders. " You really should open yourself up more. Holding all of those emotions must be giving you convulsions every other hour and no doubt that doesn't settle well with you."
" Why don't you mind your own business and let me deal with my own issues."
" Did I just touch a nerve?"
" If it wasn't for the fact that I see you as useful, I'd have killed you a long time ago."
" Ha! Don't be so modest." Midnight Sparkle said. " I know you care about me but choose to not admit it, and that's okay because that's the kind of person you are. Besides, I enjoy teasing you because I just love seeing you lose that hardcore attitude that you flash about like it meant something."
Sunset Demon wasn't amused and clenched her hand into a fist all while doing her best not to lose control. " Look... Let's just focus on why we are here and leave the personal insults behind okay? Now, would you be so kind as to tell me why we came to see Rarity when we could have seen someone more important like Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash? I mean, we do have to see those two eventually but why focus on Rarity?"
" In case you were paying attention and I sincerly doubt that, you probably noticed that Rarity had been a mute until Sunset came along." Midnight Sparkle answered. Her words only drew the ire of Sunset Demon whose fist began to glow brightly, but Midnight Sparkle noticed and patted her companion on the shoulder to calm her down. " I would have gladly suggested going after Rainbow Dash but Rarity proved more lucrative. Whatever happened to her made it impossible for us to test her Element until she gained back her ability to talk again thanks to our mutual friends."
" If time resetted because of 'her', we wouldn't be able to speak with Rarity?"
" Not in our usual means."
" We've already figured out that their Elements are breaching this world by testing Applejack and Fluttershy." Sunset Demon said. " Why are we wasting our time visiting the rest of them when our real targets are inside the temple out there?" The she-demon then noticed Midnight Sparkle holding some kind of strange locket that she quickly hid behind her back upon it being discovered. " You'd better show me what you have otherwise I will force you into showing me."
Midnight Sparkle sighed and revealed the locket though it wasn't really all that impressive. " It's just a little memento I received when I was lost in limbo. I promise to share more insight with you when the time comes, but right now we should take care of Rarity before something else happens." She then jumped down from the top of Zora Hall--that was where the two demons were located--and landed in front of Rariry who was surprised at her sudden guest.
Sunset Demon didn't jump down at first but rather began to think about the significance behind the locket. Her fellow demon was being very secretive about it and didn't want her to know about it until much later. The she-demon still thought of Midnight Sparkle as a worthwhile companion who had been able to get her to think differently and to embrace the nuances of being patient, yet it seemed her 'friend' had ulterior motives that could potentially threaten her own ambitions. For now, she would play along by feining ignorance though not extensively in case Midnight Sparkle could see through it.
With that, Sunset Demon jumped down to the ground to make sure everything went well yet now she had to be cautious until she could piece together what was really going on regarding her companion.
" Oh my!" Rarity exclaimed when she was suddenly surrounded.
" Relax..." Midnight Sparkle said. " If you cooperate with us, there won't be any trouble."
" I don't believe I've ever seen the likes of you two before."
" Oh I don't doubt that."
" The thing is, is that you two really should have made reservations if you wanted to see me in person." Rarity said. " No one is really allowed to see any of us unless they booked an appointment through our manager, and even then I'm afraid I'm not in the mood for signing autographs at this point in time."
" We needed an appointment?"
Rarity nodded. " Mrs. Toto has always said that we need to do things this way so as to prevent us from being mobbed by our fans. When you are as famous as we are, you have a tendency to attract some really obsessed individuals who usually mean well but ultimately go overboard. Like I said, I'm currently not in the mood for signing autographs or really talking to anyone, yet I deepy apologize for the inconvenience. You see, someone who means so much to me entered the temple in order to stop what has been causing the ocean so much distress that also affected me. I am praying for his safe return by remaining here."
" This will only take a few minutes of your time." Midnight Sparkle said. " And then we will leave you alone."
" Well... I suppose I could give you my attention."
" I was hoping you would say that."
I couldn't believe that there was one additional Bio Deku Baba in addition to the three that I had defeated. Her Highness was able to warn me about it just as I entered the next room, prompting me to go back and check it out. Unfortunately, the ones I had defeated came back no thanks to their re-spawning ability--an issue I never liked during my previous journey and now not liking it here--so I jumped down into the water and began to swim using my magic barrier to destroy each one without fighting them properly. When the last one fell, I climbed onto the first lily pad and leapt onto a ledge that was hidden behind me at the time with the remaining Bio Deku Baba on the ceiling.
Using my magic wasn't going to work as it was too high for me to reach so I'd use my fins at it in hopes of cutting it down. Protruding and firing my fins--the lack of space made it a little awkward--it took me two attempts to cut the Bio Deku Baba down where it began moving around all while trying to bite me with its mouth. I assumed a defensive position followed by using my barrier turning it into mulch resulting in a small treasure chest materializing behind me. Upon kicking it open, a Stray Fairy came out and quickly entered my body giving me seven so far though many more were waiting.
Despite the minor setback, I took care of it relatively quickly so I jumped across the lily pads and entered the next room properly. This room consisted of a large body of water with a river flowing rather fast below me. To my left was a platform that housed a large treasure chest though it also housed one of those Real Bombchu creatures that I encountered in the previous temple. So long as I was out of its range, I could easily set myself up to deflect it without getting caught in the explosion. To my right was another platform with an icicle and further right was a fancy looking cage that seemed to have another chest on the other side though it was difficult to see.
The first thing I did was to take a closer look at the river of water below me. On the left hand side was nothing of particular note though it seemed I would need to go down the passageway if I wanted to make my way back to the central chamber. Yet it was what to my right in the water that piqued my curiosity. Nestled in-between a pair of Dexihands was a pot and was obvious that it housed something important if it warranted some unusual guards.
" What do you think?" I asked. " Could there be another Stray Fairy hidden in that pot down there?"
" I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case."
" So far, they have been located in unusual places."
" Yes, and from what I told you about Dexihands, they have a tendency to guard something important."
" Do you think I can hit the pot with my fins?"
Princess Twilight floated down to the ground to get a closer look making sure not to get too close to the Dexihands. " I think you can hit it from here, but the problem is that you can't jump into the water as you'll likely get pulled by the current down the passageway. Then again, you might get grabbed by one of the Dexihands and get flung somewhere else. It looks like you'll need to become a human if we're to rescue that Stray Fairy."
" Arrows should do the trick."
" Yes, but you could also use the Hookshot as it doesn't waste ammunition."
" That's not a bad idea."
Grabbing my face, pulling off the Zora Mask, and flipping my hair back, I put it away and took out both the Hookshot and the Great Fairy's Mask before donning the latter and aiming with the former. It quickly dawned on me that aside from the transformation masks, I had only used three other masks throughout this journey. It felt like the majority of masks I had collected meant nothing apart from looking good as costume pieces. I mean, the Bremen Mask and Blast Mask were ones I've used only once each because I needed their unique powers while the Great Fairy's Mask had been used extensively inside the temples.
Maybe I should start using these other masks rather than let them go to waste. Then again, most of them only had specific uses and were practically useless if I were in any other situation that didn't need them. The only one I could see that would be useful at any time was the Bunny Hood. I should use it the next time I encounter a powerful monster as the boost in speed could prove useful.
Firing the Hookshot at the underwater pot--it took a few tries as I needed to get right to the edge for it to hit--and smashing it to pieces, the Stray Fairy floated up out of the water and into my body through being entranced by the Great Fairy's Mask's shimmering hair. With that done, I took off and put the mask away before turning my sights towards what was guarding the large treasure chest. Despite it being dangerous what with that explosive on its tail, the Real Bombchu wasn't exactly all that threatening. If anything, it was just excited about running around and defying gravity by running up the wall.
Still, I needed to get rid of it before I could cross over. My first thought involved firing some arrows since I did recently replenish them, but its erratic behaviour would make aiming difficult and wasting arrows wasn't an option. Perhaps I could use the Hookshot instead. It would save me from wasting arrows though I'd have to wait for the chain to spring back before firing it again.
Aiming the Hookshot at the Real Bombchu and walking forward to get within striking range, I fired the chain and missed entirely though my effort didn't seem to bother it--maybe it truly was ignorant of everything around it. Firing a second time, the chain almost connected though missed by several feet yet now it began moving towards the chest and I needed to keep up with its movements. A third attempt resulted in the Hookshot tip plunging into the chest and pulling me forward where the Real Bombchu freaked out and exploded. There was no chance of me avoiding it.
BOOM!!!!
" Sunset! Are you alright?" Twilight asked in the midst of the smoke.
I coughed in response. " I'm okay though I wasn't expecting that."
" I'm surprised the explosion didn't do more damage not that I want to see you hurt."
" Maybe explosions work differently in this world compared with what it's like back home."
" Probably for the best that we don't tempt it."
I nodded. " Yeah. I'd like to keep my life thank you very much." Opening up the treasure chest, I took out the Compass that laid on the bottom, put it away, and took out the map to see the chest marks appearing all over it. " There are still plenty of chests left for us to find." My eyes then looked down at the skull mark that indicated the location of what had been causing Great Bay's water to get warmer resulting in the underwater monsters. " And our resident boss is right there."
Princess Twilight then looked at the map. " It's located in area that we can't access right now due to the water current flowing in the wrong direction. For now, all we can do is keep that location in mind and come back to it later when we can reverse the current." She then looked at the map and noticed something surprising. " According to the map, there are two chests in this room you haven't opened yet."
" Wait... Really?"
" Yes."
" There's the one right here that had the compass and the one I can barely see over there behind that cage."
Princess Twilight checked the map again. " Well, it definitely says there are two unopened chests here so one of them is in a location we can't see right now or perhaps we can't reach due to not having the right item." Her Highness then took notice of the pool of water in front of us and slapped her forehead. " Or the remaining chest just happens to be right in front of us and we didn't even bother to look in the right place." Her eyes focused down at the pool and I walked over to the edge to see a Bio Deku Baba hiding down there guarding a small treasure chest.
" Can't believe we didn't see that."
" I blame myself."
" It was an honest mistake."
" Well, you should get down there and collect whatever is in the chest." Twilight said. " What we really need right now is a key to unlock that one door we encountered when we took the wrong path earlier."
Since I needed to swim through the passageway anyway to get back to the central chamber, I put away all of my current equipment and took out the Zora Mask, placing it on my face, and squatting down as the magic changed my body parts into my Zora form. Upon transforming and walking off the ledge and into the water, I dropped down to the bottom of the pool only to suddenly feel a sharp pain on my knee. The Bio Deku Baba had lunged forward before I could react and I quickly responded by smacking its head repeatedly with my fins until it let go leaving a red mark behind.
Before it had a chance to attack me again, I used my magic barrier and destroyed it immediately leaving me to look at my knee. The wound wasn't terribly deep and I could easily walk around without feeling any pain, but I needed to make sure not to make the wound worse. While I had a red potion courtesy of Rarity to restore my health and heal my wounds, I needed to keep it until absolutely necessary.
Walking over to the chest and kicking it open, I took out the small key, placed it in my pocket before floating back to the surface and climbing out of the water. My eyes then noticed there wasn't just one ice chunk on the platform that was beyond my reach but rather several. I had no idea why they were there though I had a feeling I was going to be going through that door soon enough. Just looking at those ice chunks sent a shiver down my spine though it was due to the Zora blood coursing through me that felt really uncomfortable.
Jumping into the water current and being pulled through the passageway, I was ejected into the central chamber again though a little too fast for my tastes resulting in me being thrown at the wall and bruising my back--this temple was becoming more of a deathtrap than the actual traps themselves--though I wasn't stunned. The current picked me up and began spinning me around the outer edge of the chamber and I knew I had to break free otherwise I'd never get out of this area. I also needed to be careful not to swim down the wrong passage as doing so would force me into going back around wasting precious time.
Remembering that the passage I needed to swim down only featured a red pipe going along the wall, I pinpointed its location, pressed my legs against the wall, and pushed myself forward as hard as I could until I was grabbed by the new current and pulled through the passage until being ejected in the room that housed the switch and locked door. Unfortunately, I also had to deal with the Skullfish, Desbreko, and Shellblades who had since re-spawned since my previous visit.
" Guess I've got to deal with these guys again." I said, moaning.
" Remember what I said about the Desbreko?"
" Defeating it will take care of the Skullfish, right?"
Princess Twilight nodded. " Yes. Just be careful that it doesn't bite you otherwise you'll need to shake it off as it will refuse to let go."
As if on cue, the Desbreko noticed me and began swimming towards me with the Skullfish in hot pursuit, but I wasn't about to give it a chance at clamping onto my body with its undead maw so I knelt down and protruded out one fin to serve as a shield. The group continued swimming in my direction and just when they were about to on top of me, I activated my magic barrier and wiped out the Desbreko causing the Skullfish to fall apart as though I never attacked them. As for the two Shellblades, I wasn't anywhere near either one so there was no sense in attacking them.
Floating up to the surface, I popped my head out of the water only to be struck from behind by the same thing that hit me the last time I was in this room, and landing on the platform but not before sprawling into the corner. How could I have forgotten the two Octoroks who were present in this room? In any case, defeating them would also be a waste of time though I began to see how best to utilize them based on a stronger observation of my surroundings.
The Ice Arrow had the power to freeze targets in a block of ice--much like how it could before on my previous journey--so if I were to freeze one of these two Octoroks at just the right time, they could be used as an additional platform for me to reach the switch. Raising my fin to block the additional rocks being spat at me, I began to look around the room to see if I could find a means of reaching the locked door, and pay dirt was quickly found when I realized that I could walk up the red pipe--it was also my only option.
When the two Octoroks paused for a few seconds in-between volleys, I jumped into the water, swam over to where the red pipe was going up the wall, and walked up it and onto the ledge--it was a pretty slippery slope--before using the small key to unlock the door and going through into the next room. This room comprised of two rows of pots that lined either side of a path that lead up to another door. I had no doubt that these pots contained useful items and that made me suspect something dangerous was lurking on the other side. There was also a strange creature that bore a resemblance to the creatures seen in Termina Field.
" Isn't that one of those jelly monsters?"
" It's definitely a Chu-Chu though this one is a yellow variant."
" Is there anything different about it?"
" Not really other than what's inside of it."
" Is that an arrow?"
" Yes." Twilight answered. " Yellow Chu-Chus when destroyed leave behind an arrow that will give you back five arrows to put in your quiver, and just like the other two variants, it can and will re-spawn on its own without us leaving the room and coming back in again. Oh, if you defeat it while you have the maximum number of arrows you can carry, it will instead leave behind a green rupee."
" I could do with more arrows."
" Then slash away!"
Hearing those words from Her Highness sounded really weird but then she was right in that I just needed to slash the Yellow Chu-Chu to pieces. Before walking up to it, I decided that it would be best to become a human for the next room--my gut was telling me to be a human as the arrow dropping monster was a sign. Grabbing my face, I took off the Zora Mask to become human, and flipped my hair back before putting the mask away behind my back.
From there, I drew my sword and shield, walked up to the Yellow Chu-Chu, and with one swing, sliced it in half. Picking up the arrow it left behind, I slashed the pots revealing more arrows, recovery hearts, magic jars, and even a couple of rupees. Now my gut was really telling me that something was going to happen when I enter the next room as why else would there be so much in the way of resources? Unless this was the temple attempting to show me some pity, I needed to prepare for the worst.
Walking through the door and into the next room, the first thing that happened was the door closing behind me with iron bars indicating that something needed to be overcome or a puzzle that needed to be solved if I was to be able to continue on. In each corner were small boxes that may or may not contain additional items and the floor had water that only went up to my shoes which struck me as odd. What was also strange was the size of this room. It felt similar in scope to the central chamber though obviously not to the same extent. Still, it was larger than most other rooms in the temple.
" It feels quiet... too quiet."
Princess Twilight agreed. " The lack of noise does make things uneasy, yet I can sense some kind of presence in this room."
" Really? I don't see anything."
" Maybe we should around just in case."
I was about to say something when my neck suddenly felt a cold chill hit it. " What the heck was that!? I reached behind my neck to see what it was and my face turned cold upon feeling a clammy substance. Pulling my hand back, I was surprised to see some kind of slime though I quickly flicked it away in disgust. " Did I seriously just get hit by slime!? Can this get any weirder?"
" Something must be above us to warrant that."
" I wonder what it could be."
Looking up at the ceiling proved to be a mistake as my entire body froze in place. There was definitely something up there on the ceiling... A large something that was surrounded by hundreds of smaller somethings with the big one staring down at me with a gaze that could pierce a person's soul. No wonder I received so many items in the previous room. They were there to prepare me for whatever this thing was. Raising my shield and holding my sword firmly, I awaited to see what was about to happen.
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Prepare yourself Sunset for one of the toughest mid-bosses in the game.
fascinated
Oh God, this Mini-boss...I really hate this mini-boss...
If she thinks this mini-boss is bad, wait till she meets the angry gecko again.
Even Sunset can't overcome game mechanics.
7892317
Once again, I missed another error. You're good at pointing them out to me.
Yes, it's that mid-boss Sunset now has to face which is why I ended Chapter 42 the way I did. Of course, there is that other mid-boss who is lurking very close by. Hope Sunset doesn't have an irrational fear of jelly.
7893780
If she could, there wouldn't be much of a story.
7892329
Have you forgotten about the living armour? You know, the one with the nasty axe? Sunset has to fight one for story progression and she hated doing it last time.