"The Destiny Stone"
Disclaimer: Don't own it
*****
Author's Note: And here we have the next part – and since this is technically the real meat' of the story, it can be called officially Chapter 1. Yes. Well, things will start picking up now. If there was once thing that always bothered me about my first story it was that it took too long to get started.' So here's some action for ya. Enjoy.
*****
"The Destiny Stone" – Chapter 1: The Parting of the Ways
The paper bag lay empty and forgotten as eight children leaned back, staring at the now fully darkened sky. The fire that lay at the center of their camp' crackled, sending sparks of glowing orange high into the cool air. It was a clear night, cloudless and rather chilly because of this fact. However, this didn't seem to bother the group too much, as they were more concerned with stargazing than they were with keeping warm.
Kafei sighed and leaned back. "S'nice to see all the stars for once, there's usually too much light in Clock Town, so a lot of the stars get blotted out."
"Yeah, you have to be somewhere really dark to see the really faint ones," Link remarked. "It's great back at Kokiri, if you can find a clear spot through the trees, that is."
Sond nodded quietly, agreeing. "Sometimes we'd both sit on top of Mido's house and stare at the sky for hours," she giggled. "He didn't like that of course, cause it would wake him up."
"Sometimes at the orpha-, well, back in the village" Kat murmured, turning a little bit red. "Sometimes I'd get up at night to sit on the windowsill so I could look at the stars. People didn't like that too much either" She trailed off quietly. Kat didn't often talk of the orphanage in Kakariko town, and when she did, it was very vague.
Chiron tried his best to cover up the awkward moment. "Yeah, what is it with that? It's almost as if people didn't want us to look at the stars. I mean, they are just stars, aren't they?"
"Where I come from," a small voice intoned, "The stars tell stories about what was and what might still come to pass." Everybody's head turned towards Timbre, who looked rather pale and glassy-eyed as he spoke.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chiron raised an eyebrow. The location of where I come from' was something they had never been able to get fully out of the small trenchcoated boy. If asked, he'd usually clam up and not talk about it again.
This was one of those times. "Nothing," Timbre said after a moment, becoming tacit.
There was another awkward pause, and then Link spoke up. Roving his brilliant blue eyes towards Ty and Nick, he said, "So how about you guys? Anything to add?"
"Eh," Nick shrugged noncommittally. "Sailors us' th' star'y'know, naviga'tion. See tha'?" He pointed generally up. "Tha's th' North Star. S'how y'find y'way hom' if y' lost wi' no compass. Works an'ywhere, e'en at sea."
"What? No mystery? Just a navigation device?" Link scoffed. "That's kind of boring, isn't it?"
"Mebbe s'not for us t'know wha' th' stars do," Nick said. "Tho' we gi' em names, dun' we?" He panned the sky with a pointed finger, naming constellations as he went. "There's th' Warrior, an' th' Archer, an' th' Maiden"
"And that one's the Keaton!" Kafei pointed up, recognizing one constellation.
"Righ'. An' there's th' Amazon, and that really bright one's Canis. An'oh, that one's Alicorn, an' th' Dragon. Can' remember any more though.
"What, no Monkey?" Link said, smirking after a moment. "Y'know, for T-"
Ty, who had otherwise been quietly calm, flared up a bit. "Hey!" He said sharply, a bit stung. His tail twitched, as if it too were outraged at being mocked. "I didn't make fun of you all day!"
Link snorted at his rival. "Don't owe you anything," he said after a moment. Sometimes, the competition between the two of them could become so strained that it was hard to figure if they were actually friends or enemies.
Ty growled a little to himself. "Doesn't cost anything to be nice," he spat back. "I don't make fun of your ears, do I?"
Link pulled at one of his long pointed ears. "Well, I've got em, Kafei's got em, the rest of Hyrule's got em. You're the only person I've ever seen with a tail."
"That doesn't give you the right to make fun of me!" Ty grated, sitting up.
"Just leave each other alone." Timbre suggested.
"Who asked you, Timbe?" Link grumbled.
"Don't call me that!" Timbre twitched. "For once in your life, get my name right. Maybe it was funny the first dozen times, but now it's just annoying."
"He's right, Link. Be nice." Sond said.
"We were trying to have a peaceful evening," Kat added. "Let's keep it that way."
Link stared incredulously at the other members, who were nodding in agreement. "What? Why're you all siding with him?!" Link brushed blonde hair out of his eyes as he gestured wildly at Ty.
"Because you're the one who's being mean-spirited." Sond said matter of factly.
"You're burning bridges, too. You make fun of people and then expect them to side with you later. Someday that's gonna get you in trouble." Kat added.
Behind the girls, Ty gloated. "No wonder you didn't have a fairy for ten yearsnone of them could've stood you insulting them for no reason."
Ty had finally hit a nerve. Link jumped up, and for a moment, it looked like that the rest of the group would have to pull him and Ty out of a particularly vicious brawl. Seething, Link balled his hands into fists, which were shaking a little. But instead of rising to Ty's challenge, Link strode out of camp, breathing out of his nose evenly.
"Where you going?" Chiron asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm goinggoing toget more firewood!" Link's voice sounded strained as it faded into the background. Taking off his long cap, he turned it upside down and shook it viciously until Tatl fell out, cussing. But seeing the look on the boy's face quieted her, and soon her light faded with him into the forest.
Ty shrugged and leaned back. "It's about time someone chewed him out. He's always making fun of people in mean ways."
"Hey!" Sond said suddenly. "You shouldn't talk, you were being just as petty."
The tailtip twitched a little. "Yeahokay, so maybe I overdid it. But I still think he deserved it."
"Where do you think he went?" Kafei scratched his head, retrieving his pocketwatch and checking the time.
Sond shrugged. "Probably wanted to cool his head in the woods."
Ty snorted. "Who cares? He'll come back when he's good and ready. I'll wager he'll be back an hour from now."
"Well, it's almost eleven o'clock now," Kafei remarked. "I dunno about you, but I think I'm gonna go to bed."
The others murmured assent, and got into their bedrolls, which, other than being slightly singed from the evening's earlier incident, were perfectly functional. The fire by now was smoldering to a dim ember, casting a slight glow over the faces of the children, as one by one, they dropped off to sleep. Ty was the last; he stared forward for a long time, the fireglow unable to hide the slightly preoccupied look in his violet and crimson eyes. But soon, he too succumbed to the lull of sleep, and as he closed his eyes, he muttered to himself.
"Don't do anything stupid, fairyboy"
*****
The reflection of the wrinkled, wizened old face was horribly distorted as it looked closely at the silver sphere. Leaning in so closely that the tip of her long nose nearly touched it, the old woman with flames for hair harrumphed haughtily. Pulling a rag out from her dark patterned clothing, she wheezed and breathed on the silver sphere and wiped it with the cloth. Then, satisfied that the artifact was completely clean, she turned away.
Heels clicking at every step, the Fire Witch, known to most as Koume, strode away from the center pedestal of the enormous underground chamber. The ceiling rose a hundred or more feet above her, cumulating in a giant dome. Facades and mosaics decorated the otherwise sparse chamber, although the entire state of the chamber was one of ruin. Most of the more precious stones were missing from the mosaics, and many of the carved forms were missing noses, ears, and were otherwise cracked. Koume seemed unaware of this, as her attention was drawn towards the other who had just entered the chamber.
"You're late, Kotake," she snapped.
Another old hag, identical to Koume in every fashion save that her hair was made of ice, snorted noncommittally as she hovered two feet off the ground, clutching a broomstick between her knees.
"It mattersss not," the Ice Witch known as Kotake hissed, her esses elongated as her voice lowered chillingly. "Are we not of the sssame ssspirit? When one of usss isss presssent, it is like we both are."
Koume narrowed her eyes. "Then if that is true, you know just as well as I that for this ceremony, we need Twinrova's complete physical presence within the chamber. The Parting of the Ways does not lend itself to shortcuts."
Twinrova had once been one entity, a powerful Gerudo witch and weaver of the arts of Fire and Ice. However, the two elements clashed with each other so horribly in her person that she was unable to become completely adept in either of them with the limits of a single body. Therefore Twinrova had decided to completely separate the Fire and the Ice. In the process, her very being was cloven perfectly in two, and the single personality became two: Koume and Kotake.
But that had been nearly three centuries ago, and the split personalities had soon grown apart. Separate from each other, the Fire and Ice had quickly been mastered by the sisters,' but the two opposite elements continued to clash and bicker constantly. Koume was aware of this, and quickly corrected herself.
"I apologize. This is important, if we want Ganondorf to fully realize his potential-"
"Yesss, we mussst cooperate fully for thisss to sssucseeed," Kotake agreed sullenly. She zipped away on the broomstick, slowly circling the dome until she reached its apex. The dome had eight holes about its circumference, representing the four main compass points and those between them: North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, and Northwest.
Kotake paused at the Eastern hole, hovering in front of it. "The risssing sssun ssshall enter from thisss opening," she called down to her sister.' "Ssso, for itsss light to ssstrike the ssssilver sssphere, we ssshall need to reflect the beam of light towardsss the center."
"I have the mirrors down here. Now, we must get the angle perfectly, we only have one shot at this. Sit tight a moment, Kotake." Koume waddled over to her broomstick, mounted it, and retrieved several mirrors from her robe. Hovering to the western end of the dome, she paused several times, looking back up at her other half. When her line of sight was a perfect line to Kotake, she paused. "Here. The light will strike here first. Now, the angle." She levitated the first mirror into place, adjusting the angle of the glass with a jeweler's precision. She stared intently towards the center of the chamber and the pedestal, on which the silver sphere rested. The mirror had to be in perfect position, otherwise the light would not strike the sphere.
Kotake sighed. "Hurry upwe don't have much time before the ssssun rissses. And for thisss ssspell to work, both our powersss musssst be ssstrong. Asss the sssun rissses, your power ssstrengthensss, but asss it hasss not yet chassssed off the cold of the night, my power ssstill remainsss."
"Yes yes, I know that," Koume snapped, her focus still on the mirrors. "We've always had to do collaborative spells at dawn. Maybe if you hadn't been late-"
"I wasss on important bussssinesss, you know that!" Kotake snapped back.
"Did you find one, then?"
"Of coursssse," Kotake smiled.
"Everything is ready down here. Come down and show me."
Almost gleefully, the Ice Witch flew down to meet her other half. From her patterned robes she retrieved a medium-sized crystalline object. It was eight-sided, and shaped like a quartz charm, pointed at one end. It continually changed color, although otherwise remained perfectly inert, nestled comfortably in the old hag's gnarled palm.
"Excellent!" The Fire Witch cackled. "A Destiny Stone! We're lucky that there are any left."
"I believe thisss isss one of the lasssst. Perhapsss there are othersss, though I highly doubt it"
"Yes, tis a shame such a rare object will have to be destroyed in the process of our spell," Koume sighed, her round bulbous eyes apathetic. "But if you want to successfully break Destiny, well, you'd better be ready to shatter a physical representation of it."
Kotake nodded. Flying over to the center pedestal, she made several mysterious passes with her withered hands, and the Destiny Stone floated out of her palm and took its place, silently suspended above the silver sphere. It rotated, glimmering, but was otherwise complacent.
"It isss good," Kotake declared. "Thisss Sssstone hasssn't been awakened yet. Are all the preparationsss in order?"
"Yes," Koume declared, taking her place beside her sister.'
"Now" Kotake mused, staring upwards. "All we require isss for the ssssun to rissse."
"The spell is nearly ready." Koume echoed, also turning her chin towards the dome's apex. "Now, we wait."
*****
Timbre's eyes snapped open suddenly, and he immediately wished he hadn't. Blearily, he sat up, rubbing his sandy visage with a groan. The blackened birthmark across the boy's left eye contorted with his face as he yawned hastily.
Something was wrong, that he knew. But whatever it was, it hadn't woken the rest of his friends. Timbre's head turned slightly as his vision roved over the half dozen sleeping forms surrounding the remains of the fire. Looking up, Timbre noted that it wasn't quite yet sunrise. In fact, he reasoned, from the look of it, the sun would not be rising for a few more hours. He also noticed another thing.
Link had not yet returned. Timbre sighed. That must have been what woke him up. But what ifwhat if that meant that he was in trouble? The boy groaned. So much for getting back to sleep. That last worried thought had practically decided for him.
He had to go find Link.
Standing up, quietly, as not to disturb his other friends, he threaded his way out of the camp, adjusting the trenchcoat more comfortably on his back as he did so. Turning his step towards the woods, he had a sudden second thought. He wasn't quite sure which way Link had stomped off.
The boy shrugged. Guess he'd have to try a few little tracking maneuvers. But before he did that, better make sure his friends knew where he'd gone. Thoughtfully, he thrust his hand into his trenchcoat pocket, fished around a moment, before withdrawing a very irate green fairy.
"Obol, wake up!" the boy hissed.
If Obol were able to scream, he probably would've been doing so. The mute fairy thrashed out of the boy's grip, resisting the urge to bite the boy's finger as he broke loose. Obol, now in a state, flickered directly in front of Timbre' nose, forcing the boy to take a step backwards.
"Ack! Okay, sorry I did thatbut I need you to do something for me. I'm looking for Link."
Obol's minute face contorted into a sneer.
"Look, just go back to the camp. If I'm not back with Link before the sun's up, get them awake and send them after us. I don't know why, but I think he's in trouble."
The green fairy rolled his eyes, but nodded grudgingly.
"Thanks." Timbre smirked.
With a motion that suggested a haughty harrumph,' Obol righted himself and zipped off in the direction of the camp. Soon he was completely lost to sight.
"Well, at least they'll know where I've gone," Timbre muttered, carefully removing his trenchcoat. Folding it, he placed it aside. "NowI gotta figure out which way he's gone." The boy closed his eyes in concentration.
A moment later, the human boy had been replaced by a different creature entirely. The wolf shook himself off and blinked several times. A striking mixture of black and white, the lupine seemed to admire himself for a moment. Then, seemingly satisfied with himself, Timbre put his now super-sensitive nose to work, sniffing about.
Timbre and Link had never really gotten along, although they didn't argue as much as Link and Ty did. In fact, Timbre wasn't always sure of his status as a friend' in Link's eye. Then again, that just might have been the product of an overly paranoid imagination. As for Timbre himself, he figured he couldn't be too choosy about his friends. Link was a friend, as far as he was concerned, no matter how annoying or insulting he could make himself sometimes.
As the cool nighttime odors of the forest filled his nose, Timbre finally detected a familiar aroma. That, Timbre thought with a lupine grimace, would be Link. Link had a very distinct smell. Maybe it was just because of his occupation, or just because he didn't like to shower (many kids don't, after all), but Link tended to have the smell of one who had spent a very active day out in the hot sun.
Well, Tim thought as he followed the trail into the heart of the Lost Woods, pausing only to pick up his trenchcoat in his jaws. At least he doesn't smell like garbage.
After at least a half-hour of trotting, Timbre's paws hit mossy soil, now fully descended into the Lost Woods. Link's scent was growing steadily more poignant. I must be getting close, Tim thought, his mouth full of trenchcoat. Luckily he hadn't run into any floral or faunal obstacles, and Timbre was feverently hoping that Link had been just as fortunate.
If he hadn't had his nose to lead him, Tim would probably had slim to no hope of tracking down the Hylian. The Lost Woods wasn't named so superficially, after all, and there was an aura of a very powerful sort that hung in the air like physical mist. This forest is just oozing with magic, Timbre thought in awe. And he was right. There was this ancientness about the Lost Woods that covered everything like a cowl. Everything about the forest was old, and everything that grew in it was old as well. No small wonder then that there were no signs that Link had passed by recently, other than scent.
Timbre shuddered a little, and half-missed having the presence of Obol hovering around his ears. Having any sort of guide in the Lost Woods was a very good idea. There had been legends about the fates of those who were consumed fully by the ambient peace of the woodsone who fell asleep in the Lost Woods was very likely to wake up finding himself a mere skeleton. Ugh! Timbre shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought. Stop thinking about that, the wolf chided himself. You've still got a job to do.
As fate would have it, Timbre wasn't too long in completing that job. The Lost Woods, being as magical as it was, was very adept at causing its intruders surprise. The silence of the mists was broken as the underbrush behind Timbre suddenly started rustling loudly. And by the amount of rustling, whatever it was was much too large for the small statured wolf's liking. His brisk trot quickly became more of a run. Whatever that thing was, Tim was not about ready to tangle with it. He was here to find someone, after all, not beat up on skeletons.
Another thing the Lost Woods was increasingly good at was sudden transportations. Without a second thought, the wolf plunged into a hollow log that still smelled of Link. So it was that Timbre had absolutely zero reaction time before he suddenly found himself spat out the other end of the wooden tunnel, in an unfamiliar clearing, unable to check his tumbling. And he wasn't the only one in that clearing. With a yelp of alarm, the wolf collided heavily with the back of someone's legs.
"Ack!" Link's knees buckled as a sizable furry bulk suddenly cannoned into him, effectively dropping his legs from beneath him. Not allowing dazedness to set in, he leapt off whatever had knocked him off his feet, drawing his sword. "Hyah!"
Timbre stared, cross-eyed, at the sword that was now pointed directly at his forehead. He blinked in surprise, and swallowed heavily. This wasn't exactly his idea of a warm reunion.
Tatl, who had been orbiting the boy's head, squinted suddenly. "Fuzzy?! What the heck are you doing here?!" Link blinked as his fairy partner spoke, then relaxed his grip on the sword, though the cross expression on his visage did not dissipate.
"Timbe." It wasn't a question. "What are you doing here?"
The wolf picked himself off the ground with as much dignity as he could muster. He grumble-growled something under his breath. His human speech unfortunately didn't translate very well in his present form, so all he was able to say was "Garrrf."
The Hylian sighed in exasperation. "In a language I can understand, please!"
"Grrrrf." The wolf was abruptly replaced by the human boy, who busied himself picking all the moss and twigs off of his shirt and pants. "I said, I was just looking for you. I thought you'd need help for some reason."
"Well," the boy with the sword said, sheathing his weapon, "You thought wrong. I'm perfectly fine."
Tatl smirked. "Well, fine' in the sense that he's completely and utterly lost." She swerved out of the way before Link's hand could swat her.
"I know the way back just fine!" Link snapped.
"No you don't," Timbre sat cross-legged on the ground. "Even with Tatl, you're in pretty deepp. How long have you been lost?"
"Well," Link chewed his lip, avoiding the question. His blue eyes roved around as if the trees were feeding him excuses. Finally he mumbled aloud, "I'm not lost. I was just trying to get a break from all of you guys, accusing me of being mean. Stupid Tystupid everyone"
"Well, maybe if you weren't so eager to mock everyone, they wouldn't say that."
"I was just joking around, you know." Link's brow un-knitted.
"Well, just telling you, I think you hurt his feelings. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to apologize when we get back."
"Apologize? To him?! No way! I'd rather die!" Link crossed his arms stubbornly.
Timbre rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "Whatever. I think I can smell the way back out of here. You ready to come back yet?"
"No." The stubborn streak continued.
"Oh get over yourself, Link" Timbre groaned, retrieving his fallen trenchcoat, which had been dropped in the confusion. "Just because you can't admit you were wrong-"
"Hey, I didn't ask you to show up and lecture me," Link sniffed. "Besides, I've never seen this clearing before. I want to explore it before I leave, I might never find it again." This had a double purpose. First of all, it changed the subject off of the quarrel, and second of it, it fueled the young boy's adventuresome curiosity. He strode off deeper into the clearing, Tatl hovering by his ear.
Timbre rolled his eyes and followed. "You know, this might not be a good idea"
"What? You getting feelings' again?" Link didn't look back, though this didn't dampen the mocking tone much. "Or are you just being cowardly?"
Timbre gritted his teeth. "I am not cowardly. And you're doing it again."
"What am I doing?"
"Insulting people. It wouldn't hurt to be nice for a change."
"Heh." Link snorted. "Look who's talking. Before you met us, you wouldn't have been nice to save your life."
"Yeah, wellpeople change." Timbre chewed his lip. "And where would I have been without friendsCome on, you'd be upset if one of us died, even Ty, right?"
"WellI dunnoTy?" Link paused.
"You'd be really upset." Timbre reiterated darkly.
Link started walking again slowly. "Yeah, guess I would," he admitted.
Tim nodded. "You see? Y'know, sometimes I wonder."
"What?" Link looked back, stopping in his tracks.
"Well, the fact that all of usSond, Kafei, Chiron, everyonethe fact that we all just happened to meetit's kind of amazing that it did happen. I mean, we're all from completely different placesthe chances of all of us just happening to meet are astronomically improbable. We could've all justnever met"
"Yeah, and then the world would've been screwed five times over," Link said. "I dunno, maybe it was our destiny or something. What you said earlier about the stars, that they tell the future or something."
"Still, I'm glad I have you guys as friends," Timbre remarked.
Link was about to reply when the ground he stepped on suddenly collapsed under his weight. He yelled in shock as the ground around him crumbled and he lost his balance, tumbling headfirst into the gaping hole that had suddenly opened itself under him. Timbre too found himself caught in the hole as the area around them for several meters suddenly gave way into the sinkhole. Both their screams echoed faintly, fading out as they fell down further. Tatl yelped, and flew down the dark pit after the two children.
"Link! Fuzzy! Are you okay?"
The fairy's wings buzzed in a blur as she sped down the hole. It wasn't a direct drop, as the hole slowly evened out into an incline. But it was still incredibly steep, and went on for at least several hundred feet. The small point of yellow light darted about in panic as the tunnel exited into a subterranean cavern.
"You guys? Come on, answer me!" Tatl's shrieks echoed through the cavern, choked with worry. Chiseled rock formations were thrown into sharp relief with the sudden intrusion of Tatl's golden light. "This isn't funny!!!"
A quiet groan to her left answered her. She hovered over towards the sound, and was rewarded with a stunned and disheveled ten-year old face, which although a bit bruised, dirty, and cut up, was otherwise okay.
"Link!" Tatl actually hugged the Hylian's ear in relief. "Are you alright?"
Link groaned and sat up. "Just peachy, if you ignore the fact I'm cut and bruised and aching all over." But the boy managed a lopsided grin. "How about you?"
"I flew down, so I'm alright. Where's Fu- I mean, Timbre?"
Link's face contorted slightly in pain and concern. "We were pretty tangled up on the way down here, he should be nearby. Man it's dark down hereI wish I had more light so I could look better"
"Don't bother, I found him." Tatl murmured from nearby.
"He'sright?" Link swallowed, reading in to Tatl's subdued tone of voice.
"YeahI think sohe's unconscious though."
"Can you bring him around?" Link looked concerned.
"I'll tryHey Fuzzy!! Wake up!!!" Tatl yelled shrilly into the unconscious boy's ear.
Link sweatdropped. "I meant likerevival magicnot screaming at him..."
But Tatl's unorthodox method seemed to pay off when Tatl poked the stunned Timbre in the nose. The effect was rather immediate.
"ATCHOO!" Tim's sneeze echoed loudly through the cavern, and slowly, one eye opened. Then the other eye followed, though the pupils remained rather dilated. His vision was a bit blurry, and not very good, seeing how dark it was.
"Wu? Where are we? What happened? What's for breakfast?" He groaned vaguely.
"UhWe fell down a hole," Link said, a bit lamely. "And now we're stuck in this cave. And it's not even dawn yet, so stop thinking about food."
"Ugh" Timbre seemed slightly less dazed. "Where's th' hole we fell down? Can we climb up it again?"
"MaybeTatl?" Link looked at his fairy.
"Uh, problem there guysthat tunnel we came downit's rather steep."
"How steep?" The Hylian chewed his lip while prodding bruises.
"Uh, about a seventy degree slope before it inclined. Before that it was completely vertical.
"And how far did we fall?"
"Uhprobably a good two hundred feet."
A few choice curse words echoed through the cavern from Link's lips.
"Well," Timbre laughed humorlessly, "Guess I was right about you being in danger after all. Just was a bit badly timed, that's all." He sat up, ignoring aches for the most part. "I suppose we could always explore aroundthere might be another exit. If not, well, then we can come back here and worry about climbing back the way we came in."
After a few minutes' recovery time, the trio decided it was time to move out. Timbre had, in the meantime, explained that he'd left Obol back at the camp.
"So, even if we can't get out of this ourselves, at least everyone else knows were we are. Sort of." Link seemed slightly relieved about this as the group started forward, keeping close so they didn't lose each other in the low light.
"Yeah, well, I'd still rather find us a way out before they have to worry themselves too much," Tatl remarked.
"And remember, there's always that tunnel. If it ends up we're in dead end, I can just sniff around and lead us back to where we started," Timbre offered.
The cavern was full of old echoes and inky blackness. From time to time, they stumbled over ground formations, although fortunately the ceiling was high enough that they didn't have to duck. The art of spelunking was new to most of them, as most of the underground exploring the three had attempted had been artificial structures, not natural caves. The cave smelled (even without the benefit of a canine nose) slightly dank, which probably meant there was an underground spring feeding out somewhere.
"I hope this isn't one of those subterranean lakes I've heard about" Tatl said after a moment. "The water in those is black and ice cold. Once you fall in, well, there's a good chance that unless you're pulled out right away, you'll freeze. And there's these tales of weird things that live in themlike fishes with no eyes that'll strip flesh from bones in seconds."
"Ugh." Timbre shuddered. "Don't talk about stuff like that now. Wait until we're out of here."
"Well, what do you want me to talk about, Fuzzy? I'd rather hear something than just silence. Cause this cave doesn't seem to be very talkative."
Timbre was starting to feel grumpy. "Well, no offense, but I'd rather hear the cave than your incessant scree-"
"Hey!" Link suddenly yelled. "Tatl, douse your light a moment." Without waiting for the fairy, Link scooped the fairy into his cap, plunging them all into darkness.
"Mrrrph!" Tatl's muffled yells could be heard.
"What are you doing?" Timbre said curiously.
"Look directly ahead of you."
Timbre squinted, and ahead of him, though it was dim and weak-
"Light! Coming down from that way. Come on!"
They needed to release Tatl before they could continue, and the fairy was not pleased. Once her yells had subsided, the two boys explained to her what they'd seen.
"Alright, let's go!" She piped. "Just never, ever do that to me again, Link! I thought something bad had got me for a moment!"
The room where the light was coming from was different. For one thing, it didn't smell nearly as damp. Instead, there was a kind of pleasant earthy smell. And unlike the cave, this chamber seemedartificial, as if it had been carved out. The floor was even for one, and the walls were smooth. As Tatl flew out into the middle of the room, it came into better light. The ceiling was high above them. From what they could see, the dim growing daylight seemed to be streaming from several holes up in the ceiling.
"Guess we found another dead end way out," Timbre groaned. "Unless we wanna try climbing up this wall"
"Guys!" Tatl exclaimed, excited. "Check this thing out!"
She was situated directly over a stone pedestal at the end of the chamber. The ancient pedestal was expertly carved so it looked overgrown by stone vines. But the pedestal wasn't what the fairy was exited about, as Link and Timbre were able to see.
On top of the pedestal rested a stone. At first glance, it appeared to be an eight-sided quartz stone about the size of a grown man's fist, pointed at one end. But unlike most stones (even precious ones, for that matter), it seemed to be changing color in the influence of Tatl's golden glow. One moment it appeared a gentle green, and then it would abruptly turn reddish. It was just becoming a light kind of aqua when Link finally spoke.
"Wow. What's that thing?"
As he spoke, the light from outside suddenly brightened, and a bright ray of sunlight seemed to burst through the ceiling, bathing the pedestal and the stone sitting on top of it in the first light of the new day.
*****
At that exact moment, the same first sunlight plunged through the eastern dome hole of Twinrova's temporary domicile. The light struck the carefully set mirror, and the refracted light ray in turn shone onto the silver sphere in the center of the chamber. Kotake and Koume, who were playing a card game, were alerted.
"Sunrise!" Koume declared suddenly, looking up at the sunlight.
"Hold on," Kotake hissed, still engrossed in the game. "I am tapping two sswampss and a foressst, and sssummuning a Quirion Druid."
"Kotake!" The Fire Witch snapped, tweaking her sister on the nose. "Stop playing! The sun is rising! It is time to cast the spell!"
With a screech, the cards suddenly puffed into smoke, and the twin witches arose on their brooms, cackling.
"It is time!"
*****
"Woah." Timbre hung back near the entrance, but Link stepped forward towards the pedestal, awe in his voice. "This thing looks mighty impressive. I wonder if it's a treasure?" As the boy strode into the illumination, he blinked, hesitating, his fingers outstretched but not yet touching the stone. "Must be really special, to be hidden so well, all the way down here."
"Mmmhmm" Tatl hovered higher towards the ceiling, examining the shaft that allowed the daylight to stream through. "Hey guys, I could fly through this hole and get help, I think!"
But neither of them was really listening to the fairy. Timbre started forwards, crossing the chamber. "Link, I dunno. Something is really, really making me feel bad about that stone. I wouldn't touch it if I were yo-"
Timbre never finished his sentence, as Link reached out and lifted the stone from the pedestal. Almost at once, there was a high-pitched whistling sound. At first, it seemed to come from a far distance. But soon the rushing winds became louder and louder, until the sound was completely deafening and bellowed in their ears like a gale. Both boys froze as a blast of highly magical air roared around them, scattering the daylight in its brilliance. Tatl, high above though she was, shrieked as the strong wind blew and buffeted her tiny body about in a dizzying whirlwind. As the fairy was swept along the ceiling, she managed to catch hold to the edge of one of the shafts, and hung on for dear life, screaming.
Then, like a sigh, the wind died down, and Tatl felt the air currents of the room return to normal. Letting go of the wall, she peered downwards, but the bright light from the entrance made it hard to see anything of what had happened. At first glance, she could still spot two vague dark shapes at the bottom.
"Link? Tim? You alright?" The fairy's voice echoed hollowly throughout the chamber. This time, however, there was no answer. "Guys?" She rasped faintly, and she slowly sank lower and lower towards the pedestal. A lone figure stood directly in front of the pedestal, but something was wrong-
"Link? Link! LINK!" Tatl screamed as she descended, but it was like the boy was frozen solid.
Or, more appropriately, as it was literally the case, turned to stone. Tatl waved and yelled right in front of his eyes, but Link simply continued to stare lifelessly forward, eyes frozen eternally in a state of slight surprise. The stone he had taken was still held tightly in his stiff frozen hands, though it no longer changed color, instead remaining a crystalline white. "Link" Tatl whimpered, placing a tiny hand on the Hylian's stone cheek. It was smooth, made of some sort of blue-toned crystal, but deathly cold.
In a complete state of shock, Tatl turned to Timbre. But he, too, was now only a statue, frozen wide-eyed. He'd never even made it to the pedestal. He was stuck where he had been, halfway across the floor, one foot in the process of taking a step. His mouth was open in a sentence he had never finished. "Fuzzy! Come on Fuzzy! Wake up!" The fairy's body collided violently with the stone head, glancing harmlessly off the polished crystal. Unlike Link's ice blue form, Timbre's entire substance now appeared to be made of bright emerald green stone. "Fuzzycome onwake upwhat'll I tell Obol" Tatl choked, pounding her fist helplessly again and again on the stone boy's ice-cold nose. But this time, there was no answering sneeze, no waking up.
Tatl sunk until she hit the floor and crumpled. Both statues glittered in the sunlight, but were otherwise silent. Tatl choked to herself, halfway between complete hysteria and crying. "I gotta go find help," she mumbled finally, pulling herself to her feet, legs shaking. "Gotta go find the others" Concentrating, Tatl managed to pull herself together enough to take off. Wings beating, she quickly rose to the top of the chamber once again. Turning around, she stared forlornly downwards at the two small statues, which just a little while earlier, had been living, breathing, and arguing with her.
"Don't worry," the yellow fairy said, swallowing her tears back. "I'll be back, you guys"
Without a second glance, she plunged up the light shaft as fast as her wings could carry her.
*****
Koume and Kotake encircled the silver sphere, gnarled old hands clasped together as they closed their eyes. Above them, the Destiny Stone Kotake had retrieved hovered like a ghost, rotating slowly. It continued to change colors at odd intervals. The silver sphere began to glow gently under the bathing influence of the morning sunlight.
"Concentrate, Kotake. We have only one Destiny Stone to complete the spell with, after all. If it shatters prematurely, all of this will be for nothing."
"Of thisss," the Ice Witch hissed, "I am perfectly aware, Koume." Then she fell silent as Koume began to speak in a intense voice.
"Let it begin." The Fire Witch sucked in a deep breath, and in response, two-dozen torches around the circumference of the room instantly flared to life. Kotake bowed her head, and ice crept along the base of the torches and icicles formed around the silver sphere's base.
Then, raising their voices as one, the two witches began to speak a rhyme in a voice that would have raised chills along the spines of any who dared listen:
"Destiny calls and fate demands,
Together, close as clasping hands,
Gone evermore shall be those days,
I call the Parting of the Ways!
Close the eye and seal the mind,
Unravel what was once entwined,
Fade the memory till they forget,
As if the fools had never met!"
As Twinrova spoke, her two voices combined in unison, the silver sphere began to shake. Small points of light, like minute constellations or stars appeared along its surface. As the spell progressed, the points of light began to travel across, creating the illusion of stars falling from the sky. Then the light motes began melting together, feeding directly into the iridescent stone floating above it The Destiny Stone stopped changing colors, and became a hot molten red orange, as if superheating. The Stone started to vibrate more and more violently as the last words of the spell were uttered.
Then, as the last stanza was spoken, a jet of what appeared to be ice smashed into the Stone, and with an devastating resonance, it shattered violently into dust. However, instead of falling to the ground, the dust remained in the air. As the witches nodded with closed eyes, the shattered remains of the Destiny Stone coalesced into a cloud. The cloud roiled furiously, and quickly turned an angry violet maroon. Lighting jags filled the chamber, as the small storm rose alarmingly, growing at a disquieting rate. Soon the storm cloud filled the entire dome. Lightning and thunder shook the chamber violently.
Then both pairs of witches' eyes snapped open, bloodshot and strained.
"GO!" The two shrieked.
With a deafening explosion, the magical storm burst through the dome, taking the substance of the ruined building into its own. Soon, the sky darkened with its presence, as it blotted out all sunlight. Riling about, it seemed to orient itself for a moment. It froze, and then suddenly began snaking swiftly towards the north. As darkness was plunged upon the land, the two witches looked at each other.
They both laughed, one voice burning to the soul, the other freezing to the bones.
*****
Even as Tatl flew out above the canopy of trees, until she hovered above the Lost Woods itself, throat rasping and sobs riddling her entire body, the sky was already turning dark. Trying to find her bearings, the shaken fairy looked desperately around.
What she saw nearly made her drop out of the sky. In the horizon to the south, the fairy could see huge jags of lightning piercing the sky as the gigantic magical storm rushed towards Hyrule Plain like a charging herd of mad bulls.
"What on earth-" Tatl's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the storm as a powerful magical disturbance. A storm of that calibersomebody was trying to cast a spell so powerful that it would affect and change the entire land. Could whatever had done this turned Link and Timbre to stone? No, it couldn't be possible. And that stone that Link had so foolishly picked up, it couldn't have done all this. A magical storm of that strengthTatl looked up again at it, color draining from her small face. Already it was a lot closer. A storm such as that could only be cast by a very powerful magic user. There was no way that two boys could Tatl chewed her lip, before suddenly remembering the camp. She had to get help! And she had to warn them of thisthis storm!
All other thoughts streaming from her mind like water in a sieve, Tatl angled her wings in the direction of the forest's edge, as behind her, the storm gained on her, roaring and rumbling like a wild beast. Almost instantly, however, she collided with another fairy.
It was Obol. For a moment, both fairies stared in shock at each other. Then Obol's eyes narrowed. Although he couldn't speak directly, it was obvious what he wanted to know from the worried, alarmed, and confused expression on his face.
"Obol! Oh Obol" Tatl broke down, trying hard to keep herself together. It was with slight alarm that Obol suddenly found Tatl collapsing in his arms. The green fairy's eyebrows furrowed, and he clasped her about the shoulders, shaking her gently. The motion seemed to enervate and calm her at the same time.
Tatl stared the green fairy in the eye, her face wet. "Obol, something's happened, something horribleand this storm's comingyou know what it is, don't you?"
Obol nodded seriously.
"Oh, it's all my fault!" Tatl sobbed. "Linkand Timbrethey've been cursedor something" She sobbed out everything from their discovery of the hole into the Lost Woods to the sudden transmutation into cold stone. "And now, I don't know what to do about thembut we have to warn the others, and try to find a way to get Tim and Link back"
Obol swallowed hard, but managed to stay rather collected. Grasping Tatl firmly by the wrist, he started flying and pulling her towards the direction of the camp, a determined look upon his silent visage.
It was hard to tell what woke everyone up first, the thunderclaps of the storm or the desperate screams of Tatl.
"Guys! We need to get to safety!"
"What?" Kafei jerked awake. "What's wrong?"
"That!" Ty pointed.
"That's a magical storm!" Chiron cried, his eyes wide. "But, I've never heard of one being that large before"
"Why is it happening now, though?" Kat yelled, alarmed.
"A magical storm only occurs when somebody has tried to work a great change" Dink, Kat's fairy, shook her head in disbelief. "A change of monumental proportions. But why-"
"Someone's trying to place a spell upon the whole world" Tatl moaned pitifully. Dink caught Tatl as she slumped, wings fluttering helplessly.
"But why would someone want to do that?" Sond asked.
"Who knows!" Dink half-shouted. "Just get going, now! We can't be caught in its vortex at any cost!"
"Where do we go?" Ty yelled, looking around.
"An' whe'res Link n' Timbre?" Nick yelled, the crash of the ever-closing storm beginning to drown out voices.
Tatl sobbed into Dink's shoulder. "They're gone"
"What?" Sond stared. Above them, a jagged fork of lightning caused them all to duck in fright. The explosive thunderclap that followed was completely deafening to their ears. "I wish Kas were here," Sond whimpered as the noise resided. "He'd know what to do"
Ty nodded, looking up at Tatl. "Where are Link and Tim? What do you mean by, they're gone?'"
"It's too complicated, I can't explain now, just go! Get to the Castle Town, someplace underground, quickly!" Tatl found her voice again. "Just get out of here!" All of the fairies began pulling at their charges, urging them to come away.
"Not until we find our friends!" Sond yelled, pushing her fairy out of the way.
"Yeah! We aren't going to leave anyone behind!" Ty yelled. Behind him, Kat nodded fiercely. Now the storm was upon them. Violent winds rippled through the trees, scattering leaves and dust everywhere. Kafei put an arm across his eyes, bracing himself.
"Stupid kids!! Why don't you listen?!" Tatl said, some of her old screech back. "Justgo!"
"No, we can't leave!" Ty said, stamping his foot down. "It's too late anyway. Everybody, grab hands and brace yourselves, and whatever you do, don't let go of each other's hands."
The fairies, who had each been trying (and failing) to get their charges to safety, shrugged, and braced themselves against their respective charges. Tatl and Tael hung close to Ty, and Obol clung to Nick, gritting his teeth. The children grabbed each others outstretched hands, forming a rough circle. Around them, ashes blew, singing their faces and streaking them with black.
After that, any amount of shouting was drowned out in the howling winds, as the storm swallowed them up. All around the children, the winds buffeted them, but they continued to hold firm, hands clasped so tightly that the knuckles turned white.
The storm seemed to become infuriated with this, and redoubled its efforts. With a cry, Kat suddenly realized her feet were no longer touching the ground. Her fingernails dug into Kafei's palm as she squeezed her eyes shut. All around her came the shouts and screams of her friends, straining against the wind that was slowly pulling them all apart. The storm slammed into them, drawing them inevitably upwards into its vortex.
It was almost with tangible glee that the storm played with the small group of children, buffeting them all violently about until they were completely knocked senseless. Kat struggled against losing consciousness, but even as she fought back, she felt a strange tingling in the back of her mind, as if something were being forcibly taken from her head. It made her feel sick in the soul, as if something utterly dear were being ripped out of her very being.
"What's happeningto-"
Kat's last conscious thought before she blacked out was that Kafei's hand had suddenly been torn away from her, and now she faced the brunt of the storm alone. The once-ring of bodies holding hands were now being forcibly ripped apart, as though the storm had claws. Fairies were scattered left and right by contemptuous sweeps of wind, their attempts at recovery futile. The storm's roar seemed to echo the laugh of the Gerudo king as the helpless victims of the storm were scattered far and wide to the four winds.
Deep underground, the storm's influence caused the chamber that held Link and Timbre's statues to shake violently. Dust crumbled from the walls, and the beam of sunlight was interrupted, throwing the entire chamber into complete darkness. Both statues teetered and rocked a little as the ground beneath them vibrated, but remained completely inert and unaware as the storm passed over them. Perhaps the storm could not find them underground, or perhaps it passed over them, shunning them off as mere statues. Either way the raging tempest's howls were soon fading into the distance; the earthquake ceased. The chamber once more lapsed into complete and utter silence, its two stone prisoners locked within its interior still staring blankly forwards, unaware of anything that had taken place.
It was a silence that would last a long, long time.
*****
And there you have it, end of Chapter 1. Woah. Re-reading this, this whole chapter's kind of serious and a downer, eh? Poor Link, heck, poor everyoneI hope you all are curious as just what's going to happen to our little group, now that all chaos has broken loose. Oh, and I suppose I should add as a disclaimer that Magic the Gathering (the card game that the Twinrova sisters were playing) is not owned by me, but by Wizards of the Coast. Good game, yes. Sorry, Gaming Club Pride and allChapter 2 should be out pretty soon. Until then, read, review, and be merry!