G'day Ladies and Gents, welcome to my second Zelda fic. I hope you all enjoy the show, and if I totally mess it up feel free to point out my mistakes :) Just before we begin, I will apologise in advance if my updates arn't exactly frequent...I actually have a lot on my plate right now, and only get to write in my free time (which I doubt I will have when I leave the country in a few months) so don't think i've abandoned you...I will try and write as many chapters as I can in the time alloted to me :)
If you like it, you can tell me by clicking the little review button below. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Period.
When Navi awoke, the first thing she thought about was Link.
She instantly snapped wide awake and jumped up off the floor, wings fluttering in a panic. She looked around, ignoring the blue wavy walls that surrounded her and searching out for the familiar green tunic. Within seconds she'd spotted the boy, lying with his face down to the floor, blonde hair flopped messily around his face, the Master Sword still gripped firmly in his left hand.
She darted over to him, eyes wide with fear.
"Link!" she cried, flying around his head. "Link! Are you okay?"
The boy did not stir. Navi tried to pushed some of his hair out of his face, and then tapped him on the forehead.
"Link! Wake up!"
His eyes were shut tight, almost like he was sleeping. He didn't seem hurt, but Navi wasn't taking any chances. She tried to force his lids open, but his eyes only stared at her unblinking, not a peep.
Navi's fear turned to desperation. She attempted to push him over by pressing her tiny fairy arms to his shoulder and pushing with all her might. Her wings beat furiously, but the most she could do was tire herself out. She gave up and began wriggling into his tunic to find a potion, but only found a bottle of Lon Lon Milk.
"That's do." She muttered, and then she pulled. The bottle rolled out of the tunic easily, but the cork sealing it was a lot harder for the little fairy to move. She clawed at it, she tried pulling it, but eventually she just let it go. Instead of opening it, she slowly hauled out the Kokiri sword from Link's sheath on his back and dragged it as high as she could. Grunting with the effort, she positioned it above the bottle and then dropped it.
Crack! The fragile bottle broke in half and the pieces dropped everywhere. A small tide of milk spilled out across the floor and began dripping down what Navi realized was a blue platform, slightly opaque like glass and surrounded by five colored circles, each with an emblem carved in the surface. She was slightly taken aback by the strange sight, but came to her senses when she realized the precious milk was sliding off and disappearing down into an endless pit below. If Link woke up, it looked like they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
Carefully, she picked up a fragment of glass and gathered some milk onto it. She fluttered over to Link and forced his lips open, then poured the milk inside. She shut his lips and tried to push his head up to make him swallow, but the milk just dribbled out of his mouth and splashed onto her wings, forcing her to the ground with a small thud. She took a minute to recover, each second seeing another drop of milk fall down into the depths.
"No!" she shouted. She tried to crawl over to the precious liquid, but her wings were so soggy she could barely move an inch. She could only watch as her last attempt to wake up her companion dribbled into oblivion. She felt her eyes stinging, and forced back a sob of despair.
"Do not fear, fairy." A voice said, startling her. "Your companion is safe here."
Navi looked up. Through blurry eyes, she could make out a large, brown blob, and when she rubbed her eyes she was greeting with the sight of an old, stout man who spouted a white beard and wore grand robes, the likes of which Navi had only seen bestowed upon royalty. Her first instinct was to bow respectfully, but then she remembered where they were. She struggled to her feet, slipping under the weight of her soaked wings.
"Who are you?" she demanding, casting all respect aside. "Where are we? And what have you done to Link?"
The man nodded. "Is that his name? Link..." he thought for a moment. "Very fitting."
Navi's eyes narrowed. "Answer my question. Who are you?" The man considered her for a moment, and then bowed his head.
"I am Rauru, the Sage of Light, one of the few remaining Sages of Hyrule." He smiled at her. "And you?"
Navi bowed cautiously. "I am Navi, sent by the Great Deku Tree to be this young boy's companion." She didn't feel the need to inform this stranger of their quest. Best to suspect everything until she was sure she could trust him. "Where are we?"
"You are in the Chamber of Sages." Rauru gestured to the shimmering blue walls, "One of the few secret resting places of the Sages. While you are in this room, no harm shall come to you, be assured of that."
"Why are we here?" Navi asked, wanting desperately to get to the point. "What happened to Link?"
Rauru pursed his lips, as if hesitant to answer the question. Navi waited patiently, flicking her wings every so often to dry them. Eventually, Rauru spoke again, but this time he proceeded with caution.
"Your charge opened the Door of Time." He began, "In doing so, he pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. It chose its master…your companion is to be the legendary Hero of Time."
Under normal circumstances, Navi would have swelled with pride. However, with said companion knocked out on the floor and Rauru being so cautious, she became further convinced that something was up.
"What do you mean 'to be'?" she asked. "If he's the Hero of Time, shouldn't he be completing his quest?"
There was a long pause. Rauru was obviously trying to say what he had to say while causing the least amount of trouble…an angry fairy was not a force to be reckoned with. Navi again waited patiently, but the next words Rauru spoke made her wish she had waited longer.
"You were sent on a false quest." The sage explained, face blank and unblinking. "When the Door of Time was opened, the Sacred Realm was exposed. You lead the evil king of the Gerudos, Ganondorf, into the Sacred Realm. In doing so, you removed the Master Sword, but your charge was too young to take such a powerful position. The sword has sealed him in the Sacred Realm until such a time as he is fit to carry the title Hero of Time."
Navi shook her head. "No. No. This isn't right. Princess Zelda…"
Rauru sighed. "Princess Zelda was too young to realize what she was doing. Because of her actions, she has caused her own premonitions to come true. I tried to minimize the damage, but Ganondorf was too powerful. He invaded the Sacred Realm, and as we speak his poison is spreading through Hyrule."
"No…" Navi whimpered. All their hard work, for nothing…
"Fear not." Rauru assured her. "It was no-one's fault. But now, I'm afraid that your charge must face the consequences of his actions."
Navi raised an eyebrow and flicked her wing again. "What 'consequences'?"
"Pulling the Master Sword out of its pedestal was a mistake. The sword was only meant to be used by the Hero of Time…but he is not a hero yet. The sword sent him to sleep, and I sent you both here to prevent Ganondorf from corrupting him. He will not awaken until he is fit to wear his title."
Navi began flushing red. She beat her wings hard, and eventually she managed to get off the ground and float up to Rauru's face. She looked him in the eyes, a new anger welling inside her.
"It sent him to sleep?" she asked incredulously. "Why don't you wake him up?"
"I'm afraid I cannot" Rauru said apologetically. "I am before you as a spirit, and nothing more. My true body is hidden in another chamber, far away from Hyrule…"
"But you're a sage!" Navi protested. "You can't just let him sleep...how long will he sleep?"
Rauru shrugged. "I cannot say. It may be a year, it may be several."
Navi's eyes widened. "A year? He can't sleep for a year! He…he has a home. We have a home! We have a mission! He's only ten years old…"
"It's is not my decision." Rauru took a small step backwards as Navi inched closer to his nose. "The sword chooses its master. He will be much older by the time he wakes, if that is what the sword decides."
Navi looked down at Link, still dripping the remains of the Lon Lon Milk from his chin. She was reminded of when she first met him in Kokiri forest, when he was fast asleep in his bed, knowing little of what was about to happen to him. She frowned, and then turned back to Rauru.
"No." she said. "No. I won't let you do that to him. He's suffered enough already, I won't let you take away the only thing he has left."
Rauru shook his head. "The boy…"
"No!" Navi shouted. "He's not 'the boy'! His name is Link, and you should call him so! He isn't the Hero of Time, he's just a little boy who was trying to do what he thought was right! You will wake him up now!"
Rauru suddenly glared at Navi, the expression looking strange on his normally serene face.
"I will do no such thing, fairy." He countered, meeting her fiery gaze with an equally fierce glare. "The boy will stay. If he does not, he may never wake to defeat the king of evil. The Master Sword chose for a reason…the boy may be our only chance."
Navi kept his gaze, and they both remained locked for a minute or so before Navi spoke, her small fairy voice cold as ice and sharp as a blade.
"I don't think you know who you are talking to." She said. "I am Navi, fairy of the Kokiri Forest, summoned by the Great Deku Tree to be this boy's companion and guardian. Your 'hero' is my responsibility, and if you won't wake him I will myself."
Rauru snorted, something that caught Navi slightly off guard. He smiled at her, but it was not a very nice smile.
"The 'Great Deku Tree' has no power here. I will allow you to come and go from here as you please from now on, but if you continue to show such disrespect you will not be staying." He explained as if that was the final order.
Navi growled. "Try and stop me!" she shouted, and flew right at his face. Instead of hitting his forehead as planned, however, she sailed right through him and was sent careening into the wall on the other side. She heard faint chuckling behind her before finally smashing into something that was, unlike Rauru's face, very real and very hard. The pain shattered through her body, and it became far too much for her fragile fairy body to handle and she blacked out, but not before catching one last glimpse of Rauru leaning over Link, still sleeping more peacefully than she had ever seen.
When Navi woke up, it was very dark. A torch was lit in the distance, and when she blinked a couple for times she realized she was inside the Temple of Time. The stick the torch had been lit on was very low and a small pile of ashes had congregated on the floor, so she must have been there a few hours at the least. It took Navi a few more minutes for her brain to sort itself out, and when it did she shot up off the floor and rushed over to the empty pedestal that used to house the Master Sword. It was missing.
"No!" she shouted, the reality sinking in. "Link! Link, where are you!"
She ran over to the nearest wall and pushed, hoping to stumble upon a hidden entrance. She pushed the next wall, but to no avail.
"There has to be an entrance here somewhere." She muttered, and then she pressed the next wall. Nothing happened. Frustrated, she pounded her fists against the wall.
"Rauru!" She shouted. "I don't care if you're a sage or not, you will let me in!"
There was no answer. Navi continued to pound and shout in the small hope that she would be allowed to return to Link's side. She would have kept on pounding her fists against the wall until they were numb and bleeding, if t wasn't for something that she caught out of the corner of her eye.
On the floor lay a small wooden ocarina, so small many would have missed it. When Navi flew down to pick it up, it was just the right size and fitted neatly in her palms. It was very similar to Saria's ocarina, but for a small difference. There was a blue stripe around its side, and it had only three holes with which to play. Inside the mouthpiece, Navi found a small piece of paper, on which was written a simple sentence.
"Play the song that only a fairy can hear, and it will take you to the end of your journey." She read. As soon as she finished, she scrunched up the note in her hand and held her fist to her forehead. The stupid Sage had left her a riddle. The words of the Great Deku Tree flashed in her mind…
Navi, go now! Find our young friend and guide him to me…I do not have much time left. Fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends on thee!
The Great Deku Tree had been her protector for her entire life, never asking anything in return. He'd only ever asked her one thing before he died: Guide the boy without a fairy. Well, she'd guided him. She'd fought with him. She'd saved him on numerous occasions. And then she'd gone and lost him to a stupid Sage (was he even a Sage or not?) and had no idea how she was supposed to get him back. She'd let down the one person who had always taken care of her, and she couldn't even redeem herself.
The Great Deku Tree was dead. She'd stood there and watched as his branches had turned brittle and his first leaves had fallen, but she hadn't really believed it. Sure, he's dead. He's the Great Deku Tree…he'll come back somehow. But he wasn't coming back, and neither was Link.
A tear fell from her eyes and made a small 'plop' on the floor. She hadn't even noticed she was crying…but someone else had.
"Did you hear that?" a deep voice came from the shadows. Navi whirled around just in time to see a shadow enter the temple. Fast as lightning, she flew up to the roof of the temple and hid in the deepest of shadows to mask her brilliant glow. Footsteps came closer, and then the two shapes appeared in Navi's line of sight. She gasped.
"I heard something again!" the Stalfos exclaimed, jumping nervously and pulling the sword out of its sheath. It was dressed in a blue cloak that seemed to shimmer slightly, and Navi instantly knew it was coated with magic. Between his legs there was a strange bulge, and a second late a Stalchild emerged, also spouting a similar cloak. The Stalchild rolled his eyes, and Navi tilted her head a little in an effort to catch what it was saying.
"Don't be stupid." It said, it's childish voice laced with mischief. "No-one is here. The charm Master Stal gave us worked."
"What if someone saw us enter the temple?" The Stalfos asked again, gripping his bronze blade a little harder. The Stalchild looked around for a minute, and then walked toward the Master Sword's pedestal.
"Does it matter?" it asked. "We got what we came for. Master Ganondorf will be pleased with us." He bent down and picked up something off the pedestal, but Navi couldn't get a clear view. If she leaned over even a tiny bit she would be out in the open, and with Ganondorf loose in the Sacred Realm…
Navi's mind span. So it was true. Ganondorf had invaded the Sacred Realm, and Rauru had spoken the truth. So what would she do now?
The Stalchild and the Stalfos looked away, examining their prize. In that brief second, Navi knew exactly what to do. With Link trapped in the Chamber of Sages, she had no-one to fight with her, no-one to help her, no-one to get her out of this mess. She did the only thing she could do.
She ran.