Chapter 14: A spiritual encounter

Impa was running away from the Ice Cave like crazy, needing a desolate place to just gather her thoughts, but the events of the last few hours were just too much for her to handle as she ran, until she stopped in a small clearing, with another small brook running in the center of it and several rocks and logs scattered over it. The sound of birds chirping around were heard all over, with for the rest complete silence, except for the water running slowly and gently through the brook. Now that she was alone, the frustrated Impa howled in anguish in the sky, before breaking down once more, sitting on a large stone, her emotions finally having gotten the better of her. There was for the rest no one who heard her cry, she was finally alone.

Epona was taking a drink from a small lake she found while being in the forest, when she heard the outcry echoing across the forest. Her left ear twitched at this, indicating it must have come from that direction. Feeling re-energized after drinking, Epona went on her way to the source of that cry, wondering who it was.

"Damn it, this is just not fair! How are we supposed to do something when those monsters are still out to end the rest of us so their rule will be unopposed?!" Impa wailed as she cried, as if she had finally broken.
For a solid minute or two, Impa cried like she did never before, wanting release of all the pain she held within her, hoping it would bring relief to her tormented soul so that she could focus on the task of bringing the group back to life, but the worst thing was that she had no idea where to even begin! Would the Great Fairies be of any help? Did she have to make an appeal to the Goddesses themselves? And what about the others who were alive? Wouldn't they be in mortal danger? Would the hopefully temporal shrine and gravesite be discovered by the evil ones and their powers removed from them by force? All these questions made Impa even more miserable to a level where she at first didn't hear someone calling her name…

Tael and Tatl were still flying along, having now entered the Lost Woods area, heading for the Sacred Forest Meadow.
"Bro, do you even know where you're going?!" Tatl asked.
"I'm trying to see if we can find other fairies whom may be able to help us." Tael said.
"I see. But won't this be a bit too elaborate to just ask blindly?"
"Trust me, if our comrades can be of help, we'll know what to do exactly."
"Alright then, if you say so." Tatl replied as the two fairies moved on.

Rauru was getting close to what remained of Kakariko Village, which laid mostly in ruins due to the eruption of Death Mountain. The lava that came from it had covered most of the road to the mountain itself, and several houses, including the Bazaar, the Potion Shop and the Skulltula House were either surrounded by the lava, gone up in flames or otherwise ruined. Among the few structures that had survived so far was the old residence of Impa, the Kakariko Windmill and the well it was connected to and the Shooting Gallery, although these buildings were mostly deserted as the villagers, along with the population of Goron City, sought refuge in areas away from the mountain, some of them even having joined into a convoy leading towards Clock Town in Termina to take refuge there, hoping that one day they will be able to return to their homes soon. Nevertheless, Rauru opted to enter the village itself to see if there was anything that could be of use or even salvaged in his own, personal quest. Perhaps a visit to the Royal Graveyard could be an option for him…

"Impa…" A young, female voice addressed the distraught Shadow Sage as she still sat on the large, flat rock, having calmed down from the crying.
"Oh, great… now I'm hearing voices as if my mind is playing games with me." Impa herself said, sniffing.
"Impa…"
Impa looked up, looking around.
"This must be a dream… it must be!" Impa said, feeling even more unsettled as she was before.
"Impa, please…" The female voice said.
Impa then looked in the direction of the trees to her right, before her eyes went wide… as right in front of her, the image of Princess Zelda herself appeared.
"G – G- GAH! ZELDA!" Impa shrieked, startled at Zelda's sudden appearance.
"I know what you're thinking, Impa… but I actually am dead… what you see in front of you is my spirit." Zelda replied.
It was then that Impa got a good look at Zelda before her, noticing that the colors of her whole body, with clothes and everything, was a lighter shade of their normal colors and instead of her legs, she sported a ghost-like tail.
"So you really have perished after all." Impa said, looking down sadly.
"Yes, but not just me…" Zelda said, as suddenly four more spirits approached her… being Link, Saria, Ruto and Nabooru… each of them sporting the same ghost-like tail instead of legs and a lighter shade of color like with Zelda
Impa gulped at this.
"So, it's not a dream at all… but why are you here, instead of being among the heavens?" She then asked.
"I guess you could blame me for that," Nabooru said, "I used my Spiritual powers in an attempt to at least keep us together, but our wounds were too severe and as we passed away, we were filled with so much regret that we just couldn't fully pass on to the hereafter. Even if we did, we would still be lingering with regret, just like the spirits in Ikana Canyon."
Impa nodded.
"How did this actually happen? I mean… the last thing I saw was that you were being sent away to this area by Ganondorf and Majora like cannonballs… you were already dead when we managed to find you…" Impa said.
"It's a long story, but we'll try to keep it short…" Saria said, looking at Link, whom nodded sadly, as if agreeing with her…
"I didn't exactly land rather softly," Link began, "in fact, when I hit the ground I didn't just stop, instead I found myself skidding and tumbling backwards through the forest, until I hit my back hard against a rocky cliff. My shield absorbed most of the impact, but broke because of the force I hit the cliff with. The next thing I knew I was falling onto my exposed back into that pond…"

Link tried to get up about a minute or so as he woke up from being dazed, but he couldn't feel his legs anymore, being able to only move his arms and head a little… he could feel the blood leaking from his wounds slowly… which meant that he wasn't going to make it, even more as he coughed hard, coughing up blood along with some spit, indicating he also suffered internal damage.
"N… no… it can't end… not… like this…" Link said with a broken voice, struggling to even speak or move, only to hear a female scream coming closer, only for someone to land close to him.
As he looked into that direction, his eyes went wide as far as it could go.
"Z… Zelda… you… too?" He managed to get out.
"L… Link… by the Goddesses…" Zelda said, trying to move to him, "are you alright?"
Link however shook his head.
"N… no… I can't feel… my legs anymore… my back's broken… this is it for me, Zelda." He said solemnly.
Zelda gulped, fighting back tears.
"What about… you?" Link then asked.
"I… I'm not too good either… I… I guess I'm coming along to the Great Unknown along with you…" She said, just as another loud crash came, this time from Link's other side.
"S… Saria!" Link said, raising his head as far as he could, while Zelda looked up as well.
Saria didn't reply yet… her landing caused her to hurl a bit, puking up blood as a result of it, but still trying to crawl towards Link. But no sooner had she succeeded in reaching him, when suddenly a battered and bloodied Princess Ruto fell from the sky and landed on a spot just above Link and Zelda, while about half a minute later, a battered Nabooru joined them, landing in an area where she laid close to Link and Saria, breaking her right arm during the landing. Link couldn't help but shed a tear himself, sniffing as he offered his hands towards Saria and Zelda, whom managed to reach it and laid one of their hands on top of his. The group was then covered by a soft, orange glow…
"N… Nabooru? W… what are you doing?" Saria asked, managing to roll on her back as she laid next to Link, her left hand on his right one.
"T… Trying to keep us alive un… until the others come…" She said.
Link smiled weakly.
"I… appreciate your… efforts, Nabooru… but I'm… afraid it's too late for me…" Link said, before coughing up blood once again.
"For me too…" Zelda said, her breathing becoming a bit more labored due to the pain she was in.
"I… I'm not gonna make it either…" Saria said, her head tilted towards Link, causing Link to look at her, seeing that Saria was crying.
"I think none of us are…" Ruto said, holding her side as she had lost quite an amount of blood, while Nabooru felt her powers fading as well, despite trying to hold on.
"But… how was this… even possible?!" Zelda asked.
"I… I think Ganondorf must… have known about… our approach… and pre… prepared himself accordingly…" Link said, laying down.
"Y… You think… it was a set-up… for us? As if we walked… right into… a trap?" Zelda asked.
"That's very likely… but the worst thing… about it is… that I… couldn't have seen… this coming…" Link said, his body trembling.
"None… of us did… Link…" Zelda said, trying to comfort him.
"True… but what I regret the most… is not only that we couldn't save Hyrule this time… but… I couldn't… save… you… I… tried… so…hard….." Link then said, before he closed his eyes… and knew no more.
"Link? LINK?!" Saria asked, trying to wake him, but Link didn't respond anymore.
"He… he's dead…" Nabooru said, "even now… he wanted to save us…"
"Link… I'm… sorry…" was all Zelda could get out before she too succumbed to her injuries.
"No… Link… Zelda… wait for me…" Saria managed to choke out, before she too passed away, partially choking on her own blood from having suffered some internal injuries herself.
"I… I guess this is it… huh…" Ruto said, smiling weakly after managing to get closer to Link and Zelda.
"I… I'm afraid so..." Nabooru said, collapsing next to Saria's head.
"I… I'll see you… at the other side then…" Ruto said, before she too laid still completely.
"Rauru… Darunia… Impa… good-bye…" was all Nabooru could say, before she too breathed her last…

"And that's pretty much it." Nabooru said as she floated in her spirit form in front of Impa, whom was once more crying, although much more composed.
"So you're pretty much now lost souls filled with regret?" Impa then said.
"Yes, we are." Zelda said, looking down.
"Look, we're doing whatever we can to bring you back with us so we can get Ganondorf back for what he did…" Impa said.
"We appreciate it, Impa… but how are you going to do this?" Saria asked.
"I personally am not sure yet… but Rauru's on his way to find something that can be done. Perhaps we may need something that can be of use very soon…" Impa asked.
The five nodded, but were still looking gloomy.
"What's the matter?" Impa asked.
"It's… it's just that we regret that this has happened to us… and to you…" Zelda said.
"Well, none of us could know that this was a trap…" Impa said, trying to make the group feel better.
"True, but still… it feels like someone made a big hole in our souls that needs to be healed…" Link said, looking down while Saria and Zelda tried to comfort him, realizing that Link's soul was the worst affected of them all.
'A soul that needs to be healed?!' Impa thought to herself, before her eyes widened as she remembered something from when Link had returned from Termina…

About eight months earlier, after Link had returned from his adventure in Termina and had taken a rest in his old home in the Kokiri Forest, both he and Saria were invited to the Temple of Time by Zelda and Impa. Once they arrived there, they saw that Nabooru, Darunia, Rauru, Princess Ruto, Impa and Princess Zelda herself were waiting there for them.
"Hey, kid! It's good to see you back." Nabooru said to him.
"Brother, you simply can't go anywhere without pulling off an heroic act or two, do you?" Darunia said with a bright smile.
"Hehe, you know me Darunia; I simply do what I think is the right thing." Link replied with a smile.
"We couldn't expect anything less from our greatest friend and Hero." Zelda said, pulling him in a friendly hug, making Link blush a little, much to Impa's amusement.
"So, what happened exactly in Termina? We only know or felt bits and pieces…" Rauru then said.
"You may want to sit down if possible; this is going to take a while." Link said.
Once the Sages had sat down, Link told them all about his adventures in Termina in detail, about how he was being caught by surprise by the mask-wielding Skull Kid, of which he later found out through the Happy Mask Salesman that the mask in fact was Majora's Mask. He told how that Skull Kid stole the Ocarina of Time from him and cursed Link to become a Deku, the retrieval of the Ocarina of Time which helped reverting the time and through the same Salesman he got his old form back and how he helped out the population of Termina, being the Deku Kingdom in the Southern Swamp, a Goron settlement in a cursed-winter region known as Snowhead and a Zora population within the Great Bay area, of which he showed proof by showing them the masks and entering those forms he gained from them. Saria found the Deku form adorable, Darunia was highly impressed in the Goron form, recognizing the blood of a great Goron Hero within, while Ruto gulped a bit at seeing the Zora form, being both impressed and slightly intimidated in a way, although each of them agreed that Link looked way better in his Hylian form, to which Link took no offense to. Link told them how he had defeated the monsters that dwelled within the Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay and Stone Tower Temples and how, after he had done everything he could to break the curses and solving the temples, he ultimately confronted Majora within the Moon itself and how Majora had disturbed him concerning his respective forms as well as the appearance of the Moon itself, with the Sages listening in great interest, being as equally disturbed about Majora as Link was. Link then also attended the carnival and was also a witness to the wedding of Anju and Kafei, having used his Zora form to help the Zora band in Termina, the Indigo-go's with their scheduled performance in Clock Town, which was an outright success. After partaking in some more events after he and his fairy companion Tatl there had departed from each other, Link eventually decided to return home to visit his friends and see how they were doing, which brought a smile on the Sages' faces, as they learned that, despite all the hardships he went through, Link never forgot about them.
"I have one question though." Zelda then said.
"Ask away." Link said, smiling.
"You said that you learned a song that can heal specific souls… can you play it for us?" She asked.
"Sure thing," Link said as he took out his Ocarina, "this song is aptly named 'Song of Healing'."
Link then began to play the Song of Healing to the group, the song itself echoing throughout the temple. Even though the Sages themselves were very much alive, they could feel all their worry, their pent up emotions, their respective distress… they could feel it all just washing away by that song, as if a wave of love, caring and comfort was gently poured over them to soothe their own souls for that matter. To say that it brought relief to them was a major understatement. Once Link was done playing the song, he blinked as he saw the women of the group shaking a bit.
"Hey, are you alright?" Link asked in genuine concern.
The response he got was that Saria, Zelda, Ruto and Nabooru glomped him en masse, resulting in Nabooru holding the four children close.
"That was an amazingly beautiful song!" Saria said.
"I felt as if all my own worries or regrets just washed away from me!" Zelda said.
Link smiled.
"That's the greatest effect of the song. It was through this song I've healed the souls of the Goron hero Darmani, the Zora hero Mikau and I even managed to save a professor whom researches the supernatural from being turned into a Gibdo." Link said smiling.
"You truly are one of the greatest heroes of both Hyrule and Termina. I wouldn't be surprised if songs would be sung of your achievements for a long time to come." Darunia said.
"Thanks." Link said with a smile, returning the hugs that Zelda, Saria and Ruto gave him, before giving a separate one to Nabooru.

Impa then blinked, before regaining her focus, noticing the spirit forms of Zelda, Link, Saria, Ruto and Nabooru looking at her in concern.
"Are you alright?" Spirit Zelda asked.
"I… I'm fine, I just got lost in a past memory." Impa said, before her eyes went back to her determined look again, before she brought her fingers to her lips.
"What are you doing?" Saria asked.
"Trust me, this will be of your benefit." Impa replied, right before she began to play the Song of Healing herself, having memorized the song from when Link played it for her all those months ago.
The eyes of the five in front of her went wide, the song taking its appropriate effect, pulling them into memories of when they had great times together, just having fun together in the time of peace and whenever a threat would show up, they had the means to combat it. It also brought back memories of their training and how they managed to defeat the forces of Ganondorf and Majora in the unknown land beyond the Woods of Mystery, feeling relief washing over them.

After about a minute or two, Impa stopped playing the song, before looking at the spirits in front of her, whom felt visibly relieved, smiling at her.
"Thank you… thank you for that…" Link said, stuttering a little.
Impa smiled.
"It's the least I can do for you, consider us even on that, since you've used the song to heal me in a similar fashion months ago." She said.
Link smiled, as it brought memories back to the surface of being able to help his friends using it.
"So, where do you go from here?" Impa then asked.
"Well, under normal circumstances, the five of us would pass on to the heavenly realms and await our resurrection there, but it would still mean that we should leave you behind for the time being…" Zelda said.
"Hmmm," Impa said, beginning to think.
Saria shivered a little, causing Link to comfort her a bit, making Saria smile.
"I must admit that finding a way to resurrect you won't be easy, since we need someone of higher power that ensures that not only your lives, but also your bodies will be restored to your former glory and strength." Impa said.
Zelda nodded.
"However, I may have an idea that can allow you to stay in this realm for the time being, until we have found the right way to ensure your complete resurrection. To do so, I need to get into the Royal Graveyard in what remains of Kakariko Village." Impa then said.
"But how are we going to get there without being attacked and all? No offense, but the five of us are in greater danger now… people could mistake us for Poes that try to mess with their minds." Nabooru said.
Impa nodded.
"Which is why I need the five of you to temporarily inhabit my own body, so I can safely take you to our destination after which I will execute my plan." She said.
The five spirits blinked.
"You want us to inhabit your body? Won't that cause complications?" Link asked in genuine concern.
"I understand your concern, lad, but if I need to use my own body to keep your spirits safe from danger, then so be it. Besides, I am from the Sheikah, the Shadow folk. We have our ways of passing by undetected." Impa replied.
"But won't this causes us to merge with you?" Zelda asked.
"Trust me on this, Zelda. I promise nothing will happen to you during our trip. Besides, I did help in giving you a disguise to hide and live as a Sheikah in the case of emergencies." Impa said, convincing the group.
"I'll help with this." Nabooru said, using her Spirit powers to make the five flow into Impa's body, but Impa remained in full control of herself, the only changes being that she, for the time being, had two Triforce Pieces and three other Sage medallions with her, the only signs that something was different, but regarding appearance and everything, she had remained the same.
Her decision and path now clear, Impa set off towards the Royal Graveyard, which ironically was where Rauru had been for the moment.

Darunia had listened to Navi as she threw her heart out to the Goron Leader, telling him what was on her mind regarding what she wanted to do and why she was looking for Link in the first place. The matter wasn't made easier as Darunia revealed that Link was looking for her too, but inadvertedly came across Termina and its own crisis involving Majora and the moon threatening to fall on Majora. This wasn't known to the others until Link managed to return safely, however some of them, both Saria and Zelda in particular, couldn't help a sense of dread and concern within him. Saria already knew why she felt it, but Zelda was unaware of this until she consulted Impa about it. Impa's response was that Link somehow impacted Zelda's life due to his own determined, courageous nature and also their mutual friendship. At least that was what Impa realized until the moment Link had played the Song of Healing for them, at which Impa, while feeling relieved herself, could feel a lot of guilt and worry wash away from both Saria and Zelda alike, with Ruto and Nabooru's not too far behind, although Nabooru also had other reasons. Navi was horrified at what Link had gone through in Termina, feeling her respect for him grow even more.
"Even now he wanted to save us as he pushed Zelda out of the way from Majora's attacks… yet Ganondorf caught him off guard with his attack, weakening all of us…" Darunia said, sighing.

At the same moment, Rauru himself moved across Death Mountain, moving to avoid the lava while trying to see if the Great Fairy that once resided at the top of Death Mountain, close to the mountain crater, was still present there, so he could ask for her assistance whenever she could, or ask for advice in regards to his quest. He sighed as he moved along, looking with sadness at what was once a glorious mountain.
"This world has definitely gone downhill ever since THEY returned… why is it that such greedy men with power always mess up the order of things and let people live their lives as it should be?" He asked himself as he continued along.

Darunia could have sworn to have heard the faint neighing of a young horse outside about 15 minutes later, so he went outside to check it out. As he came outside the cavern, he saw that there was a young, red horse with white manes standing in front of him. From memories of the conversations he had before with Link, Darunia recognized the horse as Epona.
"I take it you must have sensed it, huh?" Darunia then said to Epona, whom neighed in response.
Darunia motioned for the horse to come inside.
"You can't stay outside here, something may happen. It is cold inside, but at least you have shelter." Darunia said, walking back into the cavern.
Epona neighed again as it proceeded to follow Darunia carefully in a walking pace into the ice cave, heeding to the Goron Leader's advice. With at least Epona safe, Darunia went to sit down back next to the ice grave stone, where Navi was waiting for him, settling again on the Fairy Statue for the moment. Epona snorted for a moment, before finding a dry patch of land to lay down on and rest, with both unaware of what Impa was doing now…