Deciding you’re no help to anyone dead, you stay by Link’s side as he struggles against the monster. They stay locked in a stalemate for several minutes, trading blows in turn. You look around for some way to help him, but you feel like you would only get in the way. You stay back, well out of the creature’s reach, praying for Link’s safety.
After another minute or two, Link fails to block one of the monster’s strikes, catching it on his shoulder and falling backwards.
“Link!” you gasp, as the monster prepares to club him once more. Without thinking, you rush forward and shove him, causing him to stumble back. His enraged eyes lock on you and he immediately lunges forward and grabs you by the hair with a hiss. He pulls you off the ground, your feet kicking wildly. He opens his mouth, dragging your face towards his waiting maw. You recoil in revulsion as his tongue mashes into your cheek, his lips closing over your face.
“Mmmmmgggghhhh!” you squeal in terror, dreading whatever he has in store for you.
Suddenly, the smelly creature jerks, reeling back and letting you fall to the ground. You scramble to your feet, sniffling as you wipe tears and saliva from your cheek. The monster falls on his back, clutching his chest before going still. Link stands over him, sheathing his sword triumphantly. You run to him and bury your face in his chest, sobbing with relief.
“Oh, Link!” you whimper. “I was so scared! I… I think he wanted to… e-eat me!” He gives you a squeeze, looking at you gratefully. “What was he?” You look back at the ugly thing with distaste. “How did he get here? The Deku Tree’s protection…” you trail off as realization dawns. Of course. Their forest’s protection had died with its guardian. “We have to get back to the village,” you say, suddenly filled with unease. Link nods, and together you flee back towards your home.
On the way back, you are attacked once again by a nearly identical monster, this one wearing a necklace made of bone. Link is ready for this one however, quickly dispatching it after dodging its initial attack. You whisper a silent prayer of thanks, so grateful that you decided not to head back alone. You’d probably be turning to soup in his belly right now if you had.
As you near the village, the unease turns to outright dread, as you can hear the distinct sound of screams. A plume of smoke is rising ahead of you, and some of the cries sound just like the creature that attacked you.
“Oh no… oh, no…” you whisper. As you finally reach the village, you are greeted by a terrible sight. Several of the houses are on fire, and monsters are rounding up all of your fellow Kokiri. They appear to be subduing and binding the boys, tossing them in sacks and piling them into a large cart. The girls, however… You can see several of the creatures sporting bulging, girl-shaped tummies, all containing screaming females in various states of digestion. “Th-they’re eating them!” you gasp in horror. “Why are they eating the girls?” Tears well in your eyes as you see a good friend of yours sliding feet first into one of their greedy throats, her sobbing face disappearing behind his lips. “Oh, th-this is awful… what do we do?”
Link reaches for his sword and starts to move forward, but you grab his arm and pull him into the brush. “Link, no! There are too many of them!” He tries to pull free, but you cling tightly. “Link please… they’ll take you too… and th-they’ll eat me if they find me!” He looks at you, his eyes burning, and for a moment you think he’s going to charge them anyway. At length, he takes his hand off the hilt of his blade and settles back down. You put a hand on his arm, grateful for his protection.
“There’s nothing we can do,” you sniffle. “Not now…. Oh, those poor girls… my poor friends…” Your heart aches, and your eyes remain wet with tears, but you have to focus on keeping you and Link safe for now. You wait a while in the trees, watching as they round up every last Kokiri boy and devour every last Kokiri girl. Several of their bellies have stopped wiggling by now, losing their shape and shrinking. You try not to think about the poor, dead and dying girls in those guts, but it’s hard to think about anything else.
After a while, the monsters congregate around the cart, apparently having gotten what they came for. They make their way out of the half-destroyed village, the muffled shouts of the incapacitated boys fading as they went. Before they leave, however, one of the monsters stops and squats down, his once bulging belly now just flab. He lifts up his loincloth, exposing his ugly green bottom, as he poops out a couple of turds, littered with broken bones and fragments of green cloth. You cover your mouth and turn away, overcome by horror and revulsion.
A few minutes later, you and Link stand alone in what remains of your home, surrounded by empty and destroyed buildings.
“This is terrible,” you whisper. “How could this happen? Who would do this?” Link kneels down in the dirt, examining the tracks left by the invaders. You make a point not to look at the smelly little memento that foul goblin left for you. You don’t even know whose remains they are. “What do we do?”
Link stands and points in the direction the monsters went. The determination in his eyes again fills you with courage. “Yes… yes, you’re right. The boys are still alive. We have to save them if we can… and I can’t shake the feeling that this is related to that stuff the Deku Tree told us.” You finally force yourself to look at the pile of goblin poo, saying a prayer for whatever poor soul it used to be. “By the goddesses,” you say, your voice faltering. “It’s too awful! Why did they eat the girls? I-I can’t stand to think about it!” You shut your eyes and force yourself to stay calm. You’ve cried enough for one day, and there’s work to do. “Let’s go,” you say at last, and the two of you set off after the beasts, Link taking the lead.
Their path isn’t hard to follow. The trees and shrubbery have been uprooted and trampled, and the cart left deep grooves in the dirt. There’s a strange feeling in the air, and everything seems off somehow, likely due to the Deku Tree’s absence. It’s unsettling and a little frightening, but you press on, doing your best to be brave.
Suddenly, a series of terrible sounds surround you, and you squeal in surprise as about a dozen Deku Babas spring out of the ground in a circle around you. You press close to Link as he draws his sword, holding it out threateningly. You seem to be just out of their reach, but you’re quite trapped, and one misstep would put you in reach of their hungry, snapping jaws.
“What now?” you whisper to Link, eyeing the predatory plants fearfully. One of them snaps eagerly at you and you jerk away as its saliva splatters your cheeks. “Eww!” you whine, wiping it off your face. “Agh, it stings! And smells… Link, what do we do?” He just readies his sword, apparently planning to charge right through them. You don’t necessarily think that’s a good idea, but you don’t have many alternatives.
