LEGEND OF ZELDA TIME LOOPS: In Which Games are Referenced
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Zelda. Or the Legend of Zelda franchise, for that matter. Nintendo does.
11.1 (Kalimaru)
Link stepped up behind the bearded old man, the first person he'd seen since washing up on the island, and started speaking. "Hi, I'm Linkbrush Gre-" He then Woke and stopped talking as he digested what he was about to say. "Linkbrush Greenwood? Why does my last name have to be Greenwood?"
The old man turned around. "I don't know. Why do you have to bug me with all of that blubberin'? I got a job to do here!"
Hoping that it would take away from his distaste for his name, Link questioned the man. "What's your job?"
The old man turned back to watch the horizon. "I'm the lookout for Melee Island. I'm watching for signs of the dreaded ghost pirate LeGanon."
"LeGanon?" Link guffawed. "That's almost as bad as having the last name Greenwood!"
"Eh, Greenwood's still worse." The old man shook his arms at Link. "Now go down to the SCUMM Bar or something. I'm busy here!"
After some inquiry in the SCUMM Bar, hearing the obvious setup of a pirate-themed puzzle adventure, and pocketing nearly everything he could in town, Link made his way to the Governor's Mansion. Zelda was waiting on the lawn as he approached. "About time you showed up."
"Don't mention it. So where are we, and what's with the pack of freaky poodles?" Link noted that for all their noise, the furry beasts weren't very good at pulling on their leashes.
"The poodles were there when I Woke up. As for where we are..." Pulling out a holodisk, Zelda started skimming through a number of images. "We're in the Universe the Monkey Island series is based on. Right now, we're in the baseline version of the first game of the series, The Secret of Monkey Island. My guess is that we'll be in this story all the way through to the fifth game, Tales of Monkey Island. As it stands, we're in a setting like Wind Waker except up to our knees in pirates and pirate related subjects. Also, don't drink the grog. Whatever it is, it is not beer."
"Whatever you say. Can I get a copy of the data from here though? I don't want anything too surprising."
"You won't need it. Just follow along with the general plot and think of zany answers to any puzzle you find. I don't want to spoil anything for you."
Link sighed. "Alright, but this better not come back to bite me."
-SEVERAL GAMES WORTH OF ADVENTURES LATER-
"Okay, she is definitely doing this to get me back for calling her Zora-Hyrule royal family linking plan 'dumber than a bucket of fish eggs'."
11.2 (burningclaw2)
Fey Lord Link cont.
Ganondorf was breathing hard, it had taken a while but he had managed to pummel Link's Giant Wolf form and break the control over Zelda. He was now fighting Link in his Fae Lord form now.
'Damnit! Is this what Link has to go through every time he fights me!?' thought Ganondorf panting slightly, while he was annoyed he was still enjoying the challenge, 'While the fight has been fun it's also very tedious. Maybe I should think of ways to spice up our fights a bit more next Lo-Woah!' Ganondorf's train of thought was ended when he had to duck under the sudden hookshot that almost took out his eye.
'Note to self; next time I'm the hero, grab the damned weapons. It'd probably help save me from some of these tricks of his.' Ganondorf thought before rushing at Link with his sword readied to strike. Link met Ganondorf's sword strike with his own but was set flying back due to Ganondorf's overwhelming physical power in comparison to his own.
Link managed to keep himself from slamming into a wall by skidding to a halt. He quickly recovered and stood up, Ganondorf preparing himself for whatever the Fae Lord had plan.
Link then begun to speak in an archaic manner, "Thou art skilled, Gerudo. For not only hast thou endured Our trails but thou also hast endured Us for so long." As he said this, Ganondorf noticed Link beginning to pull something out of his robes. "Thus, in honor for thine skill and strength Gerudo, thou shalt face Us in in Our truest form."
'I don't know what he is planning, but it can't be good,' thought Ganondorf before he charged at Link intending to stop him from doing whatever it was he was planning, unfortunately Link was faster having slipped what looked like a mask on his face.
Once the mask was on Link's face he writhed in agony for a moment, shaking his head from side to side before letting loose a loud yell as a rush of energy overtook him. The energy then proceeded to rush outwards blasting Ganondorf back and into a wall.
"GAAAH!" screamed Ganondorf in frustration and slight pain getting up he quickly saw what had happened.
Link no longer looked like he did previously. Now he was wearing an armored tunic and leather boots. He now possessed pale skin and snow white hair, with red and blue marking over his face. On his back was a large Double Helix Sword.
The Fierce Deity
Unrivaled God of Battle
'Shit!' was Ganondorfs thought as The Fierce Deity drew his sword from his back in a slow methodical manner, until it was fully drawn and pointing to the ground. However, once the motion was complete a blast of wind launched forth and hammered against Ganondorf. While the blast did little more to him then nudge him back, that much power from such a lackluster motion meant that the Fierce Deity of Hyrule was certainly a monster amongst monsters.
Steeling himself, Ganondorf let loose a loud roar as he charged forth aiming to cleave the Deity in half, he was packing as much power from his Triforce piece as he could into the strike. The Deity in turn moved simply moved his sword directly into the path of Ganondorf's swing a look of cold indifference on its face.
As the two forces met, steel against steel, a resounding explosion of power burst forth from where the blades came into contact. Ganondorf and the fierce Deity gazing upon one another, Ganon with blazing fury as he drew more and more power from his Triforce, and the Deity with slight interest in its eyes as its arm had started to shake from the force displayed by Ganondorf.
'This may hurt,' Ganondorf thought as he disengaged and stepped in for another blow, 'but it is going to be fun!'
11.3 (generiguy)
"Behold!" exclaimed Link, pulling back the curtain of the Milk Bar to reveal a pointy object.
Navi stared at the pointy object on the stage. "...That's just the Master Sword."
"Yes," Link admitted, stepping onto the stage and withdrawing the weapon. "But it's better than that."
Pulling his sword back, Link tapped into his vast reserves of magic. Pumping a drop through his arm, Link spun in place, his sword leaving a yellow trail of magic behind it.
"But that's just a spin attack." Navi objected. "What did you really want to show me?"
Link lowered his grip slightly, exposing a hole in the blue hilt of the sword. "Normally I use magic to power a spin attack, right?"
Link produced a bottle of red potion, uncorked it, and touched the top to the hole, draining the bottle instantly. Link put the bottle away, then got into a spin attack stance.
This time, as Link spun, his sword left a trail of red that made Navi feel slightly warm inside. "Are... you using the red potion instead of magic?" asked Navi.
Link grinned and nodded. "I'm pretty sure it works with things from fused loops, too. Someone's bound to have created liquid bombs somewhere."
11.4 (generiguy)
Navi placed down the final block of wood, and flew backwards a little to admire her creation: a full replica of Kokiri Village. She had constructed everybody's house, the Great Deku Tree, the Lost Woods, and even the Forest Temple. It made Navi feel a little homesick.
It had one major difference from the Hylian Kokiri Forest, however: like the entire world this loop, it was entirely made out of differently-colored cubes. There were cubical mountains, cubical caves, and cubical oceans, and cubical pigs and cows inhabited it. But as weird as this world was, this was hers, and she was rather proud of the result.
"Link?" Navi called. "I finally finished!"
A second passed with no reply. Then another. Link usually responded when she called for him. What was going on?
"Link?"
A faint sigh came from a nearby mountain (made of stone cubes, with a cubical stream running down its side) and Navi flew over to its source. Link stood at the mountain's base, in front of an one-cube opening. Every so often a creature would drop down, its legs visible through the crack, only to find itself punched to death.
"10,855..." Link muttered, and Navi flew forward onto his shoulder.
"Link?" Navi started. "Why are you still here at the Enderman farm? You've been here for 3 days!"
Link turned his head to face Navi, his face droopy and his eyes baggy. "Navi... I've told you already... haven't I?"
A new Enderman dropped into the slot, and Link punched it, causing it to drop an emerald green orb.
"Ender Pearls let me teleport when I throw them, and this is the only loop where I can get them! They're one of the most useful items I use! I need to get as many as I can get while I'm here!"
Navi's wings drooped. "But... don't you want to see my-"
Link sighed and punched another Enderman. "Sorry... just... not now. "
"Can't you just set up an arrow launcher to punch them?" Navi asked, and Link's eyes lit up.
"...that would work!" Link said excitedly. For the first time in 3 days, he stepped away from the hole.
Then he tripped, collapsed on the ground, and started snoring.
"Navi!"
"Yes?"
"Can you help me?"
"With what?"
Link gestured to the stacks of chests behind him. "Can you take some of these? I can't fit any more Ender Pearls in my subspace pocket."
"..Couldn't you just leave some here?"
Link glared at Navi. "NO."
"Or maybe take the Monster Spawner with you?"
"...maybe."
11.5
Zelda's Heroic Journey cont.
Zelda wiped her brow as she slid along a thin ledge of a vast pit of lava. Goron dungeons were always some of the hardest to get through, thanks to the heat and the rough edges. Link insisted that underwater dungeons were the hardest, but Zelda honestly found most of them to be relaxing. Carefully, Zelda reached the small sprout she had noticed growing on the edge of this particular ledge and knelt down. She splayed out her hand, letting her power flow into and through the Deku Emerald. A green glow slid out, encasing the small sprout, which rapidly started to grow and shift, growing upwards through the small hole in the ceiling she had fallen through earlier.
Zelda had arrived in the Goron's domain with little trouble, having managed to lose Ganondorf's forces in the woods. Apparently, Ganondorf worked for the royal family of Ordon in this Loop, no doubt undermining them in a bid for power. Zelda was sorry to leave this version of Link in his clutches, but he should hopefully be alright. In any case, when Zelda had arrived at the mountain home of the Gorons, she found that the Goron Ruby had been lost in the depths of their mines several years ago, when yet another large dragon moved in. This dragon ate metal, apparently, and so all of the Goron's attempts at trapping it had failed, forcing them to abandon the mine.
Zelda finally finish scaling the thin vine, arriving at the main entrance of the mine. One thing the Goron's had forgotten to mention was that the dragon's breath apparently caused bomb flowers to grow and explode. Zelda had barely entered the mine when the dragon had burst through the ceiling, breathing out a thick miasma, which caused several dormant bomb flowers around Zelda's feet to detonate, sending her hurtling down into the depths of the mine. The dragon hadn't pursued, luckily, and Zelda had managed to catch hold of an old, half-chewed framework to keep herself from falling into the lava below. It had then been quite a struggle to navigate her way back up to the entrance.
Zelda stepped lightly forward, bouncing slightly on her toes. This time, she was ready for the dragon. She passed through several arches into the central mining shaft (she had caught glimpses of it from nearby caverns while climbing up). There, down in the center of the shaft, the dragon lay curled up around a large rock pillar. It was serpentine, with a pair of large ratting wings. It didn't appear to have arms or legs, just a long tail with a hook on the end, and of course, a gas-spewing, metal-chomping jaw.
Zelda stepped forward. Somehow, she had to get to the central pillar. She was too far away to do anything here. She glanced around, before spotting a pair of rails that were still somewhat intact, forming a ramp. An overturned cart lay nearby.
"Oh, this is going to suck."
Zelda tenderly sat down in the seat of the cart. The rails had not been as intact as they appeared, and she had had to find several metal poles and bind them together with vines to complete the track. In truth, she probably could have used Farore's Wind to simply teleport across. She had used it in the woods to escape Ganondorf's pursuit, and she had tested several other spells, all of which seemed to be functioning properly. In the end, she was eager to try and do what Link often did, face the obstacles ahead of her with only the tools the Loop gave her. Of course, while she was trying to get in touch with her inner courage, she wasn't forgetting Wisdom. If this silly idea didn't work, she had Farore's wind ready in reserve. Turning in her seat, Zelda reached out, her hand glowing green with the power of the Deku Emerald. The dragon's breath wasn't the only thing that could develop and set off bomb flowers.
*BOOM!* The small cluster of bomb flower seeds Zelda had positioned behind the cart sprouted and promptly exploded. Zelda spun, ducking down as the cart was hurtled forward, clattering over the cobbled-together track and launching into the air. The slumbering dragon glanced up sleepily, only to receive a metal cart straight to the snout. Zelda leapt clear moments before impact, catching hold of a large stalagmite and spinning around it, bleeding off her momentum as she slid to the floor. The dragon swung backwards, its head lolling to the side, and it slid right off of the edge, vanishing out of sight.
A moment passed, then another. "There is no possibility that this is so simple." Zelda reached down to a small pouch on her leg, just as the dragon burst into view, wings flapping, roaring with anger. Zelda leapt back, pulling a small seed from the pouch, while her other hand pulled a small device out of her satchel on her back.
Down in the depths of the mine, she had found a large hollowed-out boulder while running from some burning Keese. Inside the boulder was an ancient Goron blacksmith, who had refused to leave the mine with the others and had been hiding out down in the bottom of the mines ever since. He had shown Zelda how to use the bomb flowers to deal with the Keese and little dragonlings that had apparently followed the dragon here, throwing them just as they breathed their mist, so that the bomb flower exploded in their face. Given Zelda's somewhat subpar throwing arm, the helpful and rather eager blacksmith had created a solution.
Zelda twisted the device in her hand, causing it to unfold into a rather interesting looking bow. It was mechanical, with gears and pins sticking out haphazardly along its length, but for all that, it was wonderfully balanced, and powerful enough for her needs. Cupping the seed in her gauntlet, Zelda channeled the power of the Deku Emerald. Most species of bomb flower had a rudimentary stem, which never got much longer than an inch or so and usual was altered for form a fuse. However, with the power of the Emerald, Zelda could lengthen the stem into a proper shaft, forming a crude, but effective bomb arrow.
Zelda pivoted, bringing her newly formed arrow up and stringing it on the bow. With a cry, the dragon beat its wings, circling around the platform, and Zelda tracked it, keeping light on her toes and well away from the edge. Finally, the dragon rotated, lashing out with its hook-like tail. Zelda slid down to one knee, the tail swinging over her head. The dragon roared at the miss, and Zelda fired her bow. The arrow struck true, impacting the upper gums of the dragon just as its mist started to billow out. *Foom!* The dragon spun in the air, roaring its displeasure, and started circling again. Zelda grinned, pulling another bomb flower seed from her pouch to make a new arrow. This dragon was going down.
Five arrows later, Zelda was getting frustrated. While the explosive blasts certainly stunned the dragon, they didn't seem to do enough damage to decisively injure it. It would just roar, shake its head, and take another swing with its tail. She ducked down behind a pillar of stone as yet another tail swing zipped over head. What would Link say? 'Rule Number 11: Scan the battlefield. There is almost always something around you can use.'
Zelda glanced around at the rocky pillar she was on top of. Small stone spears jutted out here and there. There was a few bomb flowers and some short tufts of grass...grass...and a handful of vine sprouts, next to the largest rocky pillar. Zelda smiled as a plan formed.
The dragon circled around, bringing her in its sights, and Zelda took off running. The tail swung behind her, missing her by a foot or so, and Zelda spun around. The dragon roared at her, getting a mouthful of bomb flower arrow for its trouble. As it spun in place, Zelda dropped down next to the vine sprouts and started feeding power into them. Slowly, the vines started wrapping around the pillar.
Tail swing, miss, roar, bomb arrow, grow the vines. Zelda fell into a simple pattern, watching and waiting. Finally, the dragon roared on the side of the pillar closest to the vine covered rock. *Foom!* The dragon reeled back yet again, but this time, Zelda acted. The vines coating the rock leapt out, lashing towards the dragon's tail. The dragon spun, seeking to keep circling around the pillar, but the vines held fast, and the dragon could only roar helplessly as it crashed into the top of the pillar. Zelda leapt forward, pushing her magic into her somewhat neglected Fairy Topaz. A less experienced Zelda, one who was new to the ways of magic, would likely have only been able to stun the dragon with her Fairy Spark, chipping away at a few scales before the dragon broke free. This Zelda, however, was tired, irritated, and ready to be done. Pushing her considerable magical reserves into the spell, a Fairy Spark the size of a large boulder blazed into existence. The dragon's pupil shrank at the sight of it, and Zelda grinned.
*KZZIAP!*
Zelda held up her hand to shade her eyes as she emerged from the tunnel. After finishing off the dragon, she had had to make her way down through the pillar to the very bottom, where the Goron Ruby lay on a stone pedestal. After claiming the gemstone, she had gone out and glanced up at the climb she would have to make back to the surface. Shaking her head, she triggered a quick Farore's Wind, arriving just inside the mouth of the tunnel.
'Right, one down, one to go. It is time to head to the beach.' Zelda smiled.
11.6 (generiguy)
Fitting the Ancient Circuit into the door's lock, Link stepped through the ornately carved door in the Lanayru Mining Facility. Link didn't really need to come here, considering he could just Deku Leaf (or Ender Pearl) over the gate to the Temple of Time, but it was always nice to collect more Timeshift stones, and the weird electric Beamos served as nice power sources when you removed the evil laser cannon on the top. Link found it slightly ironic that the highest level of technology in Hyrule was found in the oldest loop, but it was still a refreshing change of pace.
What was not refreshing was having to fight Moldarach to get to the last timeshift stone.
Link stepped through the door into a large, open room, the floor completely obscured by sand. Any moment now, the deadly arachnid would spring up from the sand, and the fight would be on.
It wouldn't be much of a fair fight, considering the win-loss ratio was around 300-0 in Link's favor, but it was still fun nevertheless. Especially when Link restricted himself to only using one item the entire fight, as he normally did nowadays. 'What to use this time?' Link asked himself, and began mentally running through his items.
'Bombs? No, that would make this too easy. Fire Rod? Also too easy. Rocket Barrel? That could work, but I've only got one and it might crash. Hmm...'
After a second, Link's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face. 'Or... I can use bait.'
Moldarach sat in its favored resting place beneath the sand's surface. Once, in another age, the room had been an elevator shaft, but over the years the walls had worn away, and desert sand had leaked in. Even now, Moldarach could feel the faint pulsing of the elevator's power supply, warming the sand to a comfortable temperature. It had discovered this area a few hundred years ago, and since then, its comfortability had not decreased one bit.
Then Moldarach heard a loud creaking noise, and suddenly the room felt a whole lot less comfortable.
It could hear the sound of something scuffing the sand. Something that seemed determined to interrupt Moldarach's day. This would have to be rectified. Wriggling its tail like a fish, it tunneled to the center of the room. Moldarach burst from the sand, both claws splayed outwards in a threatening manner to intimidate whatever creature dared to intrude.
And then it smelled something heavenly.
Link peered down at Zelda's prone body from atop the Sealed Grounds of the past. Girahim danced around it, occasionally disappearing and reappearing, humming a little victory tune. In a few seconds, he'd start the ritual to summon his master, using the body of Zelda's lying on the ground in front of him.
It was time to change that.
"Hey!"
Girahim looked up from his dance to the rim of the sealed grounds. On the ledge stood a green-clothed Hylian, with a huge grin on his face.
The enormity of the grin probably had to do with the giant black arthropod standing next to him.
"See him?" Link said, pointing down into the chasm at Girahim. Moldarach tilted its eye, moving the hard spikes that surrounded it away to get a better view.
"He's food."
When reflecting back on this particular loop, Link still wasn't quite sure whether it was the thought of a giant chitinous monster under Link's control that made Girahim faint, or when Link teleported it right in front of his face.
"That was so worth it." Link said, throwing a few more morsels of bait on the ground. Moldarach quickly grabbed them with a claw and stuffed them below its eye, somewhere Link couldn't really see. While the arachnopod's claws hadn't quite managed to tear apart Girahim, his cape was torn off, most of his limbs were twisted and bruised, and the entirety of his body bore large claw marks.
"I need to use you more often." commented Link. Moldarach didn't respond, considering it barely knew the word 'food'. "You'd probably be pretty effective against Diababa if I could get you there."
Link stared at the black scorpion and its oversized claws as it wolfed down the final bait morsels. "Actually..."
Finishing off what remained, Moldarach turned its little claw to look towards Link to see his arm now had several bands of yellow adorning it, and Link now wore metallic boots on his feet.
Moldarach was hoping Link's arm would have more food.
It was not expecting Link' arm to lift him into the air and thrust him into a white void.
Link unequipped the Power Bracelets and wiped some dust off his tunic. 'You'd better still be in there next loop.' Link thought, fervently praying to Farore that his Subspace Pocket would keep Moldarach inact. It was always sort of hit-or-miss with living things.
It didn't. On an unrelated note, he had to replace his entire stock of bait, seeds, and bombs.
11.7 (generiguy)
"Navi... Navi, where art thou? Come hither..."
Navi arrived in front of the Great Deku Tree, carrying something black several times her size. "Great Deku Tree! I have found the cure to your condition!"
The Great Deku Tree stared at the object. "What dost this object be? Dost thou require assistance with its lifting?"
"They're sunglasses!" said Navi. "When you wear them, their sheer awesomeness kills monsters."
The Deku Tree barely had time to blink before Navi slipped the oversized pair of sunglasses over its eyes. For a second it said nothing, examining their weight.
Then the Great Deku Tree realized that the feeling of death creeping up its roots had stopped. Confused, it cast its consciousness inside itself, and found no trace of the parasitic Gohma that inhabited the tree.
From inside the Deku Tree, Link's all-clear came through the tiny earpiece on Navi's wing. "Only five seconds this time! Close to my record." he commented.
"The evil presence...it has gone?" the Deku Tree spoke. "O Navi the fairy... While I know not of this item, it has cleansed the death curse that inhabits my roots."
Navi beamed at the Deku Tree. "Sunglasses."
11.8 (Filraen)
When Zelda Awoke the first thing she noticed was how, when looking to the sunrise, the clouds were too low, the land too far and the breeze was somewhat strong, as if her clothes were the only thing covering her from the winds. Looking around she realized it was the case, as she was standing over nothing just below the clouds. After a small moment of panic she realized she wasn't falling and decided to look at her surroundings.
The view was like looking at Hyrule from the top of Death Mountain, just better. Rivers, valleys and deserts were touched by the sun's light, a display whose beauty staggered her until her loops memories arrived, making her realize she had Awoken earlier than ever before.
The Goddess Hylia almost fell from the sky from her surprise.
Stretching her magic senses, she could feel Demise starting to gain power, and Link's preincarnation hopefully being released from his prison. She wanted to go meet him but Zelda knew she had to do something before that: Hylia needed to forge what would eventually become the Master Sword to help Link and all of his future reincarnations.
"...The Triforce, its power is too great to leave in the grasp of man. Dependence on its might is an invitation to disaster."
The incomplete but already aware form of Fi was listening acutely. The process of making the sword, or more specifically, making the inhabiting spirit Fi, was a learning experience, even if Zelda basically let her loop memories go through the motions.
"When it has served its purpose, it must be secreted away to lie dormant once again... the knowledge of its existence hidden from mortal history."
"As you command, Your Grace," Answered Fi in her normal tone. "I will wait until the day Master Link awakens me in Skyloft."
Zelda halted at her statement. "Fi, are you Awake?" She had heard Link mentioning Fi being Awake but she hadn't met her Looping self yet.
"There is a 50% of probabilities of misunderstanding the question, Your Grace. Please restate."
"By what other name do you know me the most, apart from Hylia?"
After a moment of silence Fi answered: "In that case the answer would be Zelda, Your Grace. With new data I calculate there is a 95% of probability of your previous question was about time repeating, in which case your question is equivalent to ask if I retain memories from previous repetitions. I am Awake, your Grace."
Zelda smiled. She seemed to have done a good work as Fi seemed to have same personality Zelda remembered from previous Loops, though that was likely assisted by her Awakening. Even if Fi seemed a bit cold at first, she had learned to be happy in her interactions with Link. Though it was a pity she had to go to sleep eternally after the whole Demise debacle was over... wait…
"Fi, please answer honestly," Zelda asked as she paused her magic. "How do you feel about going into the Eternal Sleep after helping Link defeat Demise?"
"It's my obligation as a mandate from Your Grace," the sword spirit's answer was short and concise.
"That isn't what I'm asking, Fi," Zelda countered, "Would you like, as personal preference, not to sleep eternally after the defeat of Demise?"
After a few minutes of silence Fi answered, "I would like to have more time awake in company of Master Link."
"Good," Zelda smiled to the unfinished sword spirit. "then I can free you to be awake or asleep as you desire after Demise is dead. How about it, Fi?"
"I would... like it, Your Grace."
"Also, how likely do you think it is that this would carry over to later Loops?"
"According to my understanding of retained skills when Awake there is a 98.8% probability of that happening, Your Grace."
"One more thing, though," Zelda frowned at what Fi had just said. "Nothing of 'Your Grace' anymore when I'm Awake in the Looping sense, I don't want deference from someone who I want to be an equal."
It took Fi a few moments before finally answering. "Understood. Thank you, Hylia."
11.9
Link frowned as he finished getting dressed. This was shaping up to be an odd Loop. He couldn't feel the Triforce, which typically only happened during Fused Loops, but here he was in the Kokiri Village. He still had his piece, more like an echo of the Triforce's power than anything, but he couldn't feel the greater Triforce, or whether Zelda or Ganondorf were Awake or not. He had gotten back three pings though. One of them had been delayed, but all were some distance away at least. Checking that he was fully outfitted, Link twisted his arm and triggered a Farore's Wind.
He arrived at the Temple of Time a couple of moments after Ganondorf. Zelda was standing in front of the doors, looking somewhat impatient. She nodded as they approached.
"Good, I was hoping you two were Awake. I can't feel the Triforce, but my memories and the legends of Hyrule in this Loop state that it should be in the Sacred Realm. I propose that we find out what has happened to it before we go for each others throats."
Ganondorf nodded. "I am willing. I actually intend to find and conquer Subrosia this Loop, so you won't have to deal with me after this." Link and Zelda both looked at him quizzically. Ganondorf gave a Gaelic shrug. "I will get that recipe for Lava Soup if it kills them."
"Ri-i-ight. Anyway, shall we?" Zelda gestured towards the doors. Ganondorf and Link nodded.
Link stretched as his shoulders popped. Aging potion was useful, but it always left his joints oddly stiff. He pulled the sword free, and the gate opened. Zelda, who had been stepping forward to cross first, gasped, and stepped backward. Link quickly fell into a defensive stance, as Ganondorf manifested his own blade in a burst of dark flame.
An old man was standing in front of the gateway, gazing solemnly at them from within the Sacred Realm. Slowly, he bowed, and then stepped forward. He spoke, in a voice dusty with age and lack of use.
"I thank you, bearers. It is good to finally talk to you." He shuffled forward, swaying awkwardly as he moved. "Balanced hearts are easier than balanced feet, it seems."
Zelda got it first. "You're the Triforce."
The old man nodded. "Yes. Incarnate, due to the foolishness of this body's former host." He coughed, then stared down at his chest. "Lungs, not quite working."
The three Loopers glanced at each other, then back at their Anchor. Link coughed lightly, then stepped forward. "Well, I suppose it is good to finally meet you face-to-face."
The Triforce appeared to be engrossed in untangling the beard of his current body. Link sighed. He was right. This was going to be an odd Loop.
11.1 - Midna was less than amused at being stuck as a talking skull.
11.2 - Brute force can only take you so far...then you have to use overwhelming brute force.
11.3 - Nitroglycerin Spin Attack!
11.4 - Ender Pearls are like bottles: Glass-like, transparent, and incredibly deadly when thrown at high speed.
11.5 - Zelda's magic can be rather terrifying when necessary.
11.6 - This loop brought to you by all-purpose bait! Capable of brainwashing any being to do your bidding or your money back!
11.7 - 1000 years later, Link finds that the Hero's Clothes now come with a welcome new addition.
11.8 - And Fi is set free!
11.9 - An intervention later had to be held after the Triforce got addicted to Hot Chocolate and turn most of the Lava in Death Mountain into his beverage of choice. Luckily, the Gorons actually didn't mind all that much.