A/N: I'm on a roll! Here's chapter 5, rewritten as of 5/28/13 and revised as of 8/08/13. Anyone who finds the reference to Rise of the Guardians gets a virtual cookie.
Chapter 5: Sword and Shield
"So, um, what next?" Midna asked, popping out of Link's shadow. I jumped, and she giggled. "What, did you think I'd just disappeared?" she teased, and I - childishly - stuck my tongue out at her. She raised an eyebrow, rolling her eyes at me. Link was just ready to walk right past her, but she tapped him none too gently on the top of his head to get his attention.
"Hey! there's something I forgot to tell you!" she said demandingly. She waited until she had both of our attention before continuing. "Don't think that you can just run off and save your friends, because you can't. Beyond that bridge," she pointed to the north, where the bridge that led to the Faron Province. "The land is covered in Twilight. Last time, a Shadow Beast pulled you through the curtain of twilight... But if you want to go that way this time, you'll need the cooperation of someone from the twilight...like me!" she finished cheerfully.
"Because there's no Shadow Beast to pull us in this time, right?" I contributed, to which she nodded.
"Exactly. So, you want to go back into the Twilight... You'll need my help. So you really have no choice but to do what I say. Saving your friends and all that... Well, that'll depend on your actions... Because you never can trust words, you know." she finished in a mock-serious tone. I rolled my eyes.
"Right now, I want a sword and shield that'll suit me. You do understand me, don't you? Eee hee hee! So, what do you plan to do? While you're here dawdling, the twilight continues to expand. Come on! Hurry it up!" That brought up a memory from the other world in my head.
"I know where we can get both those weapons." I stated. Midna's shadow looked over to me. "Or, at least the sword." I amended to make sure it didn't sound like I knew something I wasn't supposed to. "Rusl made a sword as a gift to the royal family. That sword's in his house, on the couch." Link reluctantly nodded.
'I'm not happy with the idea of stealing, but we need that sword. And Jaggle has the shield somewhere in his house. It's the only way we'll get everybody home safe. ' he agreed. Then he seemed to think for a moment, before shaking his head and moving towards the village.
"Let me get this one!" I whispered to Link when we came to the clearing right before his house. There was a lone Bulblin patrolling, and I wanted to see if I could handle it. Link nodded, but I knew he would step up and help if things went south. I slowly slid my sword out of my pouch as well as it's sheathe, before moving forward. I was glad that we had the cover of dark now, because it helped me blend in more until I was close enough to attack.
It didn't take much, given that the dumb creature was distracted by something. It was just the simple matter of... actually killing it. I had no problem with the Bokoblins, Deku Babas and Kargoroks among other things, what was making me lose my nerve now?
'Just get it over with!' I thought to myself, and before I could chicken out I slashed at the creature's turned back. It flew to the ground with some approximation of a screech of pain, which choked off into nothing. That was...easy. Right. Easy. I tried to convince myself of that. Link ran up to me then, as I wiped the edge of my blade off on the grass.
"Let's go." I said bluntly, sheathing my sword back into the scabbard I'd strapped to my back. A frigid wind blew at my back, and I shivered as goosebumps rose on my exposed forearms, though it soothed the tingling sting on my wrists. I would have to deal with that soon, I realized. Letting them heal on their own time wasn't the best idea, since I had a ridiculously higher chance of the cuts getting infected. With that thought in mind, I asked Link a question.
"Um.. Link, do you have bandages in your house?"
He looked over to me curiously, and I lifted my left hand on reflex, gesturing to the forming scabs. Realization lit up his eyes, and he nodded.
'Yeah, but first we should deal with those guys.' he pointed with his snout to two more Bulblins with crude stone clubs, standing around in the next clearing where Link's house was. With an internal sigh, I prepared to draw my sword again. 'Wait. I'll deal with them. Wait here.' he suddenly said. He dealt with the two monsters in a much more efficient manner than I had, and his movements seemed more practiced. He was about to move to the village, when he stopped as though someone had called him. I vaguely remembered the squirrel at the top of the ladder, and saw him looking in that direction.
I, unfortunately, couldn't understand it.
'There's bandages on the table beside the ladder, inside. I'll meet you back here.' Link called to me, before going down the trail towards the village.
"Right, on the table beside the ladder..." I thought aloud, climbing up the ladder with minimal difficulty and going inside. Finding the bandages was easy, and I just grabbed the roll that was on the table in case we'd need it later - which we no doubt would - briefly noticing a picture of Link's family. I brushed it off. I wasn't supposed to be looking at his personal things, I was just there to get the gauze.
I exited his house quickly after, settling myself just outside. Wrapping one's own wrists isn't easy, and as irritating as the small task was proving to be, I managed to do so efficiently.
Link had told me he'd meet up with me here, so I decided to wait. To pass the time, even as I heard the unmistakable hawk-grass call I'd become so familiar with back on Earth, I decided to sort through my newly discovered memories. Though I was loathe to the idea of not helping Link like I was supposed to, I was glad for the alone time to gather and organize my thoughts.
From what I had so far - as well as what Link and Rusl had told me - I knew that my mother was a Hylian sorceress named Lilliandil, my father was a soldier named Jethro, and the reason I'd been sent to Earth in the first place was a demon king called Astaroth. Lilliandil had used some series of spells to not only open the 'portal' to Earth, but also somehow turn me into an infant again, as well as bind my memories - though that bind was wearing away, as the memories themselves proved. That happened when Astaroth attacked Castle Town, which must have been what I'd seen in my nightmare. So Jethro... Jethro was dead.
And all of that had happened when I was...nine years old? Yeah, I was nine. So that meant I wasn't fifteen, I was twenty-four! If someone knew that aside from myself, they'd probably think I was a very immature twenty-four year old...
I didn't realize I'd dozed off on the ledge in front of the door until I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes dazedly to see Midna's shadow form there.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to fall asleep." I apologized embarrassedly, hopping from the ledge to the ground to meet up with Link again.
Then we were running. Or rather, Link was running and I was barely keeping up, right until we went past Ordon's spring. I skidded to a stop even before the ethereal voice called out to us.
"Wait..." a familiar, soft voice called out to us. I turned in the direction of the spring. "You have,, been transformed by the power of shadow... come to me... I recognized the voice as Orfona, as I entered the spring with Link. I knew what was coming next; any second now, the dark pillars would fall from the sky and pen us in, and the shadow beast would come. I wasn't sure how well I would handle this fight, considering how I'd locked up at the idea of killing a Bulblin.
As soon as we reached the middle of the spring, the pillars dropped down, shaking the ground when they impacted and splashing water into the air. Despite knowing it would happen, I couldn't help but jump when it did I drew my sword and looked to the sky where I knew the portal would appear.
"Beware... a shadow being... it approaches." Ordona whispered. Sure enough, seconds later a portal faded into existence, glowing red. From the focal-point of the portal, a lone shadow beast dropped to the ground. It tossed up water as it disturbed the spring, and the portal faded away. Link was attacking it in an instant, tearing and clawing until he was thrown off. The creature turned on me next with a screech.
It swiped a clawed hand at me, and I swung my blade, intending to bat it away. What I hadn't intended or expected - though it still benefited us - was that the angle and force of my swing would be enough to sever the limb. The shadow beast recoiled with an agonized shriek, and I lunged forward with my sword before I could freeze up, stabbing it through it's abdomen.
Once it died, the shadow beast sort of exploded into dark Twilight fragments, which reformed the portal in the sky, though this one glowed green instead of red.
Ordona appeared to Link through the process I'd observed when I entered Hyrule - had it really only been two days ago? - and he was just as awestruck as I had been. From the dinner conversation I'd had with Colin and his parents the day previous, I knew that there were very few people left in Hyrule that believed in the Light Spirits. And yet here was a light spirit, directly in front of Link and I.
"O brave youth... I am one of the four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the goddesses. I am Ordona." she said softly. "The black beast you and young Celia slew was a shadow being, sent here to seize the power I wield." the spirit continued. I wondered if she would have anything new to tell me. I wouldn't mind either way, since my memories were coming back on their own now anyways.
"My brothers across Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness. The blight will not stop with Hyrule. Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the king who rules the Twilight." Ordona's tone became saddened but urgent.
"To save this land from the usurper, the lost light must be recovered. My brothers must be revived. There are two who can complete this task; you. You who still have not discovered your true powers, and you who have yet to fully regain your memories."
"Those transformed by the Twilight usually cannot recover their true forms... Unless.. if you were to return to Faron Woods and revive the light spirit... There, by my brother's power, you may be able to regain your other state of being..."
The spirit began to dissipate, but said one last thing to me.
"Celia... traveler from another world... you are not the only one... in the provinces of my brothers, three more travelers lie in wait... find them..."
My mind instantly started drawing conclusions; there were three people from Earth aside from myself, and they were now in Hyrule. The first three that came to mind were Bethany, Carmen, and... Scott. But that would mean Scott was alive! No, I couldn't get too far ahead of myself. For all I knew, it would be three people I hated, or people I didn't even know. So... I wouldn't let myself hope.
'Me... How?' Link's muttering brought me back to earth.
"You didn't turn into a spirit when we entered the Twilight." I reasoned. "Maybe that was a sign."
'You didn't turn into one either.' Link countered. 'Or a wolf.' he added.
"Your point being? Ordona said there's two people who can save Hyrule from the Twilight; us. We're the only two who didn't turn into spirits when we entered it. It has to be us." I retorted.
"If you two are done squibbling, can we go to the forest to revive that spirit now?" Midna suggested irritably from Link's shadow. I nodded once, before we made for the exit of the spring. I distinctly kept my eyes locked on the wall of Twilight when we started to cross the rope bridge, still not entirely fond of heights, or bottomless chasms beneath rickety bridges. I didn't break my gaze save for once, when an insect of some kind flew right past my face.
I stopped a meter or so away from the barrier, and Midna took herself from Link's shadow.
"Hey... the Faron woods you know so well are covered in Twilight. You two may not be able to come back here once you enter. Are you sure you want to go in?" she asked. I looked to Link, who nodded his head.
"Yes." I answered for both of us. Midna seemed satisfied by this, and flew into the barrier. It rippled where she'd entered, and her orange hair thing reached out, in the form of a hand, and scooped the two of us up roughly before yanking us in. It wasn't as unpleasant or painful as it had been the first time, but it wasn't exactly comfortable, to say the least. It felt like I was being pulled through molasses, and the molasses was trying to push me out, until I made it through completely, and Midna dropped me onto the ground.
"I don't suppose there's a gentler way to do that, is there?" I groaned at the feeling in my head. Midna seemed to be ignoring me, other than a shake of her head from behind the shield that she was wearing on her head for some reason. "Didn't think so..." I sighed.
"Hmm! So these are the weapons you use in your world?" she asked, her voice muffled by the shield. She then swung the sword a few times experimentally, missing Link by mere centimetres.
'Watch where you swing that!' he exclaimed.
"Yes, those are the weapons we use, but we don't wear shields on our faces." I answered Midna exasperatedly. Then a thought hit me; what if that was how the Twili used shields? It didn't seem very efficient to me, but...
"Do you really think this thing can slay the creatures of the Twilight?" she demanded of Link, ignoring me. She then threw both items to the ground. "..Well, I won't use these, but I'll hold onto them for you." she said, turning them into twilight shards, which flew harmlessly into Link.
"Alright, a promise is a promise... I trust you enough to help." Midna finally said. "In exchange for my help, I need you to gather some...things for me."
"What things?" Link and I both asked, though I already knew. Midna sighed, but said nothing for several more seconds.
"Look, I can't tell you all the details right now, but it'll be easy, trust me..." Even she didn't know that that sentence was completely wrong. "But enough about that. Do you hear that noise?" she whispered the last part, and I swore I could hear a... a chorus of some sort. Many tones that melded into one, and sounded like a cry for help, or a cry of pain...
"That's the spirit, lamenting for its lost light. Where in the world could it be? Eeheehee! Better get going, don't you think? Don't blame me for your world's fate if you don't hurry up and find that light!" she said almost tauntingly.
"We know that, Midna." I said impatiently.
"Then come on! Snap to it!" she ordered, digging her heels into Link's ribs. He growled in discomfort, but regardless started at what was the equivalent of a human jog, making it easy for me to keep up. We went past the first clearing without complication, but more of the dark pillars dropped from the sky in the second clearing, firmly embedding themselves in the ground.
"Great, more creeps... " I muttered, glaring at the sky as the portal appeared long enough to drop the shadow beasts, before disappearing again.
"Ugh, we're penned in again!" Midna exclaimed, as though this was only a minor inconvenience. "Pfft! Who do they think they're dealing with? You can handle these pests, right? No need to take them one at a time. Good luck, 'bye!" she practically chirped, flying off Link's back and going to the edge of the temporary cage. I frowned, but had no time to say anything before the shadow beasts noticed us. I slashed one across its chest a few times, and it fell easily enough. Link took one our as well, but that was when I remembered a problem with leaving one alive.
I let out a pained noise when the last shadow beast screamed loudly, throwing my hands over my ears as the sword dropped from my hand. The shadow beasts we'd just dispatched now got to their feet like they hadn't just died.
"Link, we need to take out the last two at the same time." I called to him as I quickly snatched my sword from the ground and skittered back from the beasts.
We didn't make it in the second attempt to off them either, and I may or may not have ruptured my eardrums. The only reason it worked on the third try was because we gave in and asked Midna for help.
"We could use a hand here, Midna!" I exclaimed as we ran up to her, not turning our backs to the beasts that seemed to have lost either sight or interest in us for the moment.
"What's the holdup? If you leave the last one alive, its just gonna use that shriek to bring the others back. Listen, let me help you! Just move like I tell you, and I'll expand an energy field." she ordered, hopping back onto Link's back.
When the aforementioned energy field erupted, Link was practically blurred with speed as he lunged at the beasts, though that may have just been the energy making his movements faster. They fell at nearly the exact same time, exploded into Twilit shards, and formed another portal.
"Thanks for the help," I said to the imp. "Let's go find Faron, now." Thinking on it, Midna wasn't really that bad. She was rude, but not necessarily bad, or mean.
"Please...be careful..." an ethereal voice whispered weakly. Faron... "These woods have changed... The dark clouds of dusk cover this land... This drape of shadows is called... Twilight..." I paid rapt attention to his words, though I already knew everything he had to say.
"In this twilight, those who lived in the light become... as mere spirits. It is a place... where dark ones and evil creatures dwell. I am... a spirit.. of light. Blue eyed beast... young warrioress... look for my light... retrieve the stolen light... store it in this... vessel..."
Light began to gather in one spot, forming into a strange holder and promptly attaching itself to my belt.
"In the shadows of twilight... the dark insects that... took hold of my scattered light... are as invisible... as normal beings are here. Let me use... the last of my power to... reveal the locations of.. the dark insects..."
My all-but-forgotten cell phone buzzed in my pouch. Shocked, I pulled it out to see what had happened. A map of the Faron Province was on the screen, and several tiny dots were lighting up, marking the locations of the insects.
"Young woman... I shall grant you the ability as well.. to see the dark insects..." Faron's voice was growing weaker.
My eyes blurred and tingled for a moment, but the sensation quickly passed, and I felt like my vision was just a little bit clearer than it had been before.
"We won't let you down, Faron. We'll return soon." I promised before looking to the forest trail, where the first insects should have been, and my eyes widened when I realized I could see them. I mean, I was glad that I could, I wouldn't be as much help if I couldn't help Link get rid of the creeps, but actually seeing them in real life was a bit disturbing. Those things were huge!
"Alright, let's do this." I muttered, drawing my sword. I have a tiny phobia of large bugs, and these were just helping make that worse. That aside, it wasn't so bad. I still preferred the light world and it's creatures, but that would have to be expected. Especially when the bugs charged and did their little crackly self defence thing. It was like getting a nasty electric shock, and it stung for minutes afterwards.
We got the first several bugs quickly, until we reached the swamp of the forest, filled with its thick, purple fog. Link had to take a different path than I through the trees, meaning I had to wait until Midna came back for me. My job was merely to get any that he'd missed, but I didn't even make it through that simple task unscathed.
After a comparison, I think I hate the Deku Babas from the light world a lot less than the ones in the Twilight. Not that they're any less annoying, but their teeth aren't as needle-like.
It wasn't until we made it through the tunnel and into the official North Faron area that I realized we'd forgotten to get the insects in Coro's house. I sighed tiredly, but pressed on to get the ones at the entrance to the Forest Temple with Link. The moment we passed the "doorframe" of the tunnel's exit, more dark pillars appeared.
"Well, here we go again." I sighed, already used to fighting. That didn't make it any less scary, but I was getting the hang of it. The beasts didn't keep us waiting long, dropping from a portal a few seconds later.
'You take the one on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?' Link suggested.
"Fine by me." I shrugged.
"Alright, let's get this over with." I muttered. I checked the map again, and confirmed the ones we'd missed at Coro's, as well as the ones on front of us. We ran past Trill's potion shop, and up the narrow path towards the forest temple. I saw two dark bugs, as well as one floating spirit. It was the monkey. Link confirmed this while relaying to me what she'd said. We took out the two bugs, got the tears and went back the way we came. Things were relatively peaceful, for which I was grateful, until we came back to the swampy part of the forest.
Almost to the other side, I was waiting for Midna to help Link with one more jump. She was alternating between the two of us to save time, and I only had a few more feet to make it across. I misjudged the distance of the jump, thinking I could make it. I almost did. I stopped just short of flat, stable ground, and tripped on a rock when I stepped back to steady myself. I ended up falling backwards, right into the purple, choking mist.
I coughed as I breathed in the purple substance, trying to get to my feet as my mind started going fuzzy. My knees gave out, but I felt something wrap around my torso before I could fall, pulling me up. When I was set on the ground, I put my head on my knees as my lungs cleared.
'You okay?' Link asked me. I shook my head to clear it before turning to look at him. I also saw a displeased Midna on his back, thinking it must have been her to pull me out.
"I... I think so." I said softly. "Thanks... for pulling me out." I added to Midna. She rolled her eyes,
"Well, I wouldn't have had to if you'd waited." she said irritably. I sighed. 'A simple 'you're welcome' would have sufficed.' I thought, standing up.
"Huh? He's usually in front of his campfire..." I thought aloud when we reached Coro's house. Zooming in on the map, I went to the far side of the house, where it indicated a dark insect. I took it out easily, and saw Link was already on his way inside. I opted to wait outside, though it wasn't long before I saw the final two tears of light fly into the vessel, which lit up with a bright blue glow.
Link barely had time to meet up with me before the glow got so bright it temporarily blinded us. I felt like I was floating, like the ground was just gone from beneath me, for a few seconds.
When the world faded back into existence, we were back in Faron's spring. The vessel of light detached itself from my belt, floating in towards the back of the spring. The Twilight Squares floating upwards disappeared, and the dusky appearance of the land faded into much brighter colours as the sky lightened. Midna came up from Link's shadow, then, in her 'shadow form'.
"Aw, but it was so nice here in the twilight!" she seemed to pout. "What's so great about a world of light, anyhow? Eeeheehee! See you later!" she called, disappearing again.
The process of Faron appearing before us was slightly different than Ordona's. The beginning was the same, the light coming from beneath the surface of the water, the rocks taking on an unearthly blue glow, but it changed when Faron's light itself surfaced from beneath the water. The light started bending, taking shape, but the shape was different. The light spirit's hands and feet formed first, as they seemed to be holding onto the light. From there the arms and torso, then the head and lastly came the large tail. It was overly large, much like Ordona's was, and it seemed to curl around the light protectively. The spirit seemed to...coo, in a way, as its shape rocked forward and backwards. When it was finished, Faron appeared as some sort of lemur, or something similar.
"My name is Faron. I am one of the spirits of light who dwell in Hyrule. I use the life force of the gods to protect this forest.." he began. I confirmed this voice to be more masculine, though I wasn't entirely sure if they actually had genders or not.
"O brave youth...In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast...That was a sign...It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you...and that they are awakening." Faron said, looking directly to Link. "Look at your awakened form." he suggested. Link did so at the same time that I turned to him, and I felt a grin form on my face.
Instead of the Ordonian clothes he'd had on when we were pulled into the Twilight the first time, Link was wearing an outfit that - to me - was very familiar. He was wearing a forest-green tunic with a pointed hat to match, with small designs on the collar and sleeves. The Ordon sword and shield were strapped to his back. Beneath the tunic was a shirt of chainmail, and beneath that was a white long-sleeved undershirt. He also had off-white slim fitting pants, dark brown boots, a pair of leather bracers on his forearms and fingerless gloves on his hands.
"I told you it was a sign." I pointed out with an 'I told you so' tone. He was looking down at himself, from the gloves on his hands to the boots on his feet.
"The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the gods..." Link's eyes widened in shock as he lifted his head to look back to the spirit.
"His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods." I could tell this was getting to be at the point of overwhelming for him. I put a hand on his shoulder in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. I wasn't sure if he even noticed me, though.
"Brave Link, Courageous Rose...A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits of light locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light. But this world weeps beneath a mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice... You must match the power of the king of shadows." Faron spoke, disrupting my thoughts for a moment.
...Rose? Was that my name? It was possible. Zelda had called me that, and the little girl in my vision had been called Rose... To be sure, though, I spoke up before he could continue.
"Why did you call me Rose?" I asked.
"That is your given name from your parents, young one. Before the dark calamity swept across the land so many years ago, you were called Rosalie. Your mother, Lilliandil, passed this information to me long ago knowing you would return to Hyrule one day, as would three others."
Now it was my turn to be silent in shock. There was the mention of three other people from Earth, again.
"If you aim to seek the dark power I've spoken of, then proceed to the temple within the forest depths." Faron finished, before his shape dissipated and the light returned to the water. The subsequent silence was neither comfortable nor easy to break, as I simply thought about what I'd learned and Link was... thinking whatever he was thinking.
'The poor guy's probably a little overwhelmed.' I thought.
"So! What did we learn from that? My name is Rose apparently, the thing we're looking for is in the forest temple, there's three other people from my world somewhere in Hyrule, and you're some kind of reincarnation or descendant of the Hero of Time." I summed up as I regained my voice, ticking off each addition with my fingers. Link didn't seem to respond for several seconds. I didn't blame him, I probably reacted the same, just for less time.
"Well, well... You're the chosen hero and all that, huh? So THAT'S why you turned into that beast!" Midna commented, flying out of Link's shadow, her tone saying she hadn't known that. Liar. "What a shame... I mean, maybe you'd rather just wander as a spirit like the rest of them, totally unaware of what was happening for all eternity...right? Eee hee hee!" she teased. I rolled my eyes.
"Being a wolf would be better than living in fear for the rest of eternity." I muttered
"So... What do you want to do? Do you want to head to that temple? Well, isn't that convenient! I was about to head there myself. Hey, look... You want to help your friends, right? The way I see it, maybe they're in the temple, waiting for you to rescue them..." she lied. She knew they weren't in the temple. She just wanted to get her hands on the fused shadow. "Well, good luck, Mister and Miss Big Important Heroes! Eee hee hee! See you later!" then she disappeared again. I sighed, throwing a hand to my forehead. I didn't like the fact that she was lying to Link, but I had to follow with the storyline, lest I screw something up irreparably.
Right then, I agreed on a compromise with myself. The things that I knew I could change, just little tiny things, I would change. Any big events - e.g, Zant's attack in Lanayru's Spring - that had to happen for the story to progress, I would leave alone. But there were things in the storyline that didn't have to happen.
"You ready to go?" I asked Link, nudging him in the shoulder to get his attention. Snapping out of his thoughts, he nodded his head at me.
"Yeah.." he answered. Then we were off to the forest temple, where I knew things were sure to get interesting.
A/N: There we go again. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but Link is left-handed, while the map and such is the one from the Wii version. It makes sense to me that the Triforce would appear on the bearer's dominant hand, and it's sort of.. tradition to have a left-handed Link, even if they didn't do that in SS or the Wii version of TP. Anyways, bye!