Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fanfiction/novelization ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

Confrontation

Link slowly turned around, a droplet of sweat trickling down his face. The ground shuddered and began to churn, ripping up pieces of sod and flinging them in every direction. As he watched, the ground began to rumble, and a plant-like entity began to emerge from beneath the churned soil. Green, thorny tentacles snaked upwards, twisting and cracking. The body, resembling a gigantic bulbous root, followed. Link craned his neck. The plant-like monster towered above him, weaving, its bottom end stuck fast in the ground. The monster suddenly heaved upwards with tremendous force, and broke free from the ground, the trunk-sized roots trailing. It landed on the ground with a thunderous crash, its weight causing the cavern to shake. Link lost his balance and fell into the chest, knocking it from the elaborate stand it had been resting on. Pieces of stone rained down from above, and moonlight shone through the newly created holes, giving Link enough light to see the cavern clearly. Link scrambled to his feet, backing away from the menacing creature. Navi hovered by him, her light twinkling with fear.

"Be careful, Link," Navi shouted. "That's the forest demon, the Mandrake!"

The Mandrake was slowly advancing towards them, using its thick roots for legs. The plant monster looked strangely spider-like in its movement. Link hefted Bloodbayne, ready to pounce at the demon, when he gasped.

Two pieces of the root-like body rolled up to reveal the demon's red, slitted snake-eyes. With a roar, the body seemed to split in two, as the Mandrake opened it's gigantic maw. Three rows of razor-sharp, inward curving teeth edged the tunnel-like mouth.

Every step the Mandrake took rocked the cavern, it's weight causing a constant rain of rock shards from the ceiling and walls. A sharp shard grazed Link's face as it fell, leaving a bloody groove on his cheek. Link backed away from the Mandrake indecisive, fearing a cave-in almost as much as the monster itself.

"Link, watch out!" Navi screamed in urgency. Link barely had time to duck as one of the thorny tentacles lashed out at him. It whipped against his shield with a crack, creating deep lashes in the wood.

"Navi, get back!" Link shouted. The shield was made from the special wood of the Kokiri forest, indestructible to all but the most powerful blows. The Mandrake had damaged it so easily.

Another greenish limb slithered towards him through the grass. Link jumped to avoid it, but the Mandrake was faster than he had expected. The tentacle wrapped around his ankle and tightened with a snap. Link cried out as the thorns pierced his boot and into his flesh. The tentacle jerked up, carrying Link into the air towards the mouth.

Link had not lost his grip on Bloodbayne. Upside-down, Link twisted, bringing Bloodbayne back. With an explosion of force, Link uncurled, stabbing with all his might. The spear impaled the tentacle with a crunch. Link jerked Bloodbayne upwards, ripping off the tentacle that bound him. The hard exoskeleton that covered the tentacle was too much for Bloodbayne- the spear splintered under the stress and broke in half, the sharp end still imbedded in the amputated limb. The Mandrake screeched and flailed about, the stub of tentacle spurting green, sap-like ooze. The Mandrake stumbled and one of the tentacles smashed against the elaborate chest. The chest flew through the air and crashed against the wall with a resonant boom.

Link had freed himself from the still-twitching amputated tentacle and looked at the stub of the spear that was still in his hand. It's torn end was all but useless, and he flung it aside. Reaching down to the severed limb, he twisted the sharp end free. His head snapped up as he heard the clang of the chest against the wall. He watched it fall to the earth and roll a couple of paces. The lock had been pounded free, and the lid cracked open.

Link looked at the Mandrake, but the monster was agitated from its wound and seemed oblivious to his presence. Desperately, Link sprinted towards the golden chest, hoping that the Mandrake would not notice his sudden movement.

It had. Roaring with anger, the Mandrake advanced to cut off Link before he had reached the chest. The tentacles raised up to crack down on him.

Navi flew close to the ground and picked up a tiny, sharp shard of rock. Streaking towards the monster, she flung the shard at it, her momentum carrying it through the air. It plunged into one of the veined, red eyes.

Shrieking, the Mandrake flailed its limbs once again. Navi tried changing direction, but her momentum had carried her too close to the Mandrake. One of the barbed limbs whistled through the air and struck her. A thorn impaled her through the chest and she fell, screaming.

Undeterred by the monster's howling, Link sprinted up to the chest and crouched beside it, tucking the remaining piece of Bloodbayne into his belt. Breathing hard, he flung up the lid and gasped at what he saw. Link reached down and brought the sword out into the light. The hilt was made of a gold alloy and sparkled beautifully. A star sapphire had been set in the hilt and twinkled brightly as it reflected the moon's glow.

The sword sang a deadly song as Link unsheathed it. The blade gleamed coldly as it shone in the silver light. The blade was over half of Link's height in length, but was easily wielded. Lighter than any metal Link had ever held, the sword's blade was warm, despite the coldness of the cavern. Leaving the elaborate sheath on the ground, Link jumped up and whirled around, now with a weapon that could kill a demon. He tested the weight of the sword. It cut the air with its razor edge and sparkled with eager malevolence.

A red bolt of light shot out from one of the corners of the cavern and caught Navi as she fell. Rean streaked away from the recovering Mandrake and settled on the ground, cradling her.

Navi was unconscious. She had become deathly pale, and was having trouble breathing. Rean could see the point of the thorn protruding from her back.

"Damn," Rean muttered. He had intended to aid Link in fighting the Mandrake, but there was nowhere safe for Navi to stay. She could be crushed by either Link or the Mandrake, if she was on the ground. And the rocks on the walls were much too unstable.

Casting an apologetic glance at Link, Rean gathered Navi in his arms, and flew to the circle of moonlight. The hole in the ceiling was their only escape route.

Rean was about to fly to their freedom when he paused, thinking. Holding Navi's limp form in one arm, he turned around and extended his hand, palm up, at the Mandrake, which was taking crashing steps towards Link. A ball of magical witch fire blazed up from his palm. Drawing his hand back, Rean thrust the fire at the Mandrake. The bolt of magic struck the Mandrake's roots and blazed, immediately catching. The demon wailed and pitched over onto it's left side which was no longer supported, crushing what was left of the blackened, shriveled roots. Rean gave a sharp nod of approval and, holding Navi gently, shot up into the silvery night.

Link, seeing the Mandrake topple over, was quick to close in, sword hissing. He hacked at the right-sided roots, which were flailing in the air, trying to find purchase on the ground. The sword's razor edge cleaved through them like butter.

The Mandrake shuddered in agony and its undamaged eye trained on Link with berserk rage. Link barely had the time to recover from his swing, when the Mandrake whipped him in the side with a tentacle. He fell backwards to the ground and writhed, clamping a hand to his side He now had deep, bloody grooves running from his ribcage to his spinal column. It felt as if the wounds were on fire. Another appendage struck the ground close to his face, throwing stalks of shredded grass in the air, as another wrapped around his ankles, lashing them together to immobilize him. The demon began dragging Link toward itself, salivating with hunger and rage.

The Mandrake strained to hoist him in the air, but its injuries were severe, and it lacked the strength. Link, still in agony, recovered from the initial shock and tightened his hold on the sword, grimacing. The Mandrake, screeching with frustration, raised another tentacle to deliver a killing blow to the head, and struck. The tentacle whined through the air, and spun end-over-end to land in a writhing heap off to one side. Link lay on the ground, breathing heavily, as the tentacle's stump flailed, spattering him with greenish ooze. He held the sword aloft, as if frozen in the action of swinging it.

The Mandrake retracted the tentacle holding onto Link's ankles, as if afraid that the limb would also be hacked free from its body. The three remaining limbs hung like limp vines, and the throbbing breeze that was the Mandrake's breathing became fainter. The crimson eye stared unseeing, as pain caused the slit pupils to widen.

Link, lying on his back, removed the stump of Bloodbayne that he had placed in his belt. Lifting his hand above his head, he launched the sharp piece of wood at the Mandrake. It spun end over end through the air and struck the Mandrake's uninjured eye with a thud, penetrating deep. The demon shuddered, blind and immobile.

Link groaned as he fought to stand, using the sword as a crutch. He succeeded, but leaned forward in pain, hand clamped to his side. He hobbled to the Mandrake weakly, his wound draining his strength with every step. The Mandrake was impervious to him and remained silent and still, as if giving in to inevitable death.

Using both hands, Link raised the sword above his head. Gathering his energy, Link angled the blade downwards and stabbed. The blade broke through the demon's exoskeleton with a crunch, and pierced its brain. The Mandrake shuddered and died instantly, its tentacles twitching erratically in death throes.

Link extracted the blade and stepped back, as the body of the Mandrake began to steam. As he watched, the demon's body began to melt. Black ooze dripped from the liquefying body, and what had been the Mandrake sank into an ever-expanding pool of dark, bubbling slime.

Before long, the body of the Mandrake had completely disappeared, leaving behind a lake of gluey, black fluid. Wearily, Link looked to one corner of the cavern, as rumbling began to shake that end of the cave. Pieces of the ceiling dropped away, flooding the cavern with the soft, pinkish glow of dawn. Roots emerged from the muddy wall, creating handholds in the steep precipice.

Link looked around anxiously. "Navi? Navi, where are you?" When there was no answer, Link turned toward his newly created exit, assuming that Navi, in fear, had escaped through the hole in the ceiling.

Link turned and gathered up the sword's scabbard which lay undamaged on the grassy ground. Bending down, he wiped the blade on the grass to clean it, and slid it into its scabbard. Tucking it into his belt, he made his way towards the light, leaning against the cavern wall for support. Sighing mightily, he cast one last glance at the cavern. Turning back, he gripped the roots and rocks that lined the walls, and began the long, painful climb up into the light of the sun.

Saria looked up, eyes red from lack of sleep. They widened as she heard noises coming from outside the alcove. Leaping up, she ran towards the wall of vines. They immediately opened a path for her and she sped out to see Link struggling to drag himself out of the hole. Weeping with relief, she hurried towards him and bent down to help him out of the hole. He lay on the ground gasping, his strength depleted.

Kneeling on the ground, Saria cradled his head in her lap, stroking his disheveled hair.

"I thought you were dead, Link. I knew what would be waiting for you, and I- I thought for sure you wouldn't survive," Saria said, wiping the tears from her face. "I thought I was sending you to your death, Link. ... Link?"

"I told you... to have faith... in me..." Link croaked. Then there was only the sound of his deep, peaceful breathing.