"Cleo?... What... has happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," she replied with a shrug. There was a pause. "Are you still there?"
"I apologize... It is just... ...I do not remember... anything..."
"You... have amnesia?"
"...I suppose so..."
To keep readers (and Cleo) in the dark about what's really going on, I had to give Jack amnesia. It's important for his identity to be just as hidden as Okam's and not reveal it from the start.
Cleo made a sad groan. "I guess the light given to you was much weaker than I thought. Maybe one essence won't do for a full revival, not enough juice."
"'Juice'? What do you mean by 'juice'?"
"Never mind." Cleo supposed he didn't come from a modern society.
I decided to add a funny running gag involving Jack's confusion with idioms (similar to the running gag in the Xiaolin Showdown (2003-2006) series with Omi often messing up the expressions). Although the running gag doesn't happen that way in the cartoon, he does have some moments of confusion. Once he didn't understand what a high five is when someone calls it out to him.
"Now, about your name. Do you remember what your real name is, or do I have to come up with one?"
"Uh, no. I think I... ... It is Jack, I think... But that is all I can remember about myself."
Cleo asked for his real name and he thinks it's Jack which isn't. That is the first hint to his identity. In the cartoon, his true Japanese name was never revealed.
"Well... I suppose I can come along. I do not know if I can be much help, however."
"Don't worry about it. Let's just go to the Twili Village." And that was when a new friendship started.
I briefly mentioned friendship because it's the very important key to the Skribal Sword's and the essences' true power.
A rural village, with buildings that look like they were carved from smooth rock formations, lay still and quiet.
The description was inspired from an early concept art of a Twili Village in Hyrule Historia (2011).
"Cleo, please listen. If you want to defeat these insects, you need to follow my guidance."
"But how-" Her question was cut short when the beetle, that had countered, came after her. She quickly dodged out of the way, barely avoiding a foreleg that looked capable of impaling her.
"Please, just trust me!" Not sure how he could help, she nonetheless agreed. She stood before her opponent, more ready this time. "I see a weak point. Do not strike just yet." She kept focus on the weak point he described while avoiding the beetle's attacks. Then it raised its foreleg. "NOW!" Cleo charged toward it and stabbed at the weak point. It was down but not out. No longer able to stand upright on its hind legs, it continued its assault on all six. Jack found another weak point and guided Cleo to victory. It fell in defeat and exploded.
With the first one gone, Cleo and Jack ran after four others attacking the village. Jack guided her and she made her move in the right places at the right time. After a hard struggle, five beetles were destroyed, the other five had already gone.
Cleo was panting hard, letting herself drop on her rear. Some of the villagers were coming out of their buildings (some just popped out of nowhere). "How... do you... know... about... their weak...ness..." she asked between pants.
Jack sighed "I just do. I do not know why..."
That is the combat system I thought up. I did try to make it just like a DS game where you tap on certain points on the screen. And it justifies Jack's reason for being here, having had experience fighting the robot bugs himself, though currently unable to fight.
"Bah! I can not believe this!" Veran spat as she watched Cleo through a swirling mass of cloud that was showing the image. She waved it way impatiently. "I was sure my terrifying threat would frighten the pathetic girl into running away, like any other teary brat." She started pacing back and forth. "This Cleo is much tougher than I thought... Fine, if she is going to act like a hero, I'll just raise the stakes a little."
She turned to one shadowy corner and a mantis-like warrior appeared from it. It bowed. "You called my Mistress?" it said in a dry, dry voice.
"Thrifos, a child is on her way to Pitch Black Caves in search of the Essence of Light. Go there and give her my regards, in your own special way. And one more thing... do not underestimate her."
"Yes, my Mistress... I look forward to it..." There was a hint of wicked amusement to its tone. It let out a dark chuckle before disappearing again.
It's not uncommon to see a villain's interval in various media and I thought to add one here to show how threatening Veran is and for readers to see what kind of first boss Cleo's up against ahead of time.
"Did you forget that you almost got killed by that thing?"
"Yeah, but I had help from you. I know it's dangerous to go alone, that's why I'm taking you."
Based on the most famous line in Zelda history, from the very first Legend of Zelda (NES, 1986). "It's dangerous to go alone, take this!"
Cleo thought she heard rustling and looked around. "What is wrong?" asked Jack.
Before she could answer, the robot sprang out of hiding. "What the!?"
"Hello there lass, would ye mind sparing me some of yer goods?" he asked in a tone that was obviously feigning friendliness.
"Who are you?"
"I? I be LD-052S Scervo, the most feared pirate in the Twilight Realm!"
On the synopsis draft, there was no one like Scervo planned. But as I was writing the beginning, I was thinking of adding him to the story just to make things a little more interesting for Cleo as an extra obstacle to her already difficult journey. I tried not to make an Oi and Ollo repeat, because instead of a comedy relief, he is a real adversary and anti-hero who's sole purpose in the fanfic is to be her greatest rival. The character is supposed to be a descendant from the Scervo in Skyward Sword, not the same guy. The one in the game is the 002 model while the one in the fanfic is the 052. Also I am very surprised there is almost literally no fanart of him in DeviantArt, only a couple in the entire website. I really don't understand why that is, he's a pretty awesome dude.
Scervo looked at Cleo's sword with a look of shock. "That cannot be! The Skribal Sword?"
"You know about it?"
"Yar har har! Never I thought I'd lay eyes on it, says I! A golden opportunity, it will be, ter wield a powerful blade."
"Fat chance!"
"Fat... chance? That does not make any sense," Jack mused. Cleo ignored his confusion and attacked again. Scervo caught the blade in the hook on his other arm.
"The Skribal Sword is mine!"
I needed to give Scervo a good reason to keep coming back at every mission and not just because he wanted to get even or he saw Cleo as a worthy opponent. His desire to obtain the Skribal Sword seemed a more meaningful motivation. And it also makes Cleo's situation more edgy.
Ignoring the "DANGER, keep out" sign, Cleo unlocked the large wrought iron door. (Zelda chime) "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Cleo.
"...Nothing."
Jack actually broke the fourth wall.
They entered the cave, into the darkness. In the first room was a glowing crystal switch, Cleo struck it and the whole room brightened, but only temporarily. She found the first key, unlocking the next door and the moment she went through, she realized that the giant bugs had got there first somehow, undoubtably looking for the essence. The bugs were the least of her problems though, there were traps for her to overcome. There were bottomless pits that she couldn't see without hitting a light switch which only lit up for a second so that she needed to memorize a path across the skinny bridges. The first puzzle was a long row of ten light switches. A strike changed one and specific others on or off.
Writing parts about the dungeons is one of my least favorites. Puzzles are not my forte, and trying to describe them in detail is hellish. But I can't just leave them out, because it would get bland and lacking and not Zelda game worthy, which I am trying to accomplish otherwise. That's why I suffered though it.
Cleo eventually figured out a pattern and lit them all, giving her the Rune of Anubis. It granted her a new power to create a shadow duplicate of herself by tracing around her body.
Anubis: Egyptian. He is the god of the underworld with the head of a jackal, who ushered souls into the afterlife. Before they gain the right to enter, he weighs their hearts on a scale with a feather, determining their wholesomeness. If the heart is lighter than the feather, they move on peacefully. If it's heavier, their souls are devoured by Ammit, the part lion/hippo/croc beast demon. There is also an enemy in OoT (Ocarina of Time) called an Anubis who mimics the players every move.
Ninja Mantis Soldier:
Thrifos
Because the majority of enemies are bugs, I decided all of the bosses, save the final boss, should be Arthropods. The first boss is based off of a race of mantis men called Thri-kreen from Dungeons & Dragons (starting from 1974). The name is a combination of Thri- from that race and -fos which is a suffix for anthropomorphic or human-like monsters from the Zelda franchise.
She got the Cast Shadow. The light summons an echo of the lost and reveals their image!
Yes, a shadow is a source of light, because shadows cannot exist without light.
Father... father... father, where are you! ...I am scared!
I am here my son, do not worry.
Father, I got lost. I could not find my way.
I told you not to wander off into the woods, it is not safe. Your mother and I were worried.
I know... I am sorry, please forgive me.
I am thankful you are not hurt. Let us go home...
I got the idea from SPM (Super Paper Mario) to add a dialogue only backstory where lost memories were revealed between missions after obtaining each quest item. Every time Cleo gains an Essence of Light, more and more of Jack's past is unearthed, slowly disclosing to SJ fans who he is. Even if some, if not most, readers never watched SJ, the memories give the details needed to tell them about his story.
"I still can't believe you managed to pull it off! I thought the first one you gained was from dumb luck," Okam admitted. He couldn't contain his excitement. He went almost up to her face. "Have you done something like this before?"
"Uh, yeah." Cleo leaned back a bit.
Okam turned away, stroking his beard. "Interesting..." He went up to her face again. "Listen uh..." he turned away again. "I want to say... I'm sorry for doubting you..." One more time, he was in her face. "There! I said it. I'm sorry. So no hard feelings right?"
Tatl the fairy, basically did the same thing to Link in MM (Majora's Mask).
"Wrong foot? Who's foot?" Jack asked.
Okam looked at him and his jaw dropped. "A lost spirit... talking to me? Where'd it come from?"
Of course, that's not the only reason why his jaw dropped. Aku didn't expect to see his greatest enemy again accompanying Cleo, with regained awareness, after he practically left him for dead.
"Grr, where did I put that thing? No, no, no, NO!" He threw them in the air in frustration. "I swear, I can't keep track of these things!"
"Essences of Light, a Reference Guide," Midna read out the label on a tube.
Okam zipped over to her. "Where'd you find that?!"
"It was under 'E'."
This was from the second episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-?).
You're going to need the Geozolas' help at the Lunai Bay, if you're to get anywhere."
"The what-zolas?" Cleo and Jack both asked.
"They are Twilight Zoras. One of the many races in this realm," answered Midna.
The name Geozola is from both Geozard and the misspelled River Zola both of which are fishmen enemies.
Cleo resupplied at the market and left the palace with Okam leading her, Jack trailing behind. They went through the deeper alleys of the castle town, the place was like a maze. Twice Okam ran into a dead end, the second time he practically slammed into a wall. He punched it with a grunt and turned right around.
"You live here! Don't you know where you're going?" Cleo asked in mild confusion.
"I don't come down here that often. In fact, this is the first time I've been in this area."
He suddenly stopped short and Cleo, who wasn't paying attention, almost fell off the edge of the floating island. Okam caught her and spun her about.
This was from a scene in Hotel Transylvania (2012), which was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the same guy who created SJ.
"Exactly how long have you been a servant to Midna?"
"Vizier," he corrected. "And it's been a fortnight."
"Really?" Cleo raised an eyebrow.
A fortnight is a British word for two weeks. Now I know I'm American but I consider 'fortnight' much better than 'two weeks'. Most of you probably don't remember, but Midna said that the invasion was happening for the past fortnight earlier in the fanfic, the same length Okam's been an adviser. That's when Cleo was starting to get suspicious of him, even though it's too early to tell if he's got something to do with the invasion.
The trail to Lunai Bay was along the coast.
The word Lunai was from the Lunaii Dollmaker website. I wanted a word related to the moon, but I don't want to just use luna or lunar, I wanted something more off the dictionary and I give credit to the site I like to visit.
"You can't save it Flowebb!"
The name was a word fusion of ebb and flow of the tide.
She was given some food, a glowing Lunai Bass. Jack wished he could eat too, he seemed to crave fish. It was slightly cold but she ate every bit of it until it was bones.
His love for sushi is another hint to Jack's identity as a samurai.
The place had stacks of crates filling around half of the space. Flowebb said the thing needed was hidden behind them. Cleo had to work her way around, pushing boxes and climbing over them.
And of course we can't have Zelda without a sliding block puzzle.
Cleo equipped the rune and touched it and the tip of the sword ignited.
The sword suddenly started moving on its own. "Whoa!" She was almost dragged by it. This was not the first time it had done that, the sword did the same thing when she first used Anubis. It was guiding her to a large crack in one corner where the water was pouring in. "Alright, show me what to do." The Skribal Sword started smudging it's light all over the crack. She pulled it away and the light vanished. The water stopped and the crack vanished.
I had to have the sword act of its own accord because Cleo doesn't know what the runes do. It's almost impossible otherwise to find out how they'll work without its guidance.
She wandered around town and used the Rune of Flamel to restore the buildings, docks, and boats until there was no sign of damage left.
Nicholas Flamel: Historical. He was said to be a famous alchemist who had unlocked the secrets of immortality. The legend tells of his great knowledge of the elements and he created the Philosopher's Stone that can turn lead into gold and restore age in thermal and organic materials (the key to immortality). The stone has made it into popular media such as Fullmetal Alchemist (2001-2011, overall versions) and of course Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997/98) (Why the hell they changed its name to Sorcerer's Stone anyway?! This is why I prefer to read the original British print).
Then Flowebb offered to sail the two adventurers to Bioluminisle.
This is a fusion for bioluminescence (natural light from living organisms) and the word isle. You might notice reading my whole fanfic that I do a lot of word fusions to name people, places, and such. I guess I'm not as original as I thought.
After twenty minutes of sailing and listening to some of Flowebb's lyrics about kappas in the ocean, they hit shore.
In Animal Crossing (GC, 2001/02), if you can connect your Gamecube (2001) with a Gameboy Advance (2001), you can visit the island by hitching a ride on a boat driven by a kappa named Kapp'n as he sings some weird sea chanteys.
She gained the Rune of Will-o-Wisp. The Skribal Sword now had the power to attract fireflies and use them as a lantern.
Will-o'-the-Wisp, Ignis Fatuus, Hinkypunk, Jack-o-Lantern: English. The wisps are either ghost balls, fairies, or other form of supernatural phenomenon witnessed by folk from medieval Europe. They are either very helpful or a dangerous hindrance depending on the tales. Most stories tell of travelers noticing the floating lights at night or in a dense fog and would try to follow it, only to be lead to quicksand or a cliff. In the worse case scenario, the victim may never find their way back and wander aimlessly lost forever. On a lighter note, some will-o-wisps are guides to those who were already lost in the wilderness and lead them back to safety (or even guide departed souls to the afterlife). Scientists say that the phenomenon is caused by sources of heat (like electricity) exposed to methane leaking from marshes.
Glutinous Shadow Insect:
Beezlabulb
The boss was inspired by the mini-boss in TP, Twilit Bloat. It was named after Beelzebub, one of the seven demons of sin, representing gluttony and was also known as Lord of the Flies (which is what the name means). I altered the name for the fanfic and included the word bulb, since light is both the boss's strength and weakness. Again, another word fusion.
She got the Firefly Swarm. The glow of inspiration lights the way towards rebirth!
Amber was an automatic choice of what kind of gem it would be, since insects often get trapped in tree sap and preserved as the sap hardens into rock over thousands of years. I just now realized (as I wrote this) that when Cleo said 'asap', Jack thought they need to gather sap right before going into Bioluminisle. And they actually did! Lol!
... ...Father... may I ask you something?
Of course my son, what is it are you asking?
In the woods, I saw... ...a strange tree...
...A tree?
When I was near it... I could feel... a chill... It is as though I was gripped with fear...
... ...
Do you know something of it?
...Come with me... It is time I told you the tale of a great battle I once had a long time ago...
At the very opening of the first episode of SJ, Jack's father told him about that great battle against Aku and how he sealed him away into a petrified tree (there's even a two-parter prequel episode involving that). The memory shown was right before that opening.
"Well I might not have the time, but I'll try and help out with the tables tonight," Cleo offered.
"Can you wait tables?" Jack asked.
"How hard can it be?" Turned out it was much harder than she'd thought. Sure she was good at keeping track of people's orders, but the time management was difficult all by herself. She had to create her shadow to double the process, yet after a couple of hours, she was quite tired. But her exhaustion was the least of her problems when a certain someone came in.
"There ye are, lassie!" shouted a mechanical toned voice.
This little side quest wouldn't be important enough to add to the story if I didn't have Scervo involved. I always tried to find some way he'd make some kind of appearance at every essence mission, even after Cleo gets one.
"Well I'm glad to know that you're helping people out. But don't let yourself get distracted by these little things. Just keep your focus on the major task at hand. Remember, by gathering all of the Essences of Light, will you be able to help everyone."
"Thank you for this advice Princess Midna," Jack responded cordially. "We will keep these words of wisdom in mind."
Midna smiled at him. "My, your friend is quite polite isn't he," she commended.
It's not an obvious hint to Jack's identity but it is. Politeness is one of the important parts of the Bushido Code.
"Veran's army is undoubtedly determined to claim the essences," Midna stated with concern. "Of course it's nearly impossible to even know where to look for them when they appear only briefly every hour of twilight. Sometimes I wonder how Veran knows where they are?"
"The scroll, maybe?" Cleo guessed. "I mean, is there a copy of it?"
"Impossible, there's only one in existence," Okam claimed.
"Are you sure? Then how did Veran know?" Jack asked.
Okam shrugged. "Beats the heck outta me." Cleo was silent for a moment. "Something on your mind, Cleo?"
"...No, nothing."
Again, Cleo gets suspicious of Okam and her suspicions grow over time as she observes more and more subtle clues that would go right past most people. She is very smart and attentive for an eleven-year-old and I think it's because a part of the accurately analyzing and calculating Fi is in her.
"Oh, not cool!"
"The temperature has nothing to do with it."
The last two lines was very much like the quotes in Back to the Future (1985). "That sounds pretty heavy." "Weight's got nothing to do with it!"
She jumped up on top of the beetle's back and stabbed down into a weak point she was able to spot. The insect fell over with its legs twitching, electricity sparkling.
This is the one and only time I used a description that suggests they are robots.
They all hopped in, he pulled the brake lever to loosen the wheels and they began rolling into the tunnel (they hit and killed one of the beetle guards on the way).
In MM, you can take a swamp boat ride and kill a giant octorok blocking the tunnel.
"What's your name, sir?"
"I'm Meteroi, of the Mortrams."
Meteroi is a slight alteration to the word meteoroid. Mortram is from Latin words mortui petram meaning 'dead rock' which is the name of an unkillable enemy in LttP.
The symbol read "Mars".
Mars (Ares in Greek): Roman. Mars is the god of war and represents males. He is often paired with Venus, the goddess of love and females, and one of the inner planets was named after him. Unlike his Greek counterpart Ares, who is destructive and violent, Mars is more a defender of peace and will go to war to secure it. It probably took the longest time for me to come up with a mythological subject to go with the bomb drawing ability.
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
The most famous line from Star Wars (starting from 1977).
She was standing in infinite whiteness, looking around. There was nothing, a nothingness that stretched on forever... everything was empty... and she was alone... She called out to someone, there was no answer... and the loneliness hit her like a fever... she was alone... The only thing accompanying her was her own shadow. But then the shadow moved... it grew... it changed shape... becoming monstrous... She tried to move but realized she was frozen... she couldn't defend herself... Then it towered over her and there was a demonic cackle... ...it pounced on her... ... ...Everything went black...
Once again, she gets another prophetic dream. Her dream was forewarning her of the real threat to the Twilight Realm and most likely Hyrule. It also revealed a more vulnerable side to her that she would soon come to understand, shortly after her Skribal Sword gets stolen.
After climbing a few stories, they finally caught up with him. Scervo was standing on the edge of a cliff looking out to a tall, tall tower in the far distance.
The tower briefly mentioned foreshadows the Thunder Beacon Tower where Cleo would have to go next. This sentence shows to readers that Scervo and that tower are connected somehow. As I wrote the sentence, I was still planning a backstory for him that would have a more emotional and sympathetic turn involving his role.
"What gives ya the gall to decide who the sword master is? Ye be nothing but an arrogant child who thinks herself important, who thinks she can do anything without mind of the consequences!"
"That's not true! I'm nothing like that!" But the moment she said it, Cleo began to realize something. She thought back to her own dangerous actions and how she felt proud at what she could do. Suddenly, she no longer felt sure about herself.
The near fatal accident from the cave-in she caused, the feeling of vulnerability from the nightmare, and the harsh lecture from Scervo all happened within a short time, finally causing a great impact on Cleo's self judgment. I've been trying not to make her perfect and to have some serious flaws that she needed to overcome.
"Turns out I don't need a weapon to be great, all I need is a friend."
As Scervo tried to fathom the meaning of their words, the Skribal Sword started glowing and moving on it's own. He tried to keep a firm grip, "NO!" but it yanked itself out of his grasp and returned to its true owner.
This is the sword's first sign of its true power as it reacted to Cleo's and Jack's bond. This was similar to a scene in Kingdom Hearts (PS2, PS3, 2002). Her new character development in this story was a bit of a challenge, even though I knew exactly what lesson she must learn that would be different from MTG and Bermuda Triangle.
"Oh, thank Oni! You're alive! How did you survive the fall?"
Cleo hadn't put much thought into that, she was so busy worrying about her sword. She looked in the direction where Scervo had gone and wondered.
I don't remember if Cleo and Scervo talked about it later on, but in case you're confused, Scervo actually saved her from falling to her death even though he also stole the Skribal Sword as well. He still has some morals left that he managed to cling on to long after the tragedy.
"Okam sent us here to fix this bridge and said he'd pay us later. You got the money, right?"
"Uh, what?" Cleo didn't expect this. "How much are you owed?"
"9200 rupees."
You can pretty much guess where that last part came from. Go ahead and say that famous DBZ line.
"Don't worry about it too much. You're an adventurer aren't you? I'm sure you'll be out of debt soon if you're collecting treasures."
A few Zelda games have treasures to collect for side quests.
Further in, they found a robot, a little one with a strange head piece, miss-matched eyes, and large hands separate from the body.
I added the ancient robots that appeared in Skyward Sword since robots are one of the central elements in SJ.
It was long dead and Cleo couldn't restore it with Flamel, it didn't seem to work on age.
I had to have Flamel only repair damage and not reverse age as a lame excuse to use the Time Shift Stones.
Then she found a control panel with tangled white lines on a black screen. She untangled the lines into a simmetrical formation, revealing a chest containing the Rune of Sagittarius.
Sagittarius: Astrology. Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 22) is one of the twelve zodiac signs (thirteen if you count Ophiuchus). He is usually depicted as a centaur wielding a bow and had invented the weapon in Greece. As a constellation, he points the arrow at Scorpio to protect Hercules and avenge Orion. People born under that sign are adventurous, intellectual, optimistic, philosophical, and overconfident.
They looked at the images with curiosity, the windows contain familiar faces, Oni the first King of Twilight, a divine beast, and then the eight Essences of Light surrounding the Skribal Sword held aloft by a faceless figure.
I planned from the beginning to involve Oni again to aid Cleo. In TP, the fairy tales in the Twilight Realm said one of the great heroes is a divine beast according to Midna. The stained glass windows illustrates ancient legends told in the Realm of Shadows.
"And what about the Essences of Light? How is it that you are learning of their whereabouts?" Jack asked.
Veran chuckled. "I have my sources... and they also told me that you Jack are to be removed."
"What?! Why?" asked Cleo in surprise.
"Because without him, you're nothing."
Of course the real reason Okam (the sources provider) wanted Jack killed because he's worried Jack will get his memory back and tell Cleo everything about how he and Aku got into the Twilight Realm, which will ruin his plan. Even before Jack and Aku ended up in that realm, the demon was always siccing someone (putting him on the most wanted list) to kill him, knowing Jack's the only one who can destroy him.
Before Cleo could realize what Veran meant, the sorceress swooped down on her. She became vapor and started engulfing the child. Cleo struggled to get it off her, but it seeped into her skin and she became still. Then Cleo lifted her head and let out a cruel laugh, her eyes filled with malice. "This body is so young and refreshing! Now her life is mine to control!"
"NO!" Jack shouted in fear and anger. "Let her go!"
"You won't have to worry about her once you're dead." She lifted the Skribal Sword to strike down the spirit when she suddenly stiffened. "What?!" She tried to swing down but her arm seemed frozen. "Why can't I move?... Get out... What?!... I said get out!... NO! Impossible!..." She fell onto her hands and knees. "You're not taking me! GET! THE HELL! OUT! NOW!" She let out a mighty scream. The dark smoke issued from her body and Veran reappeared before her.
The sorceress was panting hard from an apparent struggle. "...How?!"
"I'm not as weak as you think..." Cleo got up. "I was possessed once and I'm not going through that again!"
In OoA, Veran tries to posses Link, but he did a back-flip to dodge her. But I wanted a better excuse for Cleo to escape it after being possessed. Cleo mentioned that time when Majora's Mask took hold of her in MTG and she eventually threw it off her. It was that past experience that helped her fight off Veran.