Krystal and Tetra experienced a moment of disorientation before they found themselves back outside the Earth Temple, being gently lowered outside the entrance. Looking up, they saw the King of Red Lions waiting at the shore where they’d left him, his head swiveling to look towards them expectantly. Tetra shouldered Krystal family shield as they ran down the sand towards him. “The prayer to the gods was successful?” he questioned as they stopped before him.
“Yes,” Krystal answered, turning slightly to show him the change in the Master Sword’s appearance. “The blade has been restored, but the power to repel evil still needs to be awakened.”
She turned back towards him as he contemplated her words. “One prayer was not enough… Does this mean the Wind Sage has also…?” He cut himself off and looked up at them again. “Very well! We must set sail for the Wind Temple at once, Krystal and Zelda!” Krystal nodded in reply while Tetra just shrugged slightly. They moved to the side of his hull and climbed aboard; with the Wind Waker’s power, they were soon soaring to the north towards the Wind Temple.
North of Windfall Island, they arrived at Gale Island, where the Wind Temple’s Great Sea entrance was located. They immediately figured out why it was called Gale Island: a strong burst of wind was constantly blowing out from the back of the island that only the heaviest of stones could resist being pushed back by. Krystal and Tetra held up their hands to shield their faces as they reached the shore, the billowing wind already licking at their eyes. They stepped off onto the rock and Krystal reached into her Adventure Pouch to pull out the metal plates they found at Ice Ring Isle. “I hope these make me heavy enough,” she muttered as she reached down to place each one above her boots before pressing the button on them to extend the bracers around her legs.
The King of Red Lions watched Krystal take slow steps up past the shore onto the small open space proper, Tetra remaining right behind her. The pirate princess had to hold tightly on to Krystal to keep from getting blown back, but the fox was able to keep walking forward against the wind even as she held her hands up in front of her head to shield her face. Upon reaching the back, they found the wind was coming from a green stone that was shaped like an Octorock, the small cracks running across it indicating it had been there for a long time. It wouldn’t budge when Krystal tried to lift it up, so she pulled out her hammer and swung it at the stone. Two good swings were enough to cause it to shatter into pieces, the wind stopping immediately afterwards.
Tetra’s hair and Krystal’s fur stuck up behind them for a second before gravity pulled them back down, thought strands of Tetra’s hair stuck up and Krystal’s fur didn’t settle quite as nicely as it did before. Tetra ran her hands over the back of Krystal’s head to try to smooth it somewhat as she remarked, “Well, that was fun.” Krystal nodded silently as she reached down to remove the bracers, smoothing the fur along her legs as she stood up and then along her arms as she put them away. They then stepped into the cave.
On the inside, it looked almost exactly like the entrance to the Earth Temple, complete with a stone slab at the back with markings that indicated directions on it. They weren’t surprised when the Triforce at the top of the slab began to glow after Krystal conducted the directions on the Wind Waker, or the blowing noise and presence that made itself known afterwards. They turned to see what like a young boy with blonde hair standing behind them in an outfit that looked similar to the one that Krystal’s grandmother made her for her birthday, just in a darker shade of green and having a slightly more ceremonial feel to it. He held a violin and bow in his hands that made Krystal blink in recognition.
“Are you the new hero and the heir to the royal bloodline?” he asked them, leaning forward slightly.
Krystal and Tetra looked at each other for a moment before looking back at him. “Yes, we are,” Krystal answered. “And you are?”
The boy leaned back. “I am Fado of the Kokiri tribe. I know I appear to you as a child, but the eyes can oft deceive. I am a most esteemed sage.”
Tetra said, “Neat. So, I’m sure you know why we’re here.”
Fado responded, “Indeed. I had been praying here so that the power to repel evil would continue to be contained within the blade of the Master Sword… But I was attacked by the evil Ganondorf… and this is what happened to me.” He looked at Krystal, “You wish to return the power to your blade, don’t you?”
Krystal glanced back at it for a moment before nodding. “Yes.”
Fado held his arms out at his sides as he said, “In that case, you must find the one who has the same instrument that I hold, and teach him the song you just played. Once you do, I’m certain the holder of the instrument will feel the blood of the sages awaken in his veins.”
Tetra nodded, “Got it. Same as with the Earth Temple.”
Fado said, “That Wind Waker you hold was used long ago to conduct us sages when we played our song to call upon the gods. In those days, it was always the king who conducted for us…” He began to fade away as he finished, “Please… Tell the king I will still play… even in the next world!”
They exited the cave and made their way back to the King of Red Lions. He took one look at their expressions and murmured, “So, even Fado… Ganon’s reach extends to even the sages themselves…” He shook his head and looked at them. “To ease Fado’s spirit, a new sage must be found! Does his instrument not seem familiar, Krystal?”
The blue fox nodded, “It does. I know where to go.” She and Tetra climbed back into the boat and the Wind Waker’s power once again had them soaring across the ocean.
Tetra looked up as they landed off the shore of the Forest Haven. “This is where the sage is?” she asked as they cruised closer.
Krystal turned the boat slightly as they reached the edge, a sigh escaping her muzzle. “I know it has to be done if we’re to stand a chance against Ganondorf, but… Dragging Medli into this was one thing, but him…” She shook her head and leapt out of the boat. They couldn’t stop now, not with his shadow slowly spreading farther over the Great Sea.
She noticed the postbox on the island shaking slightly and walked over to it. The box told her it had three letters for her. One was from her grandmother, her letter sharing her wishes for her and her sister along with a red Rupee, and the second one was from Aryll herself, writing from the pirate ship about the other pirates and including a red Rupee she got from helping them with their chores, but the third was a Cash-On-Delivery parcel from Tingle that required a not insubstantial two-hundred and one Rupees from her wallet to pay for it, but it was certainly a surprise when she found a rolled-up chart inside. It seemed that the funny man had learned about what she was doing and had sent her this IN-credible chart that showed the locations of Triforce Charts around the Great Sea, his letter telling her to find these charts and bring them to him for translating. “If this chart is accurate, then that certainly is IN-credible,” she thought to herself as she slipped the green chart into her Adventure Pouch for the time being.
She started climbing her way up to the interior of the island, but as she was getting ready to use her Grappling Hook to swing over to the top of the waterfall across from her, her ears twitched and she paused. It was faint, but she thought she could hear Makar's violin. Not from inside the island, but from somewhere nearby. She looked around, listening, before her eyes focused on the cascading falls. “Is there something behind the waterfall?” she wondered. After thinking for a moment, she made her way back down and wrapped the Grappling Hook around the branch from below. “Please don't let there be a solid wall on the other side,” she prayed as she ran forward.
The splash of cold water hit her first followed by her knees hitting cool grass, a grunt escaping her lips. She opened her eyes; she was in a cavern that had water dripping from the ceiling. The sound of Makar's violin was louder now. She stood up and brushed off her dress before moving forward.
The cave wasn’t very long and she soon reached the back of it. Makar was standing on a patch of grass that was surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped stream of water. He paused and looked up as Krystal stepped into the light and said, “Oh! Krystal! I haven’t seen you in a while!”
Krystal smiled softly. “Hi, Makar. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.” She paused for a moment before asking, “What are you doing down here by yourself?”
The plump Korok replied, “I’m preparing a new song for next year’s ceremony. And I need privacy! It’s no if fun if everyone what the song is ahead of time.” He looked at her curiously, “I’m surprised you were able to find me here…”
Krystal stopped in front of him, kneeling down as she said, “I thought I heard your violin when I was standing on the other side of the waterfall.”
Makar flinched at her words. “Ruh-Really? I thought the sound of the water would have drowned it out…” he murmured.
Krystal raised her hands so her palms were pointed at Makar. “W-Well, my ears are a bit more sensitive than those of humans, generally. That’s probably the only reason I heard you,” she tried to assure him.
Makar was silent for a moment before saying, “Perhaps I should play a little more softly from now on anyway. Thank you for telling me, Krystal. And please don’t tell anyone I’m down here, okay?”
Krystal replied as she stood up, “Your secret is safe with me, Makar.” She hesitated as he readied his bow to start again before asking, “Makar?”
He looked up at her again, “Yes, Krystal?” The fox pulled the Wind Waker out of her pouch, causing the young Korok to gasp. “Why, is that a conductor’s baton? Krystal! Are you a maestro?!” he exclaimed. She nodded, causing him to say, “That’s amazing! What kind of song is it going to be? I can’t wait!” He followed along as she conducted the song she learned at Gale Island, and as he finished, he lowered his bow beside him as he stared somewhere past Krystal. “Strange… Why does it feel like I know this song…?”
As he started to play the song again, Krystal blinked and her eyes widened at the sight of a boy dressed similar to Fado appearing behind Makar holding the same violin and appearing as transparent as the Kokiri had been, though with a more rounded physique and more casual green clothes. She recalled what the Great Deku Tree had told her about the Koroks, how they had once had human forms before they began living on the Great Sea. Was she seeing what Makar looked like as a human? Or were the Kokiri and the Koroks just that closely related to each other? She didn’t dwell on the question; she simply resumed conducting, catching up and leading the way through the remainder of the aria.
Makar held his bow up beside him afterwards as he looked up at Krystal with what seemed like a serious look. “Krystal… This song… It fills me with vigor,” he said in a solemn tone. “Memories started flooding into me. I can feel the call of the Wind Temple… The Master Sword’s power was hidden away there…”
Krystal nodded, “Yes, that’s right, Makar. But are you sure about this?”
The Korok nodded resolutely, “I know what I must do! It is my fate to return the power to repel evil to your Master Sword as the new sage of the Wind Temple! And to ease the regrets of my ancestors… Oh, Krystal, please! You must take me with you to the Wind Temple!”
________________________________________
Tetra looked up as Krystal made her way down to the boat, her right hand supporting Makar as he clung onto her shoulder. His violin and bow were slung across his shoulder, swaying against his back slightly as the fox ran down. “That’s the instrument, all right. No wonder you sounded hesitant about having to get him,” Tetra remarked when they were closer, the King of Red Lions turning his head to look at them.
Krystal stopped at the edge of the water. “Yes, I…” She paused when Makar leapt off her shoulder and on top of the King’s head, his little hands gripping onto the horns. “Makar, we have a long way to go to get to the Wind Temple. Are you sure you want to spend the trip up there?” she asked, the King’s eyes swiveling up to look in his direction.
The Korok looked back at her and said, “Yes, I’m sure. Don’t worry about me, Krystal! I won’t fall!”
Krystal relented and said, “All right. I trust you, Makar.” She hopped over into the boat and took her place at the rudder while Tetra readied the sail.
They were back at the shore of Gale Island before they realized it, Makar leaping onto the shore first before the King of Red Lions turned to allow Krystal and Tetra to jump out with needing to get wet. Tetra had to admit she was impressed by how well the little guy had hung on. They all looked back at the King as he said, “Krystal, Tetra, as was the case with the Earth Temple, I have no doubt the temple ahead has Ganon’s monsters defiling its scared halls. Even more so than with Medli, it’s going to be up to you two to make sure nothing happens to Makar. Work together to keep him safe.” Krystal and Tetra nodded in reply before turning and making their way to the cave entrance, Makar waddling behind them.
The stone slab fell apart just like the one at the Earth Temple’s entrance when Makar played the song on it. The short passage beyond led to a similar entrance, the hole leading into the temple at the top of a short flight of stairs. They reached it and Makar shuffled in place excitedly before jumping down into the hole. Krystal and Tetra looked at each other and nodded before following him down into the temple’s entrance, the Hyrule entrance collapsed behind where they landed just like in the Earth Temple.
Makar was standing in front of a door that had steel bars going down in front of it across from them, but he wasn’t looking at the door. Instead, he was looking at a patch of soil near the door, his left hand on the side of his face as he looked down at it. As they walked over to him, they realized there were bushes as well as grassed growing inside the temple, and it didn’t look like it was due to nature attempting to reclaim the structure; the ground beneath them was fertile enough for plants to grow. “What is it, Makar?” Krystal asked as they reached him.
“The soil here seems fertile,” he murmured. “I wonder…” He produced a small seed and tossed it into the small hole at the top of the mound. All of a sudden, a tree sapling with several branches and leaves burst out of the ground, surprising Krystal and Tetra. They heard the sound of metal sliding against metal and turned to see that the metal bars over the door had slid up.
“That's… an odd locking mechanism,” Tetra remarked, an eyebrow raised. Still, they made their way over and walked through the doors when they slid open. The hallway beyond had the same weathered brown walls as the entrance, but it also contained an obstacle: a large rounded object with four blades attached to it that slid across the width of the hall, pausing for a second every time it hit the wall. Krystal picked up Makar and she and Tetra waited for the blades to slide past them before they sprinted past.
A few rooms later, they entered a circular room that was dominated by a large grate in the center. Krystal peered through the slits and saw a long shaft leading downwards with a massive fan at the bottom. “That's a long way down… How do we open this thing?” she wondered.
“Hey, I don’t know if we want to be going down there. It might…” Tetra was cut off as a pulsing sound echoed from somewhere in the room. Krystal could swear she’d heard it somewhere before as it sounded several more times. After on that sounded like it was incredibly close, she looked back down and saw a wide pair of eyes with a bird-like beak in front of them staring directly back at her from the other side. She yelped and staggered back, losing her balance and falling on her rear. The creature, a Wizzrobe part of her remembered, gave a laugh before floating downwards.
“Krystal! Are you okay?” Makar cried out. Before the fox could answer, the grate suddenly began to open, retracting in four pieces. Krystal managed to stand and leap back onto solid ground next to Makar before she ran out of room. They looked down the shaft, seeing no easy way to go over it now. “What do we do now?” Makar asked.
A pair of gold-yellow spheres floated up out of the shaft and went behind them. As they turned to look, the spheres broke into clouds that dissipated to reveal two Darknuts standing there. The monsters looked at them for a moment before the shifted their swords to their sides and began to advance. The trio back up to the edge of the shaft. There wasn’t a lot of room between the edge and the doors they came through on the outcropping, and the Darknuts had them cornered next to the former with little room to maneuver.
Tetra looked back at the shaft for a moment before looking over at Krystal and saying, “Actually, going down there sound like such a bad idea right now. The fox looked over at her for a moment before nodding.
She looked down at Makar and saw he was already starting to sprout his own Deku Leaves from his back in order to fly like his fellow Koroks. They let him go first, his leaves lifting him off the ground before they jumped into the shaft after him, the Darknuts swinging their swords at them as their feet left the ground. Tetra wrapped her arms around Krystal’s midsection as she pulled out her own Deku Leafe, the leaf expanding to allow them to glide down after Makar. “Whew. That was…” Krystal was cut off when the fan at the bottom of the staff suddenly began spinning, creating an updraft that surged up under them, blowing them up and back against the wall.
Makar cried out, his limbs flailing as he was pushed back by the wind. He dismissed his spinning leaves after a second, stopping his ascent but still pushing him against the wall where he landed on a brown metal ring circling the shaft. Krystal’s Deku Leaf reverted to its inactive size as she did the same, her and Tetra managing to land on a ring above Makar, though with much less room to shift around. “Well, this is great! We can’t go back up, but that fan is going to keep us from going down! What now?!” Tetra yelled over the wind.
Krystal noticed the wind dying down after a couple more seconds and looked down at the fan. It was slowing down, coming to a stop after a few more seconds. Krystal noticed Makar looked ready to jump down and called to him, “Wait, Makar! Let’s see if it starts spinning again!” The Korok heeded her order, turning to look down as well. Sure enough, it started spinning less than a minute later, the wind pushing them all back again.
“I get it! It blows for a bit and then it has to stop for a short time!” Tetra exclaimed.
“Yes! If we can get to the bottom during that time and get underneath it, we should be able to stay down there!” Krystal yelled back. They waited for the wind to start dying down before pushing away from the wall and jumping, Makar’s leaves sprouting and spinning a little as he fell to slow his descent while Krystal and Tetra let themselves fall for several seconds before Krystal opened her Deku Leaf, their drop slowing a short distance above the fan. They got past the blades and dropped down on their fronts on the grassy ground underneath while Makar managed to slip through before the fan started spinning again, landing next to the girls.
As the fan slowed down again, the girls looked up. The area under the fan was circular and there were two noteworthy things that they could see in addition to it: a raised square-shaped metal platform that they presumed would rise up to the opening overhead if they stood on it, and a pair of doors in the wall. They stood up and made their way over to the latter with Makar toddling behind. Passing through the doors, they found the Wizzrobe waiting in the middle of the room beyond, the magical creature letting out another laugh when they stepped inside. It raised its arms and used its magic to create a Moblin and a flock of Keese beside it before disappearing.
Krystal and Tetra stepped in front of Makar, Krystal saying, “Stay back, Makar!” as she drew the Master Sword and Mirror Shield. She ran towards the Moblin while Tetra was about to grab the bow, but grabbed Krystal's shield instead when the Keese tried to dive bomb Makar. She was able to block them without getting hurt herself and then drew the bow, firing arrows at the bats fluttering overhead. Makar looked around while shaking, wondering what he could do to help.
He heard the noise from earlier and looked around. He spotted the Wizzrobe hovering above one of the metal platforms circling the room, spinning around in a circle while holding up its magic wand in front of itself. It looked like it was planning something, so he called while pointing, “Krystal! Tetra! It's up there!”
Krystal was finishing up with the Moblin and wasn't able to reach it anyway, and Tetra took out the last of the Keese too late to react in time. The Wizzrobe created more Keese as well as Morths to slow them down. Krystal drew the attention of both the Morths and the Keese, taking the Morths out with a Spin Attack and then targeting the Keese, allowing Tetra to look around with Makar. The next time the Wizzrobe appeared, she nailed it with an arrow and was able to keep it from summoning any more monsters. It went down after several more arrows, giving out a loud yell before it disappeared.
A chest appeared in the middle of the room, fading into view as if it had been translucent and hit by a beam of light. Krystal walked over and opened it, finding a device with a spring-loaded chain inside. A Hookshot. She was able to use it to get up onto the platforms around the room and find a switch on top of one near the ceiling. Pressing it down caused the bars covering the door opposite the one they came in through to slide up and she made her way back down to rejoin Tetra and Makar.
In the room beyond, they had a little bit of room to walk around before coming to a ledge. Below was flat ground with nothing of interest and beyond were rises covered with no way to get on top of them. Blue Bubbles patrolled in straight lines above the rises, their cursed blue flames dropping embers that fizzled out of existence before they fell too far. “Okay… how do we get through here?” Tetra asked as they looked around.
Makar looked at the closest rise and said, “Let me see what’s up there.” He sprouted his leaves and flew up and over to it while Krystal and Tetra eyed the Blue Bubbles warily. He spotted a patch of soil on the rise and landed near it, toddling across the grass to plant a seed in it. He looked up at the tree that sprouted and got an idea. He turned towards the girls and called, “Krystal! I think you can use your new tool to pull yourself to my trees!”
Krystal was about to call back when she noticed the closest Blue Bubble had heard Makar’s yelling and was clattering towards him. She rushed forward, pulling the Hookshot as she called, “Makar, look out!” She fired at the tree and the hook caught in the bark, causing her to be pulled towards it. Makar was backing away nervously as the Blue Bubble came closer and Krystal fired the Hookshot at it to try to draw its attention away. Instead, she ended up pulling it out of its flames, the skull landing on the ground when it reached her. She quickly drew the Master Sword and thrust its tip down through the top of the skull, shattering it.
“Oh, Krystal, thank you!” Makar exclaimed, hopping over to her.
The blue fox leaned over and patted him on the head as she spoke, “Now that we know that works, let’s coordinate a little better on getting the rest of the way through this room, okay?” Makar nodded in agreement. They both heard a throat clearing and turned to see Tetra looking up at them with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. “Stay here for a moment. I’ll be right back,” Krystal said before running to the edge and jumping, using the Deku Leaf to glide back. Once she helped Tetra across, they worked together to keep Makar safe while he planted more trees so they could follow him through the room.
The next room had a straight raised path to the other end that was broken in the middle by a steep drop that had two fans on both sides of the room blowing between the gap, making it impossible to try to glide across with the Deku Leaf. There were also Bokoblins on their side of the path, so Krystal and Tetra stepped forward to deal with them first. Tetra noticed she was running low on arrows after the last Bokoblin fell, but her attention was redirected to Makar as he waddled down the now clear path to the end, sprouting his leaves and flying over the blowing winds to plant a tree on the other side. As it sprouted, though, a black hand reached up out of the floor behind him and grabbed him, causing him to let out a cry. Krystal and Tetra barely had time to react before it pulled him into the black hole it had appeared from, Makar giving one last cry before he disappeared into it. The two girls used his tree to get across the gap and hurried to the door on the other side, hoping Makar was somewhere on the other side.
They saw him as they reached the bottom of the short set of stairs in the room beyond, the Korok hopping in place just past the doorway on the other side of the room. Said doorway was surrounded by three very big fans in the wall around it, all of which were blowing strong winds in their direction. There was a trench in the floor just before the doorway, and there were several bladed traps sliding across the room between them and the doorway. There were also three big, heavy metal blocks nearby. Krystal looked at them and got an idea.
It took a minute or two of slow pushing, partly due to the blocks being heavy and partly due to Krystal needing to have the bracers around her legs to prevent the wind from pushing her back, but she was able to trap two of the sliding trap with one block, push another block into the trench to make it easier to, and push the last block over that block in order to stop the last trap on the other side. She then had Tetra hold onto her tightly as she crossed the room again, the pirate girl blowing behind her like a leaf just barely holding on in a terrible storm while Krystal held her hands up to try to keep the wind out of her eyes. They managed to make it to the doorway and Makar exclaimed, “Krystal! Tetra!”
As she reached down to remove the bracers, Krystal asked, “Are you okay, Makar?”
The Korok chirped, “Yes, I’m fine. That strange hand threw me out here.” He turned and toddled over to a patch of grass on the side, parting the blades before turning back to them with a key in his hands. “Look, I found this too. Maybe it’s used up ahead?” he wondered.
Tetra raised an eyebrow. “How… convenient,” she remarked as Krystal took the key from him. They made their way down the stairs and hallway past the doorway found a large set of doors at the end that was locked similar to the one in the Earth Temple. The key Makar had found definitely looked like it would fit the lock, so she leapt up, inserted it, and turned it. The chains retracted and the lock fell to the ground, the doors sliding open slowly for them and sliding closed again once they crossed the threshold.
The room beyond the doors was dimly lit, but they could see enough to see that there was a ledge a short distance in front of them. Krystal moved to the ledge, her eyes adjusting to darkness quicker than Tetra’s did. They were in a large chamber with a high ceiling overhead. There was nothing of interest up there, but down below, the chamber was filled with sand. It was almost everywhere; the only that stuck out was the center of the room, where a round stone dais with the Hylian crest marked on it sat in the middle of the chamber. She couldn’t see anything else in the chamber; it was just them. The fur on her tail prickled up; something was not right about this picture.
Makar didn't seem to feel the same way; he hopped over next to Krystal and leapt up excitedly at the sight of the dais. "This is it! It's just like the sage showed me!" he exclaimed. Krystal heard Tetra muttering and glanced back to see her moving forward, reaching for the Korok to pull him back.
She looked back down and her eyes widened when she saw Makar leap over the edge. "Makar, no! Wait!" she exclaimed, watching him land in the sand and push himself out after a few moments of wriggling. She leapt down after him, her knees buckling as she landed on the surface of the sand. It was a lot firmer than it seemed from above. She looked up, seeing Makar hopping towards the dais and stood, running after him while Tetra jumped down and also winced upon landing.
Makar had almost reached the dais by the time Tetra stood up, but he wasn't able to set even a foot on it before the chamber began rumbling. They all shook in place as they all looked around. Sand began spilling out of several previously unseen openings in the ceiling like a waterfall, causing the sand level to rise beneath their feet. "Oh no!" Makar cried when the sand began spilling on top of the dais. In less than a minute, it was buried under the still rising sand.
Before anyone could move, the sand piled on top of the dais began to shift and peak upwards. Krystal gasped; there was something moving under their feet. "Makar, look out!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and placing her hands on his sides before jumping back moments before a massive creature burst out of the sand. Krystal, Makar, and Tetra all stared as the creature twisted around through the air as it flew around like a dragon, its long snake-like body twisting behind it and dropping granules of sand in its wake. Its big split mouth flapped sideways as it let out a metallic growling noise, the green eyes on the side of its head flashing down at them for a moment before it dove, breaching the surface of the sand and leaving a large sand crater between the two girls.
Tetra backed up against the wall behind her and began to inch away from the crater. "I don't know what that thing is, but watch your feet, Krystal! It could come up from anywhere!" she exclaimed. The fox took a few steps back, eyeing the spot as she held tightly onto Makar. She looked around, searching for any sign that could tell them where it was wriggling around.
She paused and gasped lightly a few moments later. Something clicked inside her head, warning her of approaching danger, and she looked down at her feet. The sand around her boots was beginning to shift and it wasn't just from the sand still pouring into the chamber; it was beginning to dip. She turned and ran as the sand around her began to crater, managing to be about halfway up when it finished forming. She turned when she made it up to the edge and saw the creature's open jaws poking up out of the sand with its blue tongue flicking around in between them. It hadn't caught them, but it seemed like it was waiting for the sand to draw them towards it due to the almost leisurely way its mouth flexed.
Tetra stepped forward, grabbing the bow and readying an arrow. "I should be able to hit that from here!" she called, taking aim at the tongue. When she fired, though, the creature simply wacked it away with the tip of its tongue. Tetra blinked and narrowed her eyes, "Okay, this time!" She fired multiple arrows, but the tongue either smacked them away or twisted around to make them fly harmlessly past. One arrow nearly hit Krystal, the fox yelping as she skipped to the side to avoid getting hit in the knee. Tetra realized she was out of arrows when she reached for another and her hand closed around nothing, the creature's tongue still swaying mockingly.
Krystal glared at it and muttered, "Okay, that settles it." She set Makar down further away from the crater before attaching the bracers to her legs. She stepped into the rippling bowl, ignoring Tetra's yells to get away from it, and pulled out the Hookshot. She took aim and fired. The creature tried to knock the hook away when it came close, but it gurgled in surprise when it not only stuck to the tip of its tongue, but also pulled it towards Krystal, who quickly pulled the tip out before unsheathing the Master Sword and slashing at it several times, the creature letting out a pained cry each time.
It retracted its tongue after several slashes with a pained growl, its jaws closing around it for a moment before it spat several smaller worm-like creatures out and disappeared back under the sand.
The worm creatures slithered through the sand towards Krystal and Tetra, leaping out of the sand to attack them. Krystal used the Hookshot to catch one out of the air while she removed her bracers and Tetra used Krystal's shield to block the two that leapt at her. Krystal was able to deal with the one that attacked her, but her attention was redirected towards where Makar was standing, the sand around him shifting.
Krystal ignored the other worm creature snapping after her for now, instead running towards Makar and scooping him up as she kept running. Her timing had been close; the creature burst out of the ground just barely missing her feet a moment later as it began flying around again, its jaws flapping as it made that metallic growling sound again. Krystal held tightly onto Makar as she ran, trying to track the creature’s position as best she could. It was flying around in circles at the moment, but it suddenly turned and angled down towards her, its jaws open wide.
Krystal gasped; she wasn’t sure if she could stay ahead of it at the speed it was moving. She looked towards Tetra, seeing her running as well to avoid the worms snapping after her. “Tetra!” she called to get her attention. When the girl looked towards her, she raised Makar over her head and said, “Makar, fly to her!” She then threw him, his leaves sprouting as he flew towards her. The creature immediately turned to try to catch Makar, but it hit the sand between him and Krystal and disappeared back beneath the surface.
Makar’s leaves were able to carry him to Tetra, who shifted the shield in her grip in order to hold him in her arms. One of the worms leapt out of the sand at her, but Krystal yanked out of midair with the Hookshot, pulling it towards her to slash it. She did the same to the other worms writhing around before looking over at where Tetra had stopped. Her eyes widened a second later. “Tetra, your feet!” she yelled.
Tetra looked down and realized the sand was beginning to dip. She gasped and ran to try to get out of the center. She managed to get out before the creature’s jaws emerged from underneath her, but it was able to twist its mouth and snap at her, causing her to lose her balance and fall to her knees, still holding onto Makar. Krystal leapt into the crater and reached for her, wrapping her hands around her arm and pulling her back as the creature tried to snap at them again.
Krystal was able to pull them out, helping them over and making sure they were okay before attaching the bracers to her legs again. She was able to pull the tongue to her with the Hookshot again, but this time, the hook got stuck in it. She still pulled the Master Sword out to slash at it, but after one slash, the tongue suddenly jerked up, pulling her with it as it began to retract towards its mouth. She gasped, but luckily, she had a firm grip on the Master Sword’s grip. She raised it as the mouth loomed closer and, with a yell, slashed further down the tongue, the sharper blade managing to slice through the appendage, separating the tip from it. The creature’s mouth snapped shut, its tongue still hanging out as Krystal landed on her side beside it with a pained grunt, the Master Sword landing beside her.
Instead of snapping at her, the creature sank back into the sand, its tongue spilling green where it had been cut. It burst out of the sand again a second later, but its movements were erratic as it flew around this time, its screeches bouncing off the walls of the room as Krystal, Tetra, and Makar looked up at it. It froze in midair suddenly and they heard a cracking sound as first its head stopped moving and seemed to solidify, turning the same color as sand. The rest of its body quickly followed, the granules of sand falling off of it stopping as it turned completely solid. Its segments then began to explode into a shower of sand, the head exploding last and dropping a shower of sand across the chamber.
As she sat up, Krystal noticed the sand spilling in from the ceiling had stopped and the sand in the chamber was beginning to shift, beginning to recede. When it stopped, the dais had been uncovered, the sand just beneath its edges and level once more. The blue light in the center of the Triforce began to glow and Makar skipped over to it, pulling his violin off of his back and looking over at her expectantly when he was standing next to it. She nodded and removed her bracers before reaching over and grabbing the Master Sword.
She finished setting the Master Sword in the middle of the light and moved to stand across from Makar, Tetra standing to her right. She pulled out the Wind Waker and began to conduct the aria for Makar as he played his violin and Tetra prayed beside them. They could hear a second violin join in, the bright notes joining together in the chamber as the Triforce marking began to glow brightly. Fado looked them all over one last time before fading from view as the prayer ended.
Krystal walked over to the Master Sword and pulled it out, shifting her grip to hold it upright as she looked at it. She jerked back a moment later, feeling a rush of energy resonate down the blade and against her hands just like in the Earth Temple, and when she looked at the sword, she saw that it had changed again. The gem in the crossguard was lit up, a gold-yellow color now instead of black, and the blade seemed to be surrounded by an ethereal glow. Krystal leaned her forehead against it. The presence she’d felt within the Master Sword seemed different now. It was still very faint, but it felt stronger now, more present, like it was reaching out to her in her mind.
She sheathed the Master Sword and walked back over to Tetra and Makar, the latter covering his face with his hands as he bowed slightly. “Krystal, I have fully restored the power to repel evil to your Master Sword.” He paused before adding, “…And my ancestors are most satisfied.” The light that would return them to the surface surrounded the Triforce marking as it did in the Earth Temple. Makar straightened up slightly and said, “I shall continue praying to the gods here, and playing my music to soothe the woes of my ancestors. Krystal, Tetra, please step into the light and return above ground.”
The two girls nodded in reply, Tetra saying, “Don’t get too caught up in your playing. Just, you know, in case anything starts to happen. Just keep an ear perked, okay?” Makar nodded in understanding.
“May the winds of fortune be at your backs,” he said before they were lifted up into the light, vanishing from his view and leaving him in the chamber with the faint presence of Fado’s spirit for company.
________________________________________
Krystal and Tetra touched down outside the entrance to the temple and made their way down the stairs back towards the shore. “Not a bad little forest kid, actually,” Tetra remarked as they walked.
“Not bad at all,” Krystal agreed, looking over at her. She started to turn her head back towards the shore. “Now…” She paused, both in speaking and in walking at what she saw. Tetra followed her gaze and saw it too: one of the Fishmen was at the shore of the island, talking to the King of Red Lions. The two girls looked at each other curiously for a moment before running forward.
As she got closer, Krystal’s ears caught the Fishman saying, “Why? What ails you? What? Lose the long face! The monsters are gone from the world! Doesn’t that make you a little happy?” He turned to see Krystal coming to a stop near the edge of the water with Tetra bringing up the rear as he finished. “‘Hoy there, small fry! Would you talk to this guy, tell him that this is a good thing?” He leapt backwards, disappearing under the water’s surface without another word.
Krystal looked at where the Fishman had been for a moment before turning to the King. “Has something happened?” she asked.
“The Fishman has brought troubling news, Krystal…” he began. “It seems Ganon has not shown himself above the seas since Valoo unleashed his fiery wrath upon him. And what’s worse, there’s not a single creature stirring in his base of operations in this world…”
Krystal and Tetra blinked and looked at each other. “The Forsaken Fortress is… empty?” Tetra asked.
The King nodded and said, “…I have no doubts that he is planning something. He is no doubt biding his time… I cannot shake this foreboding feeling I have about what his next move might be.”
Krystal looked back at him. “What do we do now?”
The King looked at her squarely and said, “The Triforce of Courage is your next task, Krystal. You must locate and gather the shards hidden across the Great Sea to reform it!”
Tetra looked down at her hand, the Triforce of Wisdom glowing up at her as if in reassurance… or warning. “Is that really the best idea?” she asked suddenly, Krystal and the King looking over at her. “He doesn’t just want this piece, does he? He wants the whole thing. He needs the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage in order to get what he wants.” She looked up, “Maybe… it would be better if we left it scattered…”
The King’s eyes narrowed as he snapped, “No! That is out of the question, Zelda!” Both Tetra and Krystal flinched and stepped back at his sharp tone. He seemed to realize the effect his words had on them as he relaxed his expression and cleared his throat before saying, “The Triforce of Courage may have been broken apart and scattered, but Ganon’s creatures are still hunting for it for him. It may be that Ganon is waiting for it to be reformed, but wouldn’t it be better for it to be reformed and be in our hands rather than the hands of Ganon’s creatures?”
Krystal considered his words for a moment before saying, “Well, yes…”
The King nodded and said, “I also said that the Triforce of Courage bestows upon its holder the inner strength necessary to stand up to overwhelming evil. You will need it, not only to stand your ground against Ganon, but also to be able to unlock Hyrule once again. With the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage in your possession, you will be able to put an end to Ganon’s spreading evil and ensure your sister and home will both be safe once again. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Krystal nodded quickly. “Y-Yes.”
The King turned to the side so they could climb aboard easier. “That’s why we need to claim the Triforce of Courage before Ganon’s creatures do. Climb aboard so that we may begin our search!” Krystal and Tetra heeded his words and climbed aboard, but as they settled into their usual positions, Tetra glanced at Krystal with a raised eyebrow and the fox responded with an uneasy expression. The pirate girl could tell that she was thinking along the same lines: the King’s outburst was a sign that there was more to what they were doing than he was sharing with them.
