The Legend of Zelda - Union of Evil Powers Ch 10

The Legend of Zelda: Union of Evil Powers

Chapter 10: The Tower of Light

After jumping down a hole to a different area in the strange land they were investigating, Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru were greeted with the sight of a Stalfos locking the gate ahead shut with a switch that was out of the group’s reach, even with the Hookshot. The Stalfos then jumped down to ground level to attack the group, using two Bomb Soldiers standing on the two lookout towers to its right (and the group’s left in turn) as its cover. This proved the ensuing fight against the Stalfos more challenging as the Bomb Soldiers did throw bomb after bomb on the field, and the Bomb Soldiers could not be reached, not even with arrows or even Ruto’s Magical Boomerang as they were too high and arrows couldn’t penetrate through the wooden walls that shielded the soldiers in the process.
“The enemies are sure getting smarter.” Link said, striking the Stalfos before rolling away from an incoming bomb.
“I agree. We need to find shelter against these bombs soon.” Zelda said, noticing it was raining softly now as they fought the Stalfos together.
After defeating the Stalfos, the group looked around, although still on the move to avoid the bombs, when Nabooru spotted a pathway to the left from where they entered the field itself.
“Hey, we should go there to hide from those bombs and see where we can go next from there too.” She said.
“Right, let’s go.” Link said as the group went on its way to the pathway that Nabooru spotted, avoiding the bombs along the way.
As they ran in the pathway, they noticed it looked more like a tunnel, while Link struck a lone Dinolfos with a Fire Arrow while being his way, while a swipe from Nabooru’s blade ended the creature.
“Looks like that one was more desperate than its comrades.” Saria noted.
“Yeah, but that’s not entirely unusual…” Zelda said.
Upon exiting the tunnel, the group arrived in another area, which had a field on one side, a stone terrace on the other side of a cliff over which a bridge connected the two areas… and on that far side stood a huge, majestic, transparent walled tower, as if it was made out of light, made more evident as the group could see transparent staircases going in a circle up the tower…
“By the Goddesses, girls, check out the size of that tower! Incredible!” Link exclaimed, sizing the structure up.
“Wow, that’s one giant tower! Who built this?!” Saria asked, blinking.
“No idea, but it is worth investigating…” Zelda said as she moved on first, Link joining her right away, followed by Saria, Ruto and Nabooru, each of them mesmerized by the sheer appearance of the tower.

As the group moved onto the bridge, three Poes appeared that tried to block their way, although they were easily disposed off after the Poes’ main attack was blocked and were then slashed at with the swords of the group, allowing them to enter the tower.  Spotting a switch, Nabooru hit it with her hands, causing platforms to rise that led to the first transparent staircase. The group made their way over the platforms.
“Wow, looks like we’re going in a circle now.” Ruto said.
“We shouldn’t get dizzy.” Saria said, just as the group arrived on the first staircase, before spotting a cage containing a Deku Scrub.
Ruto used her Magical Boomerang to break the cage, freeing the Deku Scrub.
“Thank you for saving me, but my brothers are still captive. One of them is held all the way up this tower.” It said.
“We’ll get him out for you.” Link said, moving up the stairs.
“I’ll wait down here.” The Deku Scrub said.

The group had little trouble in going up the stairs, Link’s Hookshot proved of incredible use along the way.
“Wow, this tower is really high.” Zelda said.
“Fortunately not as high as Ganon’s Tower is.” Link said, remembering him having to scale a long staircase before the final confrontation, for a moment he was actually wondering if that staircase had an end at all before he finally reached the top.
They eventually spotted the cage, which contained a different looking Deku Scrub, as it seemed larger than normal. Using her Slingshot, Saria broke the cage open, freeing the Deku. The Deku itself floated in place using its own copter leaves, appearing like the Business Scrubs in Termina. Holding on fragments of the cage before the debris fell to the ground, the Business Scrub then floated to the group.
“Hang on to these cage fragments, I’ll take you downstairs.” It said.
Link and his friends did so, making sure they were divided equally to prevent any accidents as the Business Scrub gently took the five down. This in turn allowed the group to get a decent view of the tower, taking note of the lights moving up and down the tower’s walls.

After about half a minute, the Business Scrub stopped just above the ground, allowing the five to safely let go of the fragments, being on the ground level of the tower once more.
“One of my brothers is still held captive. Free him and we’ll open up the way to where the Investigation Patrol has been held for you.” It said as it flew off with his freed brother in tow.
“Time to play the search game again.” Link said jokingly, causing Zelda to playfully elbow him.
“Maybe he’s held on a lower level.” Saria suggested.
“You could be right. I wonder if- hey, someone’s coming here.” Ruto then said.
“It’s one of the monkeys we saw at the Deku Palace and who guided us here.” Link said, blinking.
“He looks quite tired from what I can tell…” Saria said as the monkey came to them.
“Be careful, some bandits are on your trail!” The monkey said, before Link caught him to let the animal calm down a bit.
“Bandits?” Zelda said.
“Yes, they’re armed and are in pursuit. Watch yourself!” It said as the group found a safe path to a lower level.
“Relax, little guy, we’ll be on the lookout for them.” Saria said, smiling as she petted the monkey.
Once down on the lower area, the group found a set of small crates being placed there, while at the other side of the area were two platforms surrounded by a pool of water. Deciding to check the area out for now, the group left the crates for what they were and moved to the pool, with Ruto using her Magical Boomerang to lower the two screw-stilted platforms, before moving to the other side. They were greeted with the sight of another Big Poe as it appeared in front of them, and they also could hear someone squeaking as if it was crying for help.
“It looks like the Deku we’re looking for has been held there.” Link said after striking the Big Poe with an arrow.
“But how are we going to get there? There’s a group of switches around, but the platform’s too high for us to reach.” Zelda said.
“Perhaps if we can use the crates we saw to keep the switch down, perhaps we can reach the cage?” Saria then said.
“Great idea. But we must be careful when carrying those; falling in the water won’t do us or the crates any good.” Link said.
“True that.” Ruto said, after which the group defeated the Big Poe to have it out of the way.
Once the group went back to the part where they saw the crates and grabbed them, moving one by one back to the other side so they wouldn’t get in each other’s way. Once on the other side, they went to put the crates on the switches they saw, each switch supporting a small platform that served as a staircase for the higher part where the cage was, allowing the group to reach the cage and freeing the Deku in the process. Bowing in gratitude, the Deku floated up with its helicopter leaves, joining his brothers up to the entrance of the tower, after which they began some kind of magical incantation that only Deku knew. About several seconds later, what appeared to be a swirling portal appeared on the entrance. A ladder also appeared next to the bridge from both sides of the ground level, allowing the group to climb their way back up to where the tower was. Just as they wanted to cross the bridge, a spear landed between Link and Saria, startling the two and causing them to turn around, along with the others. As they turned around, they saw a small group of people standing there. They were obviously looking Hylian in appearance, but were wearing yellow tunics with an orange cap on their heads, the sleeves being orange as well. Their pants were also orange to red, while their boots were yellow.
“It’s them!” The monkey, who was currently sitting on top of Zelda’s shoulder said.
“Well, looks like you were alarmed about our presence. No matter, we’re simply here to ask something back.” One of the bandits said.
“What do you mean?” Link asked, frowning.
“We’ve seen you snooping around in some of our hideouts.” A more brutish-looking bandit said.
“Hideouts?” Saria asked, puzzled.
“Yes. We have had a few hideouts in Snowhead and Ikana Canyon, since we thought that those locations were rather remote and through that safe for us to dwell in, taking the arachnid presence aside. We just didn’t feel like maintaining it properly to remain unsuspected.” One of the bandits said.
“So let me understand this, you’re saying that those caverns we discovered by pure accident, one we were actually being transported in, belonged to you?” Link asked, trying to put two and two together.
“That’s right. We’ve discovered that you have taken a few things during your short stay in our territory.” The first bandit said.
“Really? Were they yours?” Nabooru asked.
“Pretty much. It was more exactly things we looted from unsuspecting travelers.”
“You don’t say… that reminds me of someone.” Link said.
“Who?”
“Sakon. Another notorious thief that dwells around Termina. I recall him having snatched a few items from my pocket when he wanted to flee from us, I think I recognized some of the items that you claim are yours.” Link said.
“Are you certain of this?” The bandit asked, blinking as he apparently knew of Sakon.
“You got that right. That prancing of his is meant to keep your guard down to make him look like a clown, but in reality your pocket has been picked before you even realized what has happened. We tried to capture him, but he used a diversion to escape from our grasp. That guy has quite the lean fingers if you get what I mean.” Link said.
“Oooohhh that sneaky bastard, we’ll get him for this!” The bandit said as he and the others moved off in a rush to get out of the area.
Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru blinked at this big time, before turning to Link, who had an uncharacteristic smug expression on his face.
“How did you do that?!” Zelda asked Link once the bandits were out of sight.
“To be fair, Sakon DID snatch a few items from my pocket, like a bomb and a few Deku Nuts, one of which he had used to blind us. It was something I discovered once you and I regained consciousness after Sakon used his diversion to knock us out. And besides, all we took from the bandits were actually some of those weapons and those swords we had reforged. They didn’t recognize the blades themselves at all however, so we went scot-free at this.” Link explained.
“I understand.” Zelda said, nodding.
“Besides, Sakon does have the tendency to steal items from people and then sales them to the Curiosity Shop in Clock Town. I’ve seen him doing this when I was spying on him with Kafei, the husband of the Stock Pot Inn keeper Anju.” Link said.
“So it’s a bit of deception for one’s protection, but with a scale of truth added to it…” Nabooru said.
“Of course. We have more important matters to attend to rather than being occupied by some petty thieves.” Link said, before turning to the tower.
“But wait, how are you so certain that he didn’t take our precious items?” Ruto asked.
“Some of the clothing that were given to us when we recovered from the initial Stalfos attack in Termina Field have pockets on the INSIDE of the fabric,” Link said, showcasing a pocket on the inside of his green tunic, which stored both the Fairy Ocarina he got from Saria as well as the Goron’s Ruby, “so I’ve been making a bit of precautions on that part.”
Saria sighed of relief when she discovered that her outfit had a similar pocket, where her own Ocarina as well as the Kokiri Emerald were stored. Having presented the Sapphire before entering the area made it evident that Ruto had taken good care of her own precious item, while within one of the pockets of Zelda’s outfit was the Ocarina of Time.
“At least ammunition is something we can miss in a way. Let’s go.” Nabooru said.

Upon entering the tower, the group already encountered a ‘welcoming committee’ which consisted of several Stalfos, Dinolfos and Corrupted Sword Soldiers, but also present were a Ball and Chain Trooper, two White Wolfos and two Garo Robes. Without hesitation, the group initiated their counter attack as the enemies charged at them.  A jump attack courtesy of both Link and Zelda respectively defeated the Garo Robes, whom disintegrated in sheets of green flame within a second or two. Saria took down a Wolfos, while Nabooru used her newfound Spark attack to keep the Ball and Chain Trooper at bay. Ruto used her Magical Boomerang to stun the Corrupted Sword Soldiers, allowing Link and Zelda to strike at them. The second White Wolfos was taken out by Ruto, whom was then yanked out of harm's way by Saria when a Stalfos tried to attack her from behind. On her turn, Saria defeated one of the Dinolfos with the aid of Nabooru, seeing as Link and Zelda were engaged in a serious sword fight against the Sword Soldiers, whom had the appearance of a knight in regards to the shapes of their helmets. The new shields of Link, Saria and Zelda proved invaluable as it gave them greater protection indeed. While sending an occasional spark to keep the Ball and Chain trooper at the far side of the room, Nabooru made mincemeat out of two other Dinolfos, before turning her attention on the Stalfos whom was currently attacking Saria and Ruto, coming to their aid, although both children proved to be adapting to each other’s skills very well, with Ruto using both her Magical Boomerang as well as her own Gilded Zora Blade, resorting to using one of her fins as a basic yet effective shield.
“I really find this hand-to-hand combat quite distasteful!” Ruto said as she hurled her Boomerang against a Dinolfos to stun it.
“I bet you prefer the simplicity of an interrogation chamber!” Nabooru said, sending one more spark that finally defeated the persistent Ball and Chain Trooper.
“You have to admit, it’s much more civilized.” Ruto retorted, before focusing her Sage powers to summon a water spout from below the Dinolfos to send the reptilian beast flailing in the air, defeating it.
Saria used her own Sage powers to trap a Stalfos in order to restrict its movements, growling even as she charged with her own jump attack.
“Way to go, Saria!” Link said after he had slain the Corrupted Sword Soldier who kept him occupied.
“Heh, I think your courage and determination to beat these fools is rubbing off on me.” Saria replied, nodding before gutting a Dinolfos sneaking up on her without even looking at it.
“I second that one, Saria.” Zelda said, whom just finished off her own attacker.
“Princesses and other females kicking ass, I can never get enough of seeing that.” Link said, complimenting his female friends, before he charged at another Stalfos himself.
Zelda could have sworn she felt her heart sing at this compliment for a second, before engaging the final Sword Soldier, as Nabooru had taken out the last Dinolfos, leaving only three more Stalfos and the Sword Soldier to deal with.

“Wait, hold up!” A female voice said in the Southern Swamp area.
The flying creature, whom looked like a fairy, stopped, turning around, only to see two more fairies approaching her.
“Uh, hello.” She said, a bit nervous.
“Who are you? I have never seen you around here before.” One of the two fairies said.
“I’m Navi the Fairy. And you are?” Navi asked.
“I’m Tatl, and the one next to me is my brother Tael,” The other fairy responded, “what are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for Link. I was told he was around here someplace.” Navi said.
“Wait what?! You mean that forest kid whom saved this land from impending doom, using that blue ocarina to travel through time?!” Tatl asked.
“That’s him. You know him?”
“Well, sort-of. I was his ‘companion’ when that mask-possessed Skull Kid went to Termina with my brother in tow, leaving me with Link. So why are you looking for him. Or better yet, why has he returned here?” Tatl replied.
“Well, I’m looking for him since I wanted to know how he has been doing over the time we have been separated. As for his return here, I was told that some evil power has sent him here along with a few of his friends. Things went really downhill back in my homeland and chances are that Termina may face yet another crisis.” Navi replied.
“I see. Where are you from anyway?”
“From Hyrule.”
“Hyrule? Just like Link?” Tatl asked.
“That is correct.”
Tatl thought about it.
“Well, might as well come along, I have nothing better to do anyway.” She then said.
“Hey, does that imply that Link has grown on you?” Tael asked.
“H – Hey, it’s not that I c – care about him or anything, I just go along with her since it’s been s – some time I saw another Fairy other t – than you!” Tatl said.
Tael simply giggled as he followed after Navi, Tatl following shortly behind.

Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru just finished off the remaining Stalfos and the final Sword Soldier, finally allowing them to progress. Zelda did take note of a strange figure that was painted in the center of the main room, but thought nothing of it other than it was an ordinary drawing or something that was placed there in ancient times, so she turned her attention back to Link.
“Enemy presence is still high in this tower. We should be careful.” Link said as he moved to a staircase, but still held his sword and shield ready.
The others followed behind him still having their guards up as they moved up the staircase, through an opened gate and then moving up another path going up to what they believed to be the first floor of the tower. Once in the open room, they stopped at the sight of a lone Floormaster, whom instantly charged at Link and Zelda, whom evaded it in time. But as the group wanted to attack it, another barrier-casting Wizrobe appeared, using its barrier to protect the Floormaster. This caused Link to become actually angry enough to actually attack the Wizrobe with a well-aimed jump slash. Zelda followed up with an arrow strike of her own against the Wizrobe as well. Nabooru realized that Link and Zelda both found the Floormaster a major annoyance, but having someone protect it while it was knocking most of the group around now agitated them even more. Saria was also getting tired of the Floormaster as it knocked her to the wall, trying to use her vines to constrict the dismembered hand in the process, but the barrier managed to repel the vines, until Nabooru cleaved the Wizrobe in two. This robbed the Floormaster of its only protector, giving Link, Saria and Zelda the opportunity to strike the Floormaster after Ruto stunned it with her Magical Boomerang. The Floormaster was defeated, but still split into three upon its initial defeat. However, the three tiny Floormasters were easily dealt with.
“So much for that critter.” Saria said.
“But the gates ahead haven’t opened up!” Ruto said.
“Allow me.” Nabooru said, sending another Sword Spark towards a crevice she discovered in a wall, striking a crystal switch that opened the gates for the group, allowing them to continue to ascend the tower they were in.

Moving up to the second floor, the group of five just entered the room when they were suddenly ambushed by one of the LAST enemies they wanted to see: A Like-Like! This gelatinous creature succeeded in engulfing the entire group, stripping them of their Shields with the exception of Ruto and Nabooru before spitting them out. However, a Fire Arrow courtesy of Link and Zelda ended the monster quickly, allowing Link, Saria and Zelda to retrieve and re-equip their respective shields, which remained fortunately untouched, due to the rapid recovery and retaliation. Regaining their composure rapidly, Link used his hookshot to let himself and the others reach a pathway going up in a circle to what appeared to be the top floor of the tower, but no sooner had the five landed on the path and began to ascend it all the way up, that they were being confronted by another Bomb Soldier, whom kept throwing bombs at them.
“Geez, talk about being determined…” Link said as he began to run to the left and right, just to avoid the bombs, just before Ruto encased the group in a barrier of water that knocked the bombs aside, allowing the group to proceed onward to their way to the top.
“Wait, how do we even get out of here; the passages are too small for us to pass through like this!” Zelda then said.
“I’m certain we’ll find a way, once we’re rid of this bozo.” Saria said, as the group got ready to deal some punishment to the Bomb Soldier… only to see that yet ANOTHER barrier-generating Wizrobe was protecting it!
“Okay, NOW I am REALLY pissed!” Link snarled, as he instantly charged at the Wizrobe, slashing at it with a Jump Attack.
“You’re not the only one!” Nabooru said as she performed a Double Spin Attack to decapitate the Wizrobe once it appeared on a different spot after Link’s strike forced it to relocate, after which Zelda, Ruto and Saria finished the Bomb Soldier off, before Link used a bomb to demolish a gate that freed a large group of Deku whom were imprisoned behind it. Immediately the group of Deku, after thanking Link and the four Sages, dispersed, some by flight, others by running through the small crevices they could pass through themselves, making their escape out of the tower. The Deku whom were in flight however didn’t stop there; once they were out of the tower, they proceeded to the area where Link and his friends entered the whole area in the first place, pelting the resident Bomb Soldiers on the watchtower as well as a Dinolfos guarding the switch to the large gate with their Deku Nuts, killing the fiends in the process.

“Well, at least we found and freed the patrols.” Link said.
“Wait, what are these?” Zelda then asked, looking at some things that appeared to be something like a sled.
“These are kinda small, don’t you think?” Nabooru said.
“That they are. I wonder what they are for though…” Ruto said.
“And what’s with that star-like figure on the ground in the center of that room?” Saria asked.
The group looked at the figure Saria was pointing to.
“That’s the same star-shaped figure I’ve seen on the ground tile of the Ground Floor of this tower.” Zelda said.
“That’s weird.” Link said, scratching his head as he and the others carefully approached it, eventually standing on it.
“Hmmm… I wonder what- hey, what the-?!” Link said as a glow appeared from underneath him.
This same glow also was present underneath the others as well.
“What’s going on?!” Zelda asked, right as the group was lifted up… and promptly SHRANK in size, making them no bigger than a Deku Nut!
“WHAT IS THIS?!” Nabooru exclaimed, only for the group to fall and land… right on top of a sled each.
“KYA! I FEEL SO TINY!” Saria said, obviously startled.
Link however retained his focus.
“Hmmm… this truly is unexpected, but this can be useful as well.” He then said.
“What do you mean?! Answer us!!” Ruto exclaimed.
“While I admit that being shrunk is as much as a shock for me as it has been for you, I think we can use this to get out of here, considering Zelda did mention about certain walls and passages that we could not pass through on our normal sizes.” Link replied.
“Okay, hot shot, how do you suppose we get out of here?” Nabooru asked.
“I think these will have to do…” Link said, trying to move on the board he was on, only for the board itself to move with Link on top of it, taking Link with it as it moved over the tiles smoothly.
Link himself did flail a bit while attempting to move into a comfortable stance that would adjust his weight equally so he would remain standing, but he was on the way out, now moving down the path he first went up while avoiding the bombs from the Bomb soldier. Nabooru did a double-take at this, even more when someone else went to follow Link right away. It was Saria.
“What are we waiting for?! Let’s go after them!” Zelda said as she too made the board she was on move.
Ruto and Nabooru then turned to each other, before following as well.

As if leading the way, Link managed to find his way down, down the small tunnel that he could now go through, past the gate of the second floor, down to the path to the floor where the Floormaster was fought prior, then all the way down towards the staircase that led to the ground floor, although Link grunted a bit with each step that went down. It almost felt like a race of some sort, although Link went around in circles as he waited for the others. About 10 seconds later, he was joined by Saria, followed by Zelda after another 10 seconds, whom was shortly followed by Ruto and Nabooru. As they directed the sleds in the center on the room towards the star-shaped marking, the marking itself began to glow and engulfed the five, right before restoring them to their normal size as if nothing happened.
“Whew, I don’t think I want to experience something like that ever again.” Zelda said.
“I agree with you on that,” Link said, causing Ruto and Nabooru to blink at him, “just because I try to keep my cool in most situations, doesn’t mean I have to like it myself. I just did what was necessary and we got what we wanted. So now that the tower has been cleared, there is no further use for us to stay here.”
“I agree, let’s get out of here.” Saria said, nodding.

As the group exited the tower, they stepped into the current rainy atmosphere, although it had been raining softly so far. Still, the group made a run for it to reach the stone tunnel to get back to the first area, feeling that they could finally progress. Their hopes were initially dashed however as another group of enemies were waiting for them at the opened gate, initially chasing after a Deku. With their fiery appearance, Link instantly grabbed his Hookshot.
“What are these things?!” Nabooru asked.
“Flare Dancers!” Link said.
“But what are they doing out here?!” Zelda asked.
“I don’t know, but I do know that these guys will be trouble! I have my Hookshot, but you can also use Bombs against them to get them out of those suits and then just strike as many times with your blade as you can!” Link said, going to the offensive right away, approaching the nearest one to buy time for the Deku to make its escape as a total of three Flare Dancers have appeared to attack Link’s group.
Taking Link’s advice, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru engaged the two other Flare Dancers together, with Nabooru intending to provide cover for Ruto from the flames, while Link singled out the Flare Dancer whom was the closest to the Deku, using his Hookshot to draw the Dancer out of its suit and pull it to him, before smacking it with his sword as many times as he could while chasing after him. The Bombs also proved very effective to knock the Flare suits away, giving chase to the creatures to strike at them several times before they regained their suits, but this time it was colored a blue/purple instead of the fire red/orange/yellow. The group repeated this procedure again, inflicting as much damage as possible while keeping their distance from each other as to prevent getting in each other’s way and become distracted. The Flare Dancers managed to regain their flaming suits one more time, this time being two shades of green, still trying to harm the group itself, but Link and the others had none of it and struck again with the Hookshot and/or the bombs respectively, finally managing to defeat the Flare Dancers after several minutes. Nabooru directed her Sword Spark to the switch on top of the fence, activating it and opening the gate finally, so the group could progress. Whatever was burning on vegetation because of the Flare Dancers was quickly extinguished by the rain or because of Princess Ruto summoning small water floods from above to do the job quicker.
“Whew. After this all we need a vacation.” Link said as he sat down on a large stone, with Saria and Zelda sitting down next to him.
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Zelda said, sighing.
The group was ignoring the rain falling down softly on them as they took a moment to rest a bit.
“Okay, so what now?” Saria asked.
“I think progressing is the only option. All things considered, going all the way back is pretty much impossible now, so all we can do now is to continue from here.” Link said.
“True. I just wonder where we will end up once we get out of here.” Zelda said.
“It’s pretty much an area between the Southern Swamp and Ikana somewhere, that is if we didn’t make it back to Hyrule like this by mere coincidence,” Link mused, “makes me wish there was a map of this place so we could see where we are, much less see where we are even going at all.”
“Point taken. At least we’re in all this together.” Ruto said.
The group nodded as they looked up at the dark sky, for a moment wondering if a certain owl was passing by in the sky as they saw a silhouette flying over for a few seconds.