The Day the Universes Collided
Chapter Twenty-Five
Regalion
New Hyrule
Time: 1325 hours
"You're worried about them, huh?" Tetra murmured as she watched Waker conduct at the bow of the ship. The hero bit his lip and nodded slowly, eyeing the mountain that was his friends' destination. "Why not go and help them?" Tetra asked with a grin, "I can hold the ship down easy enough!"
"How?" Waker asked dubiously. Tetra snorted and waved her hand at him.
"Oh, come on! I'm the freaking Princess Zelda! I'll just tell the Sages to lend me some magic and I'll use it to keep the Regalion from being bashed to bits by the wind!" she replied, "You go and help out the landlubbers before those twins throw up all over Death Mountain!" Waker grinned at her and nodded, stepping back as Tetra raised her arms up to the sky. "Sages of the Past and Present! Lend me your strength! Protect my ship and men until the storm's curse has passed and the Hero of Winds and Time has emerged victorious once more!" she cried out.
A bolt of golden lightning struck down from the sky and hit her. Waker cried out in shock, then looked stunned as Tetra was transformed again into Princess Zelda, glowing with the golden power of the Triforce of Wisdom. She turned to smile at him as the same glow spread all over the ship.
"Zelda...." Waker murmured. The princess looked herself over and shrugged offhandedly.
"Eh, it works. So what the frick are you still standing there for? Quit gawking at me and go save the day or something!" she declared and then winked at him, "And come back to me safely." she added in Ancient Hylian. Waker smiled back and ran off, hurrying as fast as he could after his friends.
"Winds of Hyrule! Defend me from the storm!" he cried, waving the WindWaker to summon a protective bubble of wind around him. He raced onwards to Death Mountain.
**********
Wolfang Pass
Time: 1410 hours
Waker raced to the bottom of Death Mountain and looked up, wondering why it seemed clear and windless in a small area around the mountain. Releasing the winds that were surrounding him, he scanned the area in search of his friends. Shouldn't they be here by now? His run-ins with various small Peahats couldn't have delayed him that much? Could it?
"Hero, I wish you could tell me what's going on." he murmured and blinked when a flash of bright light went off near the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was and heard shrieks, followed by a pair of heroes that had gone sailing over the cliff at the peak of Death Mountain. Waker stood motionless for a few moments, unable to grasp the idea that two of his friends were falling to their deaths. Finally, he jumped and yelped.
"Ack! What am I doing just standing here?!" he yelled and held up the WindWaker, conducting furiously, "Winds of Hyrule! Come to my aid once more, please! Surround my friends and bring them to me!" He lashed the wand and pointed at the plummeting elves, "There!"
Dark Link flailed helplessly as Allstar fell after him, arms outstretched to grab him. He finally caught up and snatched at the dark elf, hugging him.
"Got ya!" he declared in a joyful voice.
"You idiot! We're still falling! We're gonna die and you're happy about jumping off after me?! I told you to stay put!" Dark Link shrieked at him, "Now we're both gonna die! It could have just been me, but noooo! You had to go back into your stupid 'Hero Mode' again!"
"Yeah, but then what kind of brother would I be if I just let you fall by yourself?" Allstar pointed out and looked up as a bubble of wind surrounded them, "Oh, hey, Waker's here!" Dark Link squirmed and looked down at the base of Death Mountain, frowning as the bubble took them down to meet the young hero.
"Waker? What are you doing here? What about the ship?" he asked when they landed safely. Waker scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.
"Oh, Zelda's taking care of that! So, what's happening up there? Did you find the figurine?" he asked excitedly. Allstar sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, but Maverick said there wasn't any info available about it. We think the crystals it has are the weak spots, but when we hit one, it threw us off the mountain." he replied. Dark Link frowned and glared at him.
"What do you mean, 'threw us off'?" he snapped, "It threw me off! You jumped off after me!" Allstar shrugged.
"Same difference." he answered. Waker shook his head and sighed.
"Well, I'm here now, so I can help. Let's get back up the mountain and maybe I can help figure it out." he declared and summoned the wind to lift them up to the top of the mountain.
Elfin and Link were lying on their sides in front of the figurine when the three missing heroes arrived. Both looked battered. Maverick looked up from where he was, kneeling over Elfin, and watched the group land.
"Figures." he muttered and stood up, "These two tried to take on the crystals, one for one. Didn't turn out well." The twins ran up and knelt by the fallen heroes, worried.
"They aren't...?" Allstar murmured, unable to bring himself to finish his thought.
"No. But after that electric shock this thing gave them, they should be." Maverick replied and pressed his fingers against Link's neck, "This one's pulse is fairly strong. The other one is a bit weaker." He helped the twins drag the two heroes back from the figurine and watched them as they pondered the mess. "So, what brings you here, Waker?"
"Oh, Zelda's protecting the ship so I can come and help you guys. Did the SPC really have no information about this thing?" Waker replied, concerned about the situation. Maverick nodded and frowned. "Well, you tried to attack it at the same time, right?"
"Yeah, we hit the same crystal at the same time. What's the matter with that?" Dark Link replied. Waker studied the figurine.
"That's my Storm King's Bolero! Cheater!" he yelled at it and sighed, shrugging. "Okay, so then these guys tried attacking both crystals at the same time?" Maverick nodded. "How? What kind of attacks did they use?"
"The usual. Elfin shot at it while Link used the Gilded Sword." the captain replied and snapped his fingers, "They were struck by lightning and not a scratch appeared on this chess piece." Waker pursed his mouth as he eyed the figurine and its bobbing crystals.
"Hmm. Okay, I think I get it now. Look, it's following a rhythm, right?" he pointed out, "So it's all about rhythm. If you were to attack those crystal things without rhythm, it's gonna hit ya back." He grinned and looked back at the twins. "So, all you have to do is work together to attack the crystals, one to each, and move in a rhythm!" he declared. Allstar and Dark Link looked at each other in worry.
"In rhythm? You mean, in synch?" Allstar asked Waker as Maverick grinned and chuckled.
"Heh, he doesn't know about that little part of you two. That little programming flaw that Nintendo never bothered to deal with because you buried it yourselves." he murmured, "So, the time has come for you to reveal and exploit it."
"Mav, shut up." Allstar griped and put his hands behind his head, "Man, I don't want to Synch again! It was weird the first time we did it, right, Dark?" The dark elf mirrored his twin and sighed.
"Yeah, not to mention that for the whole time we were Synched, neither of us had our own minds or personalities. We were a single mind and a single being split into two bodies." he added and pouted, "I don't want to have to do that again! A perfect synchronization? I'd rather marry Joanna Dark!"
"Here comes the bride, dressed not in white...." Maverick sang under his breath. Dark Link made a face.
"Ahhh! Knock it off!" he declared, "I don't wanna do it!" Elfin managed to wake up and sat upright, rubbing his head and listening in on the last part of the conversation.
"Oh, for the love of...it's the last freakin' figurine and you're chickenin' out already?!" he snapped, "Just do it and get it over with so we can figure out how to get home!" Allstar and Dark Link looked back at him in surprise as Link sat up and groaned, holding a hand to his head. The twins looked back at each other, still unsure.
"Should we?" Allstar Link murmured, "It's not quite the Super Link, but it's basically the same, right? And it is the last one...." Dark Link took a deep breath, thought it over quickly and then let it out in a drawn out sigh.
"Okay.... Fine." he mumbled, "I'll do it." Waker smiled up at them brightly.
"Thanks! Is there anything you need to do to get properly 'synched' as you call it?" he asked. Dark Link pulled out his sword and sighed at his reflection.
"Yeah, a makeover. A perfect synch is exactly that. Perfect. I can't be different from my brother in anyway whatsoever." he replied softly and shut his eyes tightly as he reached back and grabbed his braid. Allstar watched him sadly while the dark elf sliced his hair neatly with the Mirror Sword. Link looked up at them in confusion as game actor tossed down the long braid of black hair. "There goes sixty dollars worth of hair care."
"It'll grow back." Maverick muttered, "Now for the hat." Dark Link blanched as he removed the circlet from around his head and set it down.
"Man! I hate that thing! What hero goes around wearing a dorky little hat like that?" he declared. Allstar cleared his throat loudly and jerked his thumb at himself and then made a sweeping gesture to include all the 'normal' Links, each of whom glared at Dark Link. The elf blinked back at them and shrugged. "Insane ones. It figures." he remarked and reached out to grab his brother's hat. "Lemme make a copy then." He melted into a shadowy spot on the ground, then reformed, holding two hats in his hands. He handed back the original green one, then pulled on the jet black replica. "Okay, I'm done. Ready for the synch?" he asked his twin.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Allstar muttered and held out his hands. The two put them together, palm to palm, and took deep breaths, closing their eyes.
"Master Control. This is Allstar Link, code ZN641-KF Level A." Allstar intoned.
"Master Control. This is Dark Allstar Dark Link, code ZN641-WT Level B." Dark Link added after him.
"Requesting the individual personas of Link and Dark Link to be suspended and perfect synchronization to be initiated. One mind to control two bodies until the final order is given." the twins recited in unison, "Master Code, ZAlpha19-96. Perfect Synchronization, initiate."
The heroes watched as a soft blue glow surrounded the twins, a slight wind rushing around them as static electricity crackled over their bodies, rustling their clothes and hair as the mysterious Perfect Synch went on.
"I wonder how they'll act when they snap out of it." Elfin murmured, leaning back against a boulder to rest. Link shrugged as he joined him.
"I don't know, but I hope that their power will be enough now to stop that thing. I really do miss my homeland." he mumbled and sighed tiredly, "I want to be done with the fighting and just live in peace."
"I think it's over now!" Waker suddenly cried as the winds rushed out from the twins and the glowing died away. Maverick stared down at the braid on the ground and collected the circlet, thinking about the Dark Link of his time and world. Allstar and Dark Link pulled away from each other and released their breaths in the same moment. "Allstar? Dark Link? Are you guys okay?" Waker asked, cocking his head in wonder. The twins turned together and looked at him, eyes dull and dark.
"I'm fine for now. The synch went through perfectly, but there is no Allstar or Dark Link now." they said in perfect harmony, "I disconnected the personalities that make each body different. It's one mind, so you have to call me by my synched name. Alpha."
"You sound strange." Elfin muttered, "The exact same voice speaking the exact same words at the exact same time." The twins turned their heads to look at him and grinned, perfectly synched.
"Of course! I'm the core program, the very essence of both Link and Dark Link for the Nintendo 64 games. I control both of their bodies when they ask me to suspend them. The real guys are on a sort of 'Pause' in the Master Control computer network. Like, a limbo of sorts." they replied brightly. They scratched their heads and sighed. "So, what's the trouble? What's so dire that the twins had to risk putting me in charge of them again?" they asked, raising one eyebrow each in a questioning manner. Waker pointed at the figurine.
"That! It keeps playing one of my songs and causing a storm! The way to stop it is to destroy those crystals, but they can only be damaged when attacked in perfect rhythm." he exclaimed.
"Yeah, we tried it out of synch. Got blasted damn good, too." Elfin put in with a laugh. The twins sighed and rolled their eyes.
"All right. I'll handle it. Let's see. They have both the Master Sword and the Mirror Sword, perfect. A few good hits a piece and this'll be done quick and clean." Alpha remarked as they walked up to the figurine. They bent over and studied the crystals carefully, then stood back, scratching at the tips of their noses. "Okay. This one's going to be a bit of a doozy. Let's see. It's playing the notes properly, so what if we reversed it and played it back? Striking the notes in reverse order on the crystals may shatter them." Alpha remarked.
"If you need help, here's how the rhythm goes." Waker told them and conducted the Storm King's Bolero with his finger. Alpha watched it closely and mirrored the rhythm with their fingers. "Yeah! That's it!" Alpha frowned and slowly conducted it backwards, repeating the movements several times until it could flow smoothly in reverse.
"Okay, I think I have it now." they murmured and returned to the figurine, pulling out the swords. Taking on a ready stance, they held the swords out behind them, motionless as they watched the crystals hum and bob up and down.
Elfin watched them with the others, waiting and wondering what was going to happen next. Link looked up and then bent his head, softly praying to the Goddesses as Waker chewed on his lip. Maverick held the circlet in his hands and gazed at the black jewel embedded in it.
"I remember Pichu told me about the last time Allstar and Dark Link synched. It was to defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand to save my soul." he murmured and looked up at the twins. "They nearly lost their individuality. If they keep synching, or remain synched for too long, they'll lose their personalities for good."
Alpha watched as the crystals floated down before them for another note and suddenly lashed forward smoothly, bringing the swords down and then up in a sweep that struck the crystals. A note rang out, the end note of the Storm King's Bolero. The twins spun on their heels and swept again, ringing another note as the crystals floated up to change pitch. One elf to each crystal, they moved in rhythm. Every sweep of the sword, every turn to slash the crystals, was performed like an elegant dance. The figurine began to wobble, arms waving around out of rhythm.
"It's working!" Waker cried and yelped as Elfin reached out and grabbed him, clapping a hand over his mouth.
"Shut up! It's the timing! He's getting the timing to play the notes!" he hissed, "Don't screw it up!"
Alpha had their eyes closed, relying purely on the rhythm to move the twins' bodies. At last, the crystals simply shattered and the figurine flailed once more, then fell, lifeless. Alpha paused, then straightened, looking down at the doll.
"That's that, I suppose." he murmured and looked around, "Now, can someone tell me exactly where I am? And where everyone else came from?" They shook their hands and heads when the heroes began to answer. "Never mind. Something tells me it's a long story and I can't maintain the synch for too long. I'll release Allstar and Dark Link. Just get them back home soon, okay?" he amended and raised their arms. "Master Control! Code Alpha relenquishing command!" he cried and a blast of wind surrounded the twins as a bright flash erupted from them. Waker and the others covered their eyes and blinked when the light faded. Allstar and Dark Link were frowning, one scratching his head, the other with his arms akimbo.
"I never will get used to that." Allstar muttered as Dark Link chucked the hat over the cliff.
"And I still hate that hat!" he added and sighed, "Well, that's the last one. The storm clouds are disappearing. We've saved all the worlds."
"Now we can go home!" Link declared happily as Waker pulled out the IDG capsule and held it out.
"Okay, guys! As promised, here's the IDG capsule!" he exclaimed, "I sure hope it works for you!" The other heroes reached out to claim it.
The capsule suddenly flashed a deep pink color and a 'Q' shimmered over it. Before anyone could cry out, the IDG glowed brilliantly and swallowed them all in a burst of pink light.
All that remained on the ground was a blackened burn and the remnants of a long black braid....