A/N: I introduce an OC in this chapter, since I'm not sure my description is good enough here he is: http: / / 25 (dot) w w w (dot) com/tumblr_m1h31aSQyb1qil583o1_500 (dot) png
Shout out for Laureen 'The Edge' Lycan for being my first reviewer! Also to Argen-Lobo-Ridder! Reviews are always welcome, and critics are encouraged~
Well, well. I'm sure you have questions but any confusion will be cleared on time. For now simply sit back and listen, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Curiosity really is a strong thing, for good or for bad.
Allies.
Skipping slightly, the blonde made her way across the area surrounding the Temple and the Statue, inspecting the sturdy wooden structure that once held the Groosenator and now was almost useless, damaged greatly by the events that had occurred. As strong as it was, it just wasn't meant to hold the entire gigantic rock that was the Isle of the Goddess.
Zelda stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at the nearby forest, tilting her head curiously; allowing her eyes skim over the area, she pouted in confusion before shrugging and continuing her patrol.
Unnoticed by her, a small figure shot from the woods toward the Statue's entrance, bursting in hurriedly.
"I really can't thank you enough, Gorko!" Link grinned as the large Goron hopped from foot to foot excitedly.
"Always a pleasure, bud! You've helped me, it's my turn!" Gorko said loudly, readjusting the straps of his backpack. "Just point the way!"
"This way." The blond led the way through the woods, looking over his shoulder to continue talking with the Goron. "Any luck with your research?"
"I found myself in a stump." He replied, closing his eyes and rubbing his chin. "Can't seem to find new info about those walls."
"You just need to look some more. Though they aren't that important and since we can't use them anymore... perhaps you could study other things." Link gave a small smile as Gorko started complaining about him trying to make him give up his research.
"You need more faith on me, bud!"
"Okay, okay! You win!" The blond chuckled, arms held up as a peace sign. "But don't you have enough information about them? What else could you find out about them that you haven't already?"
"I need to figure out the mechanism of their functioning! Is it a spell or a sort of entity the one that makes things appear? How many times can it be used before rendered completely useless and the average time of recovery it needs between uses? There're lots of mysteries surrounding those walls, bud!" Link smile widened as he heard the excited Goron continue babbling on, feelings slightly guilty for not telling him anything about Zelda's identity. She probably knew how the Goddess Walls worked- at the same time, he didn't think she would pay much attention to that.
Not long after, they reached a large clearing in the woods where large boulders and a small pond, covered with moss and small leaves, laid in wait. Approaching the rocks, Link patted one and Gorko took hold of it, lifting it with a small grunt.
"We need small stone blocks to do what we want but it'll be easier to take these back to the Sealed Temple back entrance and then break them there, alright?"
"Sure, I'll get right to it, bud! You need all of these?"
"If possible, yes. Thanks, Gorko."
"Right on it, it'll take a while to get all of them back but count on me." Nodding, the blond turned and rushed back toward the Sealed Grounds, knowing the Goron was able to defend himself easily if trouble arouse and would fulfill his promise. Following the trail, he allowed himself to relax with the sounds of the breeze and chirping of birds, along with the tapping of his boots against the rich soil and fallen leaves.
The whistle of air around him drowned the sounds of soft buzzing, which went unnoticed to him.
Looking over the cliff's edge, a creature hummed quietly, tapping one of his clawed fingers against the wooden cane in his hand. The creature was rather small. It had long arms, which ended in large, four-fingered hands, while its legs were short and its foot sported just two clawed fingers. Its long ears twitched slightly as the breeze made the three drop-like earrings hanging from his left ear chime softly. Its body was mostly gray, but its hands, feet and ear tips were closer to charcoal in color. Its skin was decorated with weird, pale grey marks around his hands, wrists, waist and neck. Strangely enough, it wore a mask on its head, and a pair of bracelets, the same gray hue, on its left ankle. Its head was crowned with a small pair of horns.
Its brown-sclera and yellow-iris eyes drifted to the area behind it in time to see a tall -so much taller- figure. The small demon tilted its head at the other's appearance before digging the tip of the wooden staff on the ground to stand, a soft chime coming from the clicking earrings with the movement. "May I help you, sir?" It asked, with a deep and soothing voice that revealed it to be a male.
"Yes, you may start by explaining how long that curse's going to take to drain all the energy." Ghirahim grinned, snapping his fingers and changing back to his normal form, dark chocolate eyes gleaming eagerly.
The small demon smirked.
Link continued his way toward the Sealed Grounds, changing his sprint to a slight jog and looking at the surrounding woods, feeling a strange yet not unusual calmness. He should have expected it.
Something- or rather, someone- slammed headfirst against his chest, making him tumble backwards and falling to the forest's floor along with his 'attacker'. He tensed and reached for his sword instinctively before recognizing the other as she groaned. "Zelda?"
Her eyes shot open and focused on him, relief and a small hint of panic flashing in the sky-blue irises. "Link, Fi disappeared!" He sputtered in disbelieve, scrambling to a sitting position and grabbing her by the shoulders.
"What? !"
"I couldn't find her in the Statue or the Temple or even around the Grounds, and I didn't hear anything either." She replied, trying to keep her voice level. "I have no clue where she could have gone to."
Rising to his feet, the blond helped his friend upright before taking her hand and rushing in the direction she had come from, talking between breathless pants. "Let's look around! There must be clues somewhere."
Link sighed in frustration, tugging his hair as he walked out the Temple to meet Zelda, who was waiting for him leaning against the doorway of the Statue. She looked up at him as he jumped down the small ledge. "Any luck?" He shook his head in negative, running one hand through his blond locks irritably.
"I don't get this- she wouldn't just leave without a reason. Where could she have gone?"
Zelda hummed quietly, rising a hand to cover her mouth as she thought. "It's strange... I can't really tell where she'd be by following her aura. Although now that I think about it..." Link looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. "I can sense an unknown aura around here but it's really weak. Whatever came by moved away really quickly."
He approached her, electric blue eyes sparkling eagerly. "Can you tell which direction?"
Zelda held a hand up as if to tell him to wait before closing her eyes and exhaling slowly, frowning slightly as she tried to pinpoint the way. Her hand changed direction and she pointed toward the woods. "That way, I believe... but I can't be quite sure which part of the forest." Her shoulders slumped in slight shame as she sighed before shaking her head quickly and turning to look at Link with determined eyes. "We need to start searching. Let's go!"
The hero nodded in agreement before sprinting toward the Sealed Temple, hearing Zelda's steps behind him.
"I don't know how to return this favor; I truly appreciate your assistance... hope I didn't distract you from any important matter."
"It's my pleasure to help Mistress Fi, bzzzt! I told you, I would drop anything to come to your aid. Not like I've been doing much lately either, dzaaat... Is this the right way, Mistress Fi, vrrrt?"
The Sword Spirit nodded in affirmation, taking advantage of their current altitude as they traveled above the Faron Woods. It was quite an interesting picture: The small cargo robot that had helped Link during his journey- Scrapper- was carrying Fi as they flied their way through the region, holding her bridal style as it was the easiest way to transport her- she didn't think she had enough energy to travel by herself and the eager robot had zipped through the sky in record time to come to her aid.
They continued quietly with the propeller's buzzing being the only sound as the woods opened under them to reveal deep chasms and a large structure some distance away.
"That's Skyview Temple." Fi said automatically, switching her position slightly to get a better look. ""At this rate, we should be able to reach it soon; I need to get to the back of it... however I don't want to tire you up too much..."
Scrapper tilted his head slightly before whirring cheerfully. "For you, I could go through the entire surface without rest, vrrt! Is there a place we can land at in the back? Else I'll be forced to stop at the front entrance."
"There's a spring, called Skyview Spring. There's plenty of room to descend to."
"Alright, vrr-CLANG! Next stop, the Skyview Spring!" With that, he quickened his pace.
The blond duo continued walking through the woods, going through the trail that led to the Great Tree. Drifting their gaze around them quickly, they tried to find any clues about the whereabouts of the female sprite.
Zelda stopped for a moment, seeing a small brown creature some distance away. "Look, Link! It's Machi! Maybe he saw something." She grinned as they ran toward the small forest dwelling creature.
Link called for the Kikwi. "Hey, Machi! Hold on a second!"
The Kikwi jumped into the air in surprise, releasing a high-pitched squeak before twirling around. "Oh, Link, Zelda! What can I help you with, kwee-koo?"
"Have you seen a... err, blue girl around?" Link asked quickly.
"Blue girl, kwee?" Machi tilted his head, tapping one of his short arms against his chest in curiosity. "Like that blue girl that was with you the first time we met? What had happened to her anyway, haven't seen her in a loooong time, koo-weep!"
"Yes, that girl, her name is Fi and..." Link hesitated for a moment before continuing. "She had to do something really important, but she came back unexpectedly and we found her but she didn't want our help because she was fine so we gave her some space to think while we did other stuff and then when we went back she had disappeared and we have no idea where she could be and it isn't like her to just vanish without a good reason without telling anyone, actually she would apologize if we ever got separated even if it wasn't her fault and-"
Zelda took that are her signal to cut the other's babbling as he started drifting to gibberish. "What Link is trying to say is, we are trying to find her and we want to know if you saw her around. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary lately?"
Machi looked at her, blinking. "I haven't seen anything weird! Things have been pretty quiet for a while, kwee. I think I heard some weird buzzing some time ago but it could have been a Deku Hornet."
Zelda sighed slowly as her friend groaned in frustration. "Okay then, thank you very much, Machi. If you do see anything unusual please tell us, alright?"
"Will do, koo-weep!"
The duo turned back toward the path they had gone through before, making their way toward the tree towering above all others. Link leaned his head back, gazing at the tall branches above them as he sighed. "Where did you go now..."
"We'll find her very soon, don't worry." Zelda reassured him, patting his arm.
"It just... isn't like her to d-"
"How adorable, the goddess and her hero taking a stroll through the woods." Echoed a sing-song voice that made them freeze in place and look around, trying to locate the source. A low chuckle helped them detect the right way and they looked at the large roots ahead, finding the demon lord sitting nonchalantly on the thick wood, holding his chin with his hand, elbow leaning against his knee and his other arm folded on his lap.
Ghirahim smirked slightly. "I'm quite curious, why would you travel so far from your safe haven? Did you lose something?"
Link glared at him, gritting his teeth and reaching for the handle of his sword as he stepped in front of his friend, shielding her against any attack the demon could send their way; frowning, Zelda met the white-clad male's teasing gaze with a mildly irritated one of her own. "Why would you even care about that? What do you want now?"
Ghirahim sighed dramatically, shaking his head and allowing the long bangs of his silvery-white hair swish around him before falling neatly over his left eye. "My, you're quite snappish lately, aren't you? Can't I spare a few minutes to simply carry on a conversation with you two without your thinking I've some sort of plan up my sleeve?" The stony silence that followed his melodramatic sentence was enough of an answer. "...Very well. I guess I'll pay a visit to the little blue pest, have fun."
He was about to snap his fingers when the green-clad blond jumped forward, staring at him in surprise. "Wait! You know where Fi is?" His shock turned to fury as he readied his stance. "What did you do to her? Speak!"
In return, the demon raised an eyebrow. "You don't? How distracted can you even get, Sky Child? Even now I can tell her energy is quite low, too much to get where she's at by herself." He sighed in disbelieve louder than necessary as if to mock the other. "How can you lose someone that can't move alone for long? It's as logical as running headfirst into a tree." Rolling his eyes, Ghirahim mumbled quietly. "I really wonder how you of all living beings were able to defeat me and seal my master."
Zelda stepped closer to the demon's sitting spot, biting her lip, troubled. "You know where she is, don't you?"
"Naturally. It's a basic instinct that I'm sure the Sky Child is familiar with." Link frowned at that, not quite sure about what the other was referring to. "Now shouldn't you be able to guide your chosen hero, little goddess?"
"I can't..." She whispered, lowering her eyes.
Ghirahim grinned. "Ah, is that so? Why, pray tell, wouldn't you be able to?"
Zelda shook her head, clasping her hands and giving a small, forced smile in the demon's direction. "That's something don't need to know about."
"Oh, but I'm curious!" He narrowed his eyes, trying to rill her up some more-
"I'm curious too!" Her cheerful words made the two males blink in surprise before she continued, smiling sweetly. "I wonder how good your ability to find things is! But maybe it's just talking since it did take you a very long time to find the second Gate of Time. What do you think, Link?"
The other blond caught on her idea and nodded in agreement as Ghirahim's mischievous eyes dull to barely controlled irritation. "You're right; it did take him forever to find it! He even asked for my help." Zelda gasped, though Link was able to tell the fakeness in it as he shook his head sadly. "I know."
"If you think your teasing and mockery will make me help you, you are so very wrong, little brats." Ghirahim hissed sharply, jumping to the forest floor and glaring darkly at the blonds who looked at each other uneasily. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to enrage the only one that knew where to look.
Zelda sighed and Link relaxed his stance slightly. "Okay, sorry. Seems like that plan won't work..."
"And?" The demon tapped his feet impatiently as the duo exchanged a look.
Link struggled to get the words out, mumbling through clenched teeth. "Can you... help... us find her?"
"What was that, Sky Child? I couldn't hear you."
Closing his eyes, the hero took a deep breath. "Can you help us find Fi?"
"Yes, I can." They looked at the demon with a mixture of weariness and hope, seeing him stand there without making a move. It took them a few moments before something clicked in the back of their heads.
"Err... will you help us?"
Smirking, the demon crossed his arms and replied. "Now, why would I do that?" Both blonds groaned, Link throwing his arms in the air with clear frustration while Zelda hung her head, dragging a palm against her face.
The Skyview Spring was a sight to admire. The tall, white structure that lead from the Temple to the area itself as well as the round platforms that formed a road that lead to the stone Goddess Statue gave an elegant sensation; a metallic, blue crest floated on a small rock platform in front of the Statue and further ahead from the last round platform. Clear, though shallow, water flowed around the area, making the platforms the only dry place; the small waterfalls around the back of the spring breaking the silence but adding to the peaceful atmosphere. A full grown tree stood tall to the left with its roots underwater and large, dark yellow fruits hanging from the branches.
Tiny birds, strangely colored fish, fluttering butterflies and shining fairies moved lazily around the area in a relaxed state. A light buzzing startled the birds, causing them to take flight in order to escape the source.
Scrapper started lowering to one of the round platforms, setting Fi down to her feet gently. "Is this the right place, Mistress Fi?"
"Affirmative. Thank you, Scrapper."
"My pleasure, vzzt!" He buzzed cheerfully, twirling on the air before surveying the area. "What's this place, dzaat?"
Fi wobbled on her feet for a second before taking the first step, approaching the statue. "It's a sacred spring that was meant to help the goddess reawaken her memories and held messages intended for the chosen hero. It's a place with calming, healing and purifying qualities."
Scrapper followed her slowly, drifting his eyes around the area as the blue sprite crouched to her knees, tracing the water's surface with the edge of her cloak. "I see, brrm... Why would Mistress Fi need to get here, vrrt?" He looked at the Sword Spirit after almost a minute of not receiving an answer, whirring quietly in wonder. "Mistress Fi?"
"I hoped the blessed nature of the area would aid me in my remembrance."
"Remember, dzaat?"
"There's something important I just can't recall. It's actually troubling as it's something I require at the present time... however it could take a while before anything occurs and it would be better to concentrate solely on this task." She stood and looked at the small robot, expressionless mask still present. "Perhaps you could let me by myself for some minutes."
If the robot was insulted by being almost literally shooed away, he didn't show it and instead nodded eagerly. "If that's what Mistress Fi wants then I'll comply, vrr-CLANG! Call me if you require my assistance, vrrm."
"If it's possible for you to stay in the immediate area, or at least close to the surface, that would be a better option than returning to Skyloft."
"As you wish, Mistress Fi, vrrm! I'll go to patrol the front of the Temple, dzaaat!" Without another word, Scrapper ascended and floated above the white structure, disappearing from sight as Fi turned again toward the statue, staring at it blankly.
