Ari 
WaSPG0LD@aol.com

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                        THE LEGEND OF ZERENA

Disclaimers:  All mandatory disclaimers apply to Naoko Taeuchi for Sai-
              lor Moon and Nintendo of America's Shigeru Miyamoto for
              The Legend of Zelda.

=====CHAPTER 7:  SKULL FOREST=====

        As Tuxedo Mask was mopping up the southeast of the Dark World,
Link was keeping himself busy in the west.  He visited a storyteller
which told of the Golden Power, and of a run-down village of thieves
and criminals.  But his instinct told him to go west, to the forest....
        And he went west, and came to the entrance to a dense forest.
Closely familiar to the one where he and Tuxedo Mask discovered the
Master Sword.  The thick grass easily disintegrated at the blade of the
sword, and quickly he went made his way in.
        Only, the inside of the forest wasn't too much better.
        Not only was the forest so thick that not one ray of light was
able to penetrate it, but the strange plants that hounded the area ac-
tually started to attack him.  With the same site repeated all over the
damned woods, he couldn't find any entrance to the dungeon.  At least,
not on his own....
        While meandering around in the woods, he stepped on a soft spot
of grass, which shortly thereafter, gave way under his boot.  He fell
endlessly, until he landed on a tiled floor.  He had found the temple
of Skull Woods.
        When he looked around, he saw ugly drapes hanging from the
walls, huge blocks covered in thick spikes, hands hanging from the cei-
ling, and giant mummies wandering around.  The few candles in that room
gave it a particularly creepy feeling.  What could possibly exist in
such a freaky environment?
        Then, something reached out and grabbed him.
        Link snapped around and saw a giant mummy try to put him in a
bear hug.  As he wrapped his decaying arms around him, he struggled to
break himself free.  Then he rememberd the one move that would break
anyone's overpowering embrace.
        A swift knee to the groin.
        As the mummy doubled over in pain, Link broke away, drew the
Master Sword, but when he slashed at the beast, it did very little da-
mage.  Several more attacks did no better.  But when the mummy lunged
at Link at him again, he stepped out of the way.  Only, the mummy ended
up being impaled on one of the blocks of spikes.
        "Woo," Link sighed.  "That was close."  He observed the mummy's
carcass impaled on the spikes, and got an idea.  These spikes work even
better than the sword on these things.  As he explored the main room
further, he tripped over a crack and fell into a giant blue sphere...
which he bounced off of, and clear across the room.  Next thing he knew
one of the giant hands that was hanging from the ceiling dropped off
and attempted to crush him.  But he quickly rolled out of the way, and
took out the hand with a single slash.
        When he got up and proceeded through the door to the next room,
there were more traps, more freaky hands, more mummies, and oh yeah,
this time, there were skeletons wandering around as well.
        Let's see, Link thought to himself, since the mummies took a
lot to defeat, then by contrast, the skeletons should fall apart with
one shot.
        That is, if they didn't jump away from the sword and throw
bones back at him.  Instead, he drew his magical boomerang, threw it at
the skeleton, destroying it in one shot.  The other skeletons fell a-
part in the same fashion, and he later discovered that the mummies were
left stunned just long enough to get away.
        The next room was kinda plain; a narrow path jutted out from
one wall, same dull curtains, and a single treasure chest sitting in
the middle of the room.  Looking up, there weren't any hands hanging
down at him.  So he walked over to the treasure chest, and when he o-
pened it, nothing except a delightful chime came out of the box.  And
when he looked around again, the floor was riddled with potholes.
        Carefully, he stepped in and out of the holes in the ground,
and made his way down the narrow corridor.  There, more potholes, ske-
letons, mummies, and this time, large serpentlike creatures called mol-
doroms slithered around the room.  Naturally, only the mummies took a
large effort to destroy; he even resorted to luring them into the pot-
holes.
        Next, he proceeded to the other end of the room, and noticed a
crack in one of the walls.  To make sure it was real, he poked it with
his sword.  It made a hollow clanking sound.  Drawing a bomb from his
pouch, he lit it, and threw it at the crack.  The bomb exploded on im-
pact, and a doorway appeared.  The hidden room revealed a large switch
sticking out of the wall, and nothing else.  Pulling it with all his
might, it continued until it clicked, and then the wall behind him ex-
ploded.  After the rubble cleared, there was an exit out, but a large
treasure chest stood between them.  When he opened it, there was a
beautiful white rod, topped with a giant red crystal in the shape of a
fireball.
        Heading out the exit, he found himself in a different part of
the forest.  But this time, it seemed as if there was only one way to
go, no matter what.  The only clearing he found had a giant skull with
an equally giant bone sticking out of its mouth.  Witht the new rod in
hand, he pointed it at the protuding bone.  A blast of fire shot out,
and burned the bone to dust.  When he walked into the hole, he fell
straight down.
        The room had only spiked blocks lining the walls, and a sliding
floor.  Also, the giant moth, Mothula was staring down at him.  Looking
up, he saw a giant crystal hanging from the ceiling, containing Sailor
Venus.
        Not waisting any time, Mothula quickly took off, and dove right
at Link.  Link just barely got out of the way, and the moving floor al-
most carried him right into the spiked blocks.  Mothula simply laughed
at him.
        "You haven't lost your edge, have you?" it asked, as it fired
three ring lasers at him.  "Give me some credit here!"
        How can I beat this guy, Link thought to himself.  He got back
to his feet, and his new rod fell out of his pouch.  Picking it up, he
thought back to a few days ago, when Mothula first attacked them.  He
remembered Sailor Mars shooting a fireball at the moth, and watching it
flap its wings panicky trying to put out the fire.
        Link drew the fire rod.  "Whaddya saw I..." he pointed it at
Mothula and let loose with a fire blast, "help your attitude some?"  In
a second, Mothula was completely on fire.  Seeing this, Link leaped at
him, and cut him right in half with the Master Sword.  As the ashes
settled, the crystal containing Sailor Venus fell from the ceiling, and
before Link.  Her eyes opened, and he could hear her voice.
        ~Link, because of you, I can escape the cluthches of the evil
monsters,~ she said.  ~Thank you!~
        "Are you alright?" Link asked.
        ~If a evil-hearted person gets the Triforce, a hero is destined
to appear.  And he alone will have the power to destroy the evil one.
If the evil one destroys the Hero, nothing will stop his path of des-
truction.  That's how I heard the legend of the Hero.~
        "I see.  I will not fail, no matter what."
        ~I have faith in you, and Tuxedo Mask.  Surely you will defeat
Ganon!~  At that, the crystal disappeared, and Link was standing alone
in the room.
        ~Good luck, Link.  And may the way of the Hero lead you to the
Triforce....~

=====TO BE CONTINUED=====