Chapter Seven - No Time Like the Past!

Link groaned and sat up. His entire body felt sore and his left arm felt numb. He looked up, only to see Malon standing above him.

"So, you've decided to wake up," she said.

Link yawned, rubbing his left arm, hoping to stimulate some sort of blood flow. "Yeah, it seems so."

"What in Hyrule happened to you?"

Link stood slowly, his left arm starting to tingle. "I went to the Tail Cave last night."

"The Tail Cave?" Marin exclaimed in surprise from the table. "You mean you actually went in there? No one's ever went in there and survived."

"It was nothing big," Link replied. "A piece of cake, really."

"Well, I guess you're more than a regular sword-swingin' warrior," Tarin said as he closed the door. "There's an owl outside lookin' for you, by the way."

"An owl?" Malon asked.

Tarin nodded. "'Round these parts, we grow used to seein' strange things. Just a week ago this big alligator stomped past while munchin' on dog food."

Deciding not to ask, Link stood and walked past Tarin. He opened the door and exited the house. He could see an owl perched on the fence.

"Good morning!" it hooted. "I see you recovered well."

"Sounds to me like you planned it in the beginning," Link replied, a sting to his remark.

"Hoo! I never intended for you to black out! Amnesia is easiest cured when the afflicted comes into contact with things that evoke strong memories. I believed that a line about the Wind Fish that I know you ran into on your journey would do you some sort of good."

"Yeah, well, all I can remember it doing was hurting," Link replied. "Wait, I do remember something… There were… Moblins. And a giant ball on a chain that ate stuff. BowWow, I think. It was eating on some plants in a swamp. It opened up some path for me. It's still kinda fuzzy."

The owl sat still for a moment, only moving to shake its wings for a second. Finally, it seemed to reach a conclusion.

"You are a tough case. Never in any of my years have I seen someone who is quite literally overflowing with power, but cannot use much of it at all. That shipwreck did a number on your brain, and I've come to realize that you can't remember half of what your stuff can do. For instance, your sword, did you know that it has the power to seal away evil?"

Link didn't say anything. For some reason, he knew that the Master Sword could do that, but, again, he had no idea how he knew it.

"And that rod you've got shoved in your pack, the red and white one. I don't have a clue what it does, but whatever it is, its power is spilling over in disuse. The same thing with that Harp on your back. I don't know what it does, either, but I can hear tunes dancing across the strings from wanting to be played. And don't even get me started on the Staff of Nevara! With that thing, you've got so many tricks up your sleeve, you'd have to invest in long sleeve tunics!"

Link could feel the Rod's power and he could hear the songs form the Harp, as well, but he didn't know what they were or what they did, and he wasn't going to take a chance yet. The Staff, however, he knew some of its power, and he was eager to learn more.

"You know what the Staff can do? Will you tell me?"

The owl hooted. "I know nothing more than what you know. The Staff can become anything that the user has or has had, but only to the letter. For example, I know that you've never had an eighty-pound tuna sword, so if you try to change the Staff into that, it won't work. However, I know you've had a standard metal shield, probably of the Hylian variety, so if you concentrate on an image of that, you'll have a shield exactly the same as your last one. Beyond that, the Staff's powers escape me. I remember hearing somewhere that there is a cost to using then Staff, but I don't remember what it is, or was. I would advise using the Staff with caution, though."

Link sat down, looking at the Staff of Nevara. When he had used it on Mount Tamaranch, he had acted on impulse. The Staff had done what he wanted it to do, and he couldn't think of any drawbacks that he had found. "I'll remember your advice." He stood.

The owl flew to the roof of the house. "There was an explosion at the Bottle Grotto some weeks ago. It might not hurt to check it out." With that, the owl flew off.

"Bottle Grotto, Link said without a moment's hesitation. "Which way?"

Marin pointed toward a forest to the north. "Through the Mysterious Forest is Goponga Swamp, where the Bottle Grotto is. It's another dangerous place like the Tail Cave, though, so be careful, okay?"

Link nodded. "Of course." He turned and left the yard. Weaving his way in a northwest fashion, he entered the Mysterious Forest.

----

Some hours later, Link, slightly worse for the wear, erupted out of the Mysterious Forest into the Swamp. He trudged his way through the muck and navigated the maze of pink things with relative ease. At the edge of the Swamp, Link discovered what might have once been a cave. However, rocks had fallen over the entrance and it looked like they had been fused together by lightning. Link tried to budge the rocks, but he soon tired and gave up. He sat down on one of the rocks and sighed.

"What now? I've tried moving them. I've tried pushing them. I'm too late to prevent them from falling. What's left to do?"

Link yawned and leaned against the rocks. It may no have been the best in the world, but the superheated edges were surprisingly comfortable. Before Link knew what was happening, he was peacefully dozing.

----

Link darted into a side room, panting heavily form lack of breath. Footsteps thundered past. Link was safe, for now. Things were not looking up for him this time. Veran had sent guards after him, meaning that the Past was no longer safe to him.

That left only one thing to do.

Link swung the Harp of Ages over his shoulder and held it in front of him. Running his fingers over the strings, he began to pick out the notes that made up the Tune of Ages. As he played, he could feel the fabric of time ripping apart, starting at the strings of the Harp.

----

Link groaned as he returned to reality. The sun was setting quickly over the island, covering the swamp in darkness. Link suddenly remembered his dream. He grabbed the Harp from his back and set it on his lap. He ran his fingers across the strings, as he had done in his dream. The notes came instinctively to him, and as he played them he watched the world pull itself apart. After a few seconds, he could actually see the strings of time as they stretched out.

Suddenly, he heard a horrible sound come from the Harp and everything literally slammed back together with enough force to send Link reeling forward into the swamp. He groaned and stood up, now covered in swamp slime.

"Oops. Wrong note. Let's try that again."

And with that, Link played the Tune of Ages once more. This time, the strings of time stayed, and Link felt himself being pulled into the past.