Book 1: The Rescue of the Saviour

By JoeMoron2000

Chapter Five: The Tip of the Iceberg

Yet again, the faux sun crept up through the faux window in their faux paradise. The faux birds chirped, the faux lake glistened, and the faux grass swayed in the faux breeze. But Ruto awoke with genuine irritation.

She was not a morning lady; princesses rarely were. Ruto grunted. Back when she was a princess, that is. Here, she was treated with no respect. She sighed.

Time for morning rituals: brushing her teeth; morning bath; breakfast of...salads, again? Ugh. Surely, Zoras routinely died eating such things so often.

"What will I wear today?" Ruto wondered aloud. Of course, her closet proved to be a disappointment. For three whole years, she's had the same dozen outfits, all of which were practically identical. What she really wanted was to go shopping.

Next, it was time for grooming: folding her fins; polishing her scales…and that was it. She had tried wearing a wig for a day once, so that she could groom that, as well. I'll never try that again in a hurry…

Fourth comes laundry: refilling the bathtub, putting in the soap, gathering everything: nightgowns, bathing caps, and everyone else's smelly clothes they had dropped off. Ruto wrinkled her nose. And once again, that Goron slob forgot to bring his things. They're stinky and they eat bombs. It's a wonder their race has lasted for so long! Ruto thought. Clothespin on her nose and twig basket in hand, she skipped onto the portal and was taken to the Sacred Chamber.

The beautiful sight of the Sacred Chamber awaited her on the other side. The shimmering blue floor reminded her of Lake Hylia, and the dark, distant walls made her think of her home, the Zora Domain. It is pretty, I'll give it that. Its twelve pedestals marking the outer ring glittered, but only six of them shone with their own light; the other six were dull; they always had been, as though they hadn't been used in ages. She had often wondered what they were for, but Rauru's memory only went so far back, and he didn't know. He'd said something about it being 'well before' his time.

But today, there was something different about them. Or rather, there was something different about one of them in particular. To her right, a black light flickered on and off, on and off, and she watched it, mesmerized. Note to self, she thought, ask Rauru about the black seal.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something brown flap across her view onto Saria's pedestal, and disappear. Nayru's Love, Impa! Give the girl some space! Poor Saria... Even though claimed that she didn't like Saria's Sanctuary, Impa spent so much time checking up on her that Ruto started wondering just what was so important. She shook her head.

Back to work! Through the portal, around Darunia, over to the pile of…whatever they were…and into the basket went the clothes. Make sure you got everything! Back around the still sleeping lump, through the portal, and – oof!

"Ow!" Ruto screamed, now covered in worn Goron clothes. "Watch where you're going!" she shouted.

"I'm sorry, Ruto," came a distracted voice, and the familiar form of Impa hurried past, but Ruto wouldn't let go that easily, and she grabbed Impa's foot, who tripped and fell, too.

"Get back here! What's going on?"

"Damnit, Ruto, I'm busy!"

"Wait, bothering Saria wasn't enough for you? Now you've got to annoy Darunia, too? And don't go without helping me, you know how nasty this stuff is!" The two women stood back up again, brushing particles of dust off their clothes and not really focusing on what the other was saying. Ruto put the pin back on her nose and started piling the clothes again. Impa reluctantly helped her.

"What do you mean, 'bothering Saria wasn't enough'? I've been talking to Rauru for the past ten minutes."

"Yeah, I saw you going into her portal as I was going to get this oaf's laundry." Ruto nodded her head at Darunia's portal.

Impa looked at the green beacon of the Forest Sage, shimmering innocently, and then back at the now-receding pile of dirty clothes. "W – But…" Impa started, confused, and hurried after Ruto, following her into the Water Sage portal.

There she was met with the familiar water-themed room, with shimmering light on the walls as though she were in a gigantic underground aquarium. And indeed, she was; one of the windows was dedicated to a fish tank next to which a younger Ruto had once spent many sleepless nights watching, but that was almost three years ago, when the loneliness and isolation from her kind had started to sink in fully.

Every time she entered Ruto's Sanctuary, Impa was always met with a sense of awe. Of all of the Sages, her Sanctuary was easily the most magnificent, at least to Impa. Saria's garden was beautiful in its own right, but the Sheikah had always been wary of the Forest and its inhabitants, and so she was always cautious when it came to the Forest Sanctuary. Darunia's sanctum always seemed barren to her, as did that of Nabooru.

Ruto finished throwing the clothes into the bubbling bath she had prepared, and, glancing disgustedly at the Goron clothes, decided to dump the last of the soap in with it.

Impa shook her head and focused. "What had you meant earlier, Ruto?"

Ruto turned around, and said, still stirring the clothes in the basin, "What? Oh, I'd just left to get Darunia's stuff, and I thought saw someone go into SaaAAARGH!" she screamed, as a sharp pain took over her body, and she keeled over. Anger unlike any she had ever known passed through her; pure, unadulterated rage. For the briefest of moments, she lost herself in blind agony, as the entire Realm around them seemed to convulse. And just as quickly as it started, so it ended.

As she came to, she saw the basin on its side, with water and clothes spilling on the floor. She saw Impa above her, with her fist in the wall, and she seemed just as confused as Ruto.

"What – what was that?" she panted, breathless, as she struggled to get up.

"I don't…I don't know," Impa said, pulling her hand out of the sizeable dent she created. "Din's Fire, sorry about this hole," she said, putting her hand to her head to keep herself steady.

But Ruto was already running past her, through the portal into the Sacred Chamber, both Impa and the laundry forgotten. Around her, the quiet Nabooru, the heavy Darunia, and the wizened Rauru appeared on their respective pedestals, as well, each just as confused as she and Impa were. Behind her, an unsteady but alert Impa appeared.

"What was that?" she heard Darunia's low grumble ask, and Ruto looked at them. Darunia was covered in soot, Rauru seemed to be missing tufts of hair – more so than usual, at least, and Nabooru had a small hand towel covering her elbow. It seemed that whatever had happened to her and Impa happened to the others, as well.

It only took a few seconds, though, for the five to realize what was wrong. "Saria," Ruto whispered, and she bolted to the pedestal of the Forest Sage, cursing at herself at the mistake she had made, and praying that her friend was okay. Agonizingly slowly, as it often did when she was in a hurry, time crawled, and her view of her fellow Sages chasing after her, with the heavy clunking of Darunia's boots, and the light tapping of Nabooru's sandals, was replaced by the familiar pleasant green sight and forest fragrance of Saria's Sanctuary. But the sight that met her was far from ordinary.

"By Nayru's Love, what is going on?" shouted Ruto.

The remaining Sages poured in behind her, each pushing the person in front of them away so that they, too, could see what was happening. None of them expected the sight they saw.

Saria, eyes blackened with rage, had her fists outstretched, and the vines from behind her were snarling maliciously, each trying to get at the man in their grasp. There was an aura about her, as well; a deathly myrtle green that seemed to darken, rather than brighten, the surrounding air. Fury flowed from her small body in waves, each successively stronger than the last.

But Impa wasn't looking at her. Her gaze was focused on the man in Saria's clutches, an ounce of misplaced recognition on her face. A memory was triggered; a memory of an ancient requiem, far too old for anyone who remains to have heard it, but it was there. The sounds of her fellow Sages were drowned out as she gaped at the man, futilely struggling against his prison.

"Help…me…"

Nabooru acted first. Pulling out her scimitar, Ruto only had a moment to notice the edge was slightly stained with blood before she charged – and was caught by more vines. "Damnit, Saria, I'm just tryin' to help ya, girl!" she screamed.

Saria, or what was talking through her, responded with a distorted voice only vaguely reminiscent of its host. "I don't need your help!" it snarled, and threw her to the side. Ruto ran over to check on her. Saria then turned back to the man and shouted, "You will pay for what you've done!"

Rauru started mumbling to himself, but Darunia thundered past him, and grabbed the vines. His attempts to rip them, though, were met by even tighter and thicker vines restraining his grasp, until even his strength was unable to damage them.

Impa's gaze didn't falter. She was fascinated by this man, but she knew not why. But the realization of the situation at hand finally broke through, and she spotted the stranger's sword, shining on his back, and she had an idea. "For all of Nayru's Love," Impa whispered, and she leapt. At the same time, Rauru's mutters, which had been steadily increasing in volume, culminated with a shout, and he finally screamed an incantation in ancient Hylian.

Instantly, the chamber was flooded with light; pure and good, and for a moment, the vines loosened, and the aura around Saria seemed to ebb.

With Saria's distraction, Impa grabbed the hilt of the sword out of its scabbard. She landed beside the man, wielding it threateningly, ready to slice the now-weakened vines, but the shadow returned, and pushed Rauru's spell back at him. With its return, the offensive forest doubled its fury. "By the Strength of the Goddesses, what is this thing?" she wondered. The more they fought back, the stronger it got.

But Saria had seen Impa, so surprise was out of the question. Ropes launched at her, and she crouched, ready to fight them off –

"Saria, stop!" shouted a voice, and the vines froze. "Look what you're doing!"

Impa's gaze remained fixed upon Saria, but she, too, halted at the outcry. Ruto's soft, but powerful tone filled the room as she pleaded. "Look at us! Look at your friends! We've been with each other for the past three years! The least you could do is not try and kill us!"

Saria looked back at the stranger, then at the Sages, one by one; first at Nabooru, then Rauru, Darunia, Impa, and finally at Ruto again.

"We're not here to hurt you; we're here to help you!"

Slowly, the vines receded, but the man was still chained.

"Saria, look at me! Stop this, please!"

Saria shrieked, but finally, the shadow passed, and the aura around her seemed to move away. The blackness in her eyes faded, to be replaced with their natural vibrant blue. At once, the vines restraining the stranger relaxed, and, no longer supported by magic, fell to the ground. The man, however, slowly glided down, as though floating. But when he touched down, the last of his strength faded, and he collapsed.

Rauru hobbled over to the now terrified Kokiri to comfort her. "Don't worry, Saria. Everyone's okay."

"What have I done?" she sobbed. "What did I do? What have I done?"

"Everyone's okay..."

Satisfied that Nabooru was fine, Ruto joined Rauru's efforts at calming Saria, and even threw in a hug. "It's okay, Newt, Iketh is here, ready to make everything better. Isn't that how it works, Newt?" she said, hoping their old nicknames for each other would help. Saria put on a wry smile, and she stopped shaking.

"Thanks".

With all that had happened in the past few minutes, it was easy for her to miss something so obvious, but now that she noticed it, she panicked. Using Saria's distress as cover, she quickly put it back, hoping nobody would hear its scraping. Even though she'd never seen it before, she somehow knew what it meant. Something was on the verge of happening, and if the oddities of the past hour were any indication, they'd only just seen the beginning.