Cosmic Moth:
Actias Nova

The name Actias is the name of a genus for Saturniid moths such as the Actias Luna or Luna Moth. I just changed the latter name to Nova, after a fiery explosion from a star.

She got the Star Formation. The lights draw a map for the lost and traces their image!

Star Formation made of diamonds! How the diamonds didn't effect Cleo's blurred memory of Ghirahim like it did in BT (Bermuda Triangle), who knows.

...Mother!... ...our home... it is... gone... everything is gone!

Please be brave my son... we have escaped.

But father... he is... taken from us.

Do not fear for him, remember your destiny.

No mother, please!... Do not leave me!

One day... you will return here... and take back what is ours... I will wait for you... ...be strong...

... ...Mother...

Goodbye for now... my little boy...

Unlike the last memory, this one was in a scene in SJ, except there was no dialogue involved when Jack and his mother escaped Aku's clutches when he burned Japan to the ground. All the dialogue was my own invention, as how I imagine what they had said when they had to part ways so Jack can spend a lifetime around the world preparing for the fight against his arch-nemesis.

"Why were the beetles mining the gems?" she asked him.

"Because gems possess magical qualities, they give power to a wielder with supernatural abilities. The army seeks them out here in the Tempis Mine for Veran."

"So she's getting stronger..." Cleo concluded.

All of the facts are true except the last one. The gems weren't for Veran, they were for Aku. In the show, he has enslaved thousands of people around the universe to mine for gems so he could get stronger and expand his empire. A clue to Aku's presence here. Also, this may be the only time that the name of the mine was mentioned. Tempis is Latin for time, because of the Time Shift Stones.

She turned to see Midna. The tall Twilight Princess stood radiant out in the half-light, then she walked over to them and was now in imp form.

Just so you know that Midna is in her true Twilight Princess form 90% of the time in the whole fanfic. This is one of two times she turned into imp form.

"You know I can't help but worry about you every time you leave to find the essences. I know I'm not your mother... but every time you're gone, I start to wonder when and if you will return safely. The thing is... you're risking your life to save my realm, and I could've stopped you out of concern for your safety, but I haven't. And sometimes I wonder if I have made the right decision in letting you do this."

I kinda figured that Midna felt like a big sister to Cleo. The reason for this was because she never had good experience with Veran and longed for some real sisterly love with someone and Cleo already had a bond with her in the past. She finally admits to having her for a sister at the end of the story before Cleo had to leave.

"What about your family, your brother Finn. He's no doubt out there somewhere looking for you, worried sick."

"...I can't contact him, so he can't know what's going on. I don't like to leave him hanging like that, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure, if he knew what I was trying to do, he'd understand."

And it was right before we catch up with Finn in the hilarious interlude. Had to set it up that way story-wise.

"Well then, let say we go to the library to ask Okam of the next essence," Jack suggested. "The sooner we finish this quest, the sooner we can go... home..." Suddenly, there was an alarming flash and he grunted in pain. The spirit fell to the ground and started to dim.

"JACK!"

This was an interesting take on Jack. The moment he mentions completing a quest in order to go home it triggered something in his locked-up memory, causing internal pain. Jack himself had been trying to go home, after Aku plunged him into a bleak dismal future, as his ultimate goal.

"I think you've had enough of Chateau Romani for one day."

Chateau Romani is a special milk obtained in MM, which gives you unlimited magic, lasting until you go back to the dawn of the first day. Although not alcoholic in the game, Finn actully got drunk by it at the MTG ending.

Telma was wiping a glass when Finn barged in. She looked up. "Well hello there hon, what can I-" But Finn walked right passed her without a word and started to climb up onto one of the tables and onto the high shelves. "Can't get past the guards, I take it?"

"Shut up." Finn was almost dangling from the shelf. A pot fell over and smashed onto the floor in his haste to get to the secret passage.

In TP, when Link got cursed again into wolf form by Zant, and stuck that way, and Midna was dying, Link needed to take her to Princess Zelda in hopes to revive her. Because he wasn't welcome in Telma's bar in his current form, he gains help from her cat Louise who tells him of the secret passage.

"Blue Chu Fizz it is then..."

It's not in any of the Zelda games. That drink was my own idea.

*Cue Pink Panther Theme*

Finn came out the other side into the underground waterways and walked up the stairs to a trap-door. It opened up to a courtyard garden and he snuck his way past the guards, climbing over walls and up vines to the roofs. He stumbled once or twice and nearly fell off. He was approaching a window that would lead to the stairway which would lead to Zelda's room when he suddenly sank through a weak part of the roof and crashed into the hallway. He quickly hid behind a tapestry before a guard showed up to check out what was going on. Finn snuck up and knocked him out, then placed a piece of debris on his head so it would look like an accident. After he traveled down the hall into the kitchen, he heard someone ahead coming his way. He hid in the large dumbwaiter (it was a tight fit) and pulled himself up.

He finally reached Zelda's room, but she didn't seem to be there. He tried to get out and quickly realized that he was stuck. "Oh, great!"

*End Theme*

This was from the part in OoT where you have to sneak past the guards to see Zelda. I expanded it from the private gardens to the rooftops and hallways and such explored in TP. My mom was laughing so hard when I read her the part about the way Finn made the roof cave in look like an accident, which meant I succeeded in making this scene funny. I always imagined the Pink Panther theme would play in a scene like this. And both hearing the music and watching the scene in my mind make me giggle even now.

"Hey princess, I need your help... But first, can you help me?"

No, that wasn't a writing mistake. I wrote it that way on purpose.

"You're the landlady, you should consider firing your two doormen," he grumbled.

This joke immediately came to me as I started on chapter ten.

"If what you say is true, then your guess was correct. She is in the Twilight Realm, however I don't believe she has fallen into darkness completely."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if she still has the Moon Pearl, one of the Essences of Light, then she hasn't turned into a lost spirit."

"Essences of what?"

"There's a legend around them, Midna once told me about them."

I figured Zelda should know about them from Midna so Finn isn't completely in the dark about what was going on. It wouldn't be fair for him to be on a cliffhanger for too long over what might have become of Cleo.

"So how come she hasn't tried to come back if she's not a lost spirit? I'm sure she would've contacted me with our cellphones if she had."

I honestly don't understand how cellphone calls work, if they can contact another phone the same way as a walkie-talkie, as long as they're in the same dimension, or they strictly require satellites (which Hyrule obviously doesn't have).

"Give me your hand." Finn was unsure about her suggestion but did as told. Zelda held it in her left hand and placed her right over it. He could see the Triforce of Wisdom illuminated on the back of her right hand and it began to glow, brighter and brighter. He suddenly felt a calming sensation, a feeling of warmth, as if drenched in liquid made of sunlight, seeping through his body from where she held his hand. Then the Triforce disappeared from her hand. She finally let go and smiled. "I always knew that wisdom was your greatest virtue."

The three main OCs of MTG, Cleo, Finn, and Syrilla are like the three pieces of the Triforce. Finn is really wise in his own way, with his responsibility as an older brother and having to be the man of the house whenever their dad is away on police duty. His borrowing the Triforce of Wisdom is the only way he can get into the Realm of Shadows without paying the price. Cleo, as smart as she is herself, is the bravest and therefore most compatible to Courage (until the fourth Triforce was recreated into Love in BT and became rightfully hers). And Syrilla is obviously perfect for Power, and she'd be a more worthy owner to it than Ganondorf.

"How is he?" she asked with anxiety.

"I did the best I could with my magic. He'll need time to recover. Maybe you should keep your mind off this by finding the next essence."

Cleo hung her head. "I can't do it without him. He has been a great help... he knows things, he knows how to fight and has been guiding me."

Our heroine is now starting to show some true modesty for the first time, since her adventure started. This goes to show how much she's come through in her character development.

"While I was trying to heal him, I heard him talking softly to himself. I think he was dreaming."

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'I must return home... save my homeland... I must defeat...'"

"Defeat... what? Who?"

Midna shook her head. "I'm afraid that's all he said. One thing's for sure, his memories are slowly returning."

This was a brief sneak peek into Jack's identity. In his sleep talk, his ultimate goal he'd been trying to accomplish throughout the entire cartoon series was almost revealed, just stopping right before the name of his enemy.

Cleo appeared in an arctic field with Jack and quickly realized that she had forgot to bundle up. But she couldn't turn back now, it would waste too much time. They trudged through the snow as she shivered. To her envy, Jack didn't seem bothered by the cold.

I don't know whether it's because he's a lost spirit or that he was trained to handle the harsh environments.

The town within was made of stone and ice and the inhabitants had rounded heads and bodies, almost flat arms, legless feet, beaks on their faces and glowing tufts of feathers on their heads.

The word Snyor is from an Icelandic word meaning snow and is fused with penguin (yet another combination) as that's what they look like.

"STOP, THIEF!" Cleo saw a Twili running with a bag over his shoulder and one of the Snyor villagers was chasing him. She ran in front of the thief and swiped her sword at him. He dropped the bag in surprise and ran off.

This was from MM, where you stop Sakon the thief from stealing bombs from an old lady from the bomb shop. You have to swipe him with your sword to get the blast mask as a reward. If you use any projectiles, the bomb bag goes off, vaporizing the thief.

He did a double take at her. "Wait, I've never seen anything or anyone like you before! Where are you from?"

"Uh, I'm from Earth."

As far as I can remember, this is the only time in my fanfic writing hobby the name of Cleo's world is mentioned. At other times, it was referred to as "Cleo's world" or something.

"The music box is meant to unite two lovers into a happy life together. As the music plays, the pair would take each others hand and dance to the music. If both accept this dance, then once the music ends, they will be husband and wife."

"So the box is for a wedding ceremony," said Jack.

This is similar to the mating traditions in Happy Feet (2006), with penguins singing to each other and finding the perfect match. I wasn't sure at first if the music box is a tradition for the entire realm or just exclusive to Snyor Village. There was a draft idea of Scervo having his own music box he never got to play with Sparklette and was finally gonna play it after getting over his grief, but I soon abandoned it.

"That sounds beautiful. Are you engaged?" Cleo asked.

"Indeed, to Glacia."

"Well then, congratulations Mr..."

"Defross."

The two names are related to ice, a slight alteration to glacier and defrost.

To Cleo's utter surprise, guns had appeared on the backs of the beetles that shot lasers. "What sorcery is this?!" Jack blurted, dubiously. The lasers managed to hit several archers at once, Cleo ducked to avoid the shots.

"I've never seen anything like that before! Where the hell did they get such weapons?"

Here we really see a hint to where they might be coming from, as they show a little futuristic weaponry from Aku's world.

He placed, in her palm, a rune that read Salamander.

Salamander: Zoology. Although salamanders are real animals in the Amphibia class, there have been legendary takes on the aquatic lizard. In olden times say they are the elementals of fire and can survive on flames, nesting in hearths or bonfires. Some versions say they are baby dragons. Real ones are slimy and the people from the olden days believe the slime is fire resistant. Some species are poisonous and the poison had been exaggerated to be fire by the superstitions due to the burning feeling you get if you touch it.

"That was incredible, I commend you for your courage and wit. That battle... I think I went through something like this before."

Jack was referring to the time when he defended the dog people from the robot insects in episode III.

There was no cheering or anything close to a celebration of victory. Instead, there were casualties, mourning. Some of the guards lying on the ground, motionless, were being picked up and carried away silently. The ones who were still alive were wounded and medical assistance rushed to aid them. It was a painful sight and Cleo felt like she was going to throw up.

This is probably the saddest and most gruesome moment I've written in all three stories. Although mostly PG with some slightly dark, violent, and crude bits, I managed to slip in even grimmer parts (such as the mention of multiple dead bodies) without going too far.

"I know it's you Veran! You let Glacia go or-"

"Or what, you'll attack little ol' me? Surely you realize that if you harm me, you'll harm the blushing bride to be."

"Her name is not Shirley!" Jack corrected.

That's the second time I used this hackneyed joke. The first time was in BT.

They raced to the base of Prisms Peak. The moment they approached, a blizzard came out of nowhere. They tried to push themselves forward but were blown back. There seemed to be some mysterious force preventing them from climbing. Jack pointed out a trail of glowing trees, widely spaced out, leading up the mountain. Cleo trudged back up the base and clung onto the nearest tree (Jack apparently clung onto Cleo). As soon as the wind died down a bit, she hurried to the next tree before it picked up again. After the tedious climb, they reached a cave.

The way they climbed came straight from Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995). Death Peak located in 2300 AD had to be climbed the same way when trying to reach the summit (you only have to do it at the beginning) and revive Crono with the Time Egg which has the same name as the title.

The Rune of Iris gave her the ability to throw her sword like a boomerang and absorb whatever color it hit (from the torches).

Iris: Greek. Iris is a goddess that links Earth to Heaven (or humanity to Olympus to the ancient Greeks). She sails through the sky as a rainbow and can travel from one end of the world to the other and can travel down to the bottom of the sea and the underworld. She is the daughter of Thaumas, the former sea god before Poseidon, and an Oceanid named Electra. Many things were named after her such as a flower, a part of the eye, and even the genus of praying mantises.

Arctic Chromatic Centipede:
Reinorbaz

The boss was inspired by another monster from D&D (Dungeons & Dragons), the Remorhaz. It's also like the monsters from the Tremors movie series (1990-2004).

"Jack... what do I do?"

"I-I do not know!" Jack couldn't do anything. He had managed to protect her once, but he didn't remember how he did it, he just reacted. Think Jack, think! he told himself.

He eventually figures it out at the end.

"Belay it ya wench!" It was Scervo.

It was originally witch, but I changed it to wench to better suit his pirate speech.

Dark vapor seeped out of Glacia and flew away with an enraged cry. "It would seem Glacia can no longer be controlled by Veran now that she is unconscious. She is free now."

When you battle Veran in OoA while she's possessing Queen Ambi, you knock her out with the Mystery Seeds and with the body unconscious, Veran was forced out (then you pull her in with the Switch Hook). In the fanfic, I had to have Scervo come to an unexpected rescue and not hesitate in hitting her. A very convenient event to write down since I was already planning his backstory with his deceased fiancee.

Unexpectedly, there was a small sign of bitter shock and hurt in Scervo's eyes, Cleo noticed. There was an intense silence as the robot pirate stared hard at her in rageful defiance. "Ya don't know what ya're on about..." His hand flew to his chest, it appeared to be clutching something in his coat. "Ya wouldn't have the gall ter throw judgment... if ya knew what I been through... what I lost."

For the first time, we see his own more vulnerable side that Cleo manages to expose just like Scervo exposed Cleo's at the last dungeon. In some ways, the two rivals have much in common, both showing arrogance (Cleo's was more subverted), lost loved ones, displaying bravery and honor, and trying to save a community.

She got the Aurora Stream. The colors of the wind pour into the image and brings beauty to them!

The Aurora Borealis is usually located in the polar regions, around the Arctic and Antarctic circles. The atmospheric event takes place when plasma from the sun, or solar winds, hits the magnetic points in the planet's fields. Yes the words in the essences' description was from a song in Disney's Pocahontas (1995).

I have come to retrieve what was once my father's...

I know you have... I have been waiting twenty years for your arrival. Welcome... my son...

...Mother... I have missed you so...

So have I... But our reunion cannot last, for time is short. Evil is almost upon us and only by your hand can we have a future.

Do you believe I am ready. I do not feel ready...

You have been trained by the best from around the word, I know you can do it... I believe in you.

Just like the last memory, this was in a SJ scene with my own dialogue idea thrown in. This is where Jack is briefly reunited with his mother in a Buddha temple hidden in (I think) the Himalayas, where he receives his father's blessed katana that can destroy Aku.

Cleo approached the box and turned the key a few times. The music that played was so heartswelling, she thought she was going to cry. The couple danced to the slow music as other Snyorgans watched. On a rooftop, in the distance, Scervo was also watching. There was almost a look of envy on his face and he was once again clutching something in his coat, with a gold chain just peeking out. He metaphorically let out a heavy sigh and slinked away into the darkness.

Scervo's hidden appearance was added late. I almost left the whole scene in Snyor village without it when I suddenly thought of writing that in the middle of it.

"Where's the Thunder Beacon Tower?" Okam repeated after they got back and had asked this curious question of him. "I already know the next essence is there, but how did you find out?"

"A robot tipped me."

"I do not recall Scervo giving you change," Jack reminded.

Cleo ignored him. "So what can you tell me about it?"

"Well granted, I've never been there so I can only tell you what I've learned from the scrolls. The Thunder Beacon Tower was once the source of power for the robot citizens who lived in the Twilight Realm."

"Wait, waddaya mean 'once was'?"

"There used to be robots a long time ago, but after it lost it's power, the ancient robots eventually died out. They couldn't live without the life energy it provided and they were left to rust away over the ages."

"But Scervo is still around. How is it possible for him to last so long?" Jack asked.

"...Uh, sorry I'm stumped on that one. Sheesh, you expect me to know everything?" he added rolling his eyes.

The whole backstory involving the Thunder Beacon Tower and Scervo's past gave me a thick writer's block. Throughout the whole TBT part of the quest, my head was full of what ifs and what is missings. I was forced to stop writing altogether at one point after Cleo first arrived at the robot village, because there was so much ill fitted ideas about the tragedy, his old job, how the tower works, and how it all played out, most of which had some holes.

"If you're ready, I'll take you to the next warp. But listen, before you go..." Okam stood beside Cleo and placed a hand on her shoulder. It felt cold as ice. "I will have to admit that you have great talent as a warrior for such a small tike. Of course you still need Jack for this mission, but I know over time you can become great even with both hands tied behind your back. And I do admire your skill, given the right purpose. I'm hoping after this is all over with, you can work for me? I could use a prodigy like yourself and I can give you whatever you wish for your loyalty. What do you say?"

"Uh, that's a pretty nice offer. But I have a life back in my realm and I'm planning on going home afterwards. So I'm gonna have to refuse. Sorry."

Okam removed his hand, looking a bit disappointed. But then he smiled. "That's fine, Cleo. But if you ever change your mind, be sure to let me know."

And of course there's the typical villain's "can't beat 'em, join 'em" persuasion aimed at a gifted hero. Although readers are yet to learn that Okam is the main villain, the way he tried to get Cleo on his side was suspicious in itself and I'm sure Cleo is picking that up as usual.

"Um... ...um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um... um..."

This is from SPM where one of the villagers in Flipside was trying to tell Merlon that a princess (specifically Peach) fell from the sky in the exact same way with all the "um, um um"s.

"SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!" Cleo thought (although she figured it was just her imagination) that she saw a spark of flames on his eyebrows when he yelled.

This is the most obvious hint to Okam's identity to SJ fans while, at the same time, tries to dissuade them a bit with the imagination part.

"Can't you warp me yourself or levitate that far?" Cleo asked Okam.

"If I could, we wouldn't need the sol warps in the first place!" He had his arms crossed, one finger tapping as he tried to think of something. "We Twilis can only warp ourselves a short distance and even if I had the energy to carry you there, it would take a coon's age."

This is actually true in TP. Midna can only teleport you to faraway places you've already been to if there was an existing warp there. But the warp can only be created by shadow beasts that try to ambush you when you arrive there (sometime on only the second visit like the Temple of Time Ruins) and you have to defeat at least the last two at the same time.

"There you two are." Midna had appeared behind them. "I'm sorry I was so busy. I was having an important discussion with Lord Blumiere."

Midna was referring to a character in SPM, also famously known as Count Bleck.

"Mid, do you have any ideas on what we should do?"

"Again with the nickname?" Okam asked shortly.

The princess placed her fingers to her forehead in thought. "...If we can't warp or fly you there, the only other way would be to fling you. But a place that far, we need a huge strong thrust."

"Like a giant slingshot?"

"Yes exactly. But such a feat is dangerous."

"Dangerous or not, she doesn't have a choice. Besides, she won't mind getting hurt. Right Cleo?"

"Uh... maybe a little?" Cleo said tentatively. But Okam grinned rather impishly in response and the next thing she knew, she was smack dab in a makeshift slingshot he built himself with cushions strapped to her body and head and Jack clinging to her. "It's official, you're pure evil!"

"Oh hush up! Just close your eyes and pretend it's a roller coaster." He grabbed the back of her with his hair and pulled back as far as the band could go. "Are you ready?"

"Can't I go to the bathroom first?" A pause and then... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh~~"

"Now I'm starting to wish I hadn't suggested it!" Midna groaned.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Okam conjured a telescope and watched Cleo soar away and crash into the sand. She wasn't moving. Oh gosh! I hope I didn't kill her! he thought. Midna had her hands over her mouth in distress.

Cleo was lying on the ground, gritty with sand and covered in down from the shredded cushions. "Cleo, are you all right?!" Jack asked urgently.

"... ...That old man's going to be the death of me. I just know it..."

This is the funniest moment (besides Finn's interlude) in the most serious fanfic I've written so far. Although it's sorta like the scene in WW (Wind Waker) with Link in Tetra's catapult at the Forbidden Fortress, I'm still pretty pleased at how it turned out.

There was not a trace of life, yet there were people here. She approached someone and could see how inactive he was. It was a robot like the ones she had met in the observatory and, like them, was long dead.

"It is strange... I feel so sad for these robots... but I do not think this is the first time I had such a feeling..."

"Have you met robots before?" Cleo asked.

"...Yes... I am sure I did... countless times..."

In the cartoon, there had to be a lot of robots (sometime flesh and blood looking ones with machine inside) for a good reason. Genndy didn't what a samurai chopping up people, even aliens, in a kids show.

There was a painting still hanging on the wall, but lopsided. On it was a beautiful robotic woman standing next to someone else, but a wide tear prevented Cleo from seeing the other robot's face. She walked closer to try and adjust the tear so she could see who it was when she heard a faint creak.

This bit was from Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991).

She quickly looked down at her feet and tapped the floor. She bent down.

"What are you doing?"

"This floorboard is loose." From her past experience, Cleo could tell that the sound she'd heard was from something hollow.

In fact, it was the very thing that started it all for Cleo. It revealed the Hylian Travel Guide and lead her to her first adventure in MTG.

She felt something and pulled it out, it was a letter. There was nothing written on the envelope, but she could tell it wasn't empty. "It's never been open. I wonder what's inside?..."

"Cleo, we cannot waste any time here."

"Look who's talking. You're the one who wanted to check out the place." She knew that something tragic had happened here a long time ago and she had a feeling that this letter was important. She put it in her backpack, deciding to read it later.

Although she (or we readers) never saw what was written in the letter. This is something, I think, should be private for Scervo. In the Spiderwick Chronicles (2003-2009), Arthur Spiderwick, who had lived agelessly in Farie beyond his natural lifetime, whispered something to his now elderly daughter before stepping on mortal ground and turning to dust, and it was never revealed what he had said.

After leaving the house, she looked over towards a large bed of loose earth surrounded by what was left of the fence, where there used to be a garden. She wondered what grew there once.

I'm not sure you made the connection, but the seed and Scervo's mention of Sparklette's love of Ancient Flowers would reveal exactly what grew there.

"So ya came lass. Good... Welcome ter the Tormenta Arena. This is where we will have our fight ter the finish."

The name Tormenta Arena is actually the name of a pokemon move. It's the Spanish version of sandstorm (Rock type, status move). I was lucky to come across that bit of trivia.

"We're the Trojan Horse Gang," said the most sinister looking robot. Cleo figured he must be the leader. "And I am LD-053D Dreadfuse!"

The name Trojan Horse was from the famous war between Greece and the city of Troy found in Turkey. The Greeks sent their soldiers into the city inside a wooden horse. It's also the name of a computer virus, a type of malware program. For the gang leader, like with Veran, I was planning an OC but again just used another official character from the Zelda series. Dreadfuse was a reskin counterpart to Scervo in Skyward Sword and the 053 model in the fanfic is a descendant to the 003.

"She ordered us to stop you from gathering the Essences of Light," Dreadfuse admitted with pride. "We just had to cut out the power in those warps in order to corner you."

"You did WHAT?!" Cleo squeaked in shock. "So you're the one who took one of the sols and forced me to be flung face first into the sand?!"

I wasn't sure at first who might have stolen the sol, when I wrote in the giant slingshot scene for the lolz. It wasn't until I got to the gangs appearance that I decided they would be Veran's hired mercenaries commanded to take it.