Legend of Zelda: Compass of Secrets I

Let me tell you a tale. A tale as old as the gods themselves. A tale that tells of the great power native to our land.

This is another of the stories told by legend.

Legends tell of a land blessed with green fields, happy people, and peace. This land was protected by a golden power sent by the gods. But when a great evil tried to take the golden power for himself, the land was drowned in darkness. When it seemed all hope was lost, a boy garbed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the legendary blade of evil’s bane, he sealed the great evil away and peace returned to the land. Because the boy traveled through time to protect the land, the boy was known as “the Hero of Time.” For a long time the people had thought that the evil being sealed by the hero was gone forever, but the dark beast had crawled up from the depths, seeking revenge on the Hero. The people pleaded to the gods, praying that the Hero would return to save them. But the Hero did not return. In their final hours, the gods opened a rift in the dimensions to a new world and created a compass leading back to their home land.

What happened to this land? No one knows.

Legend says that the compass in the legends still exists, and will lead anyone of descent back to the land spoken of in the legends.

Our story now begins in a land named Pennsylvania with the young hero unaware of his destiny.



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Chapter 1

“Link! Link! Wake up Link! You don’t want to miss the adoptions, do you? Come on, wake up Link!” I wake up to find a girl on top of me. “Laurel,” I said, “I’m glad that you enjoy waking me up this early, but please, get off of me. And my name is Ben, not Link.”

“I know, but I like calling you that.”

“You and everyone else in this dump.”

“Oh, Linky, you know that this is our dump we live in.”

“Yeah, I know. Don’t remind me.”

“Link; do you even know what today is?”

I thought for a moment, which is hard to do when you’re half asleep. “Umm, I’m pretty sure today is Tuesday.”

Laurel scoffed. “Today’s adoptions.”

I was unmoved. “Great, another day of rejection and emotional trauma.” I pulled the bedsheet over my head and tried to sleep some more. My quiet time didn’t last long because Laurel pulled the bedsheet off my bed. “Link, get out of bed and get ready for the adoptions!” she yelled.

“Fine, I’ll get ready, but I wouldn’t be too excited.”

You’re probably getting confused by all of this so I’ll explain everything. My name is Ben, and I’m an orphan. Yeah, save your sob stories for someone else, I’m not really into it. I live at the Maple Groves Children’s Home and I’ve been here since I was 5. I’m 17 now. Yeah, that’s a long time, I know. Forgive me if I’m a bit cynical. This girl I’m talking about is Laurel. She’s been here for as long as I have, but she’s as bright and cheerful as a new day, and while that’s uplifting, it’s pretty annoying. Don’t get me wrong though, she’s a pretty amazing girl. And pretty, too. She’s almost like my sister, even if she’s only a year younger. Anyways, I live in the middle of Western Pennsylvania about 50 miles from Pittsburgh. The town I live in isn’t exactly a cultural hub. The only thing this town is famous for is being a half-hour drive from that one place where one of the planes from 9/11 went down. Yeah, that bad. We’re literally in the middle of scenic nowhere. There’s nothing to see here but trees. That and the odd mountain range in the distance. It’s not the best sight, but a sight, nonetheless. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, Laurel and I were being lined up for adoptions. Yep, imagine a 17-year-old young man and a 16-year old young woman lined up with a bunch of 3 to 13 year olds and you’ll have a basic picture of what we looked like. I wasn’t thinking about this at the time because I had my trusty DSi on. I was playing Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. My opinion on the game is that it wasn’t half bad, even though a lot of people dissed it for having a train in it. I’ll admit, the train parts are a bit boring sometimes, but the game in general was pretty good. I was known around the orphanage as the video game whiz. Give me any Mario, Zelda, or Pokémon game and I’ll beat it 100% within three weeks. Four tops.  Anyways, it would’ve ended like every other adoption day I’ve been in my twelve years here if it weren’t for… that guy.

“All right everyone, there’s going to be a really influential man here who wants to adopt one of you little boys and girls, so let’s all try to make a good first impression, so set a good example and don’t mess this up.”

Laurel strangled my arm which made me drop my stylus. “Did you hear that, Link? Someone’s here for us! I may finally be in my own family!”

I was unmoved as I paused my game, “Probably not, you’ve said that the last over 9000 times, and yes, I have been counting and we’re still here.”

Laurel let go and my left arm regained circulation. “You know, Link, you can be a jerk sometimes. I’ll be adopted this time, you’ll see.”

“You said that every time, too.” I said as I retrieved my stylus. “What are the chances that this guy will actually…?”

I was interrupted by a man saying, “What about her? Is she available?” He was pointing toward Laurel.

“Who Laurel? Yes, she can be adopted…” I tuned them out as I took a good look at this guy. He was tall and had brown skin, but red hair. He dressed in all black, which, come to think of it, was a good idea because it was starting to get chilly this time of year. Although, there was this nasty vibe I was getting from this guy and I didn’t like it. I really got spooked when they started talking about me. I hate it when people are talking about me; I always think they insult me behind my back. They then told me to come into the back room for an interview. For me, I went ahead and blew the interview like I always do to people I don’t like. However, this guy was more interested in me than I thought.

“So, you’re name’s Ben, right?”

“Yep.” I was playing my DS the whole time. My plan was to play my DS the whole interview to give off a “distracted and unfocused” tag and they’ll go running faster than Sonic the Hedgehog running in a heavy downpour downhill while wearing rocket boosters. Works every time, but this guy seemed more interested in my game playing more than I thought.

“What game is that?”

I hate it when people question me about my game playing. “It’s Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.”

“Really? You like those games?”

I was starting to respect this guy a little. “Yeah, I’m also interested in Pokémon and Super Mario Brothers. I can beat any of these games within a month. Everyone here calls me Link, ‘cause I’m so good at video games.”

“Interesting… well, I’ll make my decision in a couple days, so keep in touch.” They sent me out but I know what he really was thinking. Another successful rejection. They then called for Laurel. “Wish me luck Link, I’ll finally be home!”

“Sure Laurel.” I said, but then mumbled to myself. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

I waited an hour for her, and when she finally came out, she was overjoyed. “Link, he said he’ll be back in a couple days! This is fantastic! I’m finally going to be part of a family!” Sometimes, I think she acts the same age as the kids around her. Sigh. I guess that’s what I like about her… Anyways, I was ignoring her when she was blabbing on about what this guy was like. All I can remember is that his name was Greg or something, he was important in Arizona, or something, and that he searched all across the country for certain children. I told her that he said that he’d come back for me too, but that only added to her enthusiasm. Eventually, I ignored it and then went to bed. The next morning, I overslept, which I usually do, but Laurel wasn’t in the room that morning. When I finally got dressed, I saw her with a vacant look on her face.

“Laurel, Laurel,” no response. “Laurel, hello?”

Laurel snapped out of it like a trance. “Oh, hey Link.”

“Is something the matter?”

“What? Oh, no, nothing.” She turned to look at me and quickly turned away. “I’m not hiding anything.”

I knew she was lying, but I decided to leave it alone for now. Laurel wasn’t in a cheerful mood like she always was; she always looked like she saw a ghost. Whenever I asked her to talk about it, I always got the same response. As the days went by, she got more distressed, but she refused to talk to me about it. She had even stopped talking to me or anyone else, until late in the night before the guy came back.

“Link, Link, wake up. I’ve got to talk to you.”

I wake groggy, but I know it’s still dark out. “What? Laurel, why are you waking me up this early? It’s 1 ‘til 2. Can’t this wait until morning?”

“No, it can’t.” She sounded serious, so I started listening. “Well, I don’t know how to put this… It’s really hard for me to say this…”

“Just say it really fast.” I said half interested.

“I don’t want to be adopted by that man!”

“What?” I asked. Ever since I met her, all she would talk about was who would adopt her. She would fantasize about what kind of family she would have. She kind of grew out of it though, but still, it was so shocking hearing her contradict everything she said.

“I said, I don’t want to be adopted by that guy.”

“Why? I thought that you wanted to be adopted by that guy.”

“Well,”

“You’re hiding something.”

“What? No!” She wasn’t making eye contact and was twisting her leg back and forth.

“Yeah, you are. You’re doing that cute thing with your leg.”

“Okay, I have something to confess.”

“I’m all ears.” I said trying to drift back to sleep.

“Well, I’ve been having these dreams.”

“Dreams? Really?” I said, not really interested.

“Yeah, I was in this beautiful field having a picnic with…” she paused. “…some guy, when the ground opened up and this dark smoke came out and came out to look like that guy, but in different clothes and grabbed me. I couldn't move, I couldn't scream for help; he was dragging me into the ground when this guy in green and a funny hat stabbed him and saved me.”

“Really, a guy in green?”

“Yeah. He looked like that guy that you always play as, that Zelda guy.”

“You mean Link.” I hate it when people confuse Link for Zelda.

“Yeah, that guy, Link.”

I was not fooled. “Laurel, last week, you couldn’t wait to be adopted, but now, you don’t want to go with him. What do you think the guy is going to do?”

“Don’t ask me that, and the guy is a load of evil!”

“Laurel, I know there’s a lot of jerks and perverts out there, but calling him evil is a bit…”

“I know that, but this guy doesn’t have that feeling like an ordinary jerk, this guy doesn’t just make my skin crawl, but he has this power about him, like he can bend anyone and anything to his will.”

“Okay, so you think the guy’s evil. Big whoop, what are you going to do about it?”

Laurel stopped to think. “I’ll run away.”

“Laurel, no! You can’t do this!”

“Don’t try to change my mind. I’m already going to leave.”

“You can’t go! You’ve never been outside the town! Even if by some miracle, the cops don’t catch you after curfew, where do you think you’re going to go?”

Laurel gathered her things and supplies in a backpack and turned to me. “I’ll go off on my own; maybe find a family of my own. It’s just what my parents would have wanted.”

“Your parents, huh?” I started warming up when she mentioned her parents. Most people’s parents either gave them up or died. Laurel was unlucky enough to have both her parents die while she was young.

“Yeah, my mom died in a freak accident. My dad never really wanted me, my mom said she left, but I knew what she meant.” She pulled out a necklace from under her shirt collar to reveal a golden V-shaped necklace. “When I was four, and my mom was on her death bed, she told me to protect this with my life. She said it’s a priceless family heirloom. Whenever I look at it, all of my problems, they instantly vanish. I always feel calm and my thoughts are clear. I can even feel my mother’s warmth when I look into this.” We both looked at it deeply. I could feel it too, all of my troubles melted away. I felt warmth that enveloped my whole body. Laurel then took the necklace back and placed it back under her shirt collar. “Don’t expect me to wait for you. You don’t have to come with me, but if you want to spend the rest of your life in this dump, go ahead. Good bye, Ben.” Laurel then jumped out the window and grabbed a tree branch outside and dropped to the ground a floor down. She then walked out of the light into the night. Laurel’s words stung hard. The clock read 2:11 and I tried to sleep. But no matter how much I tried to fall asleep, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to leave Laurel alone in the woods, so I did what I had to do. I grabbed a small bag, put some snacks, a notebook, a bunch of pencils, my wallet, and my DSi in it and jumped out the window after her.



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Chapter 2

I searched for hours in the woods looking for Laurel. There was no sign of her. I mentally banged my head. Stupid! I thought to myself. Why didn’t you follow her when you had the chance?  It would be another two hours until I finally found her at sunrise. She called down at me from the orange covered trees. “Link! Up here!” I had to focus to find her. She carefully jumped out of the tree. “Follow me!” I followed her out deeper into the forest, until we reached a tree house in the largest tree I ever saw. “Well? Do you like it?”

I was speechless. “Laurel, did you…? How did…?”

Laurel giggled. “No, Link. I just found this tree house here while I was wandering. We can use this as our home for the next few days.” She started to climb up the makeshift ladder nailed to the tree, and beckoned me to follow. I started climbing up beneath her. As I poked my head through the trap door of the tree house, I saw that the floor was littered with various items. “Chips?” I took some from Laurel as she munched on the rest. “So, how many times did you come here?”

“I came here, a lot. Sometimes, I hear something when the wind blows. It’s very relaxing.” I tried to listen but I couldn’t hear anything. “Well, the wind isn’t blowing as hard now.”

“Hmm.” I took her anecdote with a grain of salt. Laurel, well, she’s a bit too idealistic for her own good. “So, what are our plans?”

“Well, I don’t know… maybe we could explore. I mean, didn’t you ever want to know what was in our own backyard?”

“That sounds nice, but…I would like something to protect myself.”

“Well, um…” Laurel rummaged around and produced a long sword. “Maybe you could use this.”

I looked at her in disbelief. “Laurel. That’s a sword. Don’t you have anything more, potent? Like a gun or something?”

“Come on, Link! Don’t you play those games?”

“Yeah, but playing a game doesn’t usually substitute for skill.”

“Come on, just try it.”

I pondered it for a moment, and I took the sword. I unsheathed it, and started swinging it around, away from Laurel of course. The sword seemed well balanced. I tried to do all those moves that Link could in the games. To an extent, I could pull them off. Laurel clapped for a moment. “Well, done Link.”

“You know, you don’t have to keep calling me that.” I said.

“But I can’t! With that sword, you look a lot like a Link to me, Ben.” Laurel replied.

I sighed and decided to go along with it. I sheathed the sword and slung the scabbard across my chest so the blade was strapped behind my back. “I don’t know, Laurel. I still don’t feel safe with just a sword. Do you have a shield or something?”

Laurel rummaged through the things and retrieved a wooden shield with an indiscriminate symbol on it. I looked at it and took it. It wasn’t splintery, so that was good. At least it won’t fall apart with too many hits. It wasn’t very heavy, so it was easy to use. I strapped it onto my back as well, making sure I could easily and quickly pull it off my back. With practice, I was able to pull it off my back with ease. “All right, so if you’re finally ready, let’s go!”

“Let’s grab some food, first.” Laurel grabbed as much food as she could and stashed them in her bag. “We should also get a map, too. This way, we won’t get lost.” Laurel and I looked around, and I saw a parchment with a map of the relative area with an ornate compass sitting atop it as a paperweight.

“Did you find one, yet?” Laurel said as she walked over to me.

“Yeah,” I said as I rolled up the map and placed the compass in my pocket. Laurel looked quizzically at me. Reading her expression, I explained, “We should take the compass, too. We can find our way easier this way.”

“But how do you know it points north?” she asked.

I looked out the window. “The sun rose and it’s in that direction, right?” Laurel nodded. “Well, the sun always rises in the east. The arrow on this compass points north. When I point the compass that way…” The arrow turned counter-clockwise as I turned it. “it points this way. So that way is north.”

“That’s amazing, Link!”

I was flattered. “Well, you’re lucky I have an amazing sense of direction!”

“Well, now that we’re ready, let’s go!”

Excited, and a bit impatient, I climbed down and let go of the ladder. I hit the ground with thud as I whimpered a bit as I sprained my ankle a bit. Laurel laughed at me as I started walking it off. I can take damage easily. I’m tough like that. After all, I grew up in an orphanage! Laurel climbed down slowly, and she jumped off when she was close to the ground. “Well, where to now?”

Laurel walked around for a bit, and she pointed toward a cave. “Let’s go in there!”

It was my turn to look quizzically. “Why?”

“Well, haven’t you wondered…?”

“Yes, yes, I remember… ‘what’s in our backyard?’ But, I’m a bit wary about going into unfamiliar caves.”

“Aw, but I thought you would be braver than that?”

“Those were games! This is real life! There aren’t any continues, or healing fairies, or 1-up’s or anything!”

Laurel decided to ignore me and started running into the cave. “Laurel!” As an aside, a mentioned, “She’s going to drive me crazy.” I rushed in to catch up with her.



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Chapter 3

As I ventured deeper into the cave, I slowed to a walk. The cave was only lit by torches, which was odd, and a bit suspicious. The cave twisted and turned and branched off in many different directions. “Link!” Laurel’s voice echoed. I ran up to her, and she was in a large room. It was lit with a bunch of torches. “Over here!” she yelled.

“Have you seen enough yet?” I asked her.

“No, I just know that there’s something in here. Maybe it’s some hidden treasure!”

“Probably guarded by something big and hungry, so let’s just leave before anything happens.”

“Come on, Link! Where’s your sense of adventure?” She said as she walked to a stone door.

“Back at the tree house…” I added as an aside.

Laurel was struggling to push the stone door aside. “Link, can you help with this door?” I sighed and pushed the door aside. “Thanks, Link.” We both passed through the door and we ended up in a room containing a shallow pit with a large stone block with strange markings on it in the pit. As we went farther in the room, the door slid shut loudly. Laurel decided to look around. I did the same. It seems that there are two exits, but one is on a high ledge that we both can’t reach, and the other is barred. “How are we supposed to get through here?” Laurel’s attention focused to the block. “There’s got to be something we can do with this block!” Laurel started pushing it. The block stayed put. “Come on, rock! Budge!” The block decided to listen, which made Laurel fall in the dust. I chuckled a bit. Laurel was fuming with embarrassment. “Well if you think you’re such a hot shot, why don’t you do it!?” I shrugged and walked over to the block. I started pushing it, and it started slowly moving.

“Hey, Laurel, can you look for a switch of some kind? I’m going to try to push it to that ledge.” Laurel went away and looked closely to the ground while I pushed the block. When I pushed it to the wall, I climbed on top of it and realized something. “Hmm, it’s too high for me to climb up here.”

“Hey, Link!” Laurel called over to me. “I think there’s a small pressure pad right here! But I can’t get it to activate!”

I thought for a moment. “Maybe you’re too light, I’m going to get this block over here.” I searched the block and saw a couple hand holds. It was a lot harder pulling the block than pushing it. “Right here?” Laurel nodded. As I pushed the block onto the spot where Laurel noted, the bars over the other door had opened.

“Hey, we can open this door now!” Laurel walked to the door and started to push it aside.

“I guess we’re going the long way.” I said to myself as I pushed the door aside. The next room had had a circular layout with three unlit torches. As soon as I started walking in the room, strange plants started sprouting from the ground. They didn’t have any leaves or flowers (honestly, did I really think that something in here would have flowers?), but they had a disgusting looking bud that split into a mouth.

“Link! What are those things?” Laurel hid behind me.

“I don’t know, they were supposed to be just a game, but…”

“Does that look like just a game to you?”

I drew my sword and shield. “Looks like we’ll find out.”

“Link, you can’t be serious! You’re actually going to fight those things? You could get hurt!” Ignoring her, I walked up to the plants, holding my shield up. The first plant hit my shield with a thud. Good to know the shield works. I slashed its head/bud, and it started reeling away. I slashed it twice more and it fell over and withered. The next one I started attacking right away, and slashed its stem in half. It started oozing some green… I don’t even know. It was kind of gross. The last one started attacking me, but my shield deflected its blows. I slashed at its stem and it died, too. As soon as they all died, they exploded into purple dust.

“You were amazing, Link!”

“Well, I was playing those games. I should know what I’m doing.” I took this time to look around. There were three doors. One had bars like the one in the other room, another was chained up and locked, but the least one was clear. “Let’s go that way.” I said, pointing to the third door. Laurel followed behind me as I opened the door. This room was completely dark, only lit by a single torch.

“It’s too dark in here, Link.” Laurel said.

“Well, maybe there are more torches in here.” I grabbed a nearby stick and tossed it to Laurel. I lit it on fire and started searching for more torches. Laurel did the same and lit all the torches.

“I think that’s all of them.” I said.

Laurel pointed up. “No, there’s one up there. There’s a ladder up here.” I climbed the short ladder while the stick was about to burn out. I quickly brought the smoldering stick and lit the last torch. All of a sudden, a bright light shone and materialized into a treasure chest. “What was that light?” Laurel asked as she climbed up the ladder.

“This chest just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Well, open it!” I opened the chest and found a small key. “Maybe that goes to the one in the last room!” Laurel climbed back down the stairs and I dropped down. I pushed the door aside and went to the locked door. I stuck the key in the lock, but it wouldn’t budge. “Come on, lock. Open!” It turned with a crack and the lock fell off the door. I pushed that one aside. When we both walked into the room, the door shut and bars covered the door.

“We’re trapped! We’ve got to find a way out!” Laurel started searching the door. There was a short cliff that I didn’t think I’d be able to climb back up. I went ahead and jumped down. “Link!  What are you doing?”

“There’s a ladder here, but it’s too high to reach. How do I get it…” There were two more monsters down here around a campfire. As soon as they saw me, they grabbed their weapons. I grabbed my own sword and shield as well. They started wailing their weapons at me, but my shield kept blocking them.

“Link, be careful!” Laurel shouted down her caution. I got them out of my way with a spin attack. It was my first time actually pulling it off, but the two monsters fell to the ground. They both got up, and I stabbed the first monster, and it turned to purple dust. The other one hit my side with its club. It didn’t hurt enough to knock me down, but I slashed it before it could hit me again. It fell to the ground and died in a burst of purple dust. As soon as the second one died, the ladder behind me fell to the ground. Laurel climbed down and ran beside me. “Are you okay, Link?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. The ladder came down, but the door’s still blocked.”

“Well, there’s another ladder over there. And there’s another treasure chest!”

I walked over to the chest and slowly opened it. Inside the chest was an old oil lantern. “It’s a lantern.”

“Cool, now we can see in dark rooms!”

“Well, first I have to figure out how to turn it on…” I fiddled with it and the lantern glowed with a healthy flame. “So, now how to get out of here…” My eyes were fixed on an unlit torch. “Well, if the ways things had happened in this cave so far, this torch will probably open the door!” I opened the lantern and the flame caught the wood on the torch. As soon as that happened, the bars lifted. “Come on, Laurel. Let’s go.” I climbed the ladder while Laurel followed. I opened the door for Laurel again and followed through. I shifted my attention to the other unlit torches. Laurel said what I was thinking and said, “If lighting the torches worked in that last room, why don’t we try it here?” I lit the torches and the bars on the last door rose. I opened the door for Laurel again and this time, there was a large pool of water. It looked too shallow to simply swim across, and climb up. There was a conveniently placed switch near the side of the room. “Okay Laurel, follow my lead.” I stepped on the switch and then three large stepping stones rose from the water. There was a ticking sound coming from the switch, so I quickly jumped from the stepping stones onto the shore on the other side. Laurel was falling behind. “Laurel! Hurry up! It won’t stay up for long!” Laurel picked up the pace as the ticking sped up. “Hurry!” The stepping stones started sinking and she jumped. I quickly grabbed her hands and pulled her up onto the ledge. “Don’t worry, I got you.”

“Thanks Link.” Her cheeks turned a faint shade of red as she came to her senses. “Come on. We’re almost at the end. I can feel it.”

“Yeah. I mean, what was I so dramatic about back there? I mean, it’s just water.” Laurel nodded silently, still blushing. I opened the door and I was greeted by darkness.

“It’s too dark in here! Light your lantern, please?” Laurel said.

Happy to see, I lit the lantern and it shone brightly. As soon as I lit it, a whole bunch of bats woke and started dive-bombing us. I drew my sword and started waving it around like crazy. I killed a lot of them, but the lantern’s light was dying. I warded away the last one away, and grabbed Laurel’s hand. “Come on! We’ve got to find a way out of here.” The corridors started winding until they hit a dead end.

“No, there’s not enough time to turn around!” Laurel started to panic.

I looked closer at the dead end, and it had the same markings as the block in the first room. “No, hang on. This is just a huge block.” I tried to push it but it wouldn’t move. The lantern ran out of fuel. “Laurel, help me push it.” Laurel pushed with me and it started moving slowly. It felt like we were pushing that block for ages, until we finally saw a small ray of light coming from the corners. “We’re almost out! Just a little bit more!” The block fell with a heavy crash! When I looked around, I saw that we were back in the first room.

“Wait, why are we back in here? We just went in a circle! That was kinda pointless if you ask me.” I jumped down and caught Laurel as she fell.

I jumped off the block and onto the floor. “Wait a minute. No it wasn’t. Help me pull this block out of the way.” Laurel dropped down, and I caught her again. It was much harder pulling it.

“I hate… pulling this. Pushing it… was more fun!” Laurel was expressing my sentiments.

“It’s okay Laurel, we’re getting close to the wall. We can push now.” We turned to the other side and started pushing it. As soon as we got to the other side of the room, the block sunk into the ground so that we could climb to the ledge above. I jumped up to the top and offered my hand to Laurel. She jumped up and grabbed my hand and I pulled her up. We climbed the ledge up to the door and I opened it again for her. In this room, we saw a large door up a short staircase.

“This is it, I can feel it!” Laurel said. She ran to the huge door and tried to open it. I walked slowly to the door and opened it with her, knowing that there won’t be any going back. When we walked in, the huge door slid shut. In the room was a glowing ball of light. I heard a calming voice say, “Welcome, young heroes. I have been awaiting your arrival for a long time.”

I drew my sword and shield and asked it, “Who are you?” A ray of light shined at both me and Laurel and the world faded into white.



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Chapter 4

I woke up in a white room. There was a small pool in the center with three waterfalls coming down into it. I slowly stood up as I realized that my sword and shield were sheathed. I was looking around again as a woman walked out of the waterfall. She was simply stunning. Her skin glistened with droplets of water, but she didn't seem to get wet at all. Her dress was smooth and flowed off her form like a cascade. It looked like a solid white, but in the right light, shimmered a very light blue. Her long dark hair flowed behind her like the waterfalls behind her. Her beauty simply was amazing. I hadn't seen anything like it in my entire, sheltered life. Then she spoke. "I am Nayru, goddess of Wisdom. Welcome, young hero."

"Wait, so this… and you… I thought you were just a myth."

Nayru looked somewhat sullen. "Yes, I know about that game that you played. I remember the first time you had come. It was also through a cave in the woods. I believe you called yourself… Miyamoto back then."

"Wait, so Miyamoto's idea of Zelda…"

"Was based off his own adventures as a child? Yes, yes it was. Many more heroes have since come and gone. And now… it is you."

I was taken aback. "Wait, me? I think you've got the wrong person."

"Destiny does not lie. Come, look for yourself." Nayru gestured to the pool in front of me. I looked at the pool, and I saw that I was wearing a long green hat at the back of my head.

I was stammering like crazy. I was dressed like Link in the games "Wha…but…how?"

"As I said before, destiny does not lie. You now have the garments of the chosen hero. And now for the business I called you for." The compass that I had in my pocket had suddenly appeared in her hands. "This is the Compass of Secrets. In ancient times, it let your people to this world. To prevent anyone from misusing its power, we sealed away its powers. However, the boundaries between our world and yours are weakening, and both worlds are becoming more and more dangerous. You must find the other two and reassemble the Compass of Secrets."

"Wait, I have a few questions."

"Proceed."

"First, what do you mean 'my people?'"

"You are no ordinary human. You are a Hylian; a person born of Hylian blood is more resilient, more powerful, more adaptable than any ordinary human."

"That explains why I wasn't hurt as much as I should have back there."

"Your skill with a sword and shield is no accident. Now, time is short. You must leave. Talk to your friend, she plays an important part as well." As she spoke, the world faded again.

When it came back, I was lying next to Laurel as she woke up. "Laurel, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I met someone. She said that I was of a different race and that the compass that you have can lead us to someplace called 'Hyrule.' She gave me this." She took out a shining blue gem. "She said that this is Nayru's Sapphire. We just need to place this in the compass." I gave her the compass and she placed it in a slot in the side. The compass and the gem shined a bright light and the compass's needle spun like a madman until it pointed a certain direction. "This should point toward one of the other gems! Come on, let's go!" Laurel started walking in a certain direction. Laurel suddenly took a double-take at me and remarked, "Whoa, Link? When did you change into that?"

"Well, I was told that I was some legendary hero and that these were here to prove that I was."

"Well, you were always legendary to me…" Laurel blushed for a few moments and then turned around. "Well, which way does that compass turn to?"

I pointed in the right direction, "That way."

Laurel pointed the same way. "Well, it looks like we're going back to civilization, then." There was a small town at the bottom of the ridge.

"Great, I just left society, and now I look like I'm late to a cosplay convention." I replied.

"Well, don't worry about them. If we're looking for gems like this one, they're probably going to be in some kind of abandoned building or cave."

I shrugged. "I still won't feel comfortable looking like this. People are going to make fun."

Laurel waved a hand back, "Don't listen to them. They're not a legendary hero." Laurel started walking back toward the town.

"Yeah, lucky them." I went and followed her. When we entered the town, I saw a couple of posters of missing children. There was one that had my picture and Laurel's picture. I promptly tore it down and put them in my pocket. No one needed to find us.

"Hey, Link." Laurel beckoned. "Listen."

I listened closely. "So, any news about the water plant?" one guy asked.

"No, that thing is still running amok. I heard that it got Bob." Another guy asked.

"Aw, really? I liked Bob!"

"Yeah, I heard that it's like one of them survival horror games in there. I heard that it gets your scent, and then without warning, it grabs a hold of you, never to be seen again."

The second guy shivered. "It's enough to give me the chills."

Laurel walked over and asked, "Excuse me, where's this water plant you're talking about?"

"It's down by the river, outside of town."

"You'd best stay away from there, little lady. Too pretty to be wandering around there."

I quickly stepped to her side. "Yeah, too pretty. Now, come on Laurel, let's go!" I dragged her to the side and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting another one of those gems, for you. Take out that compass, it's got to be pointing to there!"

"So what if it does? I'm not going in there, there's some kind of monster in there."

"So? You've fought those monsters in the cave!"

"That was different, this is... it's dangerous!"

"Listen, you're…"

"A hero, yes, I know. Thanks for reminding me within five minutes!"

"Do you know what heroes do?"

"No Laurel, I don't. Please enlighten me!"

"They help people! They risk their own lives for the good will of others. They're selfless, strong, and brave. They can take on anything that comes their way! Now that thing has been terrorizing these people for who-knows-how long! So what are you going to do?"

I was taken aback, but then, I was inspired. "I'm going to go to that plant and get rid of that monster!"

"Yeah, that's the Link I know!" Together, we walked to the abandoned plant, while I still had a hint of fear in my eyes.



=====================================================================================================



Chapter 5



We walked up a dirt road that was littered with countless ‘Keep out’ signs. When we came up to the plant, we saw that all the windows were boarded up and the door was covered in boards. Laurel started trying to pull the bars off. “Come on, wood, budge!”

I pulled Laurel back, and drew my sword. “Let me take care of it.” I slashed into the wooden barriers and it dug in with a thok sound. I slashed into it a few more times and I finished with a spin attack, and the old wood broke into splinters. Laurel pushed aside the broken door as it fell off its hinges. I drew my sword again and walked cautiously.

Laurel noted the vines across the walls. “What’s with all the vines? It looks like they’re moving.”

I put my hand on the vines. That guy was right. This was out of some horror novel or something. The vines were pulsing, that was something vines don’t normally do. In fact, they didn’t feel like vines at all… “Laurel, watch out! The plants, they’re alive!”

Laurel turned around. “They’re what?” Suddenly, a slimy vine wrapped itself around Laurel’s leg. Laurel tripped and noticed the vine. She frantically started to tug on it, but it wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, out of the shadows, several more vines wrapped themselves around Laurel’s body and started dragging her away. She screamed out to me and I ran after her, “Ben! Link! Help mmm, mmm mmmph…” The vines had covered her mouth, and she was dragged into the shadows.

“No, Laurel!” I fell to my knees as stopped running. She couldn’t be gone just like that! “I’m going to rip that thing to shreds!” I started walking down the hallway and I opened a door. Inside was a couple of those plants that I saw in the cave. “Get back, you ugly plants!” I said as I slashed their ugly stems off. They kept bouncing around, chomping like crazy. I stabbed one so that it split in half, and the other I slashed at until it was purple dust I saw a small chest in the corner, so I sheathed my sword and put away my shield. I opened the chest. Inside was a piece of parchment showing the layout of the plant. I examined it closely; there were three floors to this plant. The first floor was where all the workplaces were. The second floor had all the controls to the water plant, while the third floor had all the machinery. I didn’t know which room had that monster, but I had to look in them all.

I walked out the door and I opened the door across the hallway. In the corner was a strange looking plant. I looked at it and I poked it with my sword. As soon as I hit it harder, it exploded and I was sent reeling back across the room. “Ouch, that should’ve hurt more than it did.” I remembered that I was technically a Hylian, but it still hurt. I examined a wall and it looked weak. It looked like my sword couldn’t do anything, but I’d bet a bomb would blow it to bits! I ripped up the bomb plant, now that I looked at it, it looked like a flower. Anyways, I chucked it to the other side of the room and I turned away from the explosion. The wall was blasted to bits and behind it was a small chest. I kicked it open and I saw a key inside. I hooked it to a belt loop and I walked out the door.

The door next to it was locked, but I didn’t want to use my key yet. The door across the hall wasn’t though, so I opened it and went through. I was greeted by one of those plants but it was hanging from the ceiling. I flinched, but I realized that it couldn’t reach me. I wacked it with my sword and all it did was sing back and forth. I started waving my sword wildly and  yelled, “Why. Won’t. You. Die?” I decided to stop and look around. I saw that in the corner was a hole in the ceiling. I would need something to get myself up there. I hit the plant again before I exited. I unlocked the door, and I found two more of those plants inside. “More of them? How many of these things are there?” I slashed at their stems with a spin attack, and they died when I came back around. Inside was a ladder with another key tied to it. I grabbed the key and placed it where the old one was. I grabbed the ladder with both hands and I opened both doors and propped it against the hole.

I carefully climbed the ladder, and I saw that the door in here was locked as well. I grabbed the key and unlocked the door. The key stuck fast, but I guessed I didn’t need it anymore. “I believe that I’m on the second floor now. One door was locked, another was covered in those vines, the same vines that took Laurel away. I tried hacking at it with my sword. They didn’t budge. I furiously gave up and entered the open door. Inside was another plant. I’m getting really tired of these plants. I hacked off its stem and stabbed it in the bud. As soon as it disintegrated into purple dust, a light shined and it materialized as a small chest. I kicked it open and I found another key. I kept it out and I unlocked the door. As soon as I entered, more of the slimy vines covered the door. Inside the room was a large and important looking chest. However, before I could move, a giant version of those plants snatched it up and it spat it out into a monstrous maw that it was connected to. The plant turned toward me, as I drew my sword and shield again. “Great, this will not be fun.” I said.



(next chapter coming soon...)