Chapter 42: Cave Mural

When Link came to, he found that the Loftwing was lying in a large pit inside a cave. There were electrical lamps placed along the walls, but none of them were lit. So using Proxi as his only source of light, Link climbed out of the wrecked Loftwing and onto the edge of the pit. Across from him there was a narrow passage, which Link walked into. It led into a small niche, which was pitch-black except for a cluster of lamps crowded behind a small electrical generator that kept humming. The lamps illuminated a carved mural on the main wall of the niche depicting several figures. One was a blond-haired youth wearing a green tunic and carrying a glowing sword in his hand. Above the youth there was a cluster of clouds with a female figure that looked like Zelda looking down at him. Below the youth's feet lay a demonic creature with red eyes and fiery hair that had a face resembling Ganon's. Beneath the mural there was stone plaque carved in Hylian that said, 'When Skyloft is in Peril, a Hero from a Land Below shall come Clad in Green bearing the Sword of Destiny and with the Goddess' Aid they shall Vanquish the Evil that has Appeared in Many Forms across Time and Space'.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Link turned around and saw a plump man with balding black hair that had gray streaks in it wearing a peacock-blue suit, a green tie depicting a gold scarab beetle, and reptilian shoes. He held a small gas lantern in hand and his eyes were shifty.

"This place is off-limits, kid, so get out before I call the Clockwork Police," the man said threateningly.

"I'm sorry, sir," Link said apologetically. "I didn't know."

Then as Link walked away, the man noticed the Hylian Shield on Link's back and grabbed him by the collar of his white shirt.

"Hold on a second." The man's eyes widened. "This is the Hylian Shield, the sacred heirloom to Hyrule's royal family. Where did you get this?"

"It was given to me," Link answered.

"By whom?" The man asked.

"I'm not telling you."

"If you don't, I'll report you as a thief and a trespasser."

"But if it's off-limits, aren't you trespassing yourself? Unless you have special permission from Mayor Ganon."

"No, nothing of the sort!" the man denied. "Ganon's been dead for seven years, you twit."

"Seven years?" Link tried to hide his surprise but it was very hard. "What's happened?"

The man blinked. "Have you been living under a rock or something? Zelda's the Mayor of Skyloft now, and she's completely decimated the land of Hyrule with constant aerial attacks by the Moblin Air Raiders. Now she's planning to take over the neighboring land of Termina but there's this bloke who calls himself Skull Kid that's threatening to drop the moon on Skyloft in three days unless she decides to leave Termina alone."

"What?" Link's feet gave out due to shock and he found himself lying on the floor of the cave. "Are you sure none of this is Ganon's doing? Zelda would never do those things!"

"You knew her?"

Reluctantly, Link nodded. "We were trying to escape Skyloft, but then Ganon caught us and he forced Zelda to come with him at the threat of killing me. She went along with it, but then Ganon tried killing me anyway. Then the next thing I know, a Puncture opens up below me and I'm in here all of a sudden."

"A Puncture? What's that?"

"A hole in space and time. Zelda created them using this device called the Infinity Gauntlet."

"The Infinity Gauntlet? Isn't it made of metal and worn like a glove?"

"Yes, you've seen it before?"

"I've heard rumors that Zelda had such a device in her possession, but I never knew it could create literal holes in space and time. That would explain the Watchmen."

"Watchmen?"

"They're Zelda's elite surveillance soldiers," the man said, sitting down across from Link. "They can appear anywhere and see disturbances taking place from miles away. But for some reason they don't come near the Cave Mural, so we're safe in here."

"How did you get in without being detected?"

"I have a little secret." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet made from raw silk. "This is called the Cocoon Bracelet. When you activate it, a cocoon-like shield appears around you for a short time and the Watchmen can't detect you while you're under it. I made it myself, but I haven't gotten around to patenting it."

"Patenting?"

"You know, taking credit for its invention. Used to happen all the time around here, back when Gaetano was in charge. But now it's just nothing but war and suffering. Maybe we've become too powerful for our own good, and Skull Kid's appearance is a sign that the Goddesses are angry with us."

"Don't think like that," Link insisted. "There's got to be a way to snap Zelda out of her current madness and stop Skull Kid from destroying Skyloft."

The man sighed and said, "You sound just like Phosile, who was pretty optimistic about things no matter how rough it got."

"You mean Professor Phosile?"

"Yeah."

"I knew him too, before he and his wife were arrested by Ganon."

"So you were there?" The man scratched the sides of his balding head. "Maybe you're not as crazy as I thought you were. What's your name, boy?"

"Link," answered Link briefly and then he indicated to Proxi. "And this is Proxi. She's my translator since I can't speak."

"Call me Professor Scarab," the man said holding out his hand. "I usually study bugs, but lately I've been dabbling into archaeology in honor of Phosile."

The two shook hands and then Link said, "You make it sound like he's dead."

"That's because he is," Professor Scarab said bluntly, taking out a silver flask and taking a long swig of it. "Him and his wife were executed by Ganon on the charge of treason, but I think it was because Phosile refused to hand over his research notes on the Time Gate."

"Time Gate?"

"You've never heard of it," Scarab said as he took another swig from his flask. "When Phosile discovered the mural, he also found a large disk-shaped object in the pit where that flying machine of yours is at and realized it was the Time Gate described in these ancient texts talking about the people who lived here before we did. Naturally, Ganon got curious about it and had the mural sealed off from the public. But when Phosile didn't disclose his research, Ganon forced him to no longer publish anything and had pieces of the Time Gate shipped out."

"Do you know where they were taken?"

"No idea," replied Scarab. "My best guess would be the Gerudo District, since that's where Ganon originally came from. At least, that's what his official papers say."

"How do I get to the Gerudo District from here?"

"Just head south of the floating islands, and then go west."

"Okay, thanks."

As Link stood up to go, Scarab held him back. "You might want to take this with you."

Using one hand, Scarab removed the Cocoon Bracelet from his wrist and placed it on Link's left hand. Then as Scarab passed out on the floor, Link left the niche through the passage he entered. Then he walked around the pit and approached the entrance to the cave where two men wearing black uniforms and talon-shaped boots stood. They carried Sheikah Silencers in leather holsters around their waists and their faces were obscured by helmets that resembled bird's heads with empty eye-sockets. While their backs were turned from him, Link put on the Cocoon Bracelet and saw a partially visible cocoon surround him. Quickly, he walked past the two men who didn't seem to notice him and walked out into a world with a crimson sky and a abnormally large moon with an angry face looking downward.

To be continued…