Chapter 13: Contemplation

Only a few hours had passed after the miscalculated fight, which had dire consequences for the once fabled Sages. It was clear that Ganondorf was powerful enough to defy the gods… and all because of the Triforce of Power he had in his possession. Now that five of the foremost people who could help in vanquishing this evil have been killed, it appeared that all hope had been lost.

Impa was crying non-stop as she carried Zelda's corpse along with her, following the direction that Rauru was walking. Rauru himself seemed to be brooding, blaming himself for miscalculating and underestimating Ganondorf's cunning and power, while carrying the bodies of Nabooru and Ruto with him. Darunia however looked worse for wear. Sure he remained firm and everything, but on the inside he was an emotional wreck. But who could blame him? The merciless torture of the group by Ganondorf had impacted them severely, but with the cruelty of how the five were slain made him also outright furious. The entire trip went silent, although underway, the three did notice the presence of the three fairies who had been following them. Impa, Darunia and Rauru were able to recognize Navi, but remained silent as Navi flew toward Link's body, trying to fly all over him like when they first met for a second or two, only to settle down on his body with her wings hanging low. Much to Tael's own surprise, Tatl eventually joined Navi on top of Link's body, although she wasn't exactly crying as Navi was, it was still clear that Tatl was definitely sad and mourning his loss… apparently she was still in denial of having grown attached to him.
"Who are you two?" Darunia asked the red fairy as he flew in front of him.
"My name's Tael, and the yellow fairy on Link's body is my sister Tatl." Tael said.
"You know Link?"
"Well, sort of. I don't know him very well, but my sister was at his side during his trip in Termina when that mask-possessed Skull Kid was wrecking havoc in that distant land. Apparently she has grown a bit attached to him." Tael said.
Tatl tried to talk back to her brother, obviously trying to deny this, but her own emotional state prevented her from doing so, or even admitting that she had grown to like him.
"I see." Darunia said as the group walked on.
"So, where are you going?" Tael asked.
"Rauru's leading us to a place where we can lay low for a while until we've found a way to bring our friends back. But until then, we have to be sure their bodies remain…" Darunia said, walking on.
Rauru eventually looked up as they saw their destination.
"We're here." Rauru said as he entered a cavern, with Darunia, Impa and the fairies following.

The group entered what appeared to be a small Ice Cave, which had a path going up straight ahead towards another opening. The walls themselves looked a beautifully sapphire-blue with ice crystals all over, and the chilling atmosphere within made it feel like they were high up in the mountains or in the polar regions of the planet. They walked onward into the opening, which turned out to be a small yet beautiful Fairy's Fountain up ahead, with a large Fairy statue in the middle of the room. Walking to the far side of the room itself, Darunia first gently laid the bodies of Link and Saria down, before he unleashed his frustration by striking the opposite wall with a powerful yet focused punch, creating a large crevice inside it. Using his Fire Sage powers to smoothen the icy surface and get rid of the shards after which the area cooled down rapidly, Darunia then picked up the bodies of the two children and laid them inside the crevice next to each other. Once that was done, Impa laid Zelda's body down next to Link's other side, with Rauru placing Ruto next to Zelda and Nabooru was laid next to Saria. After that, Rauru focused his own powers and covered the crevice with a large slab of ice using the water in the Fairy's fountain as part of his spell, after which Impa reinforced it with her own Shadow Powers so that the slab of ice could not be removed by anyone except by the Sages themselves. This in turn sealed the deceased five people inside the icy wall with the hopes of whatever remains active within them goes in suspended animation and in turn keep their bodies fresh until the remaining Sages had found a way to resurrect them. As the process was underway, Rauru discovered that the most important treasures, the Ocarina of Time among them, were still among the group's possessions, being made partially visible through the torn parts of their respective outfits. This in turn brought some form of relief to him, as it would be certain that those treasures could not fall into enemy hands. After the deed was done and the five bodies were gently sealed within the ice wall of the Fairy Fountain, Impa couldn't help but burst out crying, the once tough Sheikah woman suffering an emotional breakdown, at which Darunia responded by gently holding her, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Once more Darunia remained firm by staying as calm as he could, but even he couldn't help but shed a tear for his Sworn Brother, the Princess of Hyrule and his three fellow Sages in turn.

Navi sat on top of the Fairy statue, being no better off than Impa. She had hoped of at least seeing Link once more and try to apologize to him for her leaving him after the initial fight with Ganondorf was over as well as for giving him so much information while all she did was doing her best to help him out as much as possible… but when she found him however, her hopes were dashed. She frantically tried to wake him at first, wondering why he wasn't waking up… and why any of the others weren't waking up either, only to have to hide when she heard someone approaching, unaware it was Impa. It was only after both Darunia and Rauru had broken the news to Impa that her worst fears had come true, somehow believing that it was all over now. Both Tatl and Tael were sitting on either side of her, trying to comfort her, although Tael ended up trying to comfort his sister as well. It was eventually revealed that Tatl had indeed grown to admire Link through his courageous and determined demeanor, which was especially shown when, after the Four Giants had been summoned and Majora's Mask went to possess the moon, Link chose to enter the moon himself as well to end the threat Majora posed once and for all instead of choosing to heed to Tatl's request of playing the Song of Time once more. Apparently Tatl forgot that each time the Song of Time was played by Link in Termina, the Goddess of Time would come and gently taking both Link and Tatl back to three days before the moon would crash on Clock Town.

After Impa had calmed down, relinquishing herself from the embrace he had given her, Darunia sat down on the floor, with his back towards the slab that was like an icy gravestone, his expression being serious.
"I take it… you want to stay here… and watch over this place?" Impa asked.
"Yes. If anyone tries anything funny, I'll gladly rebuild their faces for them!" Darunia replied.
Impa could only nod in understanding, since she knew that Darunia too was having it very hard in coping with this loss. She then saw Rauru moving towards the exit of the Fairy's Fountain, having made up his mind of what he must do.
"Rauru? Where are you going?" She asked.
"I'm going to see if I can at least retrieve the equipment that they have lost, as well as trying to find the Master Sword itself. If we are to avenge them at some point, we need to at least be prepared." Rauru said.
Impa saw the logic in it, as well as suspecting that Rauru was trying to do his part in making amends for his own overconfidence or having simply underestimated the power increase that Ganondorf and Majora both had received.
"Just… be careful on your way." Impa said.
"I will." Rauru said, before transforming himself in what appeared to be a light wisp before he moved on, being gone in a flash, leaving only Darunia and Impa alone with the fairies Navi, Tatl and Tael in the Ice Cave.
Darunia remained silent, but acknowledged Rauru's departure with a nod, as if wanting to wish him good luck, before Rauru was gone.

Impa couldn't help but to gaze at the bodies through the ice slab, placing a hand on it to prevent herself from collapsing. Darunia could tell that Impa was still trying to cope with the fact that this really happened and that it wasn't just a bad dream, even though he too wished he could wake up to the next day and find themselves with the five alive and well at their side, ready to finally beat Ganondorf and Majora into submission. Ganondorf… that dark man from the desert… the man whom uses his vile and wicked powers without remorse in order to ensure his will would be enforced… having sealed off the Dodongo's Cavern at first after letting it become infested with those monsters… and in the future timeline which was eventually prevented thanks to Link's interference, he unleashed the dragon Volvagia in the Death Mountain Crater and its Fire Temple, threatening to feed the Gorons to the dragon to have them made an example of for those whom still defied his rule. But now… this diabolical, malicious man had gone way too far. Oh how he would love to pound Ganondorf's face in, but despite being the brutish, powerful leader of the Gorons, Darunia definitely wasn't stupid. He knew when he was outclassed by someone who could use his dark magical powers to curse anyone whom would not co-operate… and yet this kid… no… this young man, whom was raised in the forest, having somehow gotten a connection with the Hyrulean Royal Family, came to see him, offering his assistance to the Gorons and single-handedly opened Dodongo's Cavern and got rid of the Dodongo infestation, giving the Gorons once more access to their own delicacy, the Rock Sirloin… and later on he had helped him with saving the Goron People and defeating Volvagia in that dark, alternate future… it made Darunia mad to realize that evil somehow had found a way to still achieve its goals and at such a terrible cost. The fact that Saria, the Forest Sage… the Kokiri whom happened to have composed the song that he personally loved so much as well as Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, were also victims of Ganondorf's malicious ways made him even angrier. In his frustration, he pounded his right fist on the ground, startling Impa and the three fairies in the process with the loud *THUMP* and the splash of the water that was on the spot where he hit the ground.
"Darn it! There has to be SOMETHING we can do to get back at Ganondorf and Majora!" Darunia snarled, breathing heavily as if he was on the verge of a breakdown himself, although this was more of pure anger, sadness and misery altogether.
"There has to be something indeed… but I wish I knew what." Impa replied, understanding him, somehow having the urge to cut something or someone up with her own daggers.
"Oh, I would love to wreck havoc on one of their hideouts and just smash everything up." Darunia said.
Impa chuckled lightly.
"To think that our fallen friends already wiped out one outpost they stumbled upon by mere coincidence… perhaps if we can find one for ourselves, we can go crazy all we want." Impa said.
Darunia nodded.
"Right. We will avenge our friends, no matter what." He said.
"They did tell us that the outpost they found was at a place that was nowhere near the lands we have seen so far, so it's likely they're keeping this on a down low to catch us by surprise in case we do decide to go on the offensive."
"Then all the more reasons for us to find them first and take them out before they take us out." Darunia said, crushing a big piece of an ice rock with his bare hands, its debris scattering a bit over the fountain.
It was now Impa's turn to nod, sighing as she once more gazed upon her fallen friends. Link, Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru all looked peaceful on the outside, but on the inside, their bodies each held a short story of unspeakable torture. She did note several scars on their bodies of past fights, some old and pretty much healed over fine, others were more fresh and had only recently stopped bleeding, not counting the wounds they had suffered by the hands of Ganondorf and Majora respectively… it made her heart ache with severe regret of having been unable to protect them, despite her best efforts.
"We'll get you back… we'll get all of you back… I promise." Impa softly said, ignoring the brooding Darunia for the moment as she gazed at their bodies, a tear slipping past her right eye.

Rauru in the meantime managed to retrieve most of the equipment that the group had lost during their fatal flight, primarily two bows and a bundle of arrows and Fire Arrows, A Big Bomb Bag containing several bombs that were left intact due to the tough exterior of the bomb bag itself, a few bottles that had survived the trip, several Deku Nuts, Saria's Slingshot and the swords of both Nabooru and Ruto. The shields of the group however laid in pieces in the bloody pond and Rauru knew that these could not be repaired. Nonetheless, he took the fragmented shield of Link with him to see if a store was selling them, assuming a disguise of a lone traveler to hide his appearance. After all, being a lone Sage in the open while such monsters as Ganondorf and Majora were around was incredibly risky…

A lone horse was galloping like crazy through the vast forest, avoiding the trees wherever it could, as if it was in quite the hurry. This wasn't your ordinary horse however, this horse had a red skin with white manes on the back of its head and neck. This was Epona, born and raised at Lon Lon Ranch and the trusty steed of Link during his adventures in both Hyrule and (especially) Termina. It appeared to be on the run as it ran at incredible speed, mostly due to the horse itself being very energetic. Several of the other forest animals went out of the way to avoid being trampled by the animal, while Epona herself remained cautious not to get itself in trouble regarding the natural hazards.

Cremia, the ranch owner of Romani Ranch, was currently taking care of her younger sister Romani, whom had fallen ill from a small fever. A doctor from Clock Town had said that Romani would recover from it over the course of the next few days, but that she had to take it easy. Cremia had heeded to the advice and saw to it that she would get as much rest as possible, blaming the fever on the fact that Romani could overexert herself on practicing her archery skills. She never really understood why Romani was so determined with practicing her bow at her age, wondering why she wouldn't play with regular toys instead. Of course Romani did help her older sister out when asked to, but whenever she could, she would always practice. Cremia suspected that something was up, or that Romani was hiding something from her in order to not make her worried. It couldn't be the story that Romani did tell her about 'them', right? She didn't believe that story or thought that it was a mere scary story that Romani believed in and just felt that she had to do what she thought was right. True enough, she did support Romani and was rooting for her during practices, having decided to add a challenge course for her to humor her… and yet she had questions… and she also had her own insides tied in a knot in a figurative way, suspecting that something really bad had happened recently, yet her occupation as a ranch owner prevented her from so much as going outside to find out and she couldn't afford to leave Romani alone, much less send her out… she was taking comfort in the fact that Anju and Kafei would come and visit tomorrow, perhaps she could ask them for a favor…

Sakon, Termina's most notorious thief, was in the meantime being chased by a group of bandits whom had confronted Link and the girls before in the land beyond the Woods of Mystery, bent on reclaiming the items that Sakon had pilfered from Link, whom in turn found those items in their hideouts. It was a complete irony on this that Link actually was speaking the truth, since Sakon DID have items with him that belonged to the bandits before. Apparently Sakon thought that he could have a secret weapon with him in case people would see through his 'prancing idiot' façade, something Link had demonstrated before. The chase led all around Termina Field and eventually back into Ikana Valley, where Sakon found refuge in his own impenetrable stronghold, yet his anger at the child grew even more, believing that he was set up by him to be confronted and chased by those bandits. This alone began to fuel his desire to plot his course of revenge on the kid and take down anyone whom was associated with him as well; he still remembered the encounter back in Romani Ranch, where he would have to steal some of the Chateau Romani to distract Cremia and Romani, so the Gorman Brothers could move in and once again play their part in their attempt to ruin Cremia's business. Sakon remembered all too well being pelted by arrows by that forest kid and the princess riding on that red-colored pony of theirs, seeing that the princess even went to take on the Gorman Brothers by herself while Link kept his focus on him… oh how he would love to make them pay…

With Darunia brooding, Impa sitting at the opposite wall and Navi inconsolable, both Tatl and Tael did some thinking. It was clear to Tael now that Tatl did have come to care for Link, her tsundere-based posture now broken due to what has transpired.
"I wonder what we can do to help them, sis…" Tael said.
"Yeah, but I doubt anything other than the death of the culprits could be of help though; the loss has hit hard after all." Tatl replied.
"But there has to be SOMETHING we can do…"
"And what do you suggest?" Tatl asked, frowning.
"… I don't know, but I will find something, you just wait." Tael said, before flying off.
"TAEL! COME BACK HERE!" Tatl then asked, flying after him.
Impa watched this exchange, but remained silent, even as the two left. She was thinking carefully about what would be wise to do now. She sighed, before moving her head between her knees, beginning to cry softly again.
"Tael! Where do you think you're going?!" Tatl asked.
"I'm going to find something that can be of help to them and don't you dare trying to stop me; I'm taking charge of this operation." Tael said as he flew on.
Tatl sighed.
"You're impossible at times, brother… but I am coming with you whether you like it or not." She then said.

"I still don't get it how Ganondorf was able to best us…" Impa said after several minutes, "and here I thought that the Master Sword would once more kill Ganondorf, this time once and for all."
"Well, the Master Sword did injure Ganondorf as it pierced through him," Darunia replied, "however I believe that it has gotten weaker due to Ganondorf striking us with that lightning attack of his, which must have sapped a part of our power, which in turn led to us being unable to break free from that binding spell Majora cast on us…"
This caused Impa's eyes to widen.
"By the Goddesses… if I recall history correctly then the power of the Sages is connected to the Master Sword, so if anything would happen to us Sages…" Impa said.
"…then it would influence the power of the Sword, so by making us weaker it made the Sword weaker in turn. It's also the only thing I can think of why Brother Link had to go through all the temples and awaken us as the Sages, since the Master Sword would be at full strength needed to combat Ganondorf back then. But obviously Ganondorf is aware of this as well; his plans were exposed after all." Darunia finished.
"Dear Goddesses… and now that most of us as well as the hero are gone…"
"… then the Master Sword is practically useless, until we have found a way to bring them back."
Impa shivered again, the thought of Ganondorf knowing about the Master Sword and its power was shaking her to the core. But of course, it was all because of Ganondorf allowing Link to run free so he could step in and lay claim to the Sacred Realm and through that the Triforce itself after Link was sealed inside the sacred realm when he tried to pull the Master Sword out of its pedestal…
"Oh no…" Impa said, shivering like crazy.
"The only advantage we have is that Ganondorf did not extract the Triforce Pieces of both Brother Link and Princess Zelda yet… he simply wanted them gone and take their powers later… perhaps Majora had an influence in this, I don't know… something doesn't add up here…" Darunia said.
However, this new information was too much for Impa to handle right now.
"I… I need to get out of here before I go crazy!" She said, before promptly running out of the cave, leaving Darunia behind with Navi.
Darunia blinked for a moment, but decided it was better to leave Impa be, figuring that Impa needed some time to herself to calm down properly, before things would get even worse.

Rauru in the meantime managed to recover Ruto's Magical Boomerang and several rupees, intending to use them to buy the group some new shields for after their resurrection. He knew that the task ahead wouldn't be easy, but it had to be done. He had silently sworn to himself that he would not rest until the group had been brought back to life, but finding the right way was not going to be easy. With the Temple of Time still ruined and the Master Sword being out of the reach for now, It wouldn't be easy to get proper access to the Sacred Realm, especially with the area around the Pedestal of Time still being ruined. Heck, he wasn't even sure if the remains of the Temple of Time were still standing or that the rest had crumbled due to the damage dealt to it over the past days having eventually led to the collapse of its structural integrity. He sighed once more as he went on his way, using his Light Wisp form to travel faster, being akin to how Link used to teleport using the different warp songs between the temples. He would first find a village or something that could supply him with a decent disguise that allowed him to travel in the open without being spotted by enemies.

Ganondorf at the same time sat on his throne, watching Majora enjoying himself with cursing another batch of recently captured soldiers whom tried to enter their fort. While Majora was relishing in his victory over Link and the Sages, Ganondorf was thinking carefully over his next moves. He was certain that the remaining Sages would have recovered the bodies of their fallen comrades; why else would Impa use her Shadow Medallion to make her escape with the Sages of Light and Fire? It appears some of the Sages' powers could become active when they needed it… this was something he could look into. But for now, he smirked as he relished too in his victory, although he wasn't goofing off like Majora did. He had to admit that Majora was a nutcase… but a dangerous nutcase at that, which amused him to a degree…

Darunia spotted Navi still sitting on the Fairy Statue, still very upset. He decided to get up and walk to her. Navi looked up as she saw Darunia coming to her, still sniffing, her cheeks red and puffy from the crying.
"I take it you miss him too?" He asked.
Navi could only nod, her voice having become hoarse from all the crying.
"So do I. Come over here." Darunia said, nodding to the spot where he was moving to sit back, wanting Navi to join him.
Mustering her strength, Navi followed, still sniffing. Darunia sat back down against the wall next to the ice grave stone. Navi looked at it, seeing the bodies of Nabooru, Saria, Link, Zelda and Ruto next to each other behind it, each of them now sporting signs of being frozen, as if they were put in suspended animation, while in reality it was far worse. The sight of it alone made Navi much more miserable, causing her to turn back around, sitting on Darunia's shoulder, sighing deeply. Darunia looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"It's just you and me now, Navi. The others are gone for the time being… but they will return…." He said.
Navi nodded, remaining silent as she just sat there, needing to calm down…