Chapter 20: The Lost Island
The fisherman guided his boat alongside the pier before coming to a full stop, which allowed Impa, Darunia, Rauru and Leia to disembark from the boat. Navi, Tatl and Tael were floating above the first aforementioned three, giving the Sages a Fairy Companion in a way.
"Well, here we are at the Lost Island. Rumors say that a sanctuary lies hidden within this area, but no one has been able to enter it so far." The fisherman said.
"Alright then. How long will you stick around?" Impa then asked.
"Look, trust me when I say that I'll be waiting for you here. Unless you have the ability to fly or are powerful swimmers, you can only reach this area by boat. I'll probably be moving off to divert attention away, but I'll be close around." The Fisherman said.
"Very well then. Just be careful on your journey." Darunia said.
"I will, you be careful as well."
"Thanks for the heads up." Rauru said, before the fisherman left and the group walked over the pier towards the beach.
"So here is where you said the Queen of the Fairies resides?" Impa asked Rauru.
"Yes. If what the fisherman said about such a sanctuary is true, then I wouldn't be surprised if she would actually be inside the sanctuary herself." The Light Sage replied as they moved on the beach area, hearing the resident seagulls flying over and the water crashing against the shore.
"Point taken." Impa replied as they now moved on the beach.
No sooner had they ventured on the beach itself when a small group of Lizalfos and Dinolfos spotted them and went to attack them.
"Oh, look! We got ourselves a welcoming committee." Darunia said, cracking his knuckles.
Leia brought out her own weapon, which was a glaive, getting ready to engage a Lizalfos herself, before charging at one as the others went on the offensive as well. Rauru decimated the Dinolfos with a Light Based spell that summoned a flash of light from underneath the creature, causing it to writhe in agony in a way similar to when someone was struck by a Light Arrow or when hit by light reflected off the Mirror Shield. Darunia simply grabbed two of the present Lizalfos and bashed their heads together, cracking their skulls in the process which killed them instantly. Impa used her daggers to slice a Dinolfos to bits, while Leia impaled one other Lizalfos on her glaive before tossing it into the ocean to drown. After the first batch of Dinolfos and Lizalfos were dealt with, the group proceeded on by moving up a path towards a small cavern, only to have their path blocked by an Eyegore.
"What the-?! How do we beat this guy?!" Leia asked.
It was then that Link's spirit popped up.
"Its eye is its weakness. Use a ranged weapon like arrows or Deku Seeds to strike the eye when it colors yellow to damage it." He said.
"Right." Impa said, nodding while Leia was given a bow and some arrows from Rauru, allowing Leia to shoot the Eyegore as advised.
After using four arrows, the Eyegore collapsed and explodes into nothingness, only for the group itself to be faced with a Club Moblin at the far side of the cavern. Taking a few arrows more, Leia shot the Club Moblin from a distance, which took three arrows to be taken out, disintegrating in sheets of blue flame. Once the Club Moblin was gone, the group could proceed in the cavern, walking over a bridge that spanned over a body of water.
"Hey, I think I'm seeing some kind of water cavern down here." Leia said.
"Hmmm, should we check it out?" Impa asked.
"You can go on ahead if you want, we'll wait here." Darunia said.
"Are you sure?" Impa asked.
"Look, we Gorons aren't exactly the best of swimmers; our rock-like bodies would be stuck at the bottom of a lake if we jumped in. We can walk through shallow water bodies with no problems at all, but bigger or deeper water bodies will form a problem to us." Darunia said.
"Ah, I understand." Impa said, nodding as she and Leia dove in the water, diving down into the cavern.
"Just don't drown yourselves." Rauru warned.
Impa and Leia swam swiftly through the surprisingly fresh and clean water, eventually resurfacing in what appeared to be a small room with the entrance in its center. There they saw a few treasure chests that were obviously been placed there somehow by its previous occupants. Sitting nearby, vast asleep, was a single Gerudo whom looked worse for wear, considering her tattered and torn outfit. Leia wanted to be sneaky and try to find what the chests contained, but Impa stopped her, pointing to the jewel on the Gerudo's forehead.
"What's the matter?" Leia whispered.
"Take a look at that jewel…" Impa whispered back.
Leia did so, looking closely at it without alerting the Gerudo.
"That's weird; its color seems off… something's fishy; normally all Gerudo have the same color in their jewelry." She said.
"Looks like someone's been messing around with the Gerudo as you said." Impa said, just as the sleeping Gerudo stirred, waking up.
"Huh?! What the-?! Hey! How did you two get here?!" The Gerudo asked, instantly grabbing her weapon, which was a glaive similar to Leia's.
"Simple, we swam through here." Impa casually replied.
The Gerudo growled.
"Lord Ganondorf won't be pleased when he finds out that you have been trying to steal the treasure here…" She said, inadvertently showing something off within her eyes as she faced the two, which was something both Leia and Impa noticed.
"You call that megalomaniac, homicidal brute your 'Lord'? Give me a break; you should know that we don't steal from the helpless, right? Or have you fallen under his spell to make you do things against your will, like attacking your own comrades?" Leia then said.
"Enemies of the great Ganondorf are enemies of mine! Now surrender before I impale you on my glaive like a piece of meat on a spit!"
"Very well then, you leave me no other choice." Leia said as she grabbed her own glaive, ready to retaliate.
"Don't make this any harder for you as it is." The Gerudo then said, getting in a stance.
"Hmph. You're one to talk, woman. You definitely are not yourself." Leia replied, just as she blocked an incoming strike from her opponent.
"Okay, that's it! HAVE AT YOU!" The Gerudo replied, moving in to strike again.
"Impa, get out of here and go back to the others! I'll deal with this traitor myself!" Leia said.
"Right, just be careful!" Impa said.
"I'll be fine, just go!"
Impa then dove in the water, swimming back to Darunia and Rauru who were waiting for her, while Leia got locked in a fight with the ferocity of a mortal combat against her fellow kin.
Rauru and Darunia frowned as they saw Impa resurfacing alone, with Navi flying towards Impa.
"Where's Leia?" Darunia asked.
"She's locked in combat with a fellow Gerudo, trying to keep her occupied to prevent her from sounding the alarm. It appears we may be dealing with brainwashed Gerudo out here, so we should at least help to break the spell casted on them." Impa said.
"And how do we find out if that is the case?"
"The color of their jewels on the forehead is different from the Gerudo we know. Perhaps Nabooru can help to identify them from those whom are actively hostile." Impa said.
"Alright, let's continue on then." Rauru said, moving up a ladder he saw against the wall, which led to the other side of the island, being part of a cliffside with some constructed bridges to connect the pathways as well as two structures that served as either a home, lookout post or even a training facility. Despite their crude and old-fashioned appearance, being constructed out of mostly wood, these structures looked surprisingly very stable, tough and very durable. Further up ahead, set inside the rocky pathway, was a door that was more stone-like in appearance and didn't have the usual handles to open them. In fact, it had more the characteristics of a gateway that required a switch to open. However, there was no switch around to open the gate right away. For the rest it seemed like a dead end, although the only things that stood out were two, pyramid-shaped pedestals that looked dormant and docile, as if someone just carved them out of the stone ground. A Lizalfos was standing on guard, but with its back to the group, allowing Impa to sneak up behind the reptilian guard and silently snapped its neck before dumping the corpse over the side of the cliff, making it land in the water.
"That's one pest less." Impa said, snorting at the sinking corpse.
Darunia smirked at this.
"The silent kill… a more subtle approach, but very effective." He said.
Impa chuckled as the group moved on to the larger area of the cliff, right in front of the door.
"This thing looks sealed shut." Impa said, inspecting the door.
"And it won't budge either. Looks like some tight security is in place here." Darunia said.
"HALT! Who goes there?!" A voice then said behind them.
As the three turned around, they saw a small group of Gerudo warriors, armed with glaives, although two wielded twin scimitar swords, stood there, being alarmed.
"It takes quite some skill to come snooping around here so silently. I don't know whether you are foolish, brave, bold or simply having a death wish." A female voice then said, just as a Gerudo approached them, also armed with twin scimitar swords, approaching them.
Impa judged her to be in command, given the different style of clothing and the different style of how her red hair was set in a tail with the jewelry. Speaking of which…
"Well, this is unexpected," Impa said, "I wouldn't know if you are foolish yourself to follow someone whom doesn't give a shit about anything except for power."
"What?! You dare to insult the Great Ganondorf and Majora?" The commander said, going in a fighting stance, although it appeared a bit shaky.
"Yes, I dare, since you obviously are being deceived by them. Or he must be playing mind games." Impa said, as if she was trying to buy time.
The commander growled.
"That is one mistake you won't live to regret!" She said.
"Oh really?" Another voice said, just as a spirit made itself known. It was Nabooru!
Darunia chuckled at this, having noticed Impa's shadow extending forward from the corner of his eye, but remained fixated on the Gerudo to keep the element of surprise in.
"What the-?! Who are you?" The commander asked the spirit form of Nabooru.
"I'm disappointed in you for forgetting who I am. I am the exalted Nabooru, I hail from the Gerudo Fortress in the Haunted Wasteland and Gerudo Valley in Hyrule!" Nabooru said.
Immediately the group of Gerudo bowed, which showed that they did recognize her.
"At least some of you are wise enough to bow where it is required…" Nabooru commented.
"But why are you here?" The commander asked.
"We're not here for any treasure; this is a personal matter. It is also part of our mission to defeat Ganondorf once and for all!"
"What?! You want to defeat Ganondorf?"
"You heard me."
"But I thought you were under his command as well!"
"I was in the past, but I saw Ganondorf performing actions that goes against our policies, like stealing from the weak and killing innocent people. Heck, he isn't shy to harm even children just to get what he wants! He has become a megalomaniac fool whom won't allow anyone else to challenge his authority! Hah, we'll prove otherwise!"
The commander then bowed her head.
"Do you understand what I said?" Nabooru asked.
"Yes, I do… and I know what I must do…" She replied.
Nabooru frowned at the tone of this, apparently expecting the next answer.
"I must make you see that NOBODY goes against the Great Ganondorf!" The commander then snarled, her blades ready.
"Really? You're really willing to serve someone who doesn't give a shit about the well-being of others and only cares about power? Puh-lease; I know a forest kid who has more guts than that Ganondorf ever will have. But enough talk, have at you then!" Nabooru said, before she retracted into Impa's shadow, while Impa herself drew the Gilded blades that Nabooru herself used to wield before her death; Rauru collected the weapons while on his way to the Great Fairy back at the ruins of Hyrule Castle.
The battle raged on, with Darunia and Rauru having little trouble keeping the Gerudo Guards at bay, while the commander herself was having her own troubles with facing Impa, whom looked calm and focused, as if she was trying to figure something out with the commander, in particular eyeing her jewelry. However, despite the advantage in strength, they were still outnumbered. Just as Impa gained some distance from the commander, she saw one of the Gerudo Guards breaking formation and charging at her with the glaive pointed forward, while the commander watched with a smirk… only to have the charging Gerudo smacked aside by the pole side of another glaive, just as another Gerudo landed in the area… accompanied by Leia!
"What the-?!" The commander asked, blinking at seeing one of her guards smacked aside by one of her own.
Impa was confused at this too, until she spotted that the Gerudo who came with Leia was missing a piece of her head jewel, which in fact looked quite damaged.
"You can help your friends, Impa; I'll deal with 'commander' Reimu myself." Leia then said.
"What? How do you know my name?!" the commander then asked.
"I know your name since I know you personally, Reimu." Leia then said.
"And for what reason?"
"Don't you remember? You're my sister!"
"WHAT?!" The commander asked, blinking for a moment as she apparently felt memories entering her mind.
However an unknown force seemed to try to block the memories, causing Reimu to grab her head and scream in pain, her jewel having an abnormal glow to it.
"Just as I thought, you were brainwashed. And I'm going to help you get rid of it." Leia said.
"Uh… Urrrrrggghhh, no! You will NOT defy the Great Ganondorf!" Reimu said, her blades ready.
"Too bad I'm already doing so, sister. What are you going to do about it?"
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Then come at me, see if you have the guts to harm your own flesh and blood!" Leia said, her glaive poised to strike.
"I'll make you regret this!" Reimu said, before charging at her sister.
With the help of Impa and the Gerudo Guard whom was apparently liberated by Leia, Rauru and Darunia turned the tides of the battle in their favor and subsequently freed the remaining Gerudo of the brain-washing spell by either busting, damaging or breaking the jewels on the Gerudo's foreheads, effectively freeing them from the spell that bound them to serve the forces of Evil by force. They were then witnessed to the battle between Reimu and Leia, whom both were fighting for their lives. While Reimu was superior in weaponry regarding her blades, Leia used her glaive expertly in combination with her agility, occasionally using the glaive to pole-vault over an incoming charge from Reimu to get some space in. This battle lasted for a good minute or two, before Leia charged in herself, pole-vaulting in the air before yanking the glaive from the ground, using the momentum to land on the blades of her sister as she made a stabbing motion, right before bringing the sharp end of the glaive down on her sister's head… cleaving its head jewel clean in two, but sparing the rest of her head. The instant the jewel was destroyed, Reimu dropped her blades and gripped her head as she howled in agony as the brainwashing effect was dispelled of her, collapsing to the ground, before getting on her knees, looking around in a confused way.
"Huh?! What happened?! Where am I?" Reimu asked, right before she saw someone crouching down in front of her.
"Sister…" that person said, making Reimu look up, looking straight in the eyes of her sister Leia.
"L… Leia… what have I been doing all this time?" She asked, just before Leia hugged her sister.
Reimu returned the hug.
"You're free sister. You've been living in a nightmare… it's over… I woke you up…" Leia said, sobbing.
Reimu smiled at this, hugging her sister close, causing the others to smile and make up with the others, apologizing for their actions to Impa, Rauru and Darunia.
Later on, the group sat together outside by one of the campfires that the Gerudo had set up, each of them calm and yet also very much relieved.
"So, what are you doing all the way here?" Reimu then asked Impa as the group rested up from the battle.
"We're on a mission to resurrect five people whom Ganondorf and Majora killed not too long ago; Nabooru's one of them." Impa said.
"What? Ganondorf killed Nabooru? What for?"
"Nabooru openly rebelled against Ganondorf in regards to the latter's abhorrent actions in his lust for power, wanting to thwart his plans herself. We tried to stop them, but Ganondorf's alliance with Majora apparently made him much stronger than we expected, resulting in the deaths of five of us, Nabooru included."
"I see."
"We were told that there is a sanctuary hidden behind this door, which could lead to the person we believe can help us."
"Hmmm, there is indeed something behind this door, but what it is precise is also unknown to us; despite our efforts so far, we've been unable to figure out how to open this damn thing. It wouldn't budge by any means." Reimu then said.
"Obviously something else is needed to open the door then." Leia said.
"Indeed, but we're stumped by what it could be."
"Is there anything of interest here?" Impa then asked.
"Well, either one of the buildings here has one sphere-like object inside, one in silver and one in gold. We assumed these to be something of great value, so we kept them in the buildings." Reimu said.
"I see. Do you mind if we take a look at them?" Impa asked.
"Sure, we'll lead you to the one in the building to the left from that giant door." Reimu said, getting up.
Impa followed, as did Darunia and Rauru, being curious to see them as well. Leia was in the meantime chatting with the other Gerudo, bringing them up to speed of what has happened in Hyrule and what Impa told her in short. Needless to say, the Gerudo were shocked and swore fealty to Nabooru, seeing her as the new leader who would hopefully unite the Gerudo tribes and lead them to a new era of prosperity, provided the forces of Evil could be defeated of course. But regardless of the situation, Leia smiled as the liberation of the mind control/brainwashing led to bolstering their numbers. She hoped it would help in rebuilding the army that was needed to fend off Ganondorf and Majora's troops and hopefully help in defeating the two evil beings once and for all. Of course it wouldn't be easy, but as long as they could exert any effort in helping them, it would be enough. This way they would prove that the Gerudo were capable of fighting for an honorable cause, despite having the notorious reputation as pirates and thieves.
Upon entering the building, Reimu led the others to the sphere that they held in the building. It wasn't very far away, seeing as the building in general was small and was used as a Lookout post for over the sea, while also having some accommodation areas available so the resident Gerudo troops could rest up from their duties. They were led in a chamber that contained the sphere, which was indeed a solid object that was gold in color and seemed to have a glowing core within that gave it its shiny surface.
"This is it?" Impa asked.
"Yep, that's the thing. We honestly have no idea what it is or what it does." Reimu said.
"What the heck?!" Link's voice then said as his and Zelda's spirits appeared from Impa's Shadow.
"What's the matter?" Impa asked.
"These are almost the same spheres that Link and I came across in that horrid dream world Majora sent us in after Sakon's diversion knocked the both of us out." Zelda said.
"Really? What did you have to do then?" Reimu asked.
"We had to place these on top of some kind of pyramid-shaped pedestal of some kind that eventually opened a door ahead for us." Link said.
"Hmmm, you reckon that these could be for the same purpose as what you experienced then?" Impa asked.
"Come to think of it, there are some pyramid-shaped stones outside… perhaps those spheres have to be put on there?" Reimu asked.
"It's worth a try." Impa said, nodding as Darunia carefully picked the sphere up to carry it outside.
"I'll have my guards go get the other one." Reimu said as she went outside to give the orders.
The spirits of Link and Zelda moved along this time, before hiding back in Impa's shadow with the others. Darunia carried the sphere outside and put it on one of the pedestals, which immediately began to react to it and connected with the sphere, causing the pyramid to glow and sink a bit into the ground.
"I'll be darned; it actually fits." Darunia said.
Leia and Reimu both blinked at this, as did Impa.
"Looks like Link and Zelda were right." The latter said, flabbergasted while the guards came back after a minute, carrying the other sphere together.
"Where do you want us to put it, ma'am?" One of the guards asked Reimu.
"Put it on the other pyramid-shaped pedestal carefully." She said, after which the guards moved on to do as instructed.
Once it was done, the pedestal lowered itself into the ground like the other one, also followed by the glow and the connection it made to the sphere. Mere seconds later, a creaking sound could be heard… right before the giant door began to open in a Y-shaped pattern, revealing a cavern going inside.
"By the Goddesses!" Reimu said.
"The doorway is open?!" One of the guards said, blinking as she did a double-take.
"Well then, let's keep going then." Impa said.
Just then, Leia howled in agony as she was impaled on a glaive through her right shoulder as it went through her.
"STOP THEM! A distant voice said, obviously female.
"More Gerudo!?" Darunia asked.
"They're here to stop us!" Rauru said.
"Hold them for as long as you can, my guards! Be sure to strike their jewels if you get the chance! I'll take our guests and my sister into the opening here!" Reimu then said.
The Gerudo under Reimu's command saluted and instantly went to take defensive positions while the three Sages, followed by Reimu and the injured Leia, went inside the cavern that was opened up, before they arrived at what appeared to look like a different room as it had different looking tiles on the floor, walls and ceiling. Further ahead was an opening that looked dark as it obviously was enough to lead to somewhere…
"Looks like we need to go through here." Impa said as she was ready to enter the dark area.
"Just be careful." Darunia said as the group proceeded through the opening, with Reimu praying that her guards could hold them off for as long as they could.