Welcome to Gaia! ::

The trio looked around. They certainly weren’t in their own world. But what world were they in?”
“Interesting...” Holo flew up, “I’ve heard of the Dark World...just never knew it was physically tied to the Light World.”
The boys tried to come to terms with what was going on. “Holo, can you explain this for us?” Martel asked.
“Just like there is good and evil, there is a Light World and a Dark World. In some areas, what is in the Light world, like a town or village, is distorted in the Dark World. It may look similar, but there are subtle differences that tell it apart. Sometimes it even distorts people, altering their appearance if their hearts are greedy. However, I have never heard that happen, so it can only be classed as a rumor.
“In addition, there is a certain “trait” that lets you know if someone is in one world or the other. A simple sighting of a shadow without a body will let you know that trait.”
“So, since we’re in the Dark World,” Martel began, “does that mean our shadows are visible in the Light World?”
“Precisely.”
“Not our doppelganger ‘Shadows’, these are the physical ones?” Rioan asked, wanting confirmation.
“Yes, the shadows cast by light.” Holo flew over to Rioan. “They are the ones left in the other world to signify where the host is. Interchangeably, if you see a shadow without a body in the Dark World, the owner is in the Light World.” He looked around. “Though with the dim light here, it’s harder to tell.”
“So now the question is...” Martel looked at his companions, “Where do we go from here?”
“I say that spooky castle in the distance!” Rioan was the first to respond, and with such speed, it seemed to show he was really eager about it.
“Wait, if we go there, we’ll probably be killed!” Evina protested. “Why don’t we ask around town?” she gestured to the village at the base of the mountain, opposite the castle.
“I agree with Evina,” Martel looked at his brother. “Even if our mom and sis are being held at the castle, it’s best to get an inside scoop before we rush into the face of danger.”
“Well put, Martel!” Holo chirped.
“But, but, but...” Rioan seemed to be outvoted, and hung his head. “Fine. We’ll ask around town...” his voice was rather glum when he spoke. He then started to grumble about not going to the castle first.
Martel and Rioan took a somewhat safe path down the mountain, though with the steep slope and overall condition of the mountain, even the safe path was dangerous, as they slipped the odd time. Rioan wondered if they could find any sort of board or something so they wouldn’t slip so much, and possibly get to town faster. However, the boys couldn’t find anything like that, and simply continued on. Slipping and bruising as they descended. Martel began to regret his decision, realizing they’d have to climb up the mountain where the castle sat.
“At least you can fly, Evina.” Martel grumbled when they reached the bottom, dusting himself off.
“Sorry, room for one.” Evina replied, a light-hearted look on her face and humor in her words.
“Well, we’re almost there.” Rioan stood up, surveying the road ahead. It twisted and bent, as if it was surreal, some parts were rising off the ground at weird angles, others dipping and curving sharply. The trio ignored what the landscape looked like, and continued on.
The village itself had that same distorted look as the path did, only more warped than before. The three ventured through the town until they came to what they assumed as the center.
“I’m not sure if it’s just me,” Martel put a hand on his chin, “But this place feels familiar, in a sort of creepy way.”
“Yeah, I’m getting the same vibe.” Rioan took a few steps forward before looking at their third member. “Evina?”
Evina didn’t respond right away. She flew up to survey it from a distance before coming back down. “It’s Kakariko.”
“Really?” Martel was surprised how a nice town could change so drastically in the Dark World. “Wow.”
Rioan quickly shifted over to Martel and clamped a hand over his mouth. Martel was used to this by now, which meant Rioan had heard something. Listening, Martel heard it too. Lots of mumbling in the distance. “Villagers?”
“Possibly.” Holo sat on the boy’s shoulder. “Though in the Dark World, you never know if they’re human or monsters.”
“Looks like we need some luck then.” Martel drew his sword just in case. Rioan did the same, and the trio cautiously moved toward the noise. Indeed, it was villagers, yet their appearance was still up for debate. Peering around a corner, Martel spotted a horde of humans-thankfully. However, they were shouting about something he didn’t quite understand.
“Oh really Tiberi, you want to sacrifice another maiden?” shouted a male. “Don’t you realize how much we’ve given already?”
“Silence, Gorn! It must be done, or we will lose our village!” the one the group assumed as Tiberi responded in a somewhat panicked and hasty tone. “Or worse, the Dark Lord may come for us!”
“But don’t you realize what you’re doing?” Gorn protested. “By sacrificing the first maiden, you’ve already become influenced! Please, stop this madness!”
“No!” Tiberi whacked Gorn across the face. “It must be done!”
It was then that Martel, Rioan, and Haydel sprang from their hiding place on the wall. “I’m not sure what’s going on,” Martel began.
“But it sounds like something evil!” Rioan finished. “And we don’t like evil.”
The group was caught off guard, and Tiberi used the opportunity to escape, running in the opposite direction.
“After him!” Rioan shouted, and the three bolted through the crowd, pursuing the man. Evina shot a fireball at him, and he seemed to slow, trying to put out the fire, but resumed his escape when he noticed the trio catch up. He vaulted over a low fence and made his way through a twisted archway, trying to lose them. But they didn’t give up, and eventually followed him into the graveyard.
Now that the playing field was barricaded, the three had an easier chance to grab Tiberi. Rioan was the one to tackle him to the ground, pointing his sword at the man’s neck. “Now, seems like you got some ‘splainin’ to do.”
“Please,” Tiberi said in a frightened tone. “I meant no harm!”
“I doubt that!” Martel casually walked over. “We heard the whole part about you sacrificing maidens from the village! How many did you sacrifice, exactly?”
Evina was shocked. So that explains their disappearance... She walked over to the man, his messy brown hair flopping in front of his eyes slightly. She bent over, and Rioan put his blade under Tiberi’s chin. “Spill! How many girls did you sacrifice?”
“O-only six, but I swear, he was going to threaten to burn down our village!”
“And who was this that made the threat?” Martel looked the man in the eyes, before straying to his garb. Nothing special, just a simple shirt and pants under a loose cloak.
“A man with black skin!” The three looked at each other, remembering Sheik’s message.
Rioan let Tiberi stand up, but never put his blade away. “We’re after the same person too. He took our mother and sister.”
The man’s eyes widened. “I fear he may want to sacrifice them as well.”
“Did they go to the castle?” Martel interrogated.
Tiberi gulped. “Yes. But it isn’t easy to get there.” He looked in its direction. “The steep mountain makes climbing impossible. And if you manage to make it, the monsters surrounding the castle prove even more of a challenge.”
“We need to get there at all costs!” Rioan grabbed Tiberi’s collar.
Tiberi put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble.”
“You should be!” He heard Martel yell from behind.
“But tell you what; If you manage to get inside the castle walls, we’ll provide backup and help you rescue not only your mother and sister, but the other maidens as well.”
“Sounds like a weird deal...” Rioan remarked.
“But it’s the best we got.” Martel stuck out a hand. “You’ve got a deal!”
Tiberi shook his hand. “Great. We’ll get some Helmarocs ready.”
As the three headed out of the graveyard and back into town, Tiberi stayed behind, an evil smile on his lips, as he strode out of the graveyard and back to the village.

“We need some kind of plan...” Martel concocted, “Something to get Tiberi’s attention, and give us an inside scoop on where they go.”
“Exactly!” Rioan pounded a fist into an open palm. “That way, we’ll know just where the maidens go, and be able to free them if it’s possible once we get there!” The idea wasn’t completely preposterous, though it was highly dangerous. They all turned to Evina.
She looked at all of them. “Oh no, no way! I don’t know what’s going to happen to me!” There was fear in her voice, and it was completely understandable.
Rioan walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s gonna be fine.”
“Don’t say that!” she yelled at him, struggling to get free.
Rioan tried to restrain her. “Look, Ganon’s not awake yet, so if...” He paused, turning to his brother. “Ganon’s not awake yet.” He repeated. He looked back at Gorn and Evina. “Ganon’s not awake yet!” His tone seemed to brighten up some, as he realized what was going on. He then did a little dance of some kind, expressing his joy.
“What?” Evina questioned. She looked at Martel.
Martel blinked before answering. “That’s right!” He, too, was in a bright mood. “If Tiberi said he was sacrificing for Ganon, but Ganon’s not awake yet, that means...”
“He was lying!” Rioan finished. “This is great!”
It took some coaxing, but eventually they went ahead with their plan, hoping Tiberi was unaware of the information they just realized. Evina had magically disguised herself to look like an ordinary girl, and their plan was set in motion when they got back to the village.
“We’ll take those Helmarocs now.” Martel told Axien, who was waiting by the pen. The birds were huge, with small masks covering their faces and running down the tops of their beaks. Their feathers were a deep blue, which faded to white at the tips. They also had pretty long necks.
“Hey, where’s the girl?” he asked. Martel and Rioan played it cool, and simply lowered their heads. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
The boys mounted the birds, and Axien went over a brief flying lesson before they took off.

Meanwhile, Tiberi noticed a little girl standing in the square, all by her lonesome. She seemed oblivious enough. He shifted his eyes shadily to make sure no one was watching, before unleashing a bolt, which petrified the girl. Tiberi then rushed towards her, picked her up, and tore off out of the village.
Gorn and Holo, who were hiding behind a bush, saw him rush for the hole in the mountain. Holo soon flew up in the air, tailing the boys as they sped along to the castle now.
Once at his altar, Tiberi placed the girl on top of the stone slab and began to mutter weird words that didn’t even sound like actual chants. Despite that, he eventually thrust his hands towards her, and she vanished in a display of light and white smoke.

“This is awesome!” Rioan called from the back of his Helmaroc, as he did a shuttle loop with the bird.
“We should keep these!” Martel laughed. He was having so much fun. Holo eventually joined the two as they neared the castle. Martel pulled back on the reigns, forcing the bird to stop. Rioan did the same, and the birds continued to flap their wings, having nothing to land on.
The sight before them was majestic, raw, powerful, and dripping with evil, all rolled into one as they looked on at the castle, which loomed over them in the kind of way when someone blocks the sun while napping in the grass. Many enemies were seen, some being Bubbles with lanterns attached to them, other Bubbles that had a green or blue flame around them, Wallmasters crawling around the outside near the upper reaches, Keese everywhere-some on fire, others with an icy tail behind, and others still with nothing-and Beamos situated around the perimeter like turrets on each of the several floors. The castle itself didn’t taper off to a spire, like with Hyrule Castle, but rather drifted outward, as if menacing anything that looked at it. The boys could see two spires at the top, one in each corner, and only assumed that there were two others. A wingless dragon circled the roof, as if it was compelled by something within the stone walls.
“Holy Mother of Hylia.” Martel was struck with awe at the sight. He just sat there, admiring-or intimidated by-the monument that stood before them. “Where do we start?”
Without notice, Rioan took off at a high speed, prodding his Helmaroc onward. Martel decided to follow, not knowing what his brother was thinking.
The Beamos were the first to notice, and fired off beams from their single eyes in random order. The mouths on the body section turned into an angry frown. The boys bobbed and weaved as each beam was fired, ushering their birds on. The closer they got, the more enemies began to take notice.
Rioan dug out his bow, killing some Keese that were diving at him, and a Lantern Bubble that tried to rat him out. Martel had to take the more strategic route, as he had no ranged weapon. Digging out his sword, he gave a good whack at a Fire Keese. He dodged the Bubbles unless they were carrying lanterns, as Holo told him they couldn’t be affected by his sword. The boys were closing, but there was still a long way to go.

The young girl woke up, finding herself chained to a wall of stone.
“Welcome to the end of your life.” The girl beside her greeted.
“Jess?” the girl said weakly. Shaking her head, she woke up, and looked around to see where she was. A cell?”
The girl named Jess turned to look at the girl. “Who’re you?”
Remembering what was supposed to happen, the girl turned her fists into boulders, easily breaking the chains, which now hung limply, clanking against the wall. She shed her disguise, and fixed her hat, before snapping her fingers, making a broom magically appear.
“Evina!” Jess exclaimed. “How’d you get here?”
Evina smiled. “Same way you did.” She slammed a rock fist against one of the chains, breaking it immediately, though another route would probably be safer. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know, some kind of castle, maybe?” Jess’ words struck a chord in Evina as she continued.
“Evina?” another girl was heard in a shadowy section on the opposite wall.
“Felicia?” Evina turned. “Is everybody here?” The other four girls made their presence known. “Don’t worry, I’ll set you all free.”

Martel kicked another Bubble as it tried to come up on his right side, which only agitated the skull monster more. An arrow pierced it, and the Bubble died in smoke and flame. Rioan waved the arm he was holding the bow in, and Martel waved back. They were almost there, but the Beamos on the lowest floor were still a threat, along with the other Bubbles and Keese.
“These things won’t let up, will they?” he grumbled.
“Not likely!” Rioan shot another Green Bubble. “But that’s fine by me!”
Martel dodged another beam. “We need to get close to a window!”
Rioan rushed his Helmaroc up near Martel, “What do think I’m tryin’ to do?”
By extreme force, the boys managed to get close to the window, but the foes were tailing them. Ditching the Helmarocs, which flew away, they managed to grab onto the sill. Martel was the first to scramble to his feet, and helped his brother once he took a step inside the window.
Rioan flopped inside, then sprang to his feet. He whipped out his sword and shield and looked around. “So, where to?”
Martel dug out his shield. “Just go until you reach a turning point.”

“They’re here...” Majar turned around, away from the fountain. “Excellent. They’ve taken the bait.” Since both Kalekos and Lizzrobe failed, and Cobralfos was on other orders, it was up to the Dark Mage to deal with the pests. Finally, I’ll meet them face to face, and show them just how weak they are. Although he could just as easily let his master have them, he wanted to try his hand. Besides, they were on his turf, and the odds were in his favor.

The boys trudged through a corridor, eventually finding a large room, which could be considered the main hall. They skidded to a halt when they found their progress impeded by a familiar foe.
“Kalekos!” Martel shouted. Rioan took up a battle stance.
“Ah, the runts are here.” The purple Lizalfos looked over both her shoulders, her army of colorful minions ready with various weapons. “Kill them, soldiers.” The army began to rush the boys. “Don’t take them lightly!” Kalekos limped away, still injured from their previous encounter.
Rioan dove into the action, Martel on his feet, colliding with many shields, axes, maces, spears, swords, and lances. The army came in waves, and as each hero killed one, the Lizalfos behind it took its place.
“They’re too numerous!” Martel ran up a lance, slicing off the head of a blue Lizalfos, before an orange one stepped in and slammed its spear into the floor, shredding part of Martel’s left pant leg.
“Go figure!” Rioan bashed his shoulder into a shield of a red Lizalfos, knocking it off balance before slicing the shield in two, followed by a stab in the knee. The Lizalfos screamed from the pain.
“You little urchins aren’t going anywhere!” A red Lizalfos threatened, raising his axe above his head, ready to cut down the twins. An arrow pierced the elbow, making the Lizalfos drop his axe.
“I believe we are.” Rioan said in a cocky tone, putting his bow away.

Evina and the girls slowly crept through the infernal corridors. Luckily they hadn’t come across any enemies, but since they were in enemy territory, one could jump out at any moment.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Jess asked.
“My feet hurt!”
“I’m hungry...”
Evina was starting to get ticked. “Shut up guys! I know how you feel, but if we don’t keep quiet, we might not make it out alive.” The girls zipped their lips immediately. The walls were getting confusing. They needed to find an escape somewhere, so they could figure out if they were going the right way or not. No one knew where they were going, so they went in the only direction they knew; forward.
They passed one room that was cloaked in shadow; there were no lights turned on at all. However, Evina heard something, and deked inside. The six girls followed through the rather large doorway. The young witch lit her hand aflame, and saw two other captives, one significantly older than the other.
“More captives?” One girl asked.
“Hm?” Who’s there?”
Evina grabbed her broom and zipped up to the woman’s hands. “You must be the boys’ mother and sister.”
“Don’t worry, Evina’s a pro at busting chains!” Another girl that was captive with the others spoke up.
“Thanks Helena!” Evina managed to pop the chains off of the woman, then moved to the girl.
“Are we gonna get out of here mommy?”
“That would be a no.”
The crew turned to find a tall man standing in the doorway. A bat was on his shoulder, which flew over to the girls.
“We’ll have none of that.” It spoke, trying to grab the loose chains. However, the woman flicked her finger into its stomach, sending it into the wall. “Gurk..” it stifled, falling to the floor.
“I admire your valiant efforts, but sadly, it won’t help you.” The man walked in, revealing his skin to be black and a smoky cape. He reached out, putting his hand under Evina’s chin, “The puny heroes are here, and you shall have front row seats.”
Evina, completely ticked off, tossed a fireball in his face.
He reeled from the blow slightly. “A fire-user? How dull.” He launched a lightning bolt at the girl, who blocked it with a magical barrier. “Hm, it seems you’ve got some variety. Sadly, I’ve got more. Farras, give me those chains.”

It was going to be hard to regain the ranch. Malon spoke with Toul and told him to cancel the tours. She didn’t explain why, and Toul never asked; being a businessman, he simply saw it as an opportunity to make money. Haydel now sat in the ruined barn during the day, which made the boys worry about her. Usually she’d be with Shanks, but they haven’t seen the sheepdog anywhere around the ranch. They put up flyers in Castle Town and Kakariko, hoping someone might find him. As for livestock, they bought one cow and a horse, though Epona came back. Martel suggested she ran away as soon as the ranch was under attack, and it was nice to see the horse was still alive. Malon seemed to be happy the most about her old friend. Nalia and Roth had greatly recovered, though the impact of the attack still weighed on them, and both felt an immense sense of guilt. They were still slightly injured, but well enough to work. The boys kept tabs on the ranchers in case they try to work themselves too hard. Evina also pitched in, once she had made sure her friends got home safely. As much as the burden they bore weighed on their shoulders like a ton of bricks, the boys wanted to make sure everything was back to normal.
Rioan stood up, wiping some sweat off his face. “This is going to be harder than I thought.” Martel didn’t respond. “It sucks, doesn’t it?” he knew the reason Martel was being so silent, and although his brother didn’t want to talk about it, he did. “I mean, first Gramps and Grumps, and now our dad...”
“Will you shut up about that?” Martel’s tone was vicious and on edge.
Rioan backed off. “Look, I know how you feel right now. We all lost something, but that’s part of life.” He continued to till the earth, making way for new crops. “Sure, it’s sad, but...” he sighed, stopping. “Just remember, you’re not alone in this.”
Martel trudged away, dragging his tilling hoe behind him. As much as his brother’s words touched him, he wanted to be alone right now. Nothing could fill the hole in his heart at this moment. He just felt like he wanted to crawl into a hole and cry his problems away.
Rioan watched his brother leave, a little put off by his actions. Was it something I said?
Martel, meanwhile, retreated for the mill. Once he stepped inside, and closed the door, he stood there a moment. Sucking in a deep breath, he viciously flung the hoe at the wall, to which the tool broke, landing on the floor in two pieces. He slumped on a square bale of hay, putting his hands over his eyes to hide the tears that kept raining down his sleeves. It’s not fair! We try so hard to protect our family, to save those put in danger... Martel sobbed some more, wiping his nose. It’s just never enough... There was a knock. “Go away!” Martel shouted through a tear-stained face.
“Martel...” he recognized it as his mother.
“Come in...” he sniffled.
Malon stepped in, gently shutting the door behind her. “Listen, I know times are tough right now, but you’ve just got to make the best of it.” She sat next to her son, “It’s part of life, unfortunately.” Martel put an elbow on his knee, resting his head in his hand, turning away from his mother. Malon sighed, gently grabbing his arm and putting it down. Martel looked at her, before receiving a minor hug, as Malon pressed him close to her side. “But now matter what, we’ll get through this as a family. Understand?” she smiled at him, “You’re not alone.”
Martel wrapped his arms around her. “Thanks mom...You’re the best.”
Malon gave a slight chuckle, embracing Martel. “I know dear.” They hugged each other for a good, long while before Martel let go and stood up. He sucked in a deep breath. “Better?”
“Loads.” He smiled.
Malon stood up as well, and they left the mill to join up with the others. Haydel was out and about, though still a little upset over Shanks, she was in a bit of a brighter mood. It seemed Nalia sat down with her to have the mom talk in Malon’s place, as the woman was seen next to the girl with an arm on Haydel’s shoulder. Roth and Rioan were over by what used to be the orchard, seeming to be talking to each other as well. It seemed, slowly but surely, they were fixing the broken pieces of both the ranch and the impact it had on themselves.
Evina was nowhere to be found, though promptly made an appearance from the gateway. She gave a big whistle, and everybody walked over. Rioan seemed to be deafened by it, as he cringed at the sound and stuck a finger in his ear, trying to clean it out.
“What’s going on?” Martel asked.
“Well, I went down to Castle Town, and found one of Sheik’s friends by accident. She seemed real nice.”
“Tessa?”
“What?” Rioan shouted, knocking the palm of one hand to the side of his head, as if trying to drain his ears of water. “Speak up!”
“Yeah, her. Anyway, we talked a bit, and I explained your predicament. She wanted to help, so she’ll be on her way shortly.”
“Really?” Nalia perked up. “That’s great!”
“The more hands, the better.” Roth added.
“Furthermore,” Evina continued, “I bumped into Sheik-or rather, was startled by him,” she looked to the boys, “you must know how he is.”
“Oh yeah.” Martel gave a grin. If Sheik was pitching in, that was perfect.
“So I told him the same thing I said to Tessa, and he immediately headed off for the castle.” Evina scratched her head. “I’m not sure; maybe I offended him or something.”
“I think I know what that kid’s up to.” Martel said, leaning back on his heels.
“Would you mind explaining to us?” Malon asked.
“No need.” Martel pointed out past the gate. Everyone followed his direction, as they saw a horde of people coming across the prairie.
“Oh my...” Malon couldn’t finish, her heart seemed to skip a beat. Nalia put her hands over her mouth, tears starting to well up.
“Is that...?” Roth trailed, supporting himself on a vertical piece of wood from the barn.
The crowd of people slowly became recognizable; the soldiers were an obvious, though few in number, as the majority were all townsfolk. However, two people in front were easily discernible, as one rode a brilliant white stallion, the other simply walked, and gave a huge wave.
Martel and Rioan rushed out to meet them, asking questions as the group came closer. The one that waved was none other than don’t-call-me-prince Sheik, while the one on the horse was none other than Her Majesty, Queen Zelda. When they reached the gate, Zelda dismounted the horse, and slowly walked up to the crew. A soldier announced Her Majesty’s presence, and immediately, Nalia, Roth, and Malon bowed or curtseyed. Zelda said it wasn’t necessary; her tomboy attitude kicking in.
“It’s such an honor to meet you.” Malon greeted. “My name’s Malon.”
Zelda nodded. “It’s very nice to meet you. You must be their mother.”
“Yeah.” Malon ruffled a hand through each of her sons’ hair. “They’re troublesome some days, but you know kids.”
The two women laughed. “Indeed. I’ve got two of my own.”
“Hi lady!” Haydel greeted. “Your clothes are fancy.”
Zelda knelt down and patted the child on the head. “And who is this pretty girl?”
“That’s Haydel, my youngest.” Malon paused, remembering old times. “Born right here on this ranch.”
“Well it seems you’ve got your hands full with children alone!” Zelda and Malon laughed some more. “I’m amazed you’re able to run a ranch as well!”
“Yes, well, it isn’t the easiest, let me tell you.”
Zelda then turned to the two in overalls. “And who are you?”
“Oh, I’m Roth.”
“Nalia, Your Majesty. Such an honor.”
Martel walked up to Sheik and gave a bro-hug. “Hey man, how’s it going?”
“Just great. Amethia’s still drooling.” Martel almost doubled over, remembering their conversation at the castle. “I see you remember that.”
“How can I forget?” Martel said in between tears of laughter.
“So what’s with the cavalry?” Rioan asked, gesturing to the group that had came with the royal pair.
“After my son told me of your situation, I felt I had to repay you somehow, seeing as how your boys,” Zelda glanced down to the twins, “saved our castle not once, not twice, but three times!” she looked down at them. “I am forever in your debt.”
Sheik turned to face the group, which looked like a lot of workmen, builders, cooks, and general people who wanted to help, along with about seven soldiers, none of which the boys recognized. He waved an arm, “Alright, let’s get started!” the group poured into the ranch, quickly getting to work wherever they could. Malon was so overcome with joy, she could barely contain herself, and started to softly cry. It seemed a miracle had come to the ranch, and she was very glad it happened. The workers began right away, quickly tearing down the remains of the barn and house, salvaging what they could and throwing away what was useless. The women that came to pitch in helped in the fields, and Nalia told them where the crops originally were. Roth pitched in with the carpenters, helping haul the unusable materials out of the ranch to a large, open-roofed carriage they had brought. Malon and Haydel went into the remains of the house and started to salvage any clothes and other miscellaneous items before it was torn down completely.
In a matter of hours, carriage after carriage came, delivering animals-even cuccos, which the boys were not impressed-and new materials to build the barn and house anew. The crops were coming along nicely, and Nalia even figured out a routine for those helping to work more efficiently. Even new Mystical Trees were planted, thanks to some seeds Martel still had. Bit by bit, the ranch was coming back together. Even Shanks returned, as someone found the dog wandering the back alleys in the middle of the night, and Haydel was happy to have her friend back.

The trio cautiously moved forward. The air was weird, somewhat musty or humid. The enclosed areas, coupled with the fact that there were numerous vines and forestry, made the place feel creepy. They often heard weird, somewhat indescribable noises, adding to the effect.
“I still say the well is creepier.” Martel said in a rather frightened manner.
There didn’t seem to be any enemies about, but Rioan drew his sword anyway, walking up to the door past a couple of steps. He managed to open it, but paused, turning back to the others. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“What’s wrong, what do you mean?” Evina asked.
Rioan looked down for a moment. “I just get the feeling that, this is too easy.”
“He’s right,” Holo said. “This place was once crawling with evil forces, though with the implication that Ganon is returning, it should be greater than ever.”
“And yet there’s nothing.” Martel didn’t like this. “I don’t think we’re alone here.”
“It is possible that someone managed to get here before you did...” Holo sat on Evina’s hat.
The three moved from the first room to a long, narrow hallway. Again, there were no enemies, which was rather unsettling.

“What’s that?” the woman asked, spinning around. It sounded like footsteps. s**t, I better get out of here! She then ran through a tall hallway off to the left, quickly opening the door and slamming it behind her.

When the group came to the third room, the Forest Temple went from creepy to creepier. The room was large and had a strange, yet dim, lighting to it. Four torches were directly in the middle, all unlit, standing on top of four small stone walls, as if trying to make a cage of some sort. What really made it creepy was that it had a certain sort of sophistication to it.
“Hey, are we supposed to light those?” Rioan’s attention was immediately grabbed by the torches. Evina prepared her fire magic, but Martel stuck an arm out in front of her, as he saw Holo flying over.
The fairy investigated each torch. There were no ashes or anything that would suggest they were previously lit. He then flew back to the group. “You can’t. There’s nothing to light a fire with.”
“Even fire magic?”
“Even that, yes.”
The group would have to come back to this puzzle later, deciding to explore the rest of the temple. But what they saw next took them by surprise, as a large Poe appeared.
“GHOST!” Evina and Martel shouted. Evina jumped into Rioan’s arms while Martel hid behind his brother.
“You’re the one with the bow, shoot it!” Martel barked.
Rioan gave an annoyed stare, dropping Evina, who cried out as she landed. He then readied an arrow and let loose. It struck the Poe dead on, and it began to back up, eventually disappearing into the northern room. Rioan gave chase, pumping his legs as fast as they would let him, with Martel and Evina in hot pursuit. He thrust the door open, and readied another arrow, but was too slow, as it went into the room beyond. “Drat.”
When he reached the next room, which was somewhat large, he stopped, not finding the ghost anywhere. Martel and Evina piled in as well. “Where’d it go?” Martel looked at Rioan.
“I don’t know.”
Suddenly, two skeletal monsters dropped from the ceiling, each armed with a sword and shield. They gave off a grunt, itching to pick a fight with them.
“Stalfos!” Holo yelled. “Alright boys, you’re up!”
Each boy took on one of the foes, dodging and attacking when they could. The Stalfos always had their shields raised unless they went in to attack, so the boys had to fight strategically. Rioan dodged an incoming swipe, jumping around to the backside of the Stalfos and knocking in two strikes with his blade. Martel followed his example, and attacked when the Stalfos dropped its guard. They seemed pretty stupid, as it leapt at him, allowing Martel to swipe at its feet. They received encouragement from Holo and Evina, and the boys were surprised that the Stalfos didn’t suddenly change focus. Rioan slammed his shield into the Stalfos’, attempting to push the monster. He shoved it up against a wall, and since he had the shields locked, that freed him up to stab at the foe, making multiple, successive strikes. The Stalfos went down soon enough, engulfed in flame and dissipating to smoke. Martel finished up his end of things by leaping at the Stalfos right as it was about to strike, and cut off its arm. It blew up into a bony pile of flames before turning to smoke as well.
A treasure chest appeared at the opposite end of the room from the door, and Martel walked over to it. Opening it up, he found a key that he presumed was for a lock somewhere in here.
The group returned to the main room, as they decided to call it that, and looked around in order to figure out where to go next. Looking to the left, they saw a large wall that was currently inaccessible to the boys, at least. However, the path on the right yielded hope, as there was another staircase. Martel asked Evina if she could search the area on the left, and the witch gladly accepted his offer. Meanwhile, the boys headed up the stairs on the west end of the room.
“We seriously need a map.” Rioan blurted.

The woman dodged another attack by a rather large Deku Baba, letting it stretch out before rushing in and slicing the vine that served as its neck, watching the beast retreat back into the ground and a small display of fire and smoke. She put her dagger away, and was fortunate to have it. She had dealt with the majority of the foes here, as each tried to kill her. She walked around the courtyard, one could say, trying to find her next path. The walls were high, with almost no way of moving onward.
She spotted a well off to the south, but found it to be full of water. Peering in, she thought she saw a sewer. There must be some way to drain this... she looked around again, but found nothing. Sighing, she decided to return to the main room and figure something out from there.
But then an odd patch on the northern wall had a large mass of vines on it, which led up to a small alcove. Curious, the woman began to walk towards it, and sucking in a breath, scaled it to find a door. This one was different from previous ones, and she pondered how to open it. Figuring it could be lifted, she grabbed the base and heaved it upward. It stuck in the roof somehow until she passed through, to which it slowly fell back down, crashing with a loud thud. A Stalfos dropped from the ceiling, but when she went back, some bars dropped, blocking her from opening it. “Looks like I have to fight...”

After Evina torched the Skulltula in the hallway of the previous room, she was confronted with another. An odd painting hung on the opposite wall, which had something that looked similar to the previous ghost they saw, only this one was green, whereas the first was purple. Not completely confident about facing it, she eyed it cautiously. But what if it provided a key, like the boys’ battle with the Stalfos? Or some other kind of treasure? Swallowing hard, she slowly flew over to it, extending a shaky hand to see if touching it would make something happen. It took her a moment, but she eventually stuck her whole hand on the painting before removing it. It didn’t seem to do anything, so she gave a sigh.
Suddenly a strange laugh was heard, which scared Evina, and she backed away. The Poe gave chase, as the two flew around the entire room. “I thought this was supposed to be the Forest Temple! Not a haunted house!” she cried.

The boys conquered the Skulltula with ease, as Rioan simply shot it with an arrow, and it died instantly, even though Holo said it had a strong shell. So much for physics.
In the following room, the boys were immediately assaulted by two Blue Bubbles. Martel blocked the first with his shield as Rioan shot the second, sending it into the opposite wall. He gave two more shots, and the Bubble died. Martel leapt at his, slicing it in half, as it bounced into the air, spontaneously combusting.
Once they eliminated the threat, they looked around. The room was a series of complicated ladders, ledges, and who knows what else.
“Would you get a load of this room.” Rioan whistled. “Whoever built this this deep in the forest must have been a lunatic.”
“It’s kinda making my head spin...” Martel put a palm on his forehead.
“Hello?” the voice was weak, and the boys wondered where it came from. “Is someone there?”
Martel looked to where he thought the voice was coming from, and found a small alcove on the left side of the door. He took a couple steps towards it. “Who’s there?”
“Martel?” the voice asked. “It’s Voal.” The boys jumped, quickly rushing over, only to find the Kokiri girl trapped in a cage. “Can you help me?”
“Who did this to you?” Rioan wanted to know, so he’d know who to beat the daylights out of.
“A strange woman with light hair. I don’t know what color it was, just that it was light.”
“Alright, we’re gonna get you out of here.” Martel promised.
Voal shook her head, her long, deep red hair swaying with the motion. “You can’t. It’s locked.” She pointed to a large lock that the boys seemed to miss, being so obvious.
Martel observed it, and pulled out the key he got from the fight before. He wondered if it worked, but stuck it in to try anyway. It worked, and the lock released, dropping to the floor. The key vanished into thin air, its purpose served. He lifted the lid, and the Kokiri girl crawled out, giving him a big hug.
“Thank you so much!” She looked up at him with big eyes. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t came!”
“Well it’s all right now. You’re safe.” Martel said, hugging her back.
They soon released, and Voal took a couple steps away. “I wasn’t alone; well, metaphorically.” The boys looked at her weird. “What I mean to say is, this woman captured the ten of us and locked us all in cages, spreading us throughout the temple.”
“Wow, that’s horrible.”
“That’s downright cruel!” Rioan yelled. “I’m gonna punish this woman so bad, she’ll be crying for me to stop!”
Martel tried to calm whatever storm was brewing inside his brother. “Look, if we can free the others, maybe they can help us to bring her down. You don’t need to do it yourself.”
Rioan scoffed, “I’m always reminded of that.” He ruffled his brother’s hair, “You’re practically glued to me!”
After a bit, the boys asked Voal where the others might be. She said she didn’t have a clue, and they simply decided to press onwards, climbing the ladders and ascending the maze.

The woman dodged another blow from the Stalfos, and delivered one herself, ultimately bringing down the bag of bones in a most spectacular fashion. A chest appeared as if from nowhere, which lit up the woman’s face. Rushing over to it, she opened it up to find a map of the Temple. “Good. Now those kids will get lost once they arrive.” Then her mind flashed back to when she heard the footsteps. Could it... “No...they’re already here?!” beginning to panic, she cursed herself for not being quicker. If the Kokiri didn’t get in the way, she’d be further along! She stuffed the map in her back pocket and rushed for the eastern door, heaving it open after the bars went back into the ceiling. She found herself in another courtyard, out on a ledge. There was another big Deku Baba, and what looked like an Octorok in the pool. However, the pool was too far for her to jump safely into, so she sighed, looking to the left, and spotted a similar ledge to the one she was on. Giving it a try, she carefully positioned herself on the fence, and leapt over, grabbing the railing of the other ledge with her hands, since she miscalculated. Scrambling up, a floor switch garnered her attention, and she immediately pressed it down. From far away, she could hear what sounded like water draining, and a smile met her lips. It quickly faded, however, when she realized she didn’t know how to get down. The pool was still far away, and it was too high up to jump... there had to be another way.

At some point, the Poe stopped chasing her and disappeared.
Evina slowed down. “Huh?” she looked around, not seeing it anywhere. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as she slowly turned around. The ghost was coming from behind, and she launched a fireball out of fear and instinct. It struck the ghost, oddly, and it began to back away. “What? My magic can hurt it?” It rushed again, and she tossed another fireball, to which it backed off some more, before disappearing through the wall. She followed, as it was her next destination anyway. “But it’s a ghost. How is that possible?”
Opening the door, she was met with a checker floor, and as she took a step into the room, was halted by a voice.
“Watch where you step!” It called.
“What?” Evina turned to look in the direction the voice came from, only to be greeted by a falling ceiling, scaring her stiff.
“That’s why.”
“The-the-the ceiling...falls?!”
“Can you get me out of here?” As Evina looked closer, once the ceiling raised back to where it was supposed to be, she found a cage with a young girl in it. Her garb was a shade of green or olive, wearing a hat similar to the boys, but with deep, red hair.
“How’d you get in there?” The ceiling fell again, and both girls cringed.
“Some woman with light pinkish hair did this! She’s really mean!”
“Alright, don’t worry, I’ll free you somehow.” Evina got on her broom, and waited for the ceiling to fall again.
“See if that chest has a key to open the lock.” The Kokiri girl pointed at a small, brown chest a few feet from her location.
“Got it.” Evina zipped over there right as the ceiling fell, managing not to get her broom caught, and promptly opened it. The Kokiri girl was slightly excited, but both girls were disappointed, as it contained a bundle of arrows. Evina looked over at the girl. “Sorry! I’ll remember to come back with a key!” she zipped to the other end of the room, and the Kokiri girl slumped, forced to wait some more. She began to cry softly, and Evina was also regretful she couldn’t help the girl.
As she came around, flying through a small archway and up a set of steps, she entered a new room, which was lush compared to the rest of the temple. “Wow...” she perked up when she thought she heard something. Turning to find the source, she spotted someone waving their arms. “Wow, someone else is here?” A sudden jolt went through her; could this be the person that the Kokiri girl mentioned? If so, the witch would have to be wary. She zipped over on her broom anyway to meet the person. “Seems you’re stuck.”
“Yes, can you help me get down?”
Evina looked the woman over. Light pinkish hair caught her eye. Yup, this was the culprit. Play it cool... You need help?” she asked.
“What does it look like?” the woman was getting a bit irritated.
Evina’s eyes trailed across the wall, and noticed some vines. “Did you try climbing down?” the witch flew over, and the woman was a little surprised she didn’t see them before.
“I guess not...”
As soon as they got down, Evina wondered if she could help the woman. She was reluctant at first, but eventually agreed. She said that the well was recently dried up, and was just going to investigate. Evina went in headfirst-or rather, broom first-with the woman climbing down the ladder. The witch sped on ahead, noticing a chest at the other end, and slowed down to open it. Inside, she found a key, and glanced behind her before safely slipping it away.
“What was in there?” the woman asked.
“Oh, just a few Deku Nuts, is all.” Evina turned around. “You never really know what you’re gonna get.”
Unsuspecting, the woman nodded, and began climbing the vines that stretched down into the well, Evina slowly rising to follow her out.
“Hey, what’s your name?” the witch asked with a broad smile. “I’m Evina.”
The woman hesitated before answering. “Aislin.”

Evina and Aislin finally made it to the top of the maze, after what seemed like a grueling effort to find the correct path. Aislin collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath as Evina flew over to the door. She noticed an odd eye switch like the one in the main room, but this one was silver, not yellow. The lid was also down, and the witch scratched her chin.
“Hey Aislin, come look at this.” After a while, the woman got up and walked over to the door. She pointed at it.
“Weird, the eyelid is closed. Perhaps it was triggered?” did the brats come through here already?
Evina touched it with a finger, which did nothing. She slammed a fist onto it, hoping the force might do something, and to their surprise, the lid opened. The room seemed to shake a little, and a loud groan came from the room beyond. “What was that?”
“I don’t know.” Aislin gripped the door and heaved it upwards. The two passed through to find the corridor was twisted. “Perhaps the switch made this straighten before.” Of course, she knew it did, but she didn’t want Evina to find out.
“So, should we explore this like this, or straighten it?” Aislin ignored her question, walking along the carpet path. It was weird to see someone walking horizontally, as if they were laying on the floor. Shaking her head, the witch sped along, the gravity of the room affecting her flight. The duo came to a weird room that adjoined to the corridor. Aislin hopped to the pillar, before moving to the one where the door sat in a small nook. Evina, however, looked around, noticing an open chest on the wall. Curious, she wondered how something could stay on the wall like that. Perhaps it was the way the room worked. “You coming?”
Evina heard Aislin’s voice and moved over to her as she opened the next door. They were confronted with an odd room. A painting was hung on the far end, but had nothing in it. A staircase, also at the other end, seemed to go to the lower floor of the room. The two women trudged onward, seeing another painting on the mid-level, which also had nothing. Turning around, they spotted a third that did have something-a ghost similar to the ones Evina already saw. She backed away, scared it might come out like the green one.
“What is it?”
“Don’t touch it.” Evina trembled.
Aislin looked at the painting. “I’m not going to touch it.” As she walked down the second flight, the ghost in the painting gave a laugh that Evina heard the green one give, before it disappeared. Now she was even more afraid as she followed Aislin. The witch spotted a Kokiri, who wanted to shout out, but remained silent when it spotted Evina. She slowly moved a finger to her lips as Aislin opened the door. The two entered the room, and were immediately assaulted by two Stalfos.
“You ready to kill these things?” Aislin asked.
Evina took a moment before agreeing, igniting some fire magic.

Baki wondered where there might be keys laying about. She headed down to the first room, and noticed some vines on the eastern wall. Climbing up, she found a shaved portion of a tree that had been growing here. Slowly and carefully, she walked out to the edge, and jumped to the next, walking across that one until she reached a chest on the other side. Opening it, she found a key inside.
Precariously making her way back and descending the vines, she went back to the main hall, and decided to go through the west wing, as there might not be any Kokiri in the courtyards. She was presented with quite a problem, though, as she was unable to climb onto the large blocks. Slumping against the green one, she slowly began to cry. Great, I try to help my friends in here, and I can’t even get up a stupid block...
“Don’t feel sad, Baki.”
The girl sniffled, wiping her nose with her arm as her fairy friend flew out from under her cap. “But it’s no use, Meri. I can’t help my friends because I can’t get up this block.”
Meri handed the girl her cap. “There’s got to be another way up. Try looking for a ladder.”
Baki took the cap back and put it back on her head. She stood up, and started wandering through the corridors. Eventually, she found a ladder, and her mood brightened a bit. “Wow, you were right Meri!”
The purple fairy fluttered over the girl’s head. “I know. Now, let’s get to it!”
“Right!”

The trio assaulted the Wallmasters that had dropped from above, ready to lay a beat down. Voal whipping out a slingshot and firing some Deku seeds at one. Rioan shot another with a few arrows, while Martel leapt at his, before doing a spin attack to finish the job.
Once all three were down, a treasure chest appeared which contained a key, as Rioan soon found out. He saved it for a caged Kokiri they might run across, which didn’t happen to be too far, as a Kokiri was in the same room! How did they miss that?
“Hey! You got a key! Can you open this?” the Kokiri was a boy, with short blond hair and green eyes.
“Dail!” Voal rushed over. “Don’t worry, these guys will get you out!” she backed up, letting Rioan step in and unlock the cage. Dail sprung out like a rabbit, hopping over the edge. Voal gave him a big hug. “It’s so good to see you again!” she started to cry a little, but they were tears of joy.
Dail patted her on the head. “It’s alright, I’m free now, thanks to you and your friends.” He looked at the boys. “What’s your names?”
“I’m Martel.”
“Rioan.”
“Those are some nice names.” Dail looked around. “You do not know how bad I wanted to get out of there.” He gave a big stretch, then his stomach began to growl. “Oh yeah, I’ve been in there so long, I haven’t eaten anything. You guys got some food?”
Martel shook his head. “Sorry.”
Holo swiftly moved out from under Martel’s cap, looking at Dail, who was a little surprised to see they had a fairy. “Oh, hello there.”
“You got a fairy?” Dail asked.
“Yeah.” Rioan looked up at Holo. “He’s not very enthusiastic, but when he is, he does it with Lon Lon Milk!”
Dail gave them a weird look. “What?”
Martel was a little embarrassed. “Just a phrase our father taught us, since we grew up on Lon Lon Ranch.” He gave a little chortle.
“Oh.” Dail paused. “I don’t know where my fairy ran off to. He seemed to abandon me once I was put in that cage.
“What color is he?”
“He’s blue. Shouldn’t be too hard to find.” He looked at the boys. “I would imagine the other fairies ditched as well, though it’s possible some stayed. If they did flee, they all might be hiding somewhere.”
“Well, we’ll keep our eyes peeled.”
With Dail in tow, the ragtag team headed towards the only door that led out of here, now on a mission to find not only the other Kokiri, but their missing fairy friends as well.

“Hey! Evina!”
Evina turned to see a bunch of Kokiris standing on a stone ledge over the well. “Guys!” she flew over to them, and Baki gave her a hug.
“So my friends tell me you saved them?” Fado stepped out from the crowd. “My name’s Fado. I never got to thank you properly.”
Evina took a moment to recognize the Kokiri girl. “Oh, well, you’re welcome.”
Martel and Rioan heard a bunch of voices in the distance, and stepping to the edge of the ledge. “Is that..Evina!” he started to wave to get her attention. She looked up, and noticed the boys, waving back. Voal, Dail, and Mido stepped to the edge and waved also. They jumped off, dunking in the pool, as the Kokiris with Evina jumped off and ran across the grass to meet up. It was like reuniting with their family, as each party hugged the other.
“It’s so nice to see all of you again!” Baki was practically in tears.
“Same. I felt so alone where I was.” Dail tried to remain strong, “I had no idea I was so close to Mido though.”
As everybody exchanged stories, they also wondered what happened to the other woman. Evina didn’t give any input, and would rather not talk about her dealings with the enemy in front of the boys. However, Martel’s inquisitive nature wanted to know more.
“I had teamed up with a woman named Aislin, while also attempting to free any Kokiri she had put into the cages.” She sighed. “But after we ran into Fado, things quickly got out of hand, and I was forced to flee.”
“Hey you did what any of us would’ve done. Right Rioan?” Martel looked at his brother.
Rioan didn’t answer for a bit. “I guess.”
So now all we have to do is find her and take her down.” Martel encouraged. “To the main hall!” The Kokiri all agreed, showcasing their bravado as the large group entered the door, leading to the large hallway that was part of the main room. Indeed, Aislin was there, and upon seeing the Kokiri, drew her bow. Though when she caught a glimpse of the witch riding beside the boys, she flinched a little.
I knew she couldn’t be trusted, Aislin thought. “So, it’s come down to this.”
“Give up, Aislin,” Martel menacingly pointed his sword at her as she reached for her dagger. “We really don’t want to kill you.”
“Seems a bit pacifist, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Perhaps,” Rioan pointed his sword at her as well. Evina prepared her magic, and the Kokiri dug out their slingshots, or those who had any, at least. “But we didn’t say anything about maiming!”
The battle was underway as the Kokiri pelted her with seeds, and she attempted to shoot anybody with an arrow. The boys naturally dodged, but the Kokiri weren’t exactly experts on the field of battle. Evina protected them with a barrier, stopping the arrow dead in its tracks as it hit the floor. The boys tried to swipe at her, but she was very agile, flipping out of the way, and attempting to trip them up whenever possible. The boys avoided her tactics as they tried swiping some more. Holo had no input, as Aislin was a Hylian with no outstanding abilities or weaknesses, so the boys had to figure out for themselves on how to defeat her.
The Kokiri fired again, the seeds pelting various areas of the battle arena, some hitting the boys. They didn’t care, and just brushed the brief pain away. Aislin swiped with her dagger, and the boys back flipped out of the way. She came at Martel personally, which let Rioan attempt to come up from behind. However, Aislin quickly grabbed Martel and spun around, waiting for Rioan to attack his own brother. Rioan caught her strategy in time, backing off as he landed, but received a boot to the stomach as she fired an arrow at his knee. He quickly sidestepped out of the arrow’s path and shot an arrow of his own. Aislin spun around at a weird angle, bringing out her dagger again and swiping at Rioan. However, she was too far away, but just far enough to have missed his face by mere inches. Rioan hacked at her again, the efforts proving futile each time, but he never gave up trying. He clipped off the tip of her ringlet, and she looked down at the split ends. Growling, she came full fury at him. Martel tried to intervene, but always came too close to her dagger whenever she swung her arm, so he stayed back for the moment. Rioan blocked a few blows, but as she tried to grab at him, he back flipped. Both sides were equally skilled, but Aislin was severely outnumbered. She never gave up, and paid little heed to the rest. Only when Evina moved away from the Kokiri, and Martel made a nasty comment-one Rioan would usually make-did she threaten to shoot the forest kids. The boys seemed to be out of ideas for the moment, unsure whether to attack or hold back.
Evina bombarded Aislin with fire magic from above, coming down like missiles. She was caught off guard, but dodged the majority of them. She got caught by a couple blasts, and frantically tried to put the fire out. In doing so, she had moved to the inner pen, and everybody surrounded her.
“It’s over Aislin!” Martel shouted. “Give up!”
“Why should I-“ Aislin was cut short, as four ghosts suddenly showed up, hovering over the torches. Aislin and Rioan immediately fired arrows at two, but the ghosts phased, spinning around and letting the arrows fly right through them. They all then spun around, the candles they were wielding leaving flame trails as they did so, and the ground rumbled a bit. Aislin stepped back as something came up from the middle of the floor. It was tall and square, with four slim pillars attaching the top of it to the base. “What the...” Their work done, the ghosts let out a laugh and disappeared.
Everybody gathered around the object that sprung up. Some of the Kokiri wondered what it was, and even the boys were clueless.
“I think they’re...inviting us somewhere.” Martel gathered that much. Maybe it’s some kind of elevator.”
It’s pretty small, whatever it is.” Aislin commented.
“Where will it take us?” Voal asked, scared out of her pants.
“I don’t know.” Martel studied the contraption, and took a step onto it. Suddenly, it shot downwards, and the Kokiri girls and Evina screamed a bit. The boys were on edge, and Aislin remained completely calm.
“Martel!” Rioan shouted. “Martel!”
The contraption came back up, empty. All the girls, aside from Aislin, were now more scared than ever. It wasn’t until they heard Martel’s voice they started to calm a bit. He explained where he was, and it seemed safe enough for the others to step in as well.

The foursome climbed up the steps to a large, circular area. Many paintings of castles lined the walls, though didn’t seem as menacing as the Poe paintings they came across. They all looked around, and nothing happened for a good long while.
“Well, whatever was supposed to face us here seems to be too chicken to.” Rioan remarked, turning to leave.
But as he did, three metal rods tipped with spikes shot up, fencing them in. Many laughs were heard, and the group turned to face the four Poes that were too cowardly to face them before.
“The Poe Sisters!” Holo sat on Martel’s head. “So these four are responsible for dragging Tali down here!”
It seemed logical. “Well, looks like we’re finally gonna get a piece of them!” Martel drew his sword, Evina prepared her magic, and Rioan and Aislin readied their bows.
The Poe Sisters spun around, disappearing, before only one came back. It was the green one, and charged the group, spinning wildly, as if aiming to hurt them with its candle. Rioan and Aislin let loose, only to find their arrows were deflected. Too late to fire another, the group dodged.
“Make a circle!” Martel commanded. The four moved to the center of the room, each looking in a different direction, waiting for the ghost to come back. It surprised them by appearing in the center of their group, and Martel let loose with a spin attack. The ghost flinched from the pain, oddly, and disappeared again.
This time, the red and blue Poe Sisters appeared, and charged the group much like the green one did. Rioan guarded against the blue one with his shield, since arrows were ineffective when they were spinning, and struck with his sword when the Poe made contact with his shield, forcing it to stop. Evina torched the red one mid spin, stopping its movement, and both Poes disappeared before reappearing and trying for round two. The group used the same tactic, but since one came after Aislin, she leapt out of the way, as Evina torched it. Martel guarded against the other before striking with his blade.
“We got ‘em on the ropes!” Rioan called.
“You’re forgetting one.” Holo said.
“He’s right, there’s still the purple one.” Aislin readied her bow once she got back in place.
True to the fairy’s word, the purple one was next, and before anybody could strike, it split into four, attempting to confuse them, before disappearing. They waited for it to come back, which it did, surrounding the group with its identical copies. Aislin shot one, which turned to smoke, as Martel struck another, also turning to smoke.
“What?” he asked.
“Only one is the true Poe. Look for any signs that might give it away.” Holo suggested.
Evina tossed a fireball at one that came her way, which turned to smoke as well, while the true Poe spun wildly at the group, catching Rioan off guard and sending him to the floor. He grunted as he got back up.
“Well,” he began, “Now we know what happens if you take out the copies...”
“Right.” Martel thought for a moment, “We need a coordinated attack.” He paused, getting everybody’s attention. “When they come back, everybody target one and strike at the same time.” Following the boy’s orders, the group did as they were told, and targeted the closest Poe or its copy. “Now!” everybody let loose, and Evina managed to attack the correct Poe.”
“I got it!” she exclaimed to the rest of them.”
“Good, keep it up!” Holo encouraged.
The Poe came back, and they repeated the process, this time Aislin striking the correct one. It disappeared again, and it was longer than usual for them to wait. This time, all four Poe Sisters came, all of them splitting into identical copies, which surrounding the four as they spun around.
“This is new...” Holo’s eyes went wide, and the group moved closer together.
“So...” Aislin began, “Any ideas?”
Martel had no answer, but Rioan did. “Pick ‘em off like Deku Hornets!”
Going with that strategy, everyone attacked whichever Poe they wanted, many fading to smoke, though Evina attacked the correct green one, and all the Poes disappeared again, reappearing with reinforcements. This continued for quite some time, as each of them attacked a different colored correct Poe each time. Aislin was running out of arrows, but still had her dagger in case she needed to whip it out. Evina was getting exhausted, using too much of her magic, and she had to take a break for a while. Martel and Rioan kept going, though, and Martel struck the blue one, only to have the process repeated for the countless time.
“This is getting ridiculous!” he shouted.
“I got a good feeling this is their last trick!” Rioan shouted, smacking the green one, repeating the process again.
“Let’s hope you have good intuition.” Aislin shot a few copies, then found out she was out of arrows. “Dammit.” She whipped out her dagger and swung at a red one, which was the correct one, and it finally died, the flame from its candle dispersing as the Poe went up in flames. What do you know, the kid was right.
“Nice one Aislin!” Martel commented, rather subliminally, but he was glad one of the Poes was down. He struck the correct green one after taking out a few copies, to which it died as well.
Evina, though still slightly exhausted, sent a fireball at one of the blue ones. However, it was a copy, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. “Darn...”
Rioan shot a couple copies until he hit the correct purple one, which disappeared, along with the blue, to repeat the process one last time. Aislin struck a blue copy, followed by a purple copy. She was getting a little frustrated, but stuck to the plan. Martel caught the correct purple one, and it died, the flame from its candle dispersing.
“Alright, one left!” Rioan said, excited. “Evina, you got enough energy for one last attack?”
“Maybe...” the witch stood up, readying a flame. However, it was very small, a representation of how much strength she had left. Martel gave the signal to strike, and they all attacked, Evina managing to get the real McCoy, and killing the last of the Poe Sisters. The boys rushed over to her to make sure she was okay.
Suddenly a bright white light blinded the four, as a figure came down, resembling a woman-a very pretty woman, at that! She had a certain aura about her, and was in a green getup. Her hair was long and blowing, as if there was a wind in the room. Her clothes were very beautiful, a long, green gown in several layers and shades, which was sleeveless, though she had on sleeves that started just below the shoulder and drooped over her hands, as if they were one size too big. Like the dress, the sleeves were also layered and many shades of green. The hem of her dress and ends of the sleeves were an intricate lace. She also had a light green bolero, which puffed out at the tops of the sleeves in a sort of pumpkin fashion. As for shoes, she wasn’t wearing any!
Her bare feet touched the ground as she slowly and softly descended. Her hair stopped billowing, and eventually settled, showing that it was slightly wavy, and very long, reaching down to almost her knees! She was as tall as Aislin, who was awestruck at the sight of the girl. “Thank you, young heroes. Because of your efforts, I am free once again.”
“Who are you?” Martel asked.
The girl, with stunning emerald eyes, seemed to captivate the boys and put them at ease. “My name is Fima, and I am the Forest Spirit tasked with holding the secret to gain access to the Dark World.” Aislin’s ears perked up, as Fima continued, “I fear the other Spirits have been attacked and sealed away as well.” She walked over to the other three. Waving a hand, strange particles that seemed to glow gently floated down over the three, the majority landing on Evina. “How do you feel, young one?”
Evina stood up and stretched a little. “Better, wow! Thank you!”
Fima gave a kind smile. “I have the power to restore life and energy to all living things. Now, tell me, what are all of your names?” Aislin seemed to be getting ignored.
“I’m Martel, this is my brother Rioan,” he patted the boy on the shoulder, “and this is Evina, an apprentice witch.”
“I’m Aislin, if it’s any consolation!” she shouted from her position across the room.
“We don’t trust her much since she kidnapped the Kokiri.” Martel added.
Fima nodded. “In any case, I am in your debt. Please allow me to repay you.” And before the boys could voice their opinions, Fima glowed bright before turning into a fairy spirit. Evina held out her hands for the Forest Spirit to land in.
“Alright, we got the first of the Three!” Rioan stated, rather excitedly. “I think?”
“Indeed. Two to go!” Martel exclaimed.
A patch of light forming a circle shone in the middle of the floor, and Aislin immediately made a break for it. “Don’t think this is over! I’ll make sure I put you in your graves!” and with her threat, she left, trailing for the ceiling before vanishing in a flash of light.
The group, not caring much for her words, entered the circular patch as well, ascending to the roof before disappearing in a flash of light.

The Kokiri kids were all gathered outside the entrance of the temple. Tali was still shaking, when suddenly, she stopped, her eyes going from scared to calm. “What happened?” Nobody spoke, and instead, hugged her, thankful she was back to normal.
Aislin came down in a pillar of light, landing on a stone platform. She looked behind her, and spotting the Kokiri, bolted out of there.
Before the forest children could give haste, the three heroes descended in a pillar of light as well. Dail said they should chase the woman, but Martel insisted against it.
“Leave her be. She’s probably going to get lost anyway.”