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transskywardsword · 1 year

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Dungeon Crawl - Bramble and the gang transverse an underground water temple in hopes of breaking a curse

okayyyyy i finally finished this. i'd make it longer, but im worried abt hitting tumblr's character limit so this is what yall get haha. enjoy a bramble-centric fic, some world-building for nes loz/aol's world, and a cameo from out favorite original princess! NOTE: wilds is from after totk (which i technically havent finished, hence why i haven't updated his character sheet oops) so there are some mentions of game mechanic spoilers but no story spoilers. also, he is completely mute and uses the slate as a text to speech device. i hope yall enjoy!

[image description: a digital artwork of Bramble, a Link from the loz au Heroes Gate. They are a young teen with mousy brown hair, light brown skin, and a broad large nose. They wear a pinkish purple fur shoulder cloak over their dark green tunic and orange sleeves. In the first drawing, they stand against a gloomy dark blue background, shoulders hunched as they protect a lit red candle that illuminates them in its glow. End description]

Moving out of any of the other heroes’ Hyrules and into Bramble’s home was always jarring for Twilight. There was almost a feeling of whiplash as the green and blues of their eras transformed into the ash and dust of Bramble’s; though he would never say it to Bramble, Twilight hated visiting their era. The group had hoped for a breather after their last stop in Mini’s world. The battle they spent slicing down the magically charged followers of Ganon hoping to free Vaati had proven to be unusually difficult, and everyone had been looking forwards to Grandpa Smithy’s soft beds and the bakery in Mini’s Castle Town. Instead, as soon as the last creature had fallen, the world around them froze and the brilliant blinding blue of a Time Gate flickered open before them. So, with much grumbling and groaning, the twelve walked through the Gate, trading the green lush forests and picturesque towns of Mini’s Hyrule for the decay and destruction of Bramble’s.

Lana hadn’t gifted them with an objective this time around, and her constant vagueness was going to give Twilight a permanent twitch. It would be bad enough wandering aimlessly for days in a good Hyrule, like Quartet’s or Spirit’s, but ages on foot in the crumbling wasteland that was Bramble’s Hyrule sounded truly miserable. The group seemed to agree with Twilight, though none of them would say it out of respect for Bramble’s feelings. Somehow, despite the destruction, the teen loved the place. It was mind-boggling, but while the group stepped around puddles of toxic water and tried to avoid breathing in too much dust, Bramble walked with spring in their step, whistling brightly. Bramble led them along the winding riverside, occasionally giving a stern reminder to watch for river Zora, and promised they knew the perfect place to stay that was less than a few hours of brisk walking. Bramble never used a map; they never seemed to need to, moving as if the jagged riverside was as familiar to them as their own home. Though, if Bramble’s jumbled stories about their childhood were to be believed, then the outdoors of their crumbling Hyrule had served as home for them.

Twilight quickly worked out that Bramble wasn't taking them to a cave or protected campsite like they usually did, but to the towering, if worn, castle that sat on the horizon. North Castle. It always struck Twilight as a little odd that they all had a Hyrule Castle—even Waker, though his sat beneath the waves—but Bramble didn’t. Twilight once asked why, and Bramble’s face had gone dark and sad, the way it did anytime the reality of Ganon’s destruction was discussed.

“It was deemed beyond saving,” Bramble had said. “Besides, the North Castle is nice! Especially now that Zelda I is awake to help with reconstruction.”

Hue and Legend had exchanged that Look of theirs, and the group adjusted. North Castle replaced Hyrule Castle in their vocabulary, and the old castle was added to the growing list of things Ganon had irreparably destroyed in the young teen’s home.

It had been weeks since the chosen had been in Bramble’s Hyrule, and even more since they all had last visited the castle, and Bramble practically vibrated with excitement. There weren’t many guards in North Castle and no servants—the government of Hyrule was still small and unstable, and there were more pressing matters than ladies in waiting. Bramble’s heroics had inspired a new wave of knights, but they paled in comparison to the numbers—and, frankly, skill—of the knights in Twilight’s Castle Town. No, these men weren’t soldiers, just farmers and wanders inspired by a teenager with a magic sword, now willing to put down their lives to rebuild what a century without a Triforce had destroyed. It was a noble effort, Twilight would give them that, even though it seemed rather pitiful compared to the might of the other standing armies in many of the group’s times.

North Castle was far from the grand spiral towers of the rest of their Hyrule Castles, instead just a haphazard pile of stone in a shape that spoke of an echo of splendor. Twilight had no doubt that the North Castle had been beautiful once—now, all that was left was a dingy stone structure stuffed with civilians searching for refuge.

It was a tight squeeze as they moved past the main gates and into the controlled chaos of the courtyard. North Castle was the last place to hold against Ganon and his armies, and it was the heart of rebuilding efforts. Refugees watched the heroes with wide, mistrusting eyes as they passed; Twilight had learned early on that trust was not something easily given in Bramble’s Hyrule, and that paranoia was what it took to keep you alive. Twilight and the others had been to the North Castle at least twice now, and still, Hyrule’s people looked at them with distrust. Or, at least, they looked at most of the group with distrust: each person smiled when Bramble passed, and Bramble seemed to know each one’s name, shaking hands and kissing cheeks and ruffling children's hair. Finally, the crowd thinned as they left the courtyard and moved deeper into the castle, and Bramble led them through winding halls up to a large door. The library.

The North Castle’s library might have once been a thing of beauty—the door’s design was weathered but clearly ornate, and even though the tapestries were muted with soot and the carpet was moth eaten, they cared an echo of grace. Bramble had been beyond excited to show the library to the group the first time they visited the castle, boasting that it was the largest library in all of Hyrule, and the sight of it had broken Twilight’s heart. It was tiny, the books damaged and worn, and it had clearly been ransacked once or twice and was still recovering from the violence. But Bramble was proud of it, and if it made the kid happy to pretend to be impressed by it then darn it, Twilight would lie until his face turned blue.

A middle-aged woman dressed in pale pink ruffles with a simple circlet on her brunette curls stood at a table, the top of it covered in unfurled scrolls, and a man in simple but high-quality clothing stood beside her, saying something about fertilizer and branching out past Hyrule’s border. Her eyes flickered to the door as soon as it opened. Twilight was big enough to admit that he squirmed a little under her gaze; Queen Zelda II of Hyrule was a deeply intimidating woman and reminded Twilight greatly of his own Zelda. They shared the same stern dark eyes and the same determination to protect their people, no matter the personal cost. She held up her hand, cutting off the noble mid-sentence.

“Thank you, Sir Ruben. That will be all.”

The man—Ruben— huffed but complied, pushing past them, and as soon as the door slammed behind the heroes Zelda II’s demeanor melted into something sweet and soft.

“Link!” She cried, rushing to Bramble’s side. She kissed their cheeks and Bramble flushed. Zelda II took their face in her hands and tilted it up, pressing her forehead to theirs.

“It’s been too long, friend.” There was a moment of softness between the two of them before the Queen pulled back. “Zelda and I have been worried sick— but never mind that. How long can you stay this time? I’ll prepare a suite for your companions. I’ve finally gotten enough bedding together, and each one of you can have a mattress of your own.”

‘And isn’t that an idea?’ Twilight thought as Zelda II beamed at Bramble, allowing the smallest amount of bitterness to creep in. ‘A castle where having a pillow to yourself is a luxury.’

"We can find our own place to stay—" Bramble began to say, but Zelda II waved off their complaint.

"Nonsense. Stay, all of you. A friend of Link's is a friend of Hyrule. Come, come, I've a favor I've been waiting to ask you."

She pushed aside scrolls of something resembling trade routes from the table.

"I'm afraid I don't have enough chairs..."

"We can stand, your Majesty," Sky said with a gentle smile. "We've suffered worse than swore feet."

Zelda II's eyes softened at that, and she reached out to touch his arm.

"I'd rather you didn't suffer at all." She said solemnly, then cleared her throat, smoothing out the pink folds of her dress. The color seemed childish for a woman of her age, but she wore it well. "Link, I have a quest, should you accept it."

She unrolled one scroll, exposing the first map of Bramble's Hyrule Twilight had ever seen. Bramble had always traveled from memory, their impeccable sense of direction leading the chosen heroes well, and seeing a map now left Twilight to marvel at just how big Bramble's Hyrule was—and just how devastating losing the Triforce must be for such a massive country to be so decimated. Hue mentioned Lorule often, and how the loss of their Triforce was catastrophic for their country, but this, this was proof Twilight could see with his own eyes. For a power given by the Gods, the Triforce could destroy just as much as it could bless.

“I’ve been trying to find a way to renew some of Hyrule’s failing natural resources,” Zelda II said, smoothing out the map. “There are so many things Ganon destroyed… infrastructure, agriculture…” She blew a tuft of hair out of her face. “We’ve been looking to establish trade with the land beyond Death Mountain. They have a vast coastline filled with Zora and the Zora allowed me to speak with their Queen. She believes the violence from the river Zora comes from toxicity in the water. Should we purify the water…”

“The Zora stop trying to kill people.” Bramble said, running a finger across a squiggling line of river on the map. “So how do I purify the water?”

“There is a temple we recently unearthed: the Hall of Waters. It was one of the first temples taken over by Ganon, almost a century ago, and it had all but faded into myth. Now, we know for sure that it is far from that, and from the recognizance we have been able to do, we have discovered it houses a mighty curse. I believe that the curse is what is affecting our water. Break the curse, fix the water.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Bramble said, and the queen gave them a soft smile.

“I knew you would help.”

“For this kingdom?” Somehow, despite their hunched frame and soft voice, Bramble seemed ten feet tall. “Anything.”

---

The hike to the Halls of Water was a long one. Nestled deep in the marshes of northeastern Hyrule, the air surrounding the Hall was thick and humid, and smelled positively foul. There were no plants in the marsh; anything the shallow water touched fizzled away, the toxins in the water acidic enough to eat through wood and stone. Still, Bramble was in high spirits.

“Can you imagine?” They said, jumping over a puddle, “Clean water! Zora just as peaceful as all of yours! This could mean so much—irrigation for agriculture, shipping routes over rivers, heck, safe drinking water!”

Hue grinned and ruffled their hair. “If anyone can break that curse, it’s you, kiddo.” Bramble ducked out from under his hand, biting back a smile.

Stepping carefully around puddles and standing water, the heroes came up to what had once been a waterfall. There was the occasional sluggish trickle of water over the edge of the cliff, but most of the waterfall had long since dried up—and there, hidden amongst the stones of the cliff, was an entrance. Someone had tried to barricade it shut with the rocks from the waterfall, but others, likely the recognizance Zelda II mentioned, had managed to pry them away. Spirit leaned their head in, squinting into the darkness.

“I can hear water,” He said, “and movement. Not much else though.”

“Well,” Quartet said, clapping the teen on the shoulder. “No time like the present!” Spirit yelped as he pushed him through the doorway.

“Quartet!” Sky hissed and Quartet snickered. “There could have been a drop! We don’t know what we’re walking into. Caution, please.”

‘Come on, we’re wasting daylight.’ Era signed. He tugged on Quartet’s collar, yanking him towards the temple door. The group trickled in after them, candles and lanterns at the ready. Wilds lit up his Sheikah slate and held it high to illuminate the entrance room.

It was steep, the stones slick with erosion, and sure enough, Twilight could hear running water somewhere in the dark. Waker whistled as he took in the room around them. The entrance might have been small and cracked, but the main hall was magnificent. The ceiling was domed and towered above them, so high that none of their lights reached the top. The ground was a smashed mosaic, the tile telling some sort of story involving Zora and smooth gems. It was almost impossible to make out, but beautiful nonetheless. At the edge of the room were three doors, each one massive enough to take up an entire story of a house, maybe two. Sky cleared his voice.

“You know the drill,” he said, the usual softness in his voice melting away into what Mini had lovingly dubbed the ‘serious leader tone’. “Groups of four. Hue, Mini, and Spirit with me. Era, Quartet, Legend, with Waker—”

“And Wilds, Mask, and Bramble with me.” Twilight said. He hooked his lantern to his belt and turned to Bramble. “Ready?”

Bramble nodded.

“Who’s taking the head?” They asked. “You, right?”

Twilight smiled.

“You, obviously. This is your Hyrule; you know it better than us.”

Bramble blanched. “Me? I couldn’t possibly—”

Sky clapped Bramble on the shoulder and gave them a simple smile. “Have faith. You’re the Hero of Hyrule. You’ve got this.”

Bramble swallowed then hesitantly nodded. “Okay. Okay.”

“Meet back in an hour!” Sky called as he drew the Master Sword, its holy light illuminating his face. He shoved open the door closest to him, and with a small wave from Mini, the three heroes disappeared after him.

“Don’t die,” Waker called over his shoulder to Bramble as he pulled open his door, and Twilight gave one last look at Lana’s chosen before pulling open his own door.

---

The Hall of Waters was beautiful in an eerie, quiet sort of way. Bramble kept an ear open for the call of monsters, but so far, the hall had been silent save for the splash of their feet trudging through the shallow water that flooded the hallways. Wilds held his slate up to the walls, soaking in the murals and mosaics that lined them and taking occasional photos. It was pitch black, but between the lantern, Bramble’s red candle, and the brightbloom seed Mask had cheekily tangled in Wilds’ hair, visibility was comfortable.

“It tells a story,” Wilds’ slate chirped, the robotic, feminine voice echoing through the still air. Bramble would never not be amazed by the text-to-speech function that allowed Wilds to have a voice without needing to rely on his voice or signs. “There’s the river Zora, and the ocean Zora—and a stone? It looks like they are giving each other something, and this smooth stone is the center of it all.”

“Hue mentioned a smooth stone he retrieved for the Zora during his first adventure,” Bramble said. Twilight nodded, and Bramble hoisted their candle higher for a better look. The mosaic was brittle with age, but the colors were protected from the sun, allowing the stones to glitter brightly when brought into the light.

A woman with blue skin, flared fins, and a wide, crested forehead stood, covered in fine jewels—an ocean Zora, and a high-ranking one at that. She was flanked by an entourage of blue Zora, also ocean, and in her hands was a smooth, beautifully carved golden stone. In front of her, kneeling at her feet, was a strange, humanoid creature made of green and red scales. Fire fell from its lips as it tried to kiss her feet. Inscription in gold circles the scene, and Wilds snapped a picture.

“Don’t recognize the language.” He said, “I might be able to get the slate to translate it but… Is it anything you’ve seen before?” He turned to Bramble and Bramble scrunched their face as they tried to make it out.

Reading was hard enough for Bramble as it was, but this looping handwriting and erosion mixed with the old fashioned spelling and strange dialect to create something truly impossible for them to puzzle out. It was their Hylian, but old, far too old. If Legend or Hue were here, they could probably translate it, but Bramble was still practicing his own local dialect, let alone Gods knew how many centuries old ones. They turned to Wilds, flushing.

“I can’t…”

Wilds smiled, his teeth ghostly in the gloom. Wilds was comfortable in the dark in a way none of them were, and Bramble had a feeling he was helping light up the room out of kindness, not necessity. They didn’t know if Wilds could see in the dark, but he certainly moved like he could, like the dark was a second skin. Not at home in the blackness, but not an outsider either. Bramble thought it might have something to do with the chasms that littered Wilds’ home, but they had never asked. Wilds had made it very clear those were not to be messed with, and Bramble respected the Champion’s words.

Wilds hand glowed with a pale, eerie green as he clicked photos of the inscriptions. The slate chirped as it began translating it, and Wilds bit his lip, tapping in words.

“There’s something about a Queen from the Ocean—Rulet? Erulte? It’s hard to make out the name—and she came to ‘the Baren Place’ to give her Gift to the ‘Unenlightened’.

Wilds stepped forwards to take another picture. In this one, the ocean Zora were tearing away the fire breathing creature, wresting it away from the Queen, but she raises an elegant hand. She knelt to the creature’s level and cupped it’s face—then offered it the stone.

“The Unenlightened were creatures of the same blood, but unblessed with Nayru’s wisdom. With the golden smooth stone gifted by Lord Jabu Jabu, the Queen gifted them with the wisdom of Enlightened creatures.”

The Unenlighted swallowed the stone in one vicious gulp, and sapphires and lapis lazuli glowed in the dim light as they circled around the creature. It rose to its feet, and instead of a monster stood a river Zora.

“Upon feasting on the Queen’s smooth stone, the Unenlightened became like Zora and swore to forever protect the ocean Zora’s gift. That’s it.’

Bramble reached out and touched the golden pearl that represented the smooth stone as it sat in the river Zora’s belly. “The first ever river Zora…”

Twilight snorted. “Hey Wilds, your sexy shark friend came out of that? Guess I’otta give Godly evolution quite the round of applause.”

Wilds smacked him on the arm.

“What!? I’m just sayin’, moving from that to seven feet with abs is impressive!”

Mask scrunched his nose. “Twilight, that’s disgusting. I don’t want to think about the shark like that,” he signed.

“Like what?”

“Guys—” Bramble said, finger resting on the stone.

“Like—like—You know what I mean!”

Twilight laughed, the bright, merry sound echoing off the watery walls.

“Oh no, am I offending your delicate sensibilities?”

“Guys--!”

“I thought—”

Bramble slapped a hand over Twilight’s mouth. “Look.”

Where the stone had been was a golden ball of light. It slowly grew, leaking into the stones of the mural until the entire river Zora was aglow.

“Quench my hunger.” It rumbled. “Fill my belly.”

The four heroes glanced at each other.

“We should circle back,” Twilight said. “Find the others, then return as a group. Safety—and wisdom—in numbers.”

Twilight was right. Safety, and wisdom, in numbers. But…

“Feed my belly.” The wall began to shake as the river Zora crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in the wall where it used to be. The golden light moved back into the chasm exposed by the crumbling wall, and black tendrils sped from the hole across the water around their ankles like dark eels. The swelled, growing, forming towering creatures of black. They had the head of a squid, with dozens of tentacles tipped with razor-sharp, jagged barbs, dripping something purple and viscous that hissed when it hit the water. The creatures screamed. Two, no four, no 7—8? It was hard to tell. The squid creatures blended in perfectly with the dark, and in a second Twilight was prone, smacking into the far wall, lantern fizzling out. Wilds spun and yelped as a tentacle swiped at him, ripping out a chunk of hair—and putting out the brightbloom. Leaving just Bramble’s candle.

“Get another brightbloom!” Mask shouted in Wilds’ general direction as he drew the Great Fairy Sword, hoping its pale glow might help illuminate the gloom. There was a grunt from Wilds and Mask swore.

“What do you mean you ran out?”

Wilds grunted again, hands more focused on his sword and shield and less on his digital voice.

“You can yell later,” Twilight said as he pulled himself to his feet. Darkness had quickly begun to swallow the room—no more lantern, no more brightblooms, and the light on Wilds’ slate had gone dim. The only light left was Bramble’s red candle. There was no way they could fight these things—in the light, yes, the four of them could certainly take them, but with just the light of a Bramble’s lucky candle, they couldn’t even see how many monsters there were.

“We need to fall back,” Bramble said as they dove to their left, a tentacle barely missing where their left arm had been. The candle flickered dangerously; somewhere north of them, Mask let out a frustrated hiss, then a sound of triumph, followed by a squeal from a squid as a blind swing landed.

“We can take them,” Twilight said. At the edge of the candlelight, he hacked at a vague, sharp shape in the dark.

“Not in the dark we can’t. Come on, Twi, we can come back with the others, but there is no way we walk out of this fight triumphant.”

“Bramble is right,” Mask called from... somewhere. “I’d rather not get sliced to death by calamari today.”

Twilight lunged to the left, spinning at a vague shadow and swore when he struck the wall, missing the tentacle completely. His lip twitched in that strange, doggish way that signaled frustration, but nodded, his face gaunt in the candle light. Suddenly, there was a yelp further in the room.

“Wilds!” Twilight yelled, spinning around, and squinting into the dark. “Status report?”

There was a rough sound of acknowledgement, and heavy breathing, and after groping through the gloom, dodging invisible limbs, Twilight found him. He passed Wilds over to Hyrule, who could feel the heat and wetness of blood.

“Fuck.” Bramble said, feeling for the wound. Wilds groaned.

“Watch the language, kid,” Twilight said, only be yanked to the floor by Mask. A tentacle whipped across where Twilight’s gut had just been.

“Where’s the door?” Mask grit out, Great Fairy Sword humming in his hands.

“Somewhere back there,” Twilight replied. “Maybe a few hundred yards.”

“Back where?”

“Back—no, not there, back there!”

“Shut up!” Bramble hissed, and the three heroes looked at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t know if we can make it back there in the dark, but there is a gaping hole right there. I say we take it.”

“Bramble—”

“We don’t exactly have a lot of time, Twi. You put me in charge. I say we take the hole.”

Twilight’s mouth opened and closed, before looking to Wilds and Mask for help. Mask shrugged.

“You did put them in charge.”

“Fuck you.”

Wilds snorted, and Bramble swung his arm over their shoulder.

“You good?” They asked softly, and Wilds nodded against their neck. His breath was hot and Bramble could smell blood, sharp and tangy, but he wasn’t dead weight, which was a good sign. “Then let’s get out of here.”

Dodging enemies they couldn’t see, the four of them ducked down into the chasm and promptly fell, fell, fell until a pool of water swallowed them up.

The water was freezing. Bramble gasped as it sucked all the air from their lungs, and for a moment they simply flailed, before two strong arms wrapped around their middle and yanked them back up above the water’s surface. Bramble coughed, and two glowing, slit-pupil eyes stared down at him. Bramble gave Mask a half-hearted smile, and he nodded, Zora body thrumming with unworldly magic.

“My—my candle!”

Mask held it out and Bramble let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

When Mask smiled, the teeth in his Zora mouth were sharp and plentiful as a shark’s. Bramble knew magic well, especially transformation magic, and Mask’s Zora mask always felt cold and sharp, beating softly, like a fading heart, and carried the same tug at one’s gut as the ocean’s riptide did. Bramble longed to try it on, if only to see how the transformation felt, to compare it to their own magical shifting, to take note of how switching from one body to the other felt when your bones were shifting and scales were growing as opposed to limbs shrinking and wings poking their way out of ones’ skin. But Mask was painfully protective over his masks, and even more so of his full transformation mask—trying one on, even for science, would never be allowed.

“Do you see the others?”

As a Zora, Mask had the best eyesight out of all of them. He nodded and pointed to somewhere in the dark.

“Shore.” His voice was raspy, unsuited for air, “Take you, get others.”

Bramble nodded, and Mask scooped him up, moving quickly through the still waters to the far end of the room, where the glowing light hovered, exposing a rocky shore. Bramble pulled themselves up and with a flick of flint against their sword lit the candle.

Mask returned with Wilds first. In the dim light, Bramble could better see the gash that ran from under his left armpit to his sternum, jagged and torn. The leather straps and armor of his Champion’s leathers had protected most of his vitals, but blood still seeped down his chest.

Bramble winced in sympathy. Ow.

“Do you have any elixirs in the slate?” They asked, and Wilds moved to grab the slate and hissed as the movement pulled at his pectoral. A new round of blood bubbled up from the gash and again Wilds tried to grab at the slate on his hip, hands shaking.

“Here,” Bramble took the slate from him and held it up to where Wilds slowly, moving as little as he could, began to type.

“Think I have one fairy tonic. Meant to make more. Got distracted.”

Bramble nodded, continuing to hold the slate as Wilds magicked—scienced?—out a tonic. He took a deep swig, and the tenson in his face faded some.

“1-10?”

Wilds held out a 5.

“Real answer?”

Wilds made a face, before finally holding up a 6 and a half. Bramble nodded. Not good in the slightest but could be worse.

“You’re not using that sword arm,” Twilight said behind them. Bramble jumped, whirling around to where a sopping wet Twilight stood with his arms crossed. “I don’t want you moving it until we know if the gash damaged any tendons in your shoulder.”

Wilds made a choked nose, yanking his point finger away from his chest in a rough one handed ‘but’.

“No buts.”

Wilds scowled, snatching the slate from Bramble and stomping out a rebuttal, “You’re not the boss of me!”

“Don’t make me pull rank.”

“Bramble is the boss, and he hasn’t said I cant fight.” Wilds said, as if his arm wasn’t shaking. Mask snorted.

“I think you should be on defense.” Bramble said softly, gently taking the slate from him and hooking it to his side. “Twi’s right, until we can get a better look at that shoulder, you’re benched.”

Wilds glared but didn’t complain further. Mask, mask removed, cleared his throat. Before him, lit dimly by the glowing light, was a giant statue. It resembled the river Zora from before, but towered far, far taller, its scales covered in moss and algae. Its mouth was open, water pouring from between its wide spread teeth and into a basin at its feet. Bramble leaned down and touched the water. It thrummed with magic, and something rough and bumpy was at the base of the basin. They gestured for their candle, and Wilds handed it to them. It was hard to make out, but it seemed to be some kind of trap door. Something round and heavy covered them, possibly metallic. Hypothetically, they might be able to open it, but between the metal and the water, it would be too difficult. They needed to turn the water off somehow and raise the bars.

“I feel a trapdoor. I think there's bars over it—I can't really tell, but it's definitely heavy and there's no way we could lift it with the water flowing, “Bramble said.

“Well, Twilight said,” then I guess we have to find a way to turn the water off. And I’ll bet you five rupees once we get that water those bars come off too.”

“Basic dungeon crawl one-oh-one,” Mask said, and Twilight laughed.

“Dungeon crawl 101.”

Wilds made a face. Bramble knew the teen hated dungeon crawls, found them out of his depth. After all, he spent more time in his shrines than he ever did a proper dungeon. Bramble bumped his shoulder. There was a flicker as Twilight tried to relight his lantern. The wick caught for a moment before going out.

“Well shit. Looks like the oil leaked out in the fall. So we’re down to the candle.”

Bramble nodded, cupping a hand around the flame. It was warm and cheerful, promising light and safety. Bramble could perfectly remember the dungeon they found it in. The Demon, as they’d taken to calling it once they saw the demonic face the rooms made, had been carved under the Fairy Fountain of a Great Fairy long since died—three bosses and countless puzzles waited inside the graveyard of a Great Fairy, all in pitch blackness. The promise of the final Triforce piece spurred Bramble on, but once their blue candle finally melted into nothing, they were left to wander in the nothingness, trying to fight monsters they couldn’t see until—until he’d bombed the right wall on accident, desperate for a way to escape a room of goriya, and found it. The red candle. Their saving grace. If not for the item, they would have died down in the Demon, and the Princesses would be been damned. Their lucky candle.

“You held onto that even after that drop?” Twilight commented, and Bramble quickly shielded the flame as water dripped from the ceiling onto their head.

"What's so special about a candle anyways?" Twilight asked.

"It's... it's lucky."

"Just lucky?"

Bramble shifted their weight, using their body to shield the flame from the dripping waters. "Yeah. Just lucky."

The group took in the cavern to the best of their ability, limited to the glow of the red candle. They’d found themselves on the shore of an underwater lake, the walls lined with more mosaics, and the water crystal clear, exposing elegant architecture just below the surface. Still, only Mask and Twilight had the means to breath underwater, and Bramble wasn’t fond of the idea of them splitting up.

“We hug the walls and circle around,” they said, and Twilight nodded.

“After you.”

They moved slowly, Wilds panting growing ever louder, and Bramble debated handing him their candle, if only to give the Champion something to do. The teen hated feeling helpless, useless, and Bramble imagined right now he was feeling both.

Wilds grunted, and the other three turned to him. He pointed at the far wall, where water fell from a passage high on the wall, forming a small, slow waterfall. Twilight nodded.

“Do you have your Zora armor on you?” Bramble asked Wilds, who rolled his eyes and nodded exaggeratedly.

“We could have you grab each of us and bringing us up one by one, and then continue the search up there.”

“Can you lift others?” Twilight asked, and Wilds bit his lip.

“I’ll wear it, I’m closest in size.” Mask said. Wilds nodded, bringing his fingertips down from his chin.

‘Thank you.’

“Whatever,” Mask said, but there was a smile in his voice. With a bit of shuffling between the two, Mask had pulled the Zora armor over his tunic, and wrapped an arm around Bramble.

“Ready?” He asked, and Bramble nodded.

“Ready.”

Going up a waterfall felt almost like flying and almost like drowning, and it confused Bramble’s lungs and guts every time. They gasped as they hit air, spilling onto the ground of the passageway.

“Be back,” Mask said over his shoulder before dropping down below, and Bramble flashed him a thumbs up. Slowly, they pulled themselves to their feet and relit their candle. Before them was a floor of moving spikes, shuddering in and out of the ground and walls in a staccato, only a few seconds of bare ground visible before metal stabbed up. Bramble took in the sight, counting the beat of the spikes. On the far side of the room was a switch. Well, at least it was a simple enough puzzle. Get across the room without being impaled and hit the switch. Easy.

“Too far for my clawshot,” Twilight said behind them. Bramble did not jump, thank you very much. It wasn’t their fault if the man was as quiet and stealthy as the wolf under his skin.

“Hookshot too,” Mask echoed.

“I could find something to throw across and use Recall, but that’s a long throw, even for Ultrahand.” Wilds said, slowly typing into his slate. He looked pale in the candlelight, and Bramble had a growing suspicion that the wound across his chest was worse than he was letting on. They’d make sure the Champion stocked on a thousand and one potions and elixirs after this.

“I could Jump.” They said, and Mask let out a surprised laugh.

“Kid, it’ll take more than a run and a jump to clear that.”

“I can do it. Trust me.”

“Wait—”

But Bramble was already going. They sprinted forwards and squeezed their eyes shut, digging deep, deep , deeper for that tingly warmth inside their stomach they associated with magic. They sunk a hand into the ball of power and pulled, pushing it into their thighs and heels, then jumped.

They soared. It took just two jumps to clear the room, taking a split second to land half way through, balancing on the tip of a spike before being off again. In a blink, the switch was in their hand, then on the ground as they tugged down. Nothing, except the spikes disappearing.

Mask whistles. “Damn, kid, you should have mentioned that ages ago.”

Bramble flushed and shrugged. “Didn’t come up.”

“What else can you do?”

“Well, uh. You know. Stuff.?” They said, shifting under Mask’s gaze. They didn’t like talking about themselves.

“Wait! I think the water on the statue stopped. I can see the doorway—no more bars either.” Wilds called. “Great job, Bramble!”

Bramble made their way over to the teen and looked over the edge of the entrance.

It took a little maneuvering and a bit of fumbling with paragliders, but eventually, the heroes found themselves back at the gates. The light from before stopped hovering, spun twice, and sped down below, through the entrance. Now that the water was gone and the bars open, they found themselves with another problem.

“There’s no way we can get through that,” Twilight swore, gesturing to the absolutely tiny doorway, but Mask shook his head.

“Bramble could.”

“Me?” Bramble squeaked.

“You’re the smallest out of us.”

“But I…” Bramble swallowed. Mask was right. They were the only one who would fit.

“You can do this,” Twilight said, clapping a hand on their shoulder. Bramble nodded.

“Right. Yeah. Of course, I can.”

They took a shuffle step forwards before sitting on the edge and scooting forward, grip on their candle painfully tight. One breath, two, then they pushed off the edge into the dark and wet, leaving their friends behind.

It was a tight squeeze into the entrance, and once they got in, they immediately took the candle and relit it. The light was cheerful, lighting up a room of skeletons. Bramble took in a sharp breath through their teeth. Bones. Bones, bones, bones, as far as the eye could see. All Zora. They must have been guarding the temple when… Bramble shivered as moved past as fast as possible, eyes firmly in front of them. Find a door, or a switch, or something, and get back out to their friends. Easy. No problem.

The magical light sped in front of them and Bramble gave up trying to figure out where they were or where they were going, following it instead. It seemed to… like that? It bobbed and weaved in from of them, almost dancing, until they came to a dead end. Bramble leaned forward, fingers almost brushing the light.

“What do you need to show me?” They whispered, and the light inched back into the wall. Huh. Bombable, maybe? They felt along the wall. The stone here was newer than the rest of the temple, and the grout was poor quality. With a bit of elbow work maybe they could… yep. Out popped out brick, then two, until soon with some extensive shoving and kicking, a Bramble-sized gap in the wall had been made, exposing a light so bright that Bramble’s eyes burned. Sunlight drifted down from the glass ceiling, reflecting onto a shining pool lined with gold and silver. And there, in the center, was the same statue as the pitch dark room, but immensely tall, the place in its belly where the fake stone had been empty.

It has said to feed it.

That’s why the Zora were acting like this, wasn’t it? They had lost their stone, and were back to hostile, unintelligent monsters instead of proper Zora. Bramble crept closer.

“Where did your stone go?” They said, running their hands over the jewels. “Who took it from you?”

Drip

The hairs on the back of Bramble’s neck stood up. The dripping continued, and slowly, slowly, they turned. Something had risen out of the water, a story tall thing with inky black skin not unlike an eel and dozens of tentacles. Its teeth stretched on and on, longer than Bramble’s forearm, and it squealed as it flung its head back, one wide eye rolling, before flashing a barbed tongue.

The curse. It had to be.

Bramble drew their sword.

The boss lunged forward, tongue whipping wildly, and sent a trio of tentacles down with a screech right on Bramble’s head, sending them scrambling to the left. Fuck—they hadn’t expected something so big to move so quickly. It circled him, letting out taunting flicks of its tongue, eye locked on and filled with feral hate. Bramble locked their sights onto the boss, sword hand itching. The boss hovered above the ground, just out of reach. Damn it, they needed a way to bring it down.

The boss let loose a flurry of flame from it’s octopus beak like mouth and Bramble swore, rolling to the side to the red hot spray. They could feel the heat of the fire just above their head, and smell burnt hair. Bramble waited for it to flick out more tentacles, drifting lower and lower as it lashed out, broke into a sprint.

They sprung onto the spongy, slick back of a tentacle, balancing on the thin material, and moved as quickly and carefully as they could to the creature’s face. With a leap, they were on the boss’ head, and with another, their sword was plunged into the boss eye.

The boss screeched and clawed at Bramble’s legs, His trousers shredded easily under the barbed suckers sizzled, and with a jerk at their leg the boss sent Bramble tumbling to the ground, sword still sunk deep in its eye.

Crud, crud—

Bramble rolled out of the way as the boss lunged at them, sending a spray of fire that Bramble only barely dodged. Their tunic did little to keep out the heat of the magical flame, and Bramble hissed as the air grew too hot, searing exposed flesh.

The boss raised its tentacles again, and Bramble never wanted their hands on their sword hilt so badly. The creature screamed, sucking in water and fire alike, and Bramble groped desperately in their bag for their bombs.It was a better idea than nothing and, saying as their sword was stuck in the very thing they were trying to kill, they were very close to nothing. Bramble let the bomb fly, watched as it was sucked into the swirling air, and detonated.

Boom!

The boss staggered back and slunk down half in the water, trying to recoup itself, and Bramble seized his chance. They jerked forwards and grabbed hold of the hilt of the magic sword. They drew the weapon halfway out before plunging it back in and twisting, over and over. The boss howled, wrapping a sharp suckered tentacle around their leg, and Bramble grit their teeth against the sharp pain of barbs cutting through fabric and into flesh. The sword went in and twisted, over and over, black-purple blood splattering across Bramble’s face and chest.

The boss’ screams became gurgles as its eye swelled and, fucking finally, the eye exploded into a shower of gore, the creature going slack below them. Soon it was just a husk on the floor, breaking apart and melting into the waters like an oil stain on white linens. Bramble sighed and sunk to the floor, leg pulsing.

There, where the creature’s eye had been a stone, smooth as a baby’s cheek and gold as the Sun. Bramble took it with reverent fingers. It hummed against their skin, and they turned to the statue.

“Here,” they whispered. “Please, give us clean water. Please.”

They fitted the golden smooth stone into the statue’s empty stomach and it rumbled in thanks. The air was filled with a sweet, fresh scent, and then Bramble’s skin was warm and tingling as magic wrapped around them, breaking them down to their very atoms to magick them back outside.

“Wait!” They called, “My friends, they’re still down here!”

"I shall see them returned to you, Hero of Hyrule", the statue said, voice like rocks tumbling down snow. "You have my thanks. My belly is full."

Bramble felt the magic hugging them tight, tight, tighter, and then the world was gold as the Hall of Waters sent them back to the outside world where they belonged.

#heroes gate #hg bramble #zelda au #loz au

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