The Legend of Zelda - Union of Evil Powers Ch 22

The Legend of Zelda: Union of Evil Powers

Chapter 22: Spiritual Memories

After about 15 minutes or so, the group finally arrived back at the Great Bay Coast in the direction of where the Marine Research Lab, the Fisherman’s Hut and the Oceanside Spider House were, passing by Pinnacle Rock along the way. Once at the coast, the group disembarked from the boat and thanked the fisherman for his service, with the fisherman being given 200 Rupees as a reward, which made him smile.
“Thanks, it at least allows me to get some business done soon.” He said.
“It’s alright. We wish you good luck.” Impa said as the group left.
“Oh, while we’re here anyway, can you come with me, Ruto?” Link then said.
“Sure, what is it?” Ruto asked as Link led her to the grave of Mikau.
“Since I told you about my Zora form during my time here, I figured you may be interested in reading the lyrics of the songs on his grave, which are actually instructions of how his fighting techniques work. Perhaps you can learn them. Afterwards we can make a quick trip to Snowhead to give Darunia the techniques that I learned from Darmani.” He said.
“Wow, that’s really cool!” Ruto said, moving on to the grave to ready and study the lyrics.
“Snowhead, huh? You told me that a tribe of Gorons live there…” Darunia said to Link.
“That is correct. Their fiercest warrior, a Goron named Darmani, reminded me of you when I saw his spirit. It was surprising to him that I wasn’t scared of him, which is when I told him about you, which impressed him.” Link said.
“Really? I'm... touched.” Darunia said, nodding.
“His grave is found in a shrine which is hidden in a cave at the base of the path to Snowhead. It turned out to also be a place where Hot Spring Water is found.”
“Then I wish to see that grave. It is only suitable for me to pay respect to a fallen comrade.” Darunia said.
“Consider your request granted, Brother. I did the same with Ruto when I told her what happened to Mikau, a fellow Zora who was part of a Zora tribe who live at the Great Bay.” Link said.
“Thank you, Link. This does mean a lot to me.” Darunia said.
“Link, what do you want to do after we have visited the grave of Darmani?” Zelda asked.
“I am certain that none of us can face our arch nemeses  right now since it would be too risky and could make things worse, so I suggest we go forth and first become better ourselves so we are properly ready to combat them…” Link said, watching Ruto study the lyrics closely, while Zelda nodded in agreement..
Just then, Mikau's spirit appeared above the grave.
“Ah, young Zora Princess; you have returned to these lands.” Spirit Mikau said.
Although initially startled, Princess Ruto regained her composure and smiled.
“Yes, Mikau. I assume you are aware of the situation at hand, like what is happening now and what has happened to me…
“Yes, I am, as I have been watching from the Heavenly realms after this young man healed my soul,” Mikau said, pointing to Link in that regard, before turning back to the princess, “I will therefore bestow you with the Zora Fighting techniques. Use them well and you will be able to avenge your people in Hyrule and get back at those responsible for your unfortunate demise. May the spirit of the Zora hero flourish within you.” He said, before holding his arms in the air, using his magic to encase Ruto in a gentle blue glow, transferring the knowledge of this most useful and most used techniques to her.
This process lasted for a few seconds, before it vanished, making Mikau smile.
“It has been done. For one, your swimming skills have been upgraded, allowing you to swim much faster than before. You can also walk on the bottom of any water body as if you were on land.” Spirit Mikau said.
“Thank you.” Princess Ruto said, smiling.
“The lyrics in my gravestone will instruct you how to use your attacks, but I can also give you a rundown quick: First, you can use magic power to generate an electric shield around yourself to stun or defeat enemies instantly. Be sure to use it wisely, but you can use it on both land as well as water. To use it on land however, you must first extend the fin on your forearm as an actual shield first to deflect attacks.”  
“Okay.” Ruto said, nodding.
“Second, you can also use your hands and feet to strike at enemies; when attacking, you can lunge your right arm forward, then swing, attempting to hit something with the left fin and end with you kicking up in the air, in a three-move combo! I also enhanced your Double Cutter technique to a point where you can use it in conjunction with your normal Boomerang, so you can in a way attack with THREE boomerangs at once.”
“Wow, so I can attack with my fins AND my boomerang?! That is awesome, thank you so much!” Princess Ruto said, smiling.
“No problem, dear princess. Now go and make your enemies tremble with the might of a Zora Hero.” Mikau said.
“Don’t worry, I will.”
Mikau’s spirit nodded, before vanishing, leaving the grave as it has been. Ruto smiled, wiping a tear away as this happened, before she moved to rejoin Link and the others who were waiting for her before continuing on towards Snowhead. Little did they know that they were being tailed by two dark figures, one who looked like Link and the other looked like Zelda…
“So, they have been brought back to life as Lord Ganondorf suspected…” Dark Link said.
“Yes… and they appear to head for Snowhead once more… you think they are tourists by coming back to those places…” Dark Zelda said.
“But they have a new destination… the outpost that has been set up in the forest.”
“We should warn the Stalfos Commander ahead of their approach; this could complicate our plans for eventual world domination.”
“Right. They will learn that the price for defying Lord Ganondorf is death one way or the other.”
“If the forces there can’t stop them, we will have to step up to the plate.”
“Indeed. Let’s warn our comrades in the forest before they get there.”
Dark Link and Dark Zelda then apparently vanished from sight, although their dark laughter echoed across the Great Bay Coast, causing shivers to run up the fisherman’s spine as this happened.

It took the group about a half an hour to reach their destination, even when using the shortest route possible, due to them going on foot. Thankfully the weather remained clear and the path so far remained without danger, save for one or two ChuChus and a Dodongo that tried to be a bother, only to be smacked aside by Darunia. Upon entering the Mountain village again, Link safely led the group towards the wall which had a ladder on it, leading up to the cave which had the grave of Darmani the Third. Climbing up on the ladder, using Link’s guidance to lead them in the right direction, the group climbed on top of the ledge, with the cavern in sight. There were no other Gorons around this time however as the group moved on. Entering the area, which was in fact the Shrine created for Darmani, the group was instantly welcomed by a warm atmosphere within the cavern. There was one big grave directly in the center of the area, which had a pond of water around it. Zelda went to check it out, lifting her dress a bit to step in the water.
“Hey, this water is warm!” She said as she felt the water around her feet being pleasantly warm and not cooling off right away, moving further into it.
“It's hot spring water,” Link said as he joined her after taking his shoes off, “it is capable of melting ice and can be stored in bottles, but it won't stay warm for long in there, so you gotta be quick to take it to one’s destination.”
Darunia approached the grave, stepping in the Hot Spring Water as Saria, Ruto and Nabooru soon joined him after removing their shoes to warm their feet in the water, Impa and Rauru soon followed. It was then that a ghost of a Goron appeared just in front of the grave.
“So many visitors at a time? This is a surprise.” It said.
“Who are you?” Darunia asked.
“I am Darmani the Third. The blood of proud Goron Heroes runs in me.” The ghost replied.
“So you are the great Darmani, huh? I've heard great stories of you from fellow Gorons who came to visit …”
“Yes. Back when I was alive, I was a renowned warrior and veteran. I was fine until I marched off to Snowhead by myself, hoping that I could drive off a demon, who had been wrecking havoc on Goron Village... then the Snowhead's blizzard blew me into the valley below... and here I am now...”
“I have heard what happened to you through my Sworn Brother and friend Link.”
“He was the one who managed to heal my soul and managed to fulfill my final wish, to bring peace and spring back to the Goron Village, restoring the climate in the process. I lent him my powers in order for him to overcome the challenges ahead. “
“I assume you know about what is going on out there?”
“Yes. I have felt the forces of evil gathering together once more, even from the realm of the heavens which I reside in now. It appears that the decisive battle will come soon, which will seal the fate of the world, depending on the outcome. I therefore wish to bestow upon you, the same powers I have once lent to Link. My grave contains the instructions of how to use these powers. Use them wisely.” Darmani the ghost said, after which he raised his hands to the sky, bestowing Darunia with his powers by encasing him in a gentle red glow for several seconds.
“I’ve given you the abilities to let spikes emerge from your body while rolling forward. This will help in mowing down any enemy in your path, but it uses magic power. Your Goron Punches have been enhanced so you can unleash a powerful barrage of heavy Goron Punches to send your enemies into oblivion. You can also unleash a Goron Pound that has the force of the Megaton Hammer on the spot. This is the best thing I can do for you.” Darmani said.
“Thank you, Darmani. I shall use my new abilities when I need it.” Darunia said, nodding in gratitude.
Darmani nodded.
“May you unleash the fury of a Goron Hero upon your foes.” He said, before vanishing, leaving the group alone in silence.

“I wonder if the Kokiri Forest has a hot spring water area somewhere,” Saria said as the group went on their way towards the forest again, “I actually liked that water.”
“Hmmm, perhaps the Deku Tree Sprout may know something?” Link asked.
“Who knows…” She said, smiling.
“So, where’s the outpost that you mentioned, Impa? All we know is that it’s in a forest.” Zelda then said.
“I’ve overheard some of the villains talking about where it is, so what we’re looking for is an open field that has a few structures in it.” Impa replied.
“Hmmm, perhaps we could try to find it quicker if we had a map.” Ruto said, thinking.
“True, but I feel certain that we can find it soon.” Nabooru said, smiling as she patted Ruto on the head.
Ruto smiled as the group went down Snowhead, taking the direct route down towards Termina Field.
“So, what exactly happened to you after your death? All we know is that you couldn’t pass on due to the regrets you carried with you…” Rauru said.
Link looked at the elder Sage.
“To be very honest, all we five did was stick around a clearing with a small brook and large stones and rocks around and finding comfort with each other, until we noticed Impa arriving in the area when she needed some time for herself, which is when we approached her, with Zelda going first.” Link said.
Rauru nodded at this.
“But that’s in the past. We should move on and see what we can do to take Ganondorf and Majora down once and for all.” Link then said.
“True, so how are we going to handle this?” Saria asked.
“We’ll first go to mess up their outposts to remove the threats towards our homes and the citizens around Hyrule and Termina who went into either hiding or into exile due to the situations transpired during our stay in Termina and all. Who knows what we may find there in turn.” Link replied.
“True, then it’s only a matter of preparing ourselves for the TRUE final showdown.” Zelda said, nodding.
“The only thing we need to look out for is that they don’t come to us; you and I did take our respective Triforce pieces with us to our graves, coupled with the items we treasure the most…” Link said.
Zelda nodded in agreement.
“We just got back to life and I don’t intend on dying again, so I agree with you on that.” Saria then said.
Nabooru also nodded, looking around as they entered Termina Field, after which Link played Epona’s song. Immediately, the neighing of a horse approached them… it was Epona herself, right before a few other horses approached along as well, as if they had been tailing Epona.
“Looks like some of the other horses have taken a liking to the song as well.” Saria said as Epona stopped in front of Link, gently touching him with her face as if wanting to say that she’s glad to see him again.
Link then mounted Epona, this time joined by Saria whom held him from behind, while Nabooru took Ruto with her on a second horse. Impa mounted another horse and took Zelda with her, while the last horse was mounted by Rauru. Darunia opted to use his Goron Roll to move fast on the same speed as the group took off towards the forest. It was as if the group was happy again to be together. Link smiled as the group rode on into the forest, as if he was genuinely happy.

Riding into the forest for about a good 30 minutes, the group stopped at a small, calm river to rest up for a bit and let the horses drink and rest for a while as well. This in turn allowed the group to do a final check-up on their gear and in turn make an inventory of whatever ammunition they have left at their disposal. Considering it was also getting dusk made the want for actual rest higher, which leaves the group around a campfire frying some fish they caught.
“So, where do we go next once we’ve dealt with the outpost here?” Nabooru asked.
“All we can do is try to become even stronger than we’ve ever been before. Perhaps we could also visit places where we can sharpen our skills even further in general. I remember that Clock Town has a Sword Training Center that allows the ones who wield blades to hone their skills on it and perhaps learn a new thing or two.”
“I see you are someone who does like to be prepared properly, I expected nothing less from the Hero of Time.” Rauru said, seeing the wisdom in Link’s reasoning.
“Look, we all agree that things around here have become much more hectic than before. We all now know how bad Ganondorf and Majora are and simply didn’t expect them to have become this strong as they are now, which led to initial deaths of Saria, Zelda, Ruto, Nabooru and myself by their hands. Now that we are better informed in a way, I say we should do whatever we can to rectify our initial mistakes and find ways to counteract that power of theirs.” Link said.
“True, I wouldn't be surprised if their forces are being made stronger as well, just to counter or weaken us again if we would go straight to them as we are now.” Zelda said.
“And I highly doubt that with our current strength and all, we would stand a chance against them as it is.” Saria said.
“Which is why we have to take this route in order to become stronger ourselves. Given the circumstances, they know about our capabilities thus far. All that remains for us is to find a way to bring the element of surprise back to us.” Link said, to which the Sages all nodded.
“Speaking of which, that reminds me of something what a Deku once said to us back in Ikana Canyon.” Zelda said.
“What did he say?” Impa asked.
“He said to us that he overheard this: While most enemies can be beaten easily in a group, some of the more tougher ones require more power and may need to be faced with a fighter of the same caliber. That’s what he said.” Zelda replied.
“It confused me to be honest, since I have even now no idea what he was talking about or hinting to…” Link said.
“Same here.” Saria said.
“It could be possible that he meant that some beings may require a different way to beat.” Rauru said.
“Hmmm, that leads me to believe that he could be talking about the masks I used during my first time in Termina, but I’m also wondering if it could possibly hint at something else; I can recall Kotake and Koume merging into a single entity known as Twinrova when I fought them in the Spirit Temple back in the Future That Almost Was.” Link said, thinking more serious about it while he and Saria both turned over their fish over the fire.
“Two beings merging into one? Well, considering that Koume and Kotake are witches, I can see that they could do something like that, but as for other people…” Nabooru said.
“It is definitely something to think about.” Rauru said.
Zelda nodded as she too turned her fish over on the fire, wanting to fry it properly.
“So, what are we going to do once we’ve defeated Ganondorf and Majora?” Ruto asked.
“I say we simply burn Majora’s Mask once we get our hands on it. If it burns away, Majora will have in any case permanently lost his main power source and we can then be sure he won’t come back.” Darunia said.
“That’s a good idea. That way we will also be sure that the mask itself will never fall again into enemy hands.” Impa said.
“And what about Ganondorf?” Rauru asked.
“I way we kill Ganondorf,” Nabooru said, “that is, if we want to be sure that he will never come back either.”
“I agree with Nabooru on this,” Link said, “after all, he pretty much is the bane of our existence by making our lives miserable. Besides, he still has the Triforce of Power, so we need to take that from him first. While I also have thought about sealing him up again, I somehow can’t help to get the feeling that he may come back again after he has gained enough power.”
“True, but how do we extract it from him?” Zelda asked.
“It’s likely he’ll try something with us since we contain the other two pieces, but as we all know, a wish on the Triforce can only become true if one TOUCHES it, so we need to get him off-guard in order to touch it BEFORE Ganondorf does.” Link said.
Zelda cringed at the thought of Ganondorf making his wish come true and obtaining the True Force, becoming the Evil King of the World and remaking the world in his image, defeating all who oppose him without a second thought.
“So it’s getting even harder than I thought…” Rauru said, before Link and Saria both tested their fish to see if it was properly fried enough to eat, before eating.
It wasn't too long before the others went to eat as well, the eating going on silent as each of them still had a lot to think about. The horses were currently munching on the food that Malon had supplied the group with so the horses themselves were also properly looked after, before the horses laid down to rest. The group on their turn, after done with their dinner, set up a sort-of camping site using emergency supplies they bought during their short stay in Clock Town so they could have some protection from the weather. They went into their tents after wishing each other a good night.

Link and Saria laid together in one tent. While there was no immediate danger nearby, they had a hard time sleeping. Perhaps it was because of their recent resurrection that they simply had to get used to their vital organs functioning again. They looked at each other as they turned around.
"Having trouble sleeping?" Both asked each other simultaneously, before they giggled at this for a moment.
"Yeah, I honestly have trouble sleeping actually." Link said.
"Me too. So many things have happened that I almost can't wrap my head around it..." Saria replied.
Both Link and Saria sighed, before blinking as the zipper of their tent was moved up, before another person entered the tent, after which the zipper was pulled down again.
"Can't sleep either?" The person asked.
"No, Zelda, we can't." Link said.
"Same with me." Zelda said as she laid down at Link's other side.
"At least we have something in common." Link said, making Saria and Zelda both chuckle.
"It's funny you should say that; we have a lot more things in common than just this..." Zelda said.
"We have?" Link asked, blinking.
"Yeah. Remember the day you took us out fishing with you about four months ago?" Saria then asked...

Four months prior to the appearance of Agahnim and the resurrection of Majora... It was a lovely day in Hyrule when Link and Saria went out of their home in the Kokiri Forest to pick up Princess Zelda, who was waiting for them in Hyrule Castle Town. After their meeting-up, the three went to the Fishing Pond in Lake Hylia to do some fishing together, mainly to relax and just catch up on things. Soon enough, the three sat at one side of the pond, with each of them keeping an occasional eye on the fishing rod while simply chatting together.
"So, how's things at the castle, Zel?" Link then asked.
Zelda blinked at that nickname, blushing even for a brief moment as she for some reason liked the sound of it, but regained her composure rapidly.
"Things are going fine actually. Everything goes peaceful as it should be, save for the punishing of the bandits that are brought in on occasion by our guards..." She then said with a smile.
"Good, as long as they're no power-obsessed thieves that try to make their move under false pretenses..." Link said, making Zelda giggle.
"And check out the weather, it is a lovely day indeed." Saria said, relaxing on the shore as she laid down.
"How's things at your place, Link and Saria?" Zelda asked.
"Things are easy lately, especially after Mido has been much less of a bully lately." Link said.
"Yeah. Perhaps he has finally come to respect you and your deeds, especially since you and I can leave the forest without harm coming to us." Saria said, smiling.
“Yeah, looking back at what happened up to where Navi first came to me, Mido really was a jerk. I bet he didn’t think I could leave the forest and come back safely myself.” Link said.
Saria giggled at this.
“This area feels pleasant too, it is different from the forest as a whole,” she said, “and it feels just as nice.”
Link and Zelda both agreed to this.
“So, I wonder what has changed here, you said you caught here a 10-pound fish once…” Zelda said.
“The owner here said something about new fish being placed in here or having otherwise grown over time. I wonder how big the catch could be…” Link said, just as he spotted the line on the rod moving, frowning.
“What’s up?” Saria asked.
“I think I got one.” Link said, carefully picking up the rod as he now caught the fish… only to have some real trouble reeling it in.
“Oh wow! This one… must be REALLY… big!” Link said as he struggled to reel it in, using a log in front of him to have some extra weight in for himself, but it still wasn’t enough!
Link almost found himself being yanked into the pond, when both Saria and Zelda decided to help him, with Saria holding Link from behind and Zelda held Saria from behind, each of the three pulling as hard as they could to reel the fish in. They tried hard and did their best, but as they were pulled forward one last time, the line broke, causing the three to fall into the water with a yelp and a loud splash. Hearing this, the owner went to take a look at his pond, only to see the three children in the pond with the rod a bit further away from them, but the three were obviously having a good laugh about it, which confused him.
“Looks like instead of us catching the fish, the fish caught us.” Link said with a laugh.
“That was something fishy.” Zelda said with a laugh as well.
“Well, as long as they’re having fun…” The fish pond owner said to himself as he went to get some towels and some dry clothes for the children.

Link, Saria and Zelda laughed again at the memories of such good times, making them forget about their problems for a moment.
“Those were definitely good times.” Link said.
“You bet,” Zelda said, “and it feels good to be just able to play outside the castle without worries for me.”
“Has Impa known about you sneaking out to spend time with us?” Saria then asked.
“Yeah, in fact, she actually didn’t stop me; she went with me to just keep watch over me and by extension you after all.” Zelda said.
“Ah yeah, I remember. Perhaps she wanted a change in scenery as well, which is why she went along with you.”
“Indeed. It does feel good to be outside the castle while there’s no threat around.”
“I also recall the times we spent together with Ruto and Nabooru in those secret grottos all over Hyrule Field…” Link said.
“Ah, our favorite hiding spots…” Saria said, smiling.
“Yeah, although some were a bit unsettling with all those spider webs around…” Zelda said, shuddering.
“True, but they were fortunately out of our reach. Besides, those Skulltulas do form decent target practice.” Link said.
“You got me there.” She said.
“Anyway, I think we should try to rest. We’ll have a very busy day tomorrow…” Link said as he handed part of his blanket over to Zelda, who smiled as she and Saria snuggled against Link before the three were eventually out like a light.