Chapter 21: Lingering from Beyond
Elsewhere in the forest, the Skull Kid was walking around, minding his own business, although he couldn't help to be bored out of his mind. He had belatedly noticed some travelers having moved through the forest in decent numbers, but these convoys were being heavily guarded by Hyrulean soldiers, thus leaving him unable to do anything to cause mischief lest it would earn him the ire of the people once again. He also deeply missed his friends whom he had made before, being actually curious as to how they were doing. He sighed as he grabbed his flute, taking a look at it for a brief moment before putting it away, before continuing on with his trek, looking for something to pass the time.
"Hey, you!" A male voice then addressed him.
Startled, the Skull Kid froze, looking around to see who called him, before noticing two fairies flying towards him. He couldn't believe his eyes as he recognized them, believing that two of his friends had returned.
"Tael?! Tatl?!" The Skull Kid asked.
"Skull Kid, how nice to see you again. Looking better I suppose?" Tatl asked.
"Could've been better, since I've been bored out of my mind for the past couple of days," the Skull Kid replied, "but it's indeed nice to see you two back. What brings you here?"
"We have little time for small talk however," Tael said, "we have quite a problem going on, and we need your help."
"Huh? What's going on?" The Skull Kid asked, blinking at that.
"Monsters have been appearing all over the land of Hyrule and we assume them to be gathering in Termina too… while most of them have been fought off and other places are relatively secure, most of the people have been moving about for safer areas to settle and regroup." The male fairy replied.
"Seriously? That explains the various convoys I've seen in the past few days… who is behind all of this?!" The Skull Kid asked.
"We've heard from other people that an evil Gerudo ruler named Ganondorf has managed to revive Majora, from that evil mask which had possessed you before, and the two are working together to take over the lands of Hyrule and Termina, perhaps even beyond. They've even killed several people, including your friend from the forest, Link." Tael replied.
"What?!"The Skull Kid asked, clearly taken aback by this news, before turning to Tatl, whom had remained silent, but from her current posture and expression, he knew that Tael was telling the truth.
"Which is why we came here looking for you, to see if you can help us out." Tael replied.
"What do you want me to do?" The Skull Kid replied.
"Our new friends we have made are likely going to try and find a way to bring their comrades back one way or the other, but I feel they can't do this alone, not with enemy monsters getting more numerous and likely setting up patrols or even camps to supply their patrols with weapons and whatnot. We hope you can help us try to sabotage those camps and perhaps look for materials and whatnot that can be useful for our friends. Think of it of causing mischief without being reprimanded for once." Tael replied.
The Skull Kid nodded.
"I'll see what I can do." He said, clearly interested in this prospect.
"That's magnificent," Tael replied, smiling at seeing how the fruits of his idea were beginning to develop, "Tatl and I will proceed further in the forest to see if we can find some more people who will come to assist you. If you have found some useful stuff for us, you can drop them off near the Ice Cave we've discovered."
"How do I recognize that?" The Skull Kid asked, scratching his head.
"You will find it through a hole in the rocky wall along with a chilly atmosphere coming from it, the inner walls are also bluish in color as if they were covered in ice, you can't miss it." Tael replied.
"Very well, I'll do what I can to help out. Thanks for the information." The Skull Kid said, before making his way off to see where he could begin.
After watching him leave, both Tael and Tatl made their way further down the Lost Woods, hoping to reach the Kokiri Forest soon.
Having moved through the remains of Hyrule Field virtually undetected, although having to take a detour to go around the ranch to avoid a number of patrols headed for the Forest area, Rauru finally arrived into what remained of Kakariko Village, to see if there was anything salvageable from there. He did notice that the lava which had once oozed into the village due to the eruption of Death Mountain had mostly dried up, partially thanks to the rain which fell not long after the eruption. He noted that both the Windmill and the Medicine Shop had been completely razed to the ground because of the debris fired from Death Mountain, while most of the other houses, including Impa's old residence and the House of Skulltula have received various states of damage, from minor to quite significant, but nothing that couldn't be fixed, if there would be villagers or workers returning to it that is. Regardless, Rauru went on to explore the ruined village, looking for what he needed to get before departing once more.
Calming down after several minutes, Impa took a few moments to contemplate her next course of action. What would be the best way to solve the issue at hand? Would the Great Fairies be of any help? Or would she somehow have to make an appeal to the Goddesses themselves? These were only a few of the questions that ran through her mind as she clutched the two clothes to her chest.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't do more to try and save you… what am I supposed to do now?" She softly said to herself, mentally berating herself for feeling so miserable, trying to put up a strong front, but how could she even do so with the shocks to her system she had received as of late?
"Impa…"
The Shadow Sage looked up as she heard someone address her name. It sounded young and feminine, but where did it come from?
"What?! Who's there? Show yourself!" She said as she stood up, her kodachi drawn, ready to fight.
"Impa… relax…" The voice said, this time a bit more clearer.
Impa then looked in the direction of the trees to her right, before her eyes went wide… as right in front of her, the spirit of Princess Zelda herself appeared.
"Z – Zelda?" The Shadow Sage asked, blinking at that.
"Yes, it's me, Impa," Zelda replied, a melancholic smile appearing on her face, "I only wish we could have been reunited in better circumstances."
Impa nodded, noting that the colors of Zelda's whole body, with clothes and everything, was a lighter shade of their normal colors, as if the colors had faded a bit at that, and instead of her legs, she sported a ghost-like tail. It was also then that the spirits of Link, Saria, Ruto and Nabooru appeared, lining up around and beside Zelda. Impa looked away from them as if in shame. Zelda noticed this.
"No need to be ashamed, Impa; none of us knew this would happen…" Zelda said to her.
"I know, but… it still pains me to see you lot like this… but how come you're here in the first place? Shouldn't you have departed to the heavens by now?" Impa asked.
"I guess you could blame me for that," Nabooru said, "I used my Spiritual powers in an attempt to at least keep us together, but our wounds were too severe…"
"That and as we passed away, we were filled with so much regret that we just couldn't fully pass on to the hereafter. Even if we did, we would still be lingering with regret, just like the spirits in Ikana Canyon." Link added, looking a bit sad himself, while Impa nodded in understanding.
"How did this actually happen? I mean… the last thing I saw was that you were being sent away to this area by Ganondorf and Majora like cannonballs… you were already dead when we managed to find you…" Impa said.
"It's a long story, but we'll try to keep it short…" Saria said, looking at Link, whom nodded sadly, as if agreeing with her…
"Both Zelda and I didn't exactly land rather softly," Link began, "in fact, when we hit the ground I didn't just stop, instead we actually skid and tumbled backwards through the forest, until we hit our backs hard against a rocky cliff." "Our shields absorbed most of the impact, but broke because of the force we hit the cliff with. The next thing we knew we were falling onto our exposed backs into that pond…" Zelda finished.
Flashback…
Link tried to get up about a minute or so as he and Zelda recovered a bit from being dazed due to the harsh landing. What unsettled him the most was that he couldn't feel his legs anymore, as he was only able to move his arms, upper body and head a little… he could feel the blood leaking from his wounds slowly and judging by how he felt himself getting weaker with each passing minute, made him realize that he wasn't going to make it. This was made more evident as he coughed hard, coughing up blood along with some spit, indicating he also suffered internal damage. Shortly after, he heard Zelda cough hard as well, also coughing up blood, like him, although she miraculously was able to get up, although it went slowly, likely caused by the injuries she suffered.
"N… no… it can't end… not… like this…" Link said with a broken voice, struggling to even speak as blood oozed from his mouth, trying to roll on his stomach to crawl towards the edge of the pond.
"L… Link…" Zelda said, trying to lift him up by supporting him on his left side, wanting to help him get out of the pond they landed in.
"Ze… Zelda…" Link replied, smiling weakly at her, right as there was another loud splash beside them, startling them.
Turning to the side, both Link and Zelda blinked as they saw who it was.
"S… Saria…" Zelda said.
"Y… you too?!" Link asked, watching as the Forest Sage also struggled to get up, also critically injured, succeeding in standing up, but her legs wobbled as she tried to get to them.
"L… Link… z… Zelda… a… are you…" Saria tried to ask.
Link however shook his head.
"I… I can't feel my legs anymore… I… I think m… my back is broken…" The mortally wounded hero replied, moments before vomiting up another splash of blood, which landed in the pond they had landed in.
Saria looked on with a distraught expression, before moving to Link's other side to support him as both she and Zelda limped out of the pond, dragging Link along with them. However, they only managed to make it into a small clearing near a large tree, surrounded by bushes and shrubs when the girls' legs gave out, causing the three to fall down to the ground, with Link laying on his back on the grass in-between two roots of the tree, with Zelda on her stomach on Link's right side, while Saria also laid on her back on Link's left side.
"I… I'm s… so sorry… b… but I'm not… going to make it," Link said solemnly, "this is it for me…"
Both Saria and Zelda were horrified at this, fighting back tears, before they and Link vaguely heard two more big splashes back from the pond.
"H… How about… you?" Link then asked.
"I… I'm h… honestly not too good either… I… I guess I'm coming along to the Great Unknown along with you…" Zelda said.
"M… Me too…" Saria said, just before she saw two people approaching, although her vision started to get blurry.
Link and Zelda also noted them, right as the two collapsed near the three.
"Ruto… Nabooru…" Zelda said.
The Zora Princess looked up, noting Link, Zelda and Saria laying there critically wounded, with the three on their turn noticing that Ruto on her turn had severe burns all over… as if she was nearly fried to death, before the four tried to look at Nabooru, whom had severe bruises and lacerations over them, and her right arm appeared in an odd angle, indicating it was broken. Link couldn't help but shed a tear himself, sniffing as he offered his hands towards Saria and Zelda, whom managed to reach it and laid one of their hands on top of his. The group was then covered by a soft, orange glow…
"N… Nabooru? W… what are you doing?" Saria asked, managing to roll on her back as she laid next to Link, her left hand on his right one.
"T… Trying to keep us alive un… until the others come…" She said.
Link smiled weakly.
"I… appreciate your… efforts, Nabooru… but I'm… afraid it's too late for me…" Link said, before coughing up blood once again.
"For me too…" Zelda said, her breathing becoming a bit more labored due to the pain she was in.
"I… I'm not gonna make it either…" Saria said, her head tilted towards Link, causing Link to look at her, seeing that Saria was crying.
"I think none of us are…" Ruto said, holding her side as she had lost quite an amount of blood there, while Nabooru felt her powers fading as well, despite trying to hold on.
"B… but… the worst thing… about it is… that I… couldn't have seen… this coming…" Link said, his body trembling.
"None… of us did… Link…" Zelda said, trying to comfort him, putting her right hand onto his.
"True… but what I regret the most… is not only that we couldn't save Hyrule this time… but… I couldn't… save… you… even though… I… tried… so…hard….. I… t… tried…." Link then said, before he closed his eyes… and knew no more.
"Link? LINK?!" Saria asked, trying to wake him, but Link didn't respond anymore.
"He… he's dead…" Nabooru said, shedding a tear, "even now… he wanted to save us…"
"Link… I'm… s-so… sorry…" was all Zelda could get out before she too succumbed to her injuries.
"No… Link… Zelda… wait for me…" Saria managed to choke out, her body twitching a few more times, after which the Forest Sage also remained still.
"I… I guess this is it… huh…" Ruto said, smiling weakly after managing to get closer to Link and Zelda.
"I… I'm afraid so..." Nabooru said, nodding solemnly, before she felt blood coming from her mouth.
"I… I'll see you… at the other side then…" Ruto said as her breathing was getting labored.
"Rauru… Darunia… Impa… good-bye…" was all Nabooru could say, after which she and Ruto breathed her last…
"And that's pretty much it." Nabooru said as she floated in her spirit form in front of Impa, whom was once more crying, although much more composed.
"So you're pretty much now lost souls filled with regret?" Impa then said after taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"Yes, we are." Zelda said, looking down.
"Look, we're doing whatever we can to bring you back with us so we can get Ganondorf and Majora both back for what they have done…" Impa said.
"We appreciate it, Impa… but how are you going to do this?" Saria asked.
"All I know is that Rauru is out to look for your equipment and perhaps find something else useful along the line… and I vaguely overheard the fairies Tael and Tatl moving out to see if they can contribute to this as well." Impa said.
"Tatl and Tael?" Link asked, blinking.
"You have heard of them?" Zelda asked.
"Those are the fairies whom were initially with the Majora-possessed Skull Kid in Termina, although Tatl got separated from her brother and remained at my side throughout the whole ordeal there…" Link replied.
"I see." Impa said, nodding in understanding.
Link smiled at this, before his expression grew sad once more.
"What's wrong?" Impa asked.
"I… I can't help but… feel so much regret..." Link replied.
"We all do, Link." Zelda replied, clasping her hands with his.
"Hey, none of us saw this coming…" Impa reasoned.
"True… but… I still feel a big pain in my chest… like a soul that needs to be healed…" Link replied, , looking down while Saria and Zelda tried to comfort him, realizing that Link's soul was the worst affected of them all.
'A soul that needs to be healed?!' Impa thought to herself, before her eyes widened as she remembered something from when Link had returned from Termina…
About eleven months earlier, after Link had returned from his adventure in Termina and had taken a rest in his old home in the Kokiri Forest, both he and Saria were invited to the Temple of Time by Zelda and Impa. Once they arrived there, they saw that Nabooru, Darunia, Rauru, Princess Ruto, Impa and Princess Zelda herself were waiting there for them.
"Hey, kid! It's good to see you back." Nabooru said to him.
"Brother, you simply can't go anywhere without pulling off an heroic act or two, do you?" Darunia said with a bright smile.
"Hehe, you know me Darunia; I simply do what I think is the right thing." Link replied with a smile.
"We couldn't expect anything less from our greatest friend and Hero." Zelda said, pulling him in a friendly hug, making Link blush a little, much to Impa's amusement.
"So, what happened exactly in Termina? We only know or felt bits and pieces…" Rauru then said.
"You may want to sit down if possible; this is going to take a while." Link said.
"Really?" Saria asked, blinking.
"It is quite a story…" Link replied.
"Point taken…" Saria replied.
Once the Sages had sat down, Link told them all about his adventures in Termina in detail, about how he was being caught by surprise by the mask-wielding Skull Kid, of which he later found out through the Happy Mask Salesman that the mask in fact was Majora's Mask. He told how that Skull Kid stole the Ocarina of Time from him and cursed Link to become a Deku, the retrieval of the Ocarina of Time which helped reverting the time and through the same Salesman he got his old form back and how he helped out the population of Termina, being the Deku Kingdom in the Southern Swamp, a Goron settlement in a cursed-winter region known as Snowhead and a Zora population within the Great Bay area, of which he showed proof by showing them the masks and entering those forms he gained from them. Saria found the Deku form adorable, Darunia was highly impressed in the Goron form, recognizing the blood of a great Goron Hero within, while Ruto gulped a bit at seeing the Zora form, being both impressed and slightly intimidated in a way, although each of them agreed that Link looked way better in his Hylian form, to which Link took no offense to. Link told them how he had defeated the monsters that dwelled within the Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay and Stone Tower Temples and how, after he had done everything he could to break the curses and solving the temples, he ultimately confronted Majora within the Moon itself and how Majora had disturbed him concerning his respective forms as well as the appearance of the Moon itself, with the Sages listening in great interest, being as equally disturbed about Majora as Link was. Link also told them about the Fierce Deity's Mask which Majora of all people had given him, but he has kept it away after the battle due to the discomfort the mask gave him, at which the Sages agreed it would have to be attended to later. Link told them about the carnival which he attended shortly before his departure and was also a witness to the wedding of Anju and Kafei, having used his Zora form to help the Zora band in Termina, the Indigo-go's with their scheduled performance in Clock Town, which was an outright success. After partaking in some more events after he and his fairy companion Tatl there had departed from each other, Link eventually decided to return home to visit his friends and see how they were doing, which brought a smile on the Sages' faces, as they learned that, despite all the hardships he went through, Link never forgot about them.
"I have one question though." Zelda then said.
"Ask away." Link said, smiling.
"You said that you learned a song that can heal specific souls… can you play it for us?" She asked.
"Sure thing," Link said as he took out his Ocarina, "this song is aptly named 'Song of Healing'."
Link then began to play the Song of Healing to the group, the song itself echoing throughout the temple. Even though the Sages themselves were very much alive, they could feel all their worry, their pent up emotions, their respective distress… they could feel it all just washing away by that song, as if a wave of love, caring and comfort was gently poured over them to soothe their own souls for that matter. To say that it brought relief to them was a major understatement. Once Link was done playing the song, he blinked as he saw the women of the group shaking a bit.
"Hey, are you alright?" Link asked in genuine concern.
The response he got was that Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru glomped him en masse, resulting in Nabooru holding the four children close.
"That was an amazingly beautiful song!" Saria said.
"I felt as if all my own worries or regrets just washed away from me!" Zelda said.
Link smiled.
"That's the greatest effect of the song. It was through this song I've healed the souls of the Goron hero Darmani, the Zora hero Mikau and I even managed to save a professor whom researches the supernatural from being turned into a Gibdo." Link said smiling.
"You truly are one of the greatest heroes of both Hyrule and Termina. I wouldn't be surprised if songs would be sung of your achievements for a long time to come." Darunia said.
"Thanks." Link said with a smile, returning the hugs that Zelda, Saria and Ruto gave him, before giving a separate one to Nabooru.
Impa then blinked, before regaining her focus, noticing the spirit forms of Zelda, Link, Saria, Ruto and Nabooru looking at her in concern.
"Are you alright?" Spirit Zelda asked.
"I… I'm fine, I just got lost in a past memory for a moment." Impa said, before her eyes went back to her determined look again, before she brought her fingers to her lips.
"What are you doing?" Saria asked.
"Trust me on this, young one..." Impa replied, right before she began to play the Song of Healing herself, having memorized the song from when Link played it for her all those months ago.
The eyes of the five in front of her went wide, the song taking its appropriate effect, pulling them into memories of when they had great times together, just having fun together in the time of peace and whenever a threat would show up, they had the means to combat it. It also brought back memories of their training and how they managed to defeat the forces of Ganondorf and Majora in the unknown land beyond the Woods of Mystery, feeling relief washing over them. After about a minute or two, Impa stopped playing the song, before looking at the spirits in front of her, whom felt visibly relieved, smiling at her.
"Thank you… thank you for that…" Link said, stuttering a little.
Impa smiled.
"It's the least I can do for you now…" The Shadow Sage replied, "So, where do you go from here?"
"Well, under normal circumstances, the five of us would pass on to the heavenly realms and await our resurrection there, but it would still mean that we should leave you behind for the time being…" Zelda said.
"Hmmm," Impa said, beginning to think.
Saria shivered a little, causing Link to comfort her a bit, making Saria smile.
"I must admit that finding a way to resurrect you won't be easy, since we need someone of higher power that ensures that not only your lives, but also your bodies will be restored to your former glory and strength." Impa said, with the five nodding in agreement, "however, I may have an alternative…"
"Which is?" Nabooru asked.
"I want the five of you to temporarily be part of my own body by using my shadow." Impa then said.
"What?! Why do you suggest that?" Zelda asked, blinking at this.
"Since I believe that in your current spiritual forms, you should be able to possess different bodies, like a lifeless armor for example, and move about without being detected." Impa replied.
The five spirits took a moment to think this over, before turning back to Impa.
"We accept your idea, but won't that cause any side effects? Like us merging with you?" Zelda asked.
"No, as the five of you will be kept in my shadow for the time being, which will not affect me." Impa replied.
"Very well then." Nabooru said, before Impa extended her shadow to where it almost appeared like a puddle of black water.
The Spirits of Link, Zelda, Saria, Ruto and Nabooru then dove inside, at which Impa then reverted her shadow back to normal, the five spirits safely tucked inside.
"Hiding in plain sight as a shadow, never thought this was possible." Zelda's voice said in Impa's head.
"Heh, at least you'll be out of sight of everyone else for now." Impa responded, before she moved off.
"Where are you going?" Zelda then asked.
"To the Graveyard in Kakariko Village, to see if I can find something useful there. Darunia is at an Ice Cave watching over your bodies… Navi is there too." Impa replied.
"Navi is there?!" Link's voice asked.
"Yeah… she's also pretty devastated when she learned of what has happened…" Impa replied as she moved further down the forest…