A/N: Originally, I planned to have this story set in the Ocarina of Time world, but as the story developed in my head, I realized it didn't quite fit there. So instead, it's set somewhere between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time. I'll do my best to make sure everything flows well and makes sense, but the Zelda timeline is so complicated, I hope you'll bear with me if I make any mistakes. Now, onto the story!
Chapter I
~Julie~
Julie walked down the hallway, fiddling with the flowered barrette pinned in her short brown hair, making sure it was straight. Today was the first Monday after returning to school from the winter holidays, and Mondays meant Video Game and Anime Club. She wasn't much of a gamer herself, but she did like anime and besides, it was her best chance to hang out with her three best friends. She came to the classroom where the club met and entered. Late afternoon sun poured into the windows of the classroom, which was empty except for two other girls, one a redhead with long curls hanging down to her waist sitting at a desk. Sitting on top of a desk beside the redhead, the second girl, her auburn waves hanging over her shoulders, was doubled over in laughter, while the redhead smirked and shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Hi guys!" Julie called from the doorway.
The two girls turned toward her, and the girl with auburn hair, an 11th grader named Anya, jumped off the desk. "Julie, you're here!"
"Here I am!" Julie chimed happily. She crossed the room, dropping her bag on an empty desk, and hugged the two girls respectively. "I missed you guys so much. Did you have a good holiday?" she asked, sliding into the desk.
"Yep," Anya said with a nod. "I spent the whole time cooking, and guess what I brought." She grabbed her own backpack from the floor, unzipping it, and pulled out a plastic container filled with various candies. "Homemade candy! Who's your best friend?" She jammed a finger at her chest. "That's right, it's me!"
"Yay!" Julie said, jumping with excitement. "Let's eat it now!"
Anya pulled open the lid and held it out. Julie grabbed a chocolate covered caramel, popping it into her mouth with a happy moan. Turning to the redhead, Anya waved the container under her nose. "Lindsaaaay, you know you want soooome."
Lindsay grimaced. "No thanks, I'm on a no sweets diet." Anya poked her lips out in a pout and pulled the container away with a shrug, not noticing the longing glance Lindsay cast in the direction of the container.
Anya took a bite of a candy. "More for me!"
Lindsay rolled her eyes and looked at the clock. It read ten past four. She stood and crossed to the teacher's podium at the front of the room, brushing down her gray uniform skirt and clearing her throat so Julie and Anya looked up at her. The black wedge heels she wore raised her 4'10 stature to an almost normal height. "We will now commence the Willow Academy Video Game and Anime Club's first meeting since the Christmas holidays," she spoke, her tone smoothly authoritative. "I trust everyone enjoyed their holiday?"
"Yep," Julie said, while Anya cried, "I had a ton of fun baking!" She held up the container of candies, just in case they had forgotten.
Lindsay nodded. "Good," she said, continuing her speech. "For today's meeting, Vice President Cara Blackwater will be giving a presentation on the Legend of Zelda." She pausing, glancing once again at the clock. "That is, if she ever gets here." She tapped her fingers on the podium, looking at the clock impatiently. "Okay, that's it," she said, dropping her proper tone, "Cara Blackwater, where are you!" Lindsay shouted.
To her surprise, a distant voice shouted back, "I'm coming!" followed by the sound of footsteps running down the hallway, and a girl with shoulder length blonde hair tied in a high ponytail appeared in the doorway. She leaned her hands on her knees, gasping. "Sorry, I'm here now!" she said breathlessly.
Lindsay crossed her arms. "You're fifteen minutes late!"
"It's not my fault. Blame Nelly!" Cara said defensively, straightening and turning to glare over her shoulder.
"What? How is it my fault?" a male voice said. A tall, lanky boy with brown hair entered behind Cara. He leaned against the doorway, brushing a strand of brown hair out of his face.
"Who left the flash drive in his first period class?" Cara snapped. "You're lucky someone didn't steal it."
"Wha-well, you're the one who made me carry it in the first place," Nelly retorted, tossing his bangs back as they once again fell across his dark blue eyes.
Cara rolled her eyes in exasperation and held out her hand. "Just give me the drive."
Nelly opened his mouth to reply again, but Lindsay cut in. "Freshman! Give your sister the flash drive and sit," she said, pointing to a chair in the corner.
"Oh fine," Nelly said. He pulled a flash drive from the pocket of his gray joggers and handed it to Cara before crossing to the desk and slouching in the seat, arms crossed, muttering something inaudible beneath his breath.
Cara took the flash drive to the computer. Waving at Anya and Julie with a big grin on her face, she plugged in the flash drive and fiddled with the computer a bit. After several moments, a slideshow appeared on the wall. The first slide read in dark green letters, "Zelda: A Legend Throughout the Ages" with a set of three golden triangles joined together into one large triangle adorning the center of the slide.
Cara stood, clapping her hands excitedly. "Okay! As you all know, today I will be giving a presentation on the Legend of Zelda game series. There is one very important thing you all must know," she met each club member's eyes, her face grimly serious, "and that is that Zelda is the single most important thing in the universe."
A slapping sound came from the corner of the room as Nelly smacked his forehead. "And that's my sister," he groaned.
Cara glared at him and he held his hands up in apology. "Anyway," Cara said, "now that we've established the most important fact, let me introduce you to the Triforce." She pointed at the golden triangles. "The Triforce, the legendary symbol of the three goddesses, plays a vital role in Hyrule, the world of Zelda." She moved to change the slide, but as she did, a loud snap cracked the air, making them all jump. A bright flash of light blinded them momentarily before fading to a luminous glow.
"Why is the Triforce glowing like that?" Anya asked, staring at the triangles which gleamed, seeming to almost come out of the wall. Before anyone had a chance to respond, the glow brightened again, covering their vision in a blinding white light. Julie raised a hand to shield her eyes, and the world turned black.
Heat. Heavy, suffocating. So hot, her sweat seemed to evaporate the moment it left her pores, and her lungs burned with every breath so that she almost choked. Julie opened her eyes, blinking against the red heat which left them feeling dry and gritty, and sat up. A smoky red haze covered her vision as she turned her head back and forth, taking in her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, she saw lava. A lake of lava bubbled menacingly around the brown stone platform she sat upon and streamed in molten cascades down the walls. Occasionally, a geyser of lava shot into the air, sending sprays of magma flying about. She stood shakily to her feet, struggling to breathe in the smothering heat. So hot. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, questions prodded. What was this place? What was going on? But her mind couldn't focus properly. So hot. She had to get out of this place, and soon.
Julie's amber flecked brown eyes scanned the cavelike area once again, searching for a way out. There. She focused on a small opening, high above her head. She could just catch a glimpse of pale blue from it. A rope ladder hung down the wall, leading to the opening. She forced her legs to walk to the wall and grabbed the rope. Eyeing it suspiciously, she gave it a hard tug. The rope did not break or disintegrate. Gulping, she pulled herself up onto the first rung. Her limbs felt heavy as lead, and it took effort just to make her fingers close around the rope, to support her weight. But she had to get out of here. Quickly as she could make her body move, she pulled herself up rung by rung, climbing higher and higher. The ladder swayed beneath her body and once her vision swam with dark spots. She clung desperately to the rope, praying that she wouldn't lose consciousness, until the dark spots dissipated and she continued her agonizing climb. Finally, she felt the slightest breeze play against her cheeks, refreshingly cool. Turning her face up, she saw the opening just above her, a crevice in the rock wall big enough for a very large man to fit through. Two more rungs and her hand gripped the ledge. With her little remaining strength, she pulled herself onto the ledge and lay there, inhaling cool, fresh air in deep gasps. She lay there in the shade of the rock wall for a long while, enjoying the coolness, although the heat inside still beat at her, until she realized she was thirsty. Pushing herself up once more, Julie examined her new surroundings.
The ledge she sat on was not far from the ground, perhaps ten feet or so. Lo and behold, a small pool of water glistened below, a single green tree growing beside it. Eagerly, Julie searched for the best way to reach the ground. There were several deep cracks and dips in the rock wall; perhaps she could rock climb down. Cautiously lowering herself, she found a foothold and began to move downwards, but her limbs were weak and before she even climbed down one step, her foot slipped and she fell backwards, landing painfully on the hard ground below with a crash that knocked the wind from her lungs. When her breath returned, she sat up with a groan, rubbing her back which now felt bruised all over. Her palms and knees were also scraped and bleeding. The pool wasn't fall from her. Not trusting herself to stand, she crawled over to it and dipped her stinging hands into the water. It was cool, so cool. Washing the dirt from her hands, she scooped the water to her mouth. After several big gulps, she felt better and sat back. Kicking off her shoes and socks, she dangled her toes in the pool and sighed happily.
Now that her mind was clearer, she at last examined the questions which had been lurking around the edges of her thoughts. Where exactly was she and what the hell was going on? She could see now that she sat atop a mountain, or rather, a volcano judging by the lava inside. Okay, so how had she ended up inside a volcano? The last thing she remembered was Cara starting her presentation on Zelda, then a blinding light coming from those triangles...what had Cara called them? The Triforce. A blinding light came from the Triforce and next thing she knew she was waking up inside a volcano. It didn't make sense. Maybe she was dreaming?
Before Julie had time to further consider her thoughts, she heard voices somewhere nearby. People! Maybe they could tell her where she was, and hopefully figure out a way to get her home. She slipped her shoes back on and stood, following the sound of the voices. They were coming from somewhere near her left. Seeing what looked like it could be a trail hewn into the mountainside, although it was rough and narrow, strewn with giant boulders, a sheer drop off on her right side. She made the mistake of looking down. A wave of vertigo swept over her, making the ground spin beneath her feet. After that, she was careful not to look down again. Sticking as close to the side of the mountain as possible, she picked her way down the trail. The voices were growing closer, assuring her that she was going the right way. Finally, she rounded a bend where the path widened slightly and saw the source of the voices.
Rocks. Rocks with faces, walking toward her, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Julie froze, a mix of confusion, awe, and pure terror swirling inside her head. She didn't have a chance to consider running or hiding because they soon saw her and called to her, waving vigorously.
"Hey!" one of the rocks yelled. "What's a little girl like you doing way up here?"
Well, they seemed friendly enough. Julie hesitated, but not knowing what else to do, stepped towards them. "Hello, my name is Julie," she said. "Could you please tell me where I am?" The rock people came to a stop before her and she gulped nervously. They towered over her, nearly twice her breadth and 5'3 height.
The rock person nearest her laughed. His, at least she thought it was a he, laugh sounded like gravel scraping together. "You're on Death Mountain of course, goro. What other mountain in Hyrule is there?" He clapped a hard, heavy hand on her shoulder, making her knees almost buckle.
Death Mountain? That did seem like an appropriate name, considering the boiling lava. Wait, Hyrule? The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she'd heard it.
"Don't tease the poor girl, she must be lost," another rock person said.
"I don't know how she could be lost on Death Mountain," the first rock said.
The second gestured at Julie. "She's clearly not from around here. Look at her clothes. And her ears! I've never seen a Hylian with such small ears before."
The first rock person stared at Julie, studying her with what she thought was a pondering look on his face. "I still don't see how she could be lost. It's obvious this is Death Mountain."
Julie frowned; this wasn't getting anywhere. "Oh never mind, Gogor," the second said, shaking his head. "Perhaps Link can help her. Oi, Link-goro!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Come over here!"
The group of rock people parted to reveal a boy coming towards them, and Julie's heart skipped a beat. He was by far the cutest boy she had ever seen. He was tall, around her age or perhaps a couple of years older, dressed in blue pants and a brown shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular arms. A mess of blonde hair fell into his sparkling blue eyes, and a grin split his face as if he had just been laughing about something. He turned those beautiful eyes on the rock man who had called him. "What is it, Dorbo?" he asked, and Julie thought her heart might melt at the sound of his voice.
Dorbo pointed a stone finger at Julie. "We found a human girl wandering around up here. Seems she's lost; maybe you can help her."
The boy turned to Julie. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Me?" Julie asked. "I'm great. Just a little confused."
"We're just going to mine some bomb flowers from the top of the mountain," the boy said. "Why don't you come with us. What's your name?"
"Julie."
"I'm Link." He flashed a broad smile, showing off perfectly white teeth, and beckoned, looping his fingers around a strap of the pack slung across his shoulders. Not needing much convincing to follow this handsome boy, Julie let him lead the way.