LEGEND OF ZELDA TIME LOOPS SPECIAL: The Obon of Time

Courtesy of Kalimaru

Disclaimer: Zelda is not owned by me. It is not owned by you. It is owned by Nintendo, and I can't wait till they make more.

Stepping through the torii gate and into Castle Town, Link scanned the area. Small houses lined the streets and paper lanterns lit the night. Running in dress, little children went from stall to stall as they enjoyed the festival. Walking through the crowds, Link looked up towards Hyrule Castle, seeing lights running between towers and shining a beacon across Hyrule Field.

He'd Awoken, as was usual for his Seven Year Sleep Loops, in Kokiri Village. Except this time it was a bit different. He'd come to as an intruder to the forest, and the Kokiri children had surrounded him with spears and wearing masks. Not having had the memories set in yet, he'd quickly incapacitated them all with a stick. Said stick was currently stuck to his back, seeing as he couldn't find a sword in the woods. Eventually he'd wandered into the Deku tree and gotten the Kokiri Emerald from an infestation of Gohma Spawn that had taken over the dead tree husk. After planting the Deku Sprout, he'd made his way here in hopes of getting answers. The festival had been a surprise though.

Making his way through the crowds, he found the way to the castle blocked by a moving shrine and a Goron who was laid out on the ground next to it. Kneeling next to him, Link poked the Goron awake. "Hey, what's with the shrine?"

The Goron rolled into a sitting position. "It's for the festival. I'm supposed to get it to the castle for a blessing from the princess, but my partner hasn't shown up yet." The Goron scratched his head. "He's supposed to be someone from one of the other tribes."

Link got up and stretched his back. "Well, is there anything I can do to help?" He was already putting on most of the strength enhancing tools he had. "Maybe I could help get this thing up to the castle."

Looking him over, the Goron stood up. "I guess you must be the representative for those Kokiri kids then? Their champion or whatever?"

'So that's why they didn't try to kill me when I walked out past them.' "Sure, I'm their champion. Name's Link."

"Dakkoron." Getting in the front, Dakkoron grabbed the handles. "And HUP!" With a pull the shrine was up and they were moving. Of course, it paid that Link had enough boosting items on that his arms gleamed with magic strength. Making double time, the two raced up to the castle and in through the gates before lowering the shrine in the castle courtyard. Dakkoron turned to Link. "Think you can find the princess in there? I haven't run like that since the last festival, and I could use a rest."

As Dakkoron sat in a corner of the courtyard, Link turned to the illuminated castle. 'Been a while since I was let in through the front door. Let's see what else has changed this Loop.' And so our hero enters.

Pressing open the throne room doors, Link walked in and knelt before the throne. "The moving shrine has arrived."

"Well it's about time you got here."

Link looked up at the response and found the the only two present were Zelda and- "Princess Ruto?"

Folding her arms, the Zora princess stood and walked to stand right in front of Link. "Oh, look. ANOTHER stable boy who takes the title of Kokiri champion away from the members of the tribe." Grabbing Link by one of his ears and hauling him to his feet, Ruto turned to look at Zelda. "This one didn't even bother covering his ears!"

Zelda stood as Link got his ear out of Ruto's grip. They'd been discussing matters of royalty over tea, but that would have to wait now. "What is your name?"

"Link, your highness." Rubbing his ear, he sucked in air through his teeth. "And how did you know I was the Kokiri champion?"

"Your clothes, you smell like the forest, the stick on your back, and the Zora Sapphire is reacting to you." Reaching under one of her arm fins, Ruto pulled out the ornate jewel. It glowed faintly and let off a quiet sound of the tide coming in. "And the Kokiri champion is the first to arrive, since the others spend a day tending their wounds from the duels to see who gets to retrieve the emerald from the dead old tree."

'Well it's a good thing I only knocked them all unconscious then.' "You know, you seem to know an awful lot about the Kokiri Choosing of the Champion." 'Thank you~, Loop Memories!'

Ruto got right in Link's face. "I am princess of the Zoras. It is my responsibility to know such things." She backed off a few inches and allowed Link to breathe. "And this not my first festival, stable boy."

Ignoring the jab, Link turned his attention back to Zelda. "Shall we be off then?"

The princess nodded, an air of regality surrounding her despite only being a child like Link and Ruto. "I am sure the citizens have congregated in wait. Let us go and begin."

Stepping back out through the front door, Zelda led the troupe. Ruto followed close behind, performing an odd sort of dance. Right behind them, Dakkoron was in the front of the shrine with Link having taken the back again. All around them were the citizens of Hyrule from all over. Goron, Zora, Hylian, Gerudo, even the odd Sheikah and Kokiri were there. Seeing that they were all watching, Link almost felt self-conscious. "Hey Dakkoron, what are we carrying? Everybody's watching us like hawks."

"You'll see when we get to the temple."

As the four of them passed, the crowd closed behind them. This kept up all the way to the Temple of Time. Once there, Zelda reached into the moving shrine and pulled out a sheathed katana. Getting Dakkoron and Link to put the moving shrine down, Zelda led them and Ruto inside. Once inside, the three carriers of the sacred gems held them before the Door of Time. Once it opened, Zelda led them through. But instead of the usual Pedestal of Time, there was a place for putting the katana that Zelda was holding. Placing it down, Zelda began to pray to the sword.

"O Blade of Our Ancestors, Protector of Our Kin,

Bless the sleepless dead, with peaceful rest and vim.

Let Time continue turning, Let Life continue on,

And when it is Our Time, Let us be remembered when we're gone.

As you have always done, as you always will,

For three days, please let Our Time be made to stand still.

We pay oath to the dead, we pay tribute to their names,

and in three days, when all is done, let Time begin again."

The sword was glowing by the end of the prayer. Standing, Zelda nodded. "It is done."

"Heh. Well done, princess." Link, Zelda, and Ruto all turned to find Dakkoron laughing darkly. "It only took a disguise mask and a stolen gem, but you led me right to it." Slowly, Dakkoron reached up and grabbed the sides off his head. With the slow, drawn out sound of tape being pulled away and grunting, Ganondorf pulled off his mask and smiled triumphantly. "The power of that sword will be mine!"

Seeing that this was about to go south, Link moved. Sprinting past Zelda and grabbing the sword by the scabbard, Link turned and held the blade protectively. He still didn't know what was going to happen this Loop, but he couldn't risk it. Grabbing the handle, Link drew the katana from the scabbard and held it vertically. "I can't let you do that, Ganondorf."

Caught between the two of them, Zelda and Ruto didn't know which crazed lunatic to run from first. The one who'd peeled off his face and ended up being a Gerudo male, or the farm boy who'd gone and drawn the Blade of Time inside the Temple. Either way they were going to be in trouble. Quickly making a decision, Zelda crept towards Link and dragged Ruto with her. At least they'd both talked to him. The 'not-peeling-his-face-off' was a plus as well.

The Gerudo King grimaced. "So you were Awake, Link? Fine, but you know not what power you wield."

"If it's a power you want, then I know I can't give it up." Leveling the blade at Ganondorf, Link swung it to the side in a two-handed grip. As it moved, the katana hummed and the sound of paper being cut could be heard. No one made a sound, dreading what the noise could mean. Ruto summed everyone's thoughts in a word though.

"Fffffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuu-!."

Where Link had swung the blade, the very air ripped open and a vacuum was formed. Already unbalanced by the sword, Link was the first to fall into the hole. Then Ruto, cursing at the top of her lungs, and finally Zelda. As Ganondorf charged for the gap to follow, the hole sealed itself closed just as he'd jumped for it. Passing straight through the open air, he landed on his face and cursed.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Standing over Link, Zelda and Epona the Admin were working together to chew him out. Behind Epona, Susano'o was leaning against the void they found themselves in. Next to Link, Ruto was in the fetal position as she tried to wrap her mind around the experience of sitting on nothingness.

Epona stepped forward and loomed over Link."You cut a hole in the Loop! And then you fell into it. Are you trying to make my job harder?"

Link ducked and put his hands up. "I didn't know the sword would do that!"

"Do what? Kill us? Crash the Loop?" Zelda crossed her arms. "You should have known better than to draw that sword, Link. Especially since you were in the Temple of Time."

"Fine, fine. I get your point. But what was my alternative? Let Ganondorf get it? He would have done anything he could to screw us with it. I wasn't going to take the chance." Link held out the katana. "If you want to get rid of it, by all means go ahead. It's not like I don't have a ton of swords already."

Before Epona could take it, Susano'o put his hand out. "Nah. You can keep the sword."

"WHAT?!"

Brushing off Epona's reaction, Susano'o continued. "We'll give it to you as a... trial of the divine. Prove that you won't abuse the power of the sword, and you can keep it."

Staring down at the katana in his hands, Link changed his grip on the scabbard to a more reverent touch. "But what do I call it? I feel awkward just calling it 'the sword'."

"Oh, that's easy." Susano'o scoffed. "That's Hyrule's version of Kusanagi."

Almost simultaneously, three jaws hit the floor. Zelda was the first to get her's working again. "You mean you're giving us-"

"The Imperial Sword of the Japanese Royal Family. But not really." Pulling the sword from his belt, Susano'o held it out. "This is the real Kusanagi. What you have in your hands is Yggdrasil's attempt at interpreting the data from my sword and trying to compile it in the context of Hyrule. It's why everything was a bit... culture specific in that Loop. Yggdrasil was trying to update the data from Kusanagi that was already in its systems, while compiling the new data at the same time. That caused the Loop to be fragile and crash, so that's why we're here while Yggdrasil finishes compiling." Turning, Susano'o flicked his hand and a door formed from the void. Through it, the ocean could be seen with Outset Island sitting in the distance. "And it looks like the next Loop has started properly. Now off you go!" With a flick, Zelda, Link, and Ruto were thrown through the portal. Clapping his hands together after they'd gone, Susano'o closed the door and returned Epona and himself back to Admin Space. Seeing her glaring at him, Suasano'o shrugged. "What is it, Epona?"

"You took too many liberties with that one, Susano'o. You don't know what could happen now that you've given them that sword."

"That's why I told them it was Kusanagi." Seeing Epona's confusion, Susano'o sighed. "By telling them that they were in a trial and by saying it was to keep the sword, I convinced them that their actions would be watched. That'll keep them from going off the deep end and possibly wrecking Ruto's chances of Awakening. No Cuccoo bombs, no pocket abuse, and being in Wind Waker gives the girl nearly a country to wander in and cope. If we're lucky, she doesn't go mad from our interference. So excuse me if I take some liberties, but I'd like to keep these kids sane."

"And how is letting them crash out of their Loop keeping them sane?" Epona glowered.

Susano'o shrugged and grinned. "By keeping them from being bored." He chuckled to himself as Epona left with a strangled growl of frustration.

Coming up for air, Link and Zelda found themselves coming ashore on Outset Island. With Kusanagi, or, Link decided, Katanagi (to give it a name to keep it straight which blade it was) stashed safely in Link's pocket, the two of them dragged themselves onto the beach as Ruto followed behind, still looking shell-shocked.. As all three sat on the sand, Link tried going over his new Loop memories.

'Okay. Aryll's still my sister. Zelda... is a mysterious girl we found washed on shore one day, and Ruto has replaced the local mapmaker fish. This should be simple enough. Doesn't seem there are any glitches from...whatever it was that happened.' Almost as soon as he thought it, Link could hear the warning bells. The actual ones. That warn of approaching ships. Looking out to sea, the three of them saw the approaching vessel hoist the Jolly Rogers. Palming his face, Link sighed. "Hoo boy."

"Put your hands in the air!" A sword in hand, Tetra pushed her blade against Link's neck, backing him against the mast. Zelda and Ruto were receiving the same treatment, the three of them circled around the wooden pole as Tetra's pirates chuckled menacingly. "You dare stowaway on my ship, you bilge rats? I ought to run you through and leave your bodies for Davy Jones!"

Link smiled. "Good luck with that." Reaching up, he knocked Tetra's sword away with a summoned Master Sword. Behind him, Zelda began throwing Din's Fire around like candy. Link could tell because the ship was suddenly up in flames. "Care for a duel, mon cherie?"

Tetra snarled. "I care for you to DIE!" As Link sidestepped her lunge, she turned her sword for an upward swing. Deftly, Link countered and swatted the sword from her hand. Weaponless, Tetra moved to punch Link in the face. "BILGE RAT!"

Pocketing his sword and grabbing Tetra's fist, Link clicked his tongue at her. "That is no way to duel, mon cherie. I expect sharp wit and a cutting remark. Simply yelling names is likely to get someone hurt." As usual, acting calm and in control led to Tetra losing her temper.

"I'll hurt you, you filthy codswallop!" Swinging her free hand for Link's face and getting it caught, Tetra brought her foot up to Link's stomach and pushed away from him. Grabbing her sword from the still burning deck, Tetra brought it to point just short of Link's nose. "How and why are you on my ship?"

Looking over Tetra's shoulder, Link smiled. "Why don't you ask her?"

"Ask wh-" Tetra's question was cut short when she felt the sharp edge against her throat. Looking down, she saw that it wasn't a sword. It was a fin. Behind her, struggling for a steady breath, was Ruto.

"We're commandeering this vessel," the Zora princess ground out. "And you're going to take us where we want to go." Feeling Tetra move to get away from her, Ruto growled. "No. You. Are Going. TO TAKE US. WHERE WE NEED. TO GO."

Feeling the fin beginning to hurt her throat, Tetra looked around. Most of her crew was overboard or unconscious, the girl who'd been throwing fire having done some pretty severe damage to her ship. The green boy, unbothered by the blaze that surrounded him, was watching her with a smirk on his face. Even if she could take the panting fish-girl, she probably wouldn't make it off the boat in one piece.

Having weighed her options, Tetra sighed. "We're going to need another boat."

After having 'acquired' a small ship from a nearby merchant (Which came with free ammo, courtesy of Beedle! Knives held to one's throat were powerful motivators), the four children set out. Link navigated, Tetra steered, Zelda was on cannon duty, and Ruto captained the crew and scouted ahead. After similarly 'liberating' some Tetra approved clothes from Windfall as well, they set out on their journey. For several days, they wandered the seas at Link's suggestion. But not without reason...

Late one night, Zelda woke to the sound of singing. It was a sad voice, and it was coming from the deck of the ship. Careful not to wake Link or Tetra, the Hyrulian castaway tip-toed outside. Out here, in the cool night air, she took a deep breath and looked for the source of the singing. Not seeing anyone on the deck, Zelda turned and looked up. There, sitting over the entryway to the cabin, Ruto clutched her knees and hid her eyes.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Pulling herself up next to Ruto, Zelda shook her head. It wouldn't be fair to tell the poor girl otherwise. Ruto sniffled. "I'm just... I keep having these... memories show up. One where we're in Hyrule, you and I are princesses, and we do the Obon every year. And now... Now I'm supposed to be the only Zora left. The only one because Lord Jabu-Jabu ate my ancestors when the flood came, and all their other descendants became birds. Birds!" Ruto laughed, but it was a broken one. "And now my memories are fighting, trying to tell me that I'm one or the other, not both." Ruto turned to Zelda with tears in her eyes. "What am I supposed to do? Everyone else is dead, and I'm all that's left."

As Ruto broke down sobbing, Zelda pulled her close. All these Loops, and she still knew only one way to truly soothe someone. Looking to the moon, Zelda began to hum her lullaby. Down below, Tetra watched the ceiling.

"It's almost like I've heard that song before."

Link mumbled and rolled over. "Maybe in a previous lifetime."

"Alright, I think it's about time we gave you 'The Talk'."

Hearing Zelda say that, Ruto looked at her like she'd grown two heads. Tetra chuckled and continued manning the helm. "I think Ms. Gills there already knows how the guppies swim, Goldilocks."

Link shook his head and grimaced. "Wrong Talk." Sitting on the floor next to Zelda and Ruto, Link crossed his arms as he crossed his legs. "Typically, we call this the 'Welcome to the Multiverse' talk. It's to help you and explain what's happening and why." Looking at Ruto without turning his head, Link raised his eyebrow. "Do you want the short version, the long version, or the really long version?"

Ruto shook her head. "Can we start with the short version?"

Unfolding his arms, Link put his hands on his knees. "Alright. Time is broken, there's nothing we can do, and all is lost." Leaning back, Link raised his arms and laughed. "Praise be to the Goddesses!" This quickly earned him a slap on the arm from Zelda. "Ow!"

"If you're not going to be serious and explain things to her, then I will." Lacing her fingers together and putting her hands in her lap, Zelda sighed. "Okay, it all starts with a tree..."

Two Hours Later

"...and that's why Hyrule is flooded, why there are no other Zoras, why that big nosed man sent us here, and why the Triforce is simultaneously the most and least useful object you can ever find."

Tetra shook her head. "That's it, all three of you are insane."

Ruto looked confused. "But who's Tingle?"

Link, Zelda, and Tetra all shuddered. "Pray you never find out."

Link turned to Tetra. "Wait, you've met him too?"

Tetra nodded. "When you can't feed those old geezerfish, Tingle's the best mapmaker in this ocean and the next. Course, he's a greedy one with how much he demands for the maps he makes."

"Huh." Walking over to the map, Link folded his arms. "Odd question, but how many days has it been since we left Outset?"

"About a week. Why?"

'Wait... one, two three...' "Uh oh. Tetra! Turn to 2 o'clock! We've got to get to Forsaken Fortress!"

"What? Why?" Already spinning the steering wheel, Tetra kept her footing as the ship tilted to the right. "What's so important about getting there?"

Link scowled. "Yesterday was my birthday."

Tetra growled. "And what, you want a present? I should keelhaul all three of you. How's that for a gift?"

From the wall, Ruto interrupted further torture suggestions. "Why do we need to get to Forsaken Fortress?"

Holding on to one of the supportive columns, Zelda answered. "Whenever we end up in the Great Sea, and unless we do something to prevent it, Aryll always gets kidnapped on Link's birthday! The fortress is where she's usually imprisoned. And we've both seen what happens when we don't save her!"

"What happens?"

As the ship righted itself and began speeding across the open waves, Link's grimace stayed put. "Let's just say that the seagulls are a lot less fun when they change their diets to include more red meat."

With that horrifying thought, the ship sped towards Forsaken Fortress.

"This is where Aryll gets taken to?" Towering above the appropriated merchant ship, the wooden gate of the Forsaken Fortress was almost alive in its imposing hostility. Ruto had to tilt her head all the way back to properly see the top against the night sky. "And how are we supposed to get in?"

Link stood next to her with his arms folded. "Well, Tetra normally launches me over the gate with a catapult and I smack face first into a stone wall. But since we don't have a catapult and our current cannon is Zelda lobbing fireballs, we're going to have to adapt." Link then pulled a Zora Mask from his pocket. "Zelda, do you want to come with us?"

"Of course." Pulling out her own mask, Zelda put it on just as Link put on his. Together they turned from blonde children to adult Zoras, Link as Mikau and Zelda as Laruto. Once the light show was over, Ruto was left looking up at her now taller companions. "Shall we?"

"Let's." And together, they jumped off the side and dragged Ruto under the gate and into the fortress.

"Why am I the one who has to turn off the searchlights?"

"Because we need to see how well you sneak."

"Why do I have to fight the monsters?"

"We need to see how well you can fight."

"Three Goddesses, it's that bird! AH! It's trying to eat me!"

"It's defending its territory! Show dominance! Be the Alpha Fish Woman!"

Ruto stood outside Ganon's overlook and gasped for air. "I... hate you... so much..."

"Ah, drink some red potion and walk it off. You beat the bird at least."

"Only... because... it choked... on my head..."

"Well, the good news is that you're able to hold your own in a dungeon. Sadly, this is just the first of many in this Great Sea. Lucky for you, we'll be here to guide you!"

"Like... you did... with those... Bombchus?"

Link shrugged. "Eh. I think Zelda will be guiding you through the next dungeon."

"Oh... Goody..." And then sweet merciful sleep took Ruto.

When she Awoke next, Ruto found herself standing in a room made of meat with sphincters in the floor. The memories hit around the same time Link walked in. "What happened?"

Link shrugged. "I try to beat Ganon using the Katanagi that Susano'o gave me. It split him in half and crashed the Loop. Apparently, all the data about the sword still hadn't stabilized."

Ruto's jaw dropped. "So, all that work, all that sneaking, getting vomited back up by a FILTHY bird, AND YOU MADE IT ALL POINTLESS!? WHY!?"

"Consider it your first lesson in the Loops. Sometimes, we have to accept that we've struggled pointlessly." Pulling out his mask again, Link turned into Mikau. "So how about you try being the hero this Loop. I bet you'd do pretty well."

Ruto's shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Fine."

Several Loops Later

"Finally!" Standing in the underwater palace of Hyrule, Ruto pumped her fists in the air. "Twenty seven tries, and I made it! I'm at the end of this Loop! In your face, Ganondorf!"

The dark Gerudo King chuckled. "I'm afraid not, water child. I have already collected the last piece of the Triforce from Zelda. Soon the Triforce will be complete. I must thank you. Were it not for you, I would have never found the Triforce of Courage." Another evil chuckle. "Come to me, oh Triforce!"

"Oh no you don't!" Pulling out her bow from this loop and notching a light arrow, Ruto took aim and fired directly for the center of Ganondorf's chest. The arrow flew true, and Ganondorf was stunned. Making good on the chance, Ruto ran forward and slapped her hand onto the Triforce that had formed at Ganondorf's call. It glowed momentarily, and then vanished.

Stepping up behind Ruto, Zelda smiied. "So what was your wish?"

Ruto grinned. "Well, I liked coming to this version of Hyrule since it's so big, but the salt water was a bit much. So I wished for a giant version of regular Hyrule to explore with everyone who you said was looping with us."

Zelda blinked a few times. "And the Triforce granted your wish?"

Ruto shrugged. "Maybe. Felt like it, anyway."

Meanwhile, in Admin Space

Seeing a notification pop up, Epona coughed a little on her soothing tea. Apparently there was a new variation of Hyrule being formed in Yggdrasil. Slowly, Epona rubbed her eyes and sighed. "Us dammit."

And thus, the New Zelda Wii U game is born! We welcome Ruto to the Loops, and we will see the fruits of her efforts some time in 2015! Yay!