Wow, it's been two years since I first started this, and I'm nowhere near done. Pfft, goes to show I'm bad with long-term ideas, I guess. Time sure does fly. Anyways, I beat Skyward Sword again (in Hero Mode this time AND still got the Hylian Shield, suck it, motion controls!), and I felt a really strong urge to come back to this story. I always meant to, but I just never had the motivation. But, I do now, so here goes nothing! Time Warps 2.0, coming right at'cha!
(Update posted 1.7.2018)
"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited!" Romani squealed as our wagon bumbled along the dirt path. We were heading to the annual Carnival of Time that took place in Clock Town, and Romani, being the excitable girl she was, could barely contain her energy. I practically had to hold her down to keep her from vibrating out of the wagon.
"Romani, it's not like we don't go to the Carnival of Time every year," I chuckled as I ruffled her hair, "but I suppose someone around here has to keep the energy up, huh?"
"Oh, you're no fun, Grasshopper! You must've been spooked by something when you were younger, 'cuz sometimes, it's like you're all work and no play!"
"We're here!" Cremia called from the front of the wagon, saving me from having to come up with a response. Romani burst out of the wagon and dashed into Clock Town, not even bothering to wait for the wagon to come to a complete stop. Cremia and I shared a laugh at her enthusiasm as we tied up our ride before making our way over to the Carnival.
I never introduced myself, did I? Well, my name's Linkle. I have a ton of nicknames, but the one most people have used is Link. I also happen to be the Hero of Time. Boy, was that a shocker to find out, especially since I was just a nine-year-old girl when fate kicked into gear. But, that story is one for another day. All you really need to know right now is that after a lot of weird time shenanigans, I ended up in the world of Termina with no way of returning to Hyrule.
The Carnival was in full swing by the time we arrived, and so Clock Town was bustling with life. Lights and banners were strewn across the town, adding all sorts of color to the normally plain streets. People of all races—Goron, Zora, Deku, and Hylian (though I suppose Terminan might be the better word)—were wearing masks and dancing all around the square, making the most of the night. As fantastic as the sight was, my mind still wandered back to six years ago, when the moon nearly crashed into Termina. It almost seemed like a fever dream, and if it weren't for the fact that I'd been stuck here for the entire time, I would have likely written it off as such.
Romani suddenly appeared in front of me, cutting off my thoughts. If it weren't for the mask she was wearing, I was certain I'd see a child-like gleam in her eyes. Romani grabbed onto Cremia and me and started to drag us farther into town. "Come on, the Indigo-Go's are about to perform their new song! We can't miss it!"
I easily slipped my arm out of Romani's grip. "Romani, I'd really rather not. Not right now, anyways."
"Come on, Grasshopper! You always try to find some sort of excuse not to go see them. I don't see why; they're super cool and their music is a-ma-zing!"
I felt a bit bad for avoiding seeing the Indigo-Go's in person, but the fiasco surrounding the death of their lead guitarist, Mikau, was still a sore spot for me after all this time. You see, while I was trying to save Termina from the falling moon, I came across Mikau as he was dying in the bay. I couldn't do anything to save him. Not physically, anyways. I was able to put his soul to rest, and by doing so, received a mask that allowed me to take on his likeness. I wasn't careful the first time around and Lulu ended up seeing me take off the mask. The heartbreak in her eyes when I had to tell her the truth…it something I couldn't bear, and it continued to follow me into this timeline.
As I struggled for a response, Cremia jumped in and saved me. "Romani, I'm sure Linkle has her reasons for not going, even if she's not comfortable with telling us what they are. How about we leave her to her own devices, while you and I go listen to that new song?"
"Fine..." Romani grudgingly agreed. As the sisters walked off, Romani whirled around to face me. "Someday, you're going to tell us everything, Grasshopper!"
I shrugged and turned the other way, heading back to the main square. After the trip down that particular memory lane, I wasn't really in the mood to join in on the festivities. I slipped into the base of Clock Tower, the huge doors and walls muting the rest of the Carnival. Slowly, I followed the path deeper into the basement of the tower, eyeing the moss that had long since taken over the interior. My stroll ended in front of two stone slabs, the gateway between Termina and Hyrule. The doors were covered in moss and extremely eroded, showing no signs of the fact that it opened merely six years ago, when I had chased Skull Kid into this world.
I sighed. The people of Termina were great, really. People from everywhere hailed me as a hero for stopping their eminent destruction, Cremia was nice enough to let me stay at her ranch when I mentioned I had nowhere to go, so on and so forth. The main problem was that nearly everyone looked like an exact replica of someone I met in Hyrule. Even after all this time, I desperately wanted to return to my homeland, not only because of my ties to it, but because I wanted to find my partner from my first journey, Navi. After we had sealed Ganon away and were sent back to before any of Ganondorf's plans were put into action, she had flown off, and I never found out what had happened to her.
My fingers lightly traced the designs etched into the doors as nostalgia took over. I had searched every inch of this tower, trying to find some secret to returning home, but there was never anything to be found other than stone-cold disappointment. After a few years, I forced myself to accept the fact that the doors would never open again in this lifetime and diverted my energy to helping around the ranch and keeping the peace in Termina.
Just as I was about to remove my hand, I brushed against a strange texture in the stone. I paused. I had all but memorized every detail of the doors, yet this was something new. I scraped the moss off of the area in question, revealing the appearance of lines with dots on them. Upon closer inspection, the carving looked more and more like a song.
I felt the hope of returning home flare back to life within me once more. "Could… could this really be it? Will this take me back to Hyrule?" I pulled out the Ocarina of Time, a gift from Princess Zelda when I had first left to find Navi, and now perhaps the key to returning to her. Putting the ocarina to my lips, I began to play the song on the stone. It was a song I had never heard before, yet at the same time, I couldn't help but feel I had played it countless times.
As the last note's echo faded, the inscription began to glow with an azure light. It grew stronger and stronger, filling me with a strange sense of dread. Whatever was happening, it certainly wasn't opening the doors. I tried to scramble back, but my sword managed to catch the edge of a stone, causing me to crash into the ground. The light grew in intensity, and I was forced to cover my eyes as I was whisked away from Clock Tower.
I thought that after going through time to save Hyrule AND Termina, my adventure was over. I thought that, even if I couldn't go back home, I'd at least be able to live a peaceful life. It was a reasonable thought. Reasonable, but still dead-wrong. I was still fate's favorite puppet to mess with, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the storm to come.
