Uh, hey. I'm not dead.

Okay, so. Important. Please read this. One of the reasons this chapter took so long was because I was editing all the other chapters to fix up the parts I didn't like and add in a few more details that I hadn't come up with when I first wrote this. Mostly little things that you guys probably didn't even notice, but please, please, please reread at least chapter 1 and chapter 6, or parts of the story won't make sense.

Disclaimed.

…

Chapter Seven: In Which They Discover The Meaning Of Courage And Fight A Lot Of Very Large Monsters

*~Thirteenth year of Demise's reign~*

*~Colin~*

The Triforce of Courage.

Sheik has the Triforce of Courage.

"That's Link's!" is all I can think to say.

Sheik stares at me. "…Yes," he says eventually. "But Link isn't exactly available at the moment, so I'm borrowing it."

"You can't borrow part of the Triforce!" Shad complains.

"Apparently you can," Ashei replies. "We should get moving, yeah?"

She has a point; regardless of how he got it, Sheik's little show with the Triforce of Courage has opened an entrance deeper into the cave. Who knows how long it'll stay open? "This discussion isn't over," I decide, "but we'll postpone it until we're done here."

Sheik nods in understanding. "Dark, we'll need you to guide us."

"So this is why you let me out of the mirror!" he says cheerily, taking the lead. "Let's see… my Light's to the left, I think, but that door's locked, so we need to find the key…"

"We could split up," Shad suggests. "We'll cover more ground that way."

Ashei shakes her head. "Never split up in a temple. Don't you know anything? And, yeah, I know this isn't a temple, exactly, but the premise still stands."

"Besides," Sheik says suddenly. "We wouldn't get very far. Haven't you noticed? Other than the door on the left, the locked one… there's no way to get further."

"What?" I move towards the left-hand door. "Then we can either pick the lock, or turn back…"

The second I touch the lock, bars drop over the door. I jump back, turning around. The exit is similarly blocked. Sheik curses. "Get ready!" he warns. "Something is about to attack."

Even as he speaks, the sand around his feet explodes outwards. It's pure luck that he manages to scramble back in time.

Ashei swears violently. "It's that… thing! The one from Day Zero!"

"The eye-scorpion-thing, as you described it?" Shad checks. "It's been thirteen years! Most monsters don't live that long!"

Dark stares at us, askance. "You've fought a Moldarach before?!"

"I wouldn't say fought," Ashei replies. "We ran away."

"Whose idea was that?" Sheik asks distractedly, eyes scanning the room.

"Link's."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Then he laughs delightedly. "Oh, now I get it! This place is designed for the hero; this is just the first test!"

"Sheiky, what-" Dark turns to see what Sheik's looking at. Then he too starts to laugh. "Of course, that thing!"

"What thing?" I turn to see what they're looking at. Sitting on a table that I'm sure wasn't there before is what looks like… bellows.

Sheik's grin looks rather feral. "Moldarach will go under the sand. We use these—Gale Bellows? Gust Bellows? Something like that—to get rid of the sand. Then we slash the eyes." He grabs the bellows.

True to his word, the scorpion burrows underneath the sand and disappears. For a long moment, there's nothing. "Look for lumps in the sand," Dark advises. "If you see one, that's probably Moldarach."

We all focus on the sand. "There!" Shad calls from his place by the door, away from the sand. He points at a particularly big lump.

Sheik smirks, hoisting the bellows. "Stand back!" he warns, doing… something with them that sends a jet of air out the end. It scours the sand, forcing Moldarach out of its hiding place. "Go for the eyes in its claws!" he orders quickly, bellows disappearing into a pocket as he draws his daggers.

Ashei strikes quickly, stabbing towards one of its eyes. It jumps back, claws clicking shut protectively. She sighs. "We need to make it stay still, and keep those claws open, yeah?" she assumes.

I nod. "Anyone have a bow?"

Dark shrugs. "Well, there's this…" He draws what looks suspiciously like Link's slingshot from a pocket. Catching my stare, he shrugs. "What? Not like he's using it. Sheiky, be a dear and distract that thing for me, will you?"

The Sheikah rolls his eyes. Then he sticks two fingers in his mouth and whistles to draw Moldarach's attention. Dark grins when the scorpion turns, readying the slingshot. "Ashei, Colin, you might want to get ready," he advises. "This'll go much quicker if we can get all three eyes at once." So saying, he fires, the pellet striking our opponent in the eye. It freezes, and the three of us leap.

Now, while I'm passable with a sword, it's never been my forte, not like Talo, Link and Ashei. So, really, it's not much of a surprise when I miss the eye. Ashei curses as the scorpion burrows back under the sand with one eye still intact. "Thrice dammit, Colin," she sighs.

Sheik shrugs. "Don't worry too much. The Hero of Legend took hours to beat one of these things. We're doing surprisingly well."

"Don't knock the Hero of Legend, Sheiky," Dark says mildly. "He won't be happy with you."

"He can deal with it, can't he? He's not a baby." Sheik frowns, pulling out the bellows again. "Anyone see anything?"

Ashei and I focus on the sand. "Ah…"

"Look out!" Shad yelps.

The sand explodes around us, sending all four of us staggering back in an effort to keep our balance. "Thrice-damned scorpion!" Sheik yells, scrambling to his feet. "Dark, get that slingshot ready!"

The force of impact sends me stumbling forward. I spin to see what's attacking now-

"Sorry!" Dark calls. "Your big head is getting in the way!"

I can see Sheik rolling his eyes. "Dark, shoot like you mean it!" He rolls to the side, tossing a dagger. Moldarach freezes up, and Ashei strikes, easily bursting the eye. Dark and Sheik back up with matching blank expressions. I'm about to question why when the Thrice-damned scorpion explodes, sending ash and monster guts everywhere. Including all over us.

"That is disgusting," Shad complains, turning to Sheik and Dark. "Judging by your preemptive reactions, you were aware of that creature's explosive qualities. I say, why did you not consider warning us beforehand?"

Dark shrugs, grinning. "Assumed you already knew," he says.

"Honestly," Sheik adds, "didn't you ever listen to Link's stories? If it's big and you kill it, it's probably going to explode. That's kind of a staple in these places. Sore losers, the lot of them. Almost as bad as Nebulae." He crouches, drawing a dagger and setting to work digging through the pile of ash and innards. "Ick," he mutters. "They never talk about this bit in the legends. Ah, and it broke my dagger, too… Damn, these things have gotten fragile. Maybe it's just me."

I frown. "What… are you doing?"

He glances up at me. "Looking for the key," he says matter-of-factly.

"Why would the key be there?"

He shrugs, going back to the pile. "Well, the door's locked, this thing showed up when we got near the lock, and there's no sign of a key anywhere else in the room. Assumedly, this Thrice-damned thing swallowed it. Ah, there it is." Sheik grins, holding out the key for me to take.

I grimace. "You want to clean that off a little first?"

"Don't be such a pussy," Dark sighs, scooping up the key and sauntering over to the door. "If my Light can jump off an island miles in the sky, fight an honest-to-Hylia demon mask, and impale the King of Evil, you can handle a key with a little gut on it."

I swear, the more I talk to these two, the more confusing they become. "…Alright then. Moving on. Where do we go from here?"

Dark hums, trotting through the door and turning in a circle, head cocked. He looks like Link used to when hunting a particularly elusive animal. Then he grins. "He's… northeast of here, I think. Through the door straight ahead for now."

This room is a large circle with four doors, one in each cardinal direction. All of them are locked except for the one Dark pointed out and the one we just came through. Shad frowns. "If Link is over there, then why would only the door going in almost the opposite direction be unlocked?"

"Because that's how temples work," Dark says. "Don't you know anything?"

Sheik smacks him. "Temples are… complicated," he says. "Just be glad we aren't stuck in the Arbiter's Grounds, or the Shadow Temple." He strolls towards the door, whistling a short, eery melody.

Dark looks at him in what I can only describe as confused concern. "Where did you- Never mind. Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Shad says. "Where did you learn that song? All the others that you've hummed or sang I recognised, but not that one."

Sheik frowns at him. "Song? What song?"

Dark steps between them. "I didn't hear anything," he says quickly. "Shad must have misheard. *Right, Shad*?"

I can't see his face, but Shad steps back quickly. "Uh- Right. I must have… misheard."

"All… right, then," Sheik says. "Well, anyway. The door. It's unlocked, so we should…"

Ashei shrugs. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, yeah?" She strides off towards the western door. Dark smiles, trailing after her. Sheik grabs Shad by the ear and yanks him along as well. I follow, shaking my head at the sight.

The next room is rough and brown, like tree bark. It's almost perfectly circular, too. Shad stares around at the walls as though he recognises them.

Dark taps his chin thoughtfully. "Let's see… There should be a key around here somewhere. For the next door, y'know."

Ashei scans the room quickly. "Found it," she says, pointing towards a chest on the far side of the room. She steps toward it. I glance around at the others; Shad is frowning. Dark has a self-satisfied little smirk on his face.

"Trials," Sheik says. "Oh- Ashei, get back!"

She stumbles away from the chest at his shout, just barely dodging the insect-like thing that drops from the ceiling. Shad yelps, but Sheik looks more amused. "Now I remember!" he says. "This room is modeled after the Great Deku Tree. That thing is a Gohma! It's a simple battle. We'll beat it in no time."

Dark nods. "Got the slingshot right-"

As he pulls it out, the Gohma leaps, knocking it from his fingers. It stands over the slingshot, making a sound that makes me think of laughter.

Dark curses. "Sorry, guys. But it's okay, right? Sheiky, you have those daggers-"

Sheik shakes his head. "I only have one left. I can't risk throwing it until I find a way to get more."

"It's just a dagger!" Shad says, exasperated. "They aren't exactly difficult to locate!"

"Well, Sheikah-made daggers aren't as easy to come by!" Sheik snaps. "There are a bunch still around, and I could make my own in a pinch, but either way it'll take time to pick up more! In case you've forgotten, I'm still under an oath, and I don't want to be stuck weaponless while I'm in the process of fulfilling it. Unless one of you has something we could use, we're stuck waiting for it to move away from the slingshot."

"I have some Deku nuts," Ashei offers. "They were over by the chest."

Dark grins. "Deku nuts? Perfect! Sheiky can use one to grab the slingshot! Right, Sheiky?"

"I could," Sheik says uncertainly. "Probably… Well, I don't know, I've never actually done it in combat. It's better for running away."

"Just get behind it," Dark says. "We can distract it while you grab the slingshot."

"Okay…" Sheik slips all but one of the Deku nuts into his pocket and turns to face the Gohma. He edges a little to the side, as if trying to walk around it, and the thing swivels slightly to watch him, curling around the slingshot. "Dammit. Well, here goes nothing."

He holds up the Deku nut and narrows his eyes. Then he throws it to the ground at his feet. Dark and Ashei turn away from him, and I quickly shut my eyes. Shad yelps as the nut explodes, and I quickly look again. "Sheik, what in Farore's name-?!"

He's gone. The remains of the Deku nut are scattered on the ground, but Sheik himself is nowhere to be seen. Dark smirks at our surprised exclamations and gestures at the Gohma. "Give him a second."

As he speaks, the shadows seem to shift slightly behind the insect. Sheik stumbles out, just barely catching himself before he collides with its tail. He waves at us and crouches, reaching under the Gohma for the slingshot. It begins to turn, maybe sensing something behind it.

"Hey!" I yell. "Over here, you big insect!"

The Gohma turns. Sheik falls flat to avoid its tail as it swings and snatches the slingshot. He scrambles back out from under it and runs to join us, jumping back as it lunges at him. "Who wants to shoot it?"

"I'll do it," I offer. "I've gotten a lot of practice with slingshots over the past few years."

Sheik passes over the slingshot. "Wait until its eye turns red," he advises. "It'll only do that right before it attacks, so be careful."

Dark raises the Master Sword. "With this thing it'll be dead in a couple hits, I bet."

The Gohma crawls up the wall as we speak. I look up at it, keeping the slingshot pointed at its eye. It tilts, aiming its rear end at the ground, and its eyes glows red. I take the shot and it drops, hitting the ground hard. Dark steps forward and casually drives the Master Sword into its eye. He stabs it three times before it goes limp, and we all quickly step back before it explodes outwards.

A chest appears in the wreckage, and Dark carefully steps towards it. Shad frowns. "I say, are you sure that's a good idea? Who knows what's in there."

"Something that'll help us get through this place, I'd guess," Ashei says. "That's how it usually works."

"I don't know," Dark says, stepping back from the chest. "Isn't this thing dead?" He holds up a strange-looking rod. I feel like I've seen it before, but I can't recall where.

"The Dominion Rod?!" Shad gasps. "But- This ought to be back in Ordon with the rest of Link's old equipment!"

"Yeah, and the Gust Bellows should be six feet under with the Hero of Legend, and well-rotted by now," Sheik points out. "This place plays by its own rules."

Dark makes a face. "Goddesses never play fair," he complains. He glances into the chest again. "Oh, so that's where the bow went!" He reaches in and pulls Link's bow out of the chest. "Heh, you weren't kidding about not playing by the rules, huh, Sheiky?"

"Of course not." While Dark was talking, Sheik apparently fetched the key out of the chest. "Anyway, it's late. I suggest we stop here for the night. Fat lot of good we'll do if we're too tired to fight."

…

Just so you guys know, I'm gonna be without internet for the next month or so, so the next update won't be until then at the earliest.