LoZ - HF - Chapter 5 V2

Chapter 5: Manhandla of the Woods

"Don't tell me…" Elli spoke and sighed as she stared at the tree in front of her. It was marked with three arrows in a line down its massive trunk.

"Yeah…we're lost…" Link spoke and groaned. "That's the same tree…"

Elli groaned and plopped down. "Now what do we do?"

"We'll think of something…" Link looked around, examining the woods around them. "Man…when they called it the Lost Woods, they gave it an appropriate name, that's for sure."

"No duh…why else do you think it would be called the Lost Woods?"

Link shrugged. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting it to be because you could literally get lost in them…"

Elli rolled her eyes. "Oy…" She sighed and shook her head. "We're stuck in the Lost Woods, and we can't go forward cause we're lost, and we can't go back cause we have no idea which way back is…"

"What about your locater spell? Could it work?"

"It didn't when we were looking for the Triforce, why would it now?"

"Just give it a try."

Elli shrugged and stood to her feet. "Worth a shot I suppose." She stood to her feet and pulled out her wand. She held it forward and closed her eyes. "Alora ahora, menga indea ya dukku ani ijala qui White Sword." She then waved the wand forward. At first, the edge of the wand began to glow a little. After a moment, a small orb of light rose off of the edge, floating into the air and swirling around Elli for a moment. It then shot forward, shooting deep into the woods. "Follow it!" Elli shouted and the two rushed forward.

The light flew forward, zigzagging and twirling as it made its way deeper into the woods. After a few minutes, the light finally came to a stop before a rather large lake. It then fizzled out and Elli and Link stopped when they reached the lake. "Where is this?" Link asked.

"Check the map…" Elli spoke and Link pulled out her map. She looked at it for a moment, locating the Lost Woods on the map.

"The Lost Woods are here…which means we must be somewhere…" Link looked over the map a little more, then pointed to a small body of water on the map just north of the Lost Woods. "This must be where we are."

"'Lake of the Fairy Queen'?" Elli read. "I don't see a Fairy Queen," she remarked as she looked out, noticing nothing but an empty lake.

"It's because I can only be seen by those I wish to see me," a female voice suddenly spoke up which startled Elli.

"Whose there?" Link spoke out.

"I am Manna, Queen of the Ukiyo fairies. Why have you trespassed into this sacred lake?"

"We are seeking the White Sword."

"And why would you want that?"

"I lost my sword…it was shattered to pieces upon a Dodongo. So, I'm hoping to get the White Sword to replace it."

"I see…and…what is your name, girl?"

"I am Link Marian Ysond, and this is my companion, Elizabeth Marie Elenoi."

"Call me Elli…I hate being called Elizabeth," Elli spoke as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Link Marian Ysond…you carry the name of the Hero of Time…" the voice spoke. "Have you been visited by the last Hero?"

"Well…this strange woman did appear in front of me and call me the Hero of Time…" Link spoke. "She seemed kind of like a ghost…and she stabbed me with her sword…"

"Then you have been visited by the previous Hero." Suddenly, the lake began to glow, and a bright light shot up from the water. Inside the light, a woman began to rise up from beneath the lake. At first, Link could barely make her out, but as she rose more, the light grew dimmer and Link could make out her silvery-blonde hair which ended about the middle of her back while some came out and covered some of the front of her face. A moment more and Link could see a silver crown upon her head with several sapphires all over it. Her outfit consisted of a simple, baby blue, strapless dress that was fairly low on her well endowed bust, while it also ended fairly high on her body, almost risking being indecent. Link then noticed a pair of baby blue shoes upon her feet, along with four, nearly transparent wings upon her back.

"I apologize for keeping myself hidden, Hero," the woman spoke as she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of silver eyes. She stepped forward, walking upon the top of the water until she reached the land. She then knelt before Link whose eyes went wide with shock. "As I stated before, I am Manna, Queen of the Ukiyo fairies. Many years ago, the Goddesses of Hyrule placed my tribe as the guardians of the White Sword."

"Why does a sword need a guardian?" Link asked.

"The White Sword…it is no ordinary blade. A long time ago, a man named Ganondorf ravaged the land with his evil. He used two special swords to do so. One was known as the Black Sword while the other was known as the White Sword. The two were a powerful pair, but only when one knew how to wield them both. They were weapons forged of the ancient metal, Mithril, which made them indestructible. Only two other swords have been forged with Mithril. They are the Picori Blade and the Master Sword."

"The Picori Blade and the Master Sword?"

Manna nodded. "The Picori Blade, also known as the Four Sword, is an ancient sword. Its wielder is said to split into four beings. It was used against the Wind Mage, Vaati, and used to seal him away until his final destruction at the hands of the Hero of Time a hundred years ago. The Master Sword is also known as the Evil Slaying Sword. No evil can touch it, and it is said to be able to destroy any evil thing it touches. However, it was lost to time after Ganon's last defeat a hundred years ago as well."

"Wow…so neither of those swords can help us now?"

Manna shook her head. "Unfortunately not. Now all that remains are the Black Sword and the White Sword. I was left to guard the White Sword and instructed to give it to the Hero of Time when she next appeared. The Black Sword however…I believe Ganon has it."

"I see…"

"Know, however, that wielding the White Sword is unlike any normal sword. With its power you will be able to cut through many things you could not before. Its magic power will also aid you in destroying your enemies quicker."

"Sounds fine to me. Where can I get the White Sword?"

Manna rose her hand forward and an orb of light appeared in her hand. The orb then extended out, forming into a long katana. The katana had a white sheath and hilt with a blue wrapping around the hilt. "As I said before, this is unlike any sword you have ever laid your hands on. If you can master using it, then it is yours."

"How hard can it be to use a sword?"

"See for yourself." Manna held the sword forward and Link gripped the hilt. She drew the sword from the sheath, and the blade seem to sing. She lifted the sword into the air and the light from the sun seemed to split upon the blade, shining in all directions. Link swung the sword quickly, and at first, she noticed no difference between it and her last sword. However, it didn't take long before she felt like the sword itself had suddenly grown ten times heavier. After only a moment more, she found she couldn't even lift the blade anymore.

"What…the hell?" Link asked as she panted for breath. She had gotten warn out trying to swing it around.

"As I said, the White Sword is a special blade," Manna spoke. "Its wielder must hold a certain quality to use it."

"And that is?"

Manna shook her head. "Not something I can explain. It is something you must discover for yourself."

"Discover for myself…" Link closed her eyes and lifted the sword once again and Elli watched as Link struggled with the sword. It seemed strong, but the longer Link held onto it, the duller and heavier the sword seemed to get.

* * *

"And we're here…why?" Tamuril asked as she stared down at Manna, Link, and Elli. She was standing high above them, seemingly on nothing.

"Master Ganon wishes us to unleash the trap to get them into the dungeon," Carock spoke as he also seemed to stand upon the thin air below them.

Tamuril sighed and groaned. "Honestly…why doesn't he just kill her and claim the Triforce himself? Is he afraid he won't be able to beat all of Zelda's guardians? Cause, you know, if he is, and Link can beat them, Ganon doesn't stand a chance."

"Ganon has his reasons, that is all we need to know or care about."

"Still…Ganon just lets Link walk in here and take the White Sword? Is that even smart? With the power that sword has-"

"Enough!" Carock shouted and rose his hand. "Link cannot complete her task without this power."

"But it's the fuckin' White Sword! What if she figures out how to use it? Does Ganon know how to use the Black Sword's power? For that matter, does he even have the Black Sword? I've never even seen that overgrown pig with any form of weapon in his hands."

"Master Ganon knows what he is doing."

Tamuril shrugged. "Fine, but if he gets himself killed, don't blame me."

"Let's just initiate the trap."

"Fine, whatever…" Tamuril grumbled. "I'm not getting paid enough for this kind of work…" She held her hand forward and at once five small knives specifically designed to be placed between her fingers appeared in her hand. She quickly stuck the daggers in their place between her fingers then tossed them straight down. Three completely missed Link, Elli, or Manna, while the fourth dug deep into Elli's shoulder and the last struck Manna directly in the back.

"Elli! Manna!" Link shouted, then looked up. She now noticed Tamuril and Carock above them.

"For Ganon!" Carock shouted and aimed his staff down. "Vel leian jonel, ani aise indea ali ubela ke manji dea ka unene hengu kelle ali waj ke dei xami ke jonel." A large black orb began to form at the edge of Carock's staff.

"Link! Watch out!" Elli shouted and quickly pushed Link out of the way. Carock laughed as the orb shot forward from his staff. Quickly, Manna jumped in front of both Elli and Link, extending her arms out. "Manna!" Elli shouted as the orb struck Manna. Link and Elli could hear Manna screaming in pain from the attack, and a moment later, her screams went silent as the darkness engulfed her body then exploded, forcing Link and Elli back. Smoke rose from the destruction, and once the smoke cleared, they saw that nothing remained of Manna. "Manna, no!"

Link growled. "You bastard!" she shouted and held her sword up. "You'll pay for what you just did!" The sword began to glow and Tamuril smirked. Link roared and whirled the sword around in her hand for a moment, then slammed her sword against the ground. When she did, a huge orb of energy appeared from the sword, which she then thrust into the air at Carock. Quickly, Carock brought his staff forward, unleashing a huge shield to block the attack. Once the attack cleared away, Carock noticed that Link and Elli had vanished.

"So, she has unleashed the power of the White Sword," Tamuril spoke, then laughed.

"But will she know what she did to release such a power?" Carock asked as he turned to Tamuril. "Come, we must make sure Link has rushed off to the third dungeon. If so, then we shall unleash the Darknut to test her."

"And if she fails?"

"Don't worry, Ganon has a plan for that."

* * *

"What the hell did you do, Link?" Elli asked as she panted for breath. The two had quickly rushed off after Link had unleashed the huge attack and they had rushed into the nearest underworld entrance in a hope to find safety.

"I don't know…" Link spoke as she panted as well. "I just felt the power come to me, and suddenly I knew what to do to unleash it…but I don't remember it at all now."

Elli sighed. "Damn, cause that could have been a useful skill."

Link nodded. "Yeah." She looked down at the sword in her hand. "Know something strange? It's almost like the sword's gotten lighter now…"

"Maybe it's accepted you as its wielder?"

"How does an inanimate object that's not even alive decide who can wield it?"

"Magic. Mithril was a rather strange metal. No one is sure what qualities it held, or how it made such powerful weapons. People only know that they could make strong weapons out of it…and people even tried to synthesize their own Mithril but failed."

"Only real Mithril has the power of Mithril, I suppose."

"Something like that, yeah." Elli nodded, then turned. "Well, we're here. I suppose we should search for the Triforce Shard in here, huh?"

"You sure this was one of the Underworld entrances that had one? After all, we did just randomly run in here."

Elli nodded. "Positive."

"Well, if you're sure, then let's see what's in here." Link looked around at the large room she had found herself in. At first it seemed like an empty old room built into a large cavern, but soon Link noticed they were not alone. She heard the sound of oozing slime and she quickly gripped the White Sword tight.

"What is that noise?" Elli asked.

"I'm not sure," Link spoke and stared out at the other end of the room. A moment later she saw it; slime was slowly oozing across the floor, making its way towards them. "What kind of a trap is this?" Suddenly, the slime gave a roar as it pulled together to form a single mound of slime. It rose up several feet, then roared again. "Living slime!"

"Chuchu!" Elli shouted. "Run!" The slime fell forward and Link pushed Elli aside, then jumped to the left. The slime crashed between them and Link growled. "Over there!" Elli shouted and pointed at an archway not too far off. "Run over there!" She quickly stood to her feet and rushed towards the archway. Link did the same and the slime pulled itself up once more.

"How will running through an archway help us survive?"

"I don't know, it's just the first thing that came to mind!"

"Well, let's hope you're right!" Link and Elli jumped forward through the archway as the slime came crashing down behind them. Just as they made it through, a massive steel door dropped down, blocking the way out, but also blocking the way in. Link immediately grabbed the door and tried to pull it up, but it was to no avail. "It's no use…it won't open again…"

"Don't worry about it, if the Chuchu can't get in here, then we're fine. When we find the Triforce it will get us out of here, just like it has every time before."

Link nodded. "Right, then let's look for it." The two began walking deeper into the dungeon. They noticed the dungeon seemed rather empty, which unnerved Link to a degree. "Shouldn't there be monsters around here?"

"There should be…" Elli spoke as she looked around. "But I don't see anything…how strange…"

Link gripped her sword tight. "It must be an ambush or something. Let's keep our eyes peeled."

"Right." Link and Elli slowly walked deeper into the dungeon, their eyes darting left and right with each step they took. They moved cautiously, unsure of what awaited them within.

"Halt!" a voice shouted and Link quickly held up her sword, readying herself for battle. There was a loud noise, like the sound of metal clashing upon the solid ground. The sound was heard again and again, almost like footsteps of some massive warrior in armor. It was only a moment more before Link saw the source of the sound come into view.

The creature was massive, at least eight feet tall if not more. It was dressed in black armor that covered it from head-to-toe. In it's right hand was a massive shield that looked much too heavy to wield, yet it seemed the creature had no trouble wielding it. The creature also held a massive, serrated, two-handed sword in its left hand. "Umm…Elli, what the hell is that thing?" Link asked.

"Darknut!" Elli shouted. "It's one of the most powerful troops in Ganon's army. In fact, it probably is the most powerful of Ganon's army."

"You will not pass to gain the Triforce!" the Darknut shouted and brought its massive sword down. Link quickly jumped back, just barely avoiding being struck by the sword.

"Is this thing that Triforce Guardian, then?" Link asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Elli shouted. "We'll only know once we kill it!"

"Then kill it we will!" Link rushed forward, gripping her sword tight. The Darknut pulled its sword back, then brought it down and Link quickly jumped to the right, barely avoiding the attack. She then quickly pulled herself into a roll and rolled behind the Darknut. She then jumped up, swirling her sword up as she did, but the attack seemed to barely do anything aside from chipping off a few small chunks of armor.

The Darknut quickly whirled around, seemingly unharmed from the attack, and brought its sword around to strike Link. She quickly held up her shield, but the blow was too strong and it shattered her shield, sending her flying across the room. "God damn it…" Link spoke as she rubbed her head. "That hurt…"

"You will die!" the Darknut shouted and began to stomp forward. Once it got close, it pulled its shield up, readying itself for any attack that might come. Link quickly rushed forward, but as her sword swung, it seemed to grow infinitely heavier, and Link felt herself letting go of the sword. The Darknut quickly brought its sword around and struck Link in the stomach with the hilt of the blade, which caused her to vomit rather suddenly, then collapse to her knees.

"D…damn it…" Link spoke, holding her stomach.

"Now die!" The Darknut rose its sword up into the air.

"Alora ahora, ani aise indea ali ubela ke manji dea ka unene hengu kelle ali waj ke dei xami ke jonel!" Elli shouted and held her wand forward. A large black orb appeared at the edge of her wand and the Darknut slowly turned. The orb shot forward and the Darknut pulled its shield up to block, but the orb went straight through the shield, shattering it. The orb then continued and struck the Darknut in the chest and it roared loudly. Dark energy surged all around it for a moment before the armor of the beast fell to the ground, leaving nothing underneath.

Elli fell to her knees and gasped for air. The attack had drained a lot of her power. "Elli!" Link shouted, but she was unable to move from the pain that still circulated through her body. The two remained there, on their knees, for several minutes until they had the power to move once again.

"You okay?" Elli asked as she stepped over to Link.

"Yeah…that blow just really hurt is all…" Link spoke, smiling as she pushed herself to her feet.

"What happened? I saw you dropped your sword."

"It got so heavy…I don't know what happened… I just suddenly couldn't hold onto it anymore."

"Well, magic doesn't just let anyone wield it, you have to have a certain level of skill and determination."

"I know…and apparently I lost that at the time…"

Elli shrugged. "Magic works in mysterious ways. I wonder, though…if that sword was one of Ganon's swords…how are you supposed to wield it without circuming to the darkness?"

"I don't know…"

"Well, anyway, we managed to kill the Darknut, so let's get the Triforce piece he was guarding."

"If that even was the Triforce Guardian."

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"Why would Ganon have one of his own men down here guarding the Triforce piece? All of the other guardians have been creatures placed here by Princess Zelda to guard the Triforce, or so I'm willing to bet with the fact that none of them have been working for Ganon. If Ganon knew where the Triforce pieces were, he'd probably take them himself, not guard them."

"Good point…but how do we know that the Darknut was working for Ganon?"

"Simple, all Darknuts always work for Ganon. Without the Triforce of Power's power, Darknuts are nothing."

"Then there's still a guardian in this place…let's keep searching then."

Elli nodded and Link picked the White Sword off of the ground. It seemed oddly light once more, as if the sword was once again letting her wield it. The two of them then headed off, searching deeper into the dungeon. As they made their way further, Link became more and more troubled about the fact there seemed to be no more monsters once again.

"You'd think we would have found something else by now…" Link spoke as she looked around the room they were in.

"It does worry me…" Elli spoke. "Although, Ganon does think highly of his Darknuts, he could think that one is strong enough to take out any enemy that would come here."

"Yeah…but what if this is some kind of huge Darknut base? What if there's like…fifty more of them in here?"

"I think we'll be fine, Link."

"What makes you so sure?"

"That." Elli pointed off to the right and Link turned. Her eyes caught onto the sight of a huge archway not too far away and beyond the archway was a golden glow.

"The Triforce shard!" Link spoke.

"Yes, let's go after it, quick," Elli spoke and Link nodded. The two quickly rushed forward, but they stopped when they heard a strange hissing noise. Then there was the sound of something moving in the darkness, followed by the sound of something biting the air around it, as if readying itself to fight. Link and Elli quickly jumped back to back and began to look all around them.

"Shikeru!" Elli shouted and waved her wand up. There was a flash of light and Link caught view of a large plant in front of her.

"Can you keep that light up?" Link asked.

"Yeah. Bainga Shikeru!" Elli's wand set off a burst of light and Link quickly grabbed Elli and jumped to the side, just barely avoiding the jaws of a huge plant in front of them. The plant had four heads that all sat on the edges of four long vines that came off of a huge stalk in the ground. The roots of the plant seemed insecure, as if it could move around by pulling the roots up from the ground and moving them forward like feet.

"What the hell is that?" Link shouted.

"Manhandla."

"I'm going to guess that this is the Triforce Guardian, isn't it?"

"More then likely, since the Triforce is behind it."

"Then let's take it out." Link rushed forward and quickly brought her sword straight through the center of the huge stalk. Manhandla seemed to laugh at this, and Link noticed the attack seemed to have done nothing. Her sword had gone straight through it, but hadn't left a cut or anything.

"Go for the heads!"

One of the heads shot forward at Link and she quickly swung her sword up, slicing it right off the vine it was on. The head roared as it collapsed to the ground, then shriveled away into dust. "Awesome, that worked!" Link shouted and with a single move, she twirled around, slicing off two more of the plant's heads. The final head gave a roar and shot forward at Link, who quickly jumped to the right and brought her sword down, chopping off the final head of the plant.

"Yes!" Elli shouted. "You got…it…" Elli's excitement was cut short as she realized Manhandla was still moving. Without its heads, the stalk had begun to move, and the vines that held the heads were now acting as arms, flailing around and trying to wrap around Link.

"Whoa! What the hell is going on now?"

"You have to kill the main stalk now!"

Link pulled her sword back and rushed forward, slicing right through the center of the stalk once more, but just like before, it seemed to do nothing. "It's no good! My sword can't do anything to it!"

Elli growled, sizing up the stalk. She whipped out her wand and aimed it forward, holding her wand at the ready. "Alora ahora, vel leian indea ya ali netai saharzu ke dovol dea ofenai dilei miben!" Eight small circles of fire swirled around Elli for a moment, then shot forward, swirling around each other for a moment until they combined into one large flame.

The flame then struck the center of Manhandla and it seemed to give out a loud roar. The flames erupted upward, licking the plants vines and stalk. After a moment, the flames died down, leaving nothing but ash in place of where Manhandla had been. "Did we get it?" Link asked.

"I think so."

Link gave a sigh of relief. "That's good." She turned towards the archway and entered the room with the golden light. There, in the center of the room lied the third shard of the Triforce of Wisdom, and as Link lifted it up, the other two swirled around her and the three combined together. Light shot up from around them and Link and Elli soon found themselves teleporting out of the dungeon and back outside once again.

* * *

"As I suspected," Ganon spoke as he stared at the screen in front of him. Zelda fought against her chains once again and Ganon laughed. "The White Sword's power is exactly as I suspected. It will not harm the elite."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Zelda shouted.

Ganon turned and smiled at Zelda. "It means one thing. Once Link gets the Triforce of Wisdom, I shall unleash my elite soldiers. The White Sword will not harm them, and I will become victorious!" Ganon let out a maniacal laugh. "Link, prepare yourself. Soon you shall fall right into my trap!"