LEGEND OF ZELDA TIME LOOPS: Sailing on Sea and Stars
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda. That is all.
And, without further ado, here come the next three chapters!
19.1 (masterofgames)
Link Awoke in his seafaring incarnation once again, standard Awakening, nothing special.
Slightly more unusual was his Waking during his pirate crew training in the hold of Tetra's ship instead of just before his little sister woke him up in the lookout tower.
Downright weird was his instructor, who, instead of Niko, was a short-bearded blond young man wearing a blue, formal sailor's uniform, had a hook instead of a left hand, and looked more the type to be a flooring inspector or a salesman of Fine Leather Jackets(TM).
"... and lesson two is the highly useful ability to seemingly pause time to take in your surroundings at your leisure. If you manage that, then we'll move on to lesson three, the art of having infinite storage space in your pants, though if you have a preference for a different storage method, we can work around that. Lesson four will be a simple lecture of the many uses of common, and not so common objects, and if you pass that, you'll get your own coil of rope, and a rubber-chicken-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle of your very own as a reward! Lesson six marks the halfway point, but don't worry about going the full ten minutes. You'll only need to hold your breath underwater for three or four, though you will need to be able to handle the entire technique before I can teach you to speak manatee, though that isn't until lesson nine. Manage that, and you can call yourself a Pirate with pride, but you'll have to master the second half before you can be a Mighty Pirate(TM) like me."
Link stood dazed for a moment as he processed all this, plus his memories. Then he sighed and shrugged. He'd learned weirder. "Yes sir, Instructor Guybrush."
19.2 (stonebrow)
"Brother! Wake up! Did you forget what day it was?"
Link shook his head awake, and took stock. 'Right, time to put that plan into action.'
"Hey Arryl, I need you to head back home, OK? I'll let you give me my present in a bit."
"How did you know I was giving you a present?"
"Because I'm your big brother! Now go in, and whatever happens, don't worry!"
"Huh?"
"Go!"
"OK!"
Link watched Arryl head back home. It was kind of mean what he was about to do, but it would be better than having his sister carried off again. He pulled some clothes and a wig out of his equipment, and scribbled out a letter to his Gran that he hastily stuffed in a nearby letterbox.
Changing clothes, he smiled at the sounds of cannon fire and bird squawks.
"Right. First class delivery- straight to Ganon!"
Equipping the Titan's Mitt, Link pulled out his bomb-arrows and waited for an ideal time to startle the over sized turkey. He saw his chance, and let loose the arrow.
It exploded, right in front of the Helmarock, startling it into dropping Tetra.
"Oh crap oh crap oh crap ahhhhhh-oomph!" Tetra lost the air in her lungs as Link caught her.
"Go inside before it catches you again," Link suggested.
"Ugh… Who are yo- Why are you dressed like me? Wait, you're a boy! Aren't you a little young to be a transvestite?"
"What? Oh for- it's not like that! I need the bird to think I'm you so it'll carry me away so I can kill its master! Now go away!"
"… Hard core. Whatever, you want to take the heat off me, that's fine with me! Good luck!"
"Shoo already! … Finally. Hey, birdo! Here I am, easy pickings!" Link waved his arms a few times. "Hope this works. It'll save a whole lot of time if it does…"
The Helmaroc King spotted him, swooped down, and then flew off, the 'girl' tightly bound in its clutches.
"Geez, this thing sure is fast. Took what, eight hours to get here? Faster than Tetra's boat by a long shot. And look who is waiting for me, all ready to complete his plan," Link grinned in anticipation. It was always fun to think up new ways to kill, banish, or otherwise thwart Ganon, or whatever big bad was presiding over the particular era.
As the vast bird started to descend, Link twisted in its grip and stabbed one of his many swords into the bird's abdomen. As it released him, he turned, firing his longshot down at the tower. He let the wind resistance rip off his costume, revealing his green tunic underneath. The boy was yanked through the air towards Ganon with Master sword held out to skewer him in one blow.
At the last moment, Ganon parried the blade, knocking Link aside. "And what are you supposed to be?"
"Me? I'm just the hero!"
"Heh. Ha ha ha! Your balls haven't dropped kid. Come back in a decade."
"Little cans hold lots of whoopass!" Link shouted, letting loose a few light arrows.
"Where did you get this ability? None should wield the arrows of light!" Ganon raged, dodging the bright shots and tossing a ball of crackling darkness.
"Just wait till I bust out my Silver arrows! I bet you don't even remember these things!"
"Curse you, brat! Die!"
Link watched another orb of ebon magic approach, the dark energy so dense it lensed the very light around it, and managed to dodge it- just barely. As he released another volley of arrows, the orb struck the ocean behind him, destroying gallons of sea-water before exploding in an eerily dark crack-a-boom.
Chunk.
"Ha!" Link shouted at the sight of a silver arrow sticking out of the fiend.
"It'll take more than that to defeat Ganon!"
"Oh I definitely agree. So, do you remember Silver arrows? 'Cause if you do, you might remember the Super Bomb."
Fsssssssshhh...
Ganon looked at the massive bomb the young boy hurled towards him. "Well, damn."
BOOM!
Link floated down to the bottom level of the evil fortress, clutching the Sailcloth. The top level of the fortress was mostly wreckage, and bits and pieces were falling into the ocean all around. "They just don't build bombs like they used to! So. I think that wraps up that. Speed runs are fun!"
19.3
Zelda's Adventure, Part 5
Zelda blew a strand of hair out of her face as she trimmed the sail, pulling her craft around to take full advantage of the wind. She had been sailing around out here for almost a day, and she had yet to see any sign of the Zora. The only unusual thing she had spotted had been the large purplish patches of gunk that were floating around in the water. They didn't really give off that much of a smell, but they felt foul to Zelda's senses nonetheless.
Tugging on a rope, she steered the boat around a particularly large patch of gunk, just as the sun caught her eye. Wincing, she turned away, and then she spotted the rock in the distance. It was barely visible as a small patch of shadow on the water, and Zelda was quick to turn to boat towards it. It may not be anything, but it was the first thing she had found yet, which in and of itself was rather worrying. Usually, at least one Zora patrol would have investigated a boat wandering around in their territory for so long. The fact that no one had shown up...
The domain of the Zoras in Hyrule was one of the things Zelda had found shifted from Loop to Loop. In almost every case, they lived in the Zora's Domain, their hidden underwater cavern to the northeast of Hyrule. However, in others, they lived out in the islands of the ocean, like they did in Termina or Labrynna. In this Loop, she had found that Zora's Domain appeared to have collapsed some time ago, with the Zora river coming from a small lake near where the waterfall used to be. However, tales told by several fishermen of the "devil-folk of the sea" led her out to the Northern Sea, another landmark that was unusual for her. She had theorized that whatever collapsed Zora's Domain drove the Zora out to sea. Hopefully, they would be willing to aid her as the Gorons had.
Zelda arrived at the small rock and quickly pulled her boat up, lashing it to a small protruding stone. She then straightened up and took in the rock.
The rock was actually rather large, though mostly submerged. Here and there, bits of it stuck up above the ocean, but the biggest parts were the one she was standing on, and a distant formation which looked something like a well.
'Tip #1: Check Everything' Zelda smiled as she quickly hopped her way from rock to rock. The acrobatic training of her Unawake self certainly helped here. Finally, with a final leap, she landed next to the large hole. Peering over the side, she couldn't make out a bottom. However, there was a rather large mass of seaweed growing in the shallows on the far side of the rock. The Deku Emerald quickly grew the seaweed into thick braid, which trailed down into the well. The seaweed itself felt odd and slippery, hard to manipulate. Zelda erred on the side of caution, spending several long seconds expanding the seaweed as much as she could, before climbing over and sliding down the rope.
The sliding part was entirely unintentional, as she had forgotten about how slick the seaweed was. Still, she was able to use the Gauntlet to keep from getting rope burn as she managed to slowed her sudden descent to a manageable pace, and she was pleasantly surprised to reach the bottom with a respectable length of seaweed left over. The floor of the shaft was covered in a few inches of seawater, but not nearly as much as she had feared. She waded her way over to a hole in the side that was obviously carved. A good sign that someone had lived here at some point.
The tunnel sloped down slightly, causing the water level to rise up to around her waist. Just when she was considering swimming, the trail leveled off, and then quickly opened up into a rather wide cavern, with a very familiar looking shrine sitting on an island in the middle.
Zelda sloshed over to the shrine, stepping quickly up a set of worn stairs set in the side, and arrived at the base of the fairy statue. She was slightly disappointed to not spy a gemstone in the hands of the fairy, but she was nonetheless happy to hear the characteristic laughter of a Great Fairy.
She turned to face the Great Fairy that had appeared above her and froze, gaping in shock and no small amount of horror. Nasty purple lines covered the left half of the Great Fairy's body, radiating out from her arm and hip.
"What...happened to you?" Zelda took a step forward, peering at the blemish.
The Great Fairy laughed again, and Zelda could hear a tired note running underneath her laughter. "I thank you for your concern, Daughter of Hyrule. The illness of the sea has spread even to myself. Darkness taints the water and maddens its children."
"The Zora? What's happened to them?"
The Great Fairy bowed her head, shaking it sadly. "Driven away by the Queen's madness, they fled to the ocean, bearing with them one of the jewels used to seal her. They were safe, for a time, but the darkness returned, and no hero rose to fight it. They have now lost themselves beneath the waves. The sea is stained with evil, and must be cleansed if the Zora are to regain their past."
Zelda straightened. "Where do I have to go?"
"Into the depths of the sea." And with that, the Great Fairy gestured with her unblemished arm. Immediately, a wave of water washed up around Zelda, forming into a large bubble around her. The bubble lifted off of the platform and slid sideways, splashing into the water before dropping into a hole concealed underneath the water. Zelda struggled to stay upright, and just barely caught the Great Fairy's parting words.
"Good luck. And trust the darkness."
The ride in the bubble was rather bumpy, all things considered. After exiting the cave, the bubble had started to drift. Zelda had learned that she could manipulate the bubble's direction by leaning, and had slowly drifted down into the sea, avoiding the purple slime and several sharp rock formations on the way.
As she descended, it grew darker and darker. Initially, Zelda thought of the Great Fairy's advice and simply moved into the darkness. However, after a rock formation she didn't spot in time almost punctured her bubble, Zelda decided discretion was the better part of valor and pushed magic into the Fairy Topaz, lighting up the undersea landscape.
Eventually, she came to a set of gates. It was rather odd, given that the water above the gates was clear, so she could simply float right over, but she recognized the architecture of the Zoras. Still, the streets she floated down remained depressingly empty. She floated along, the bubble just barely brushing the ground as she went. She tried to peer into some of the houses, but the bubble wouldn't fit, and she couldn't see anything inside.
'Where are they?' Zelda mused as she floated closer in to the center of the Zora City. Thus far, the only living thing she had seen on her underwater trip were a few snapping fish, which she managed to drive off with a few blasts of Fairy Magic, the spheres of light capable of leaving the bubble without damaging it.
Finally, she rounded a corner, and spotted the palace. It was a magnificent edifice of spiraling coral and stone, decorated with brilliant motifs. And, most wonderfully of all, there was a shimmer around the palace, that appeared to be a bubble of air! Quickly, Zelda leaned forward, using a few minor bounces to gain a bit of altitude with the bubble. And then, all hell broke loose.
Moments after she left the ground, Zoras began to pour out of houses surrounding the palace. Zelda wasn't sure if they had been waiting for her to arrive, or if they just hadn't noticed her until she lifted into the open water above the city, but they certainly noticed her now. Five Zora warriors approached, screeching and swinging razor sharp fins. Zelda was stunned by the madness shown in their eyes. When the Great Fairy had said that the Zoras were maddened by the pollution of the water, she hadn't thought that they were completely devoid of reason.
Still, for all of her surprise, Zelda had been prepared for something like this. She fired several bursts from the Fairy Topaz, blinding the Zora and causing them to veer away, giving her the chance to duck between to curving towers to gain some cover. A Zora following her met a Fairy Spark to face, and swam off, screeching. Zelda winced, before pulling a small seed from her pouch on her hip. Slowly, she fed the power of the Deku Emerald into the Bomb Flower seed, before pushing it against the side of the bubble. It wasn't mature enough to explode just yet, and she was hoping the bubble was permeable to let it out without popping.
Luck was with her. The bomb slid through with moderate resistance, and she sent a final burst of energy into the Bomb Flower, and promptly pushed away as fast as she could. Two Zora circled the tower she was behind, just as the bomb went off. The one unfortunate enough to have circled into the bomb went limp as it was struck by the concussive blast, knocking it end over end. Zelda, in her light bubble of air, was pushed past the other Zora, who was stunned by the blast from the bomb.
The palace was just across a boulevard from where Zelda was floating, and the way was clear. Zelda quickly pushed forward, another bomb growing in her hand. A group of Zora came from below, and met the Bomb as it dropped through the bubble. Zelda was a lot closer to that one, which knocked her bubble upward, and caused her to sprawl end over end within the bubble itself. She straightened, wobbling, tilting her body towards the palace, when a Zora came from above.
Zelda barely had time to raise the gauntlet between her and the Zora, before its blade cut through the sphere. In a last desperate attempt, Zelda knocked him back with a swinging kick as water rushed around her. Taking a last gulp of air, she aimed the Gauntlet behind her, and fired off the Goron Ruby.
When she was travelling away from Death Mountain, on her way to check the Zora's Domain, she had experimented with her new gem. It produced, as she had half-expected, a large fireball as a standard spell. However, its nifty trick came when she was touching something with the Gauntlet. When she was touching a wooden stick, for instance, the Ruby would light the stick like a torch, while when she was touching a rock, it would heat up and blast off in a minor explosion. She hadn't tried it underwater, but she was grateful when she felt the spell catch, hoping to use its power for propulsion. The water around her gauntlet super-heated, bursting into steam, which sent her rocketing forward...straight into the outer wall of the palace.
Her head rang with the impact, and darkness rose to claim her as she sunk towards the bottom of the sea, then nothingness.
19.4 (Umbra)
Zelda woke up this loop in a somewhat large boat; befitting the pirate persona her loop memories were explaining to her. She had a small utility belt holding a couple of items, such as a small scimitar and a couple of bottles.
The wind was stagnant though, and the boat was basically standing in place.
Pulling out a spyglass from her belt, she looked around the area for any near land mas-
She removed the spyglass from her eye, and just looked.
She was in the middle of Lake Hylia.
Putting the spyglass back in her belt, she stood there for a second, before finally, placing her palm firmly upon her forehead.
19.5 (tovath)
Zelda Awoke on her knees. She was in front of an altar.
"Princess Ovelia, Let's go."
"Just a moment, Agrias" The words slipped out of Zelda's mouth as she worked on sorting through her Loop memories. She turned back to the altar and quickly sorted through them while pretending to pray. Apparently, she was a princess like in her home loop, but this world was nothing like Hyrule. This land was called Ivalice and there appeared to be a good deal of civil unrest here, although she couldn't tell how much from the memories of the innocent girl who she had been before Awakening. She had not grown up at court here, but rather at various monasteries and other church institutions. This did not bode well for her independence, for nowhere in the memories did she see an older brother or other clear heir to the throne. This was a perfect setup for someone to make her into a puppet queen. That was not going to happen on her watch.
Behind her, the woman called Agrias said, "The guards have already arrived."
A man, who Zelda's loop memories said was named Simon Penn-Lachish, spoke up, "Princess, don't give Agrias trouble. Please hurry."
As Zelda turned to face her bodyguard and her teacher, three men came in the main chapel door. The older of the three was wearing a brown hood and breastplate. He immediately started arguing with Agrias. It was the blonde young man to the right who interested Zelda. He looked surprised, no, shocked, once he got a look at her face, obviously expecting something he did not find. Hopefully this meant that he was a Looper, or even better this world's Anchor. She needed more concrete information about this world, especially about the political factions. She could not, however, ask him anything with all this yelling going on.
"Besides, we're hired by the Hokuten. I'm not obliged to show respect to you," bellowed the old soldier.
"What? How dare you?" yelled back Agrias just as loudly.
Before things got worse Zelda cut in. "Enough. We will not get anywhere by arguing."
The door the men had come though creaked open again. A badly wounded female knight stumbled in, trembling. "Lady Agrias!...The enemy!" She said as she collapsed, her blood pooling on the stones below her. Zelda had been hoping for a little more time to figure out this world before events started transpiring.
"Prince Goltana's men?" Simon asked the woman as he knelt down to tend to her wounds.
Agrias ran out the door.
"What one must do to make money." said the old soldier grinning, before glancing at the young man next to him. "What is it, Ramza? You have a problem too?"
"I better stay to guard the princess. After all only a fool attacks head on. I don't think the enemy is that kind of fool."
"Whatever, you don't get any loot if you don't fight." the man shot back with a good deal more venom than such a polite statement should get as he left.
After he was gone, Ramza turned to her with mistrust in his eyes. "You are not Ovelia."
"No, I seem to be replacing her this Loop though. Are you the local Anchor?"
"Anchor? What are you talking about?"
"You are repeating the same events over and over, right?" At his nod she continued, "I will have to give you the Welcome to the Multiverse speech then. How long do we have before something happens?"
"In a few minutes Delita is going to come in and try to kidnap you."
Something in the Ramza's voice told her he had a history with this Delita. Zelda sighed, "What should we do about him?"
"I'm not sure, I don't want him to die. He used to be my best friend, but we won't be able to talk him out of his plan in time."
'I could use the Magic Cape. It might be more of a mana hog then that mask of Link's but it could cover two people if they stood close together.' Zelda nodded to herself and then spoke aloud, "I have an idea, but first I think I should introduce myself properly. I am Zelda of Hyrule." She pulled a red cape out of her Subspace Pocket. Noticing Ramza's look of surprise she said, "One of the things I will be teaching you is how to make your own subspace pocket." She unfurled the cape. "First things first, however. This is the Magic Cape. It can make it so no one can see us, but we are going to have to stand very close for it to cover both of us."
There were sounds from outside. "Quick, into the shadows," She whispered before she pulled the cape around both of them. It was a little awkward standing like this, hopefully, they wouldn't have to move. There was no way she could keep them both covered if that happened.
A man, who she assumed was Delita, came running in. He looked around, his face quickly shifting to anger, and left with a few curse words. After she was sure he was gone, Zelda pulled away and removed the cloak. "I better give at least the first part of the speech before anything else happens."
She then started to explain about Yggdrasil and how the Admins were trying to fix it. Fortunately she had her notes organized so that she could give this speech in sections. Given the hurried way things were going in this Loop so far, she was likely to need to.
"...and when that happens, such as now, it is known as a Fused Loop. Now, before we get into the next section, do you have any questions?"
"Why is someone chosen as an Anchor?"
That question was not what most people asked first, and it took a moment for Zelda to gather her thoughts. "I believe, and understand that I haven't had any long conversations with them, that the Admins chose the person who is best able to withstand the stress of the position."
Ramza wiped tears out of his eyes. "Thank you, I've been wondering why me for so long."
"There is one more thing. It is what I really wanted to hear when I first began, and should bring some comfort. Others will start Looping. You won't be alone forever."
19.6 (cipher100)
"You are a most youthful individual for freeing the beautiful green beast of the great sea, Tingle, from his imprisonment!" Tingle said when he was freed, using exaggerated poses and movements.
Link wasn't quite sure what was happening. Everything seemed normal when Awoke in the Great Sea, which he decided to do mostly baseline for, but seeing a Tinglefied Maito Gai was currently throwing him for a loop. Those eyebrows...
"The flames of youth must burn brightly in such a heroic and fashionably dressed person. And since you have freed me I shall give you a most righteous gift. Tingle Tingle FLAMES OF YOUTH-A." Once the confetti and light show from the Maito Gai-Tingle hybrid had ended, Link looked at the gift in his hands.
An exact replica of Tingle's green jumpsuit.
Grabbing the suit with a flourish, Tingle explained "This bodysuit is durable, will fit perfectly every time, and holds no moisture. This is the perfect bodysuit for training and heroics deeds." Tingle proceeded to expertly fold up the suit and placed it back into the hands of a dumbfounded Link.
"Thanks", was all Link was able to say in response.
"Hmph. And if it does not aid you in your youthful quest, then I will do One Thousand pushups, and if that does not help then I will do Two Thousand Squats. And that still does not help then I shall swim the length of the Great Sea One Hundred times. And if that do…"
"No. No. I'm sure it will aid me greatly in my journey." Link said, cutting off Tingle Gai's (Might Tingle's?) tirade.
"In that case allow me to mark the location of Tingle Island on your map. When you stop by I will do all I can to aid you." Tingle Gai ended his promise with the good guy pose. Then he proceeded to waddle out of the door, leaving Link trying to figure out what just happened.
If there was one place Link did not want to be right now, it would be Tingle Island. He did not even need to come here since he already knew where all the Triforce shards were (or should be, at least). But he was too curious about his previous encounter with Tingle, and it was starting to eat at him. This is why he was climbing up the ladder of Tingle Tower.
"Ah ha. If it isn't the most youthful hero, have you come to see Tingle, the Beautiful Green Beast of the Great Sea, and his home?" exclaimed Tingle Gai when he noticed Link was standing nearby. For his part, Link simply nodded as he walked closer.
"Ah, then let me introduce you to my Tingle Brothers." Tingle Gai said, leading Link over to two other individuals.
"This is my most wondrous younger brother and pupil, Ankle." Tingle Gai said, gesturing to a person that resembled a younger version of him. Wearing the same jumpsuit with warmers on his arms and legs, and had similar bushy brows and bowl cut hair style.
"Yes. It is an honor to meet another youthful individual in these lands." Ankle said to Link, shaking his hand with a granite grip.
"And over there is David Jr., my most hip and cool rival. David, meet Link, a youthful Hero on a most righteous quest."
David Jr. was leaning against the tower's wall, wearing dark grey clothing with an eye patch over his left eye. Lowering the book he was reading, David glanced over at Tingle with a bored expression. "Huh. You say something?"
"Curse you, David, for being so cool." Tingle wailed with a look of dismay, cupping his face and bowing his head.
"Tingle-sensei, do not give into despair. For your FIRES OF YOUTH burn brighter than David's hip and cool attitude." Ankle cried, determined to raise Tingle Gai's spirits.
"You are correct, my most youthful student. I must endeavor to go beyond David's skill and attitude. To do that, I shall walk on my hands around Tingle Island one thousand times. And if I cannot do that then I shall do two thousand sit-ups."
"If you cannot do that Tingle-sensei, than I shall swim to Outset Island with only my arms." Ankle exclaimed.
"Ankle."
"Tingle-sensei."
"Ankle."
"Tingle-sensei."
Crying anime tears, Tingle and Ankle embraced each other, causing an illusion of a sunset on a tropical beach to form behind them.
Seeing all of this from start to finish, Link was sure of one thing. His curiosity needed to be tied up, locked in a steel box, and buried. Preferably after being set on fire.
19.7
Zelda sighed before pulling out her spyglass as she once again found herself waking up on a boat. She glanced through it, paused, then slowly panned her view upwards.
"Oh, now this is just ridiculous." She muttered as she stared at the massive green stalk of a blade of grass. Once again, she had Awoken as a pirate on Lake Hylia. However, this time, she was a Picori Pirate, and her boat was made out of a large leaf.
19.8 (Thantos's Scribe)
Link looked at the veritable horde of monsters, from Darknuts to Redead, in front of him and smirked. While this may have stopped him, or at least slowed him down, a few Loops ago, he had recently learned a new tune from a Fused Loop with the Mushroom Kingdom that would be perfect for this scenario.
Taking out his ocarina, Link took a deep breath and began to play while the opposing army closed in on him.
Ganondorf let out a laugh as he looked over the horde assembled in front of his castle. While it had taken him much more than the regular amount of magic to create this army, he was certain that it would stop Link. There was no way the Hero of Time could get through to him now!
Ganondorf stopped laughing as he heard a tune reach his ears, then saw a whirlwind whip through his army and up to his castle until it stopped in front of him, revealing said Hero with ocarina in hand.
"Well, Ganondorf, what do you think of the Wind Warp Waltz?" Link quipped, and Ganondorf let out a cry of rage as he charged at the wielder of the Triforce of Courage. He had spent dozens of Loops saving up magic for this grand army!
19.9 (Stonebrow)
Link to the Future, Part 1
His ship flew through the void, towards an imaginary point in space where it would intersect the enemy's sloop, which held his target. Agent Link glanced over the Epona's HUD, finding everything optimal, before nearly collapsing from a searing head-pain.
"Link, are you all right? Your suit is recording odd biometrics- wait, back to normal. How strange, I'll flag it for review."
"I'm fine, NAVI," Link answered as he Awakened. Under his TAC-suit, his fist glowed, and got two pings back. He took a deep breath. This was going to be one of those loops, he could tell.
His local memories were quite interesting. He was an elite agent for the Hyrulian Alliance, the governing body over one half of the binary star system that all local humanity called home. Apparently the planets orbiting around the other star had all stayed independent from one another, until Ganon created a centralized powerbase, and subsumed their governments one by one.
Now unified under Ganon, the whole of the Aperian system was about to make war against the Hyrulian Alliance. And if he didn't pull this rescue mission off, they would start with a large advantage to their name.
"Two hours until visual range, Link. You seem troubled, are you certain you are alright?"
"I'm fine NAVI, just a bit anxious. I'll feel fine once I've boarded and can let some of this energy out."
"Hmmph. Typical. Try to keep in mind this is a stealth mission. How do you expect to get Ambassador Zelda out in the middle of a fire fight?"
"Have you ever heard her get mad? All I'll have to do is get her free- she'll give them all such a tongue-lashing, they'll pay me to escort her out," Link snickered.
"I highly doubt that," NAVI (Non-Artificial-Virtual-Intelligence) said disapprovingly.
"Don't worry, I promise this will go smooth."
"You said that about Operation C.U.C.C.O."
Link paused a second, replaying 'his' memory of the events in question. He snorted. "That mission was fated to be a royal cluster. And I still carried out the primary mission goals, so I don't want to hear about it."
"Fine. Go do a light workout or something. Let some of that nervous energy out. I'll let you know if anything happens."
"Of course."
Link got out of the control seat and walked back past the bedroom and the bathroom, such as they were. Epona was a small, Stiletto-class blockade-runner. Or at least she was before the Hyrulian Royal Dockyards modified her. Now she was a shadow. Outfitted with a bleeding-edge stealth system and more legs than a tug, there wasn't a whole lot of room for luxuries. Somehow a small gym ranked higher in priority than a proper bed, a fact he could remember having complained about several times.
At the moment, he was quite glad to have it. He was used to being a free agent, doing whatever was necessary to save the world. Having minders was going to put a serious crimp in his style, especially if he had to play by their house-rules. He'd probably have to go native until he and Zelda came up with a game plan.
That meant CQC and laze-guns, rather than swords and sorcery. Link grabbed his knife out of the TAC suit and started going through some katas.
"This could be pretty useful if Ganon ever manages to get moblins to attack more than one at a time…" Link thought, driving the knife into an imaginary foe.
Without thinking, he sent energy out into the knife and spun, slashing through the circle of Lizalfos he imagined around him.
"What just happened? Your biometrics went off the charts for a moment! Link!" NAVI shouted from inside his helmet.
Link mentally groaned. This was going to get old quick. "I'm fine. I wanted to try something out. It must have jostled the sensors."
"You can't 'jostle' the sensors, Link. The biometric system in your suit is the product of decades of work in-"
"Whoops, I feel another jostle coming on," Link said with a smile, as he released the charge in his knife into another spin.
"ERROR detected- Stop doing whatever you're doing!" NAVI demanded. "I don't- ERROR detected- know how you're doing- ERROR detected- I said stop it!"
"Ah, I feel better now. Burritos are definitely better on the way in than out!" Link declared with a wide grin. He was glad that the interior of the ship didn't have any cameras for NAVI to hijack, he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"You haven't had burritos for 2.84 months, and they most certainly can't jostle the biometrics! Going in or out!"
"Fine, sign me up for a checkup when we get back from this mission," Link said.
"Oh believe me, you're signed up for a full workup, just be glad I can't discipline you!"
'So much for keeping a low profile. Whatever, I'll figure it out later.' Link thought, sliding home his knife as he headed to the bedroom.
"Wake me up when we get there, NAVI."
"Fine."
"Hey! Wake up!"
"Deku Tree will die whether or not I get another 5 minutes of sleep, Navi," Link mumbled, half into his pillow.
"… ... Su-ure. In the mean time, you can get your ass up and save the ambassador. I swear, what has gotten into you?"
Having gained consciousness, Link sprang out of bed, and promptly collapsed on the floor. "Stupid vertical sleeping-bag-bed."
"I've got a snack warming in the cook-box, as usual. We're 5 minutes from visual range, and another 5 to rendezvous."
"Right. This should be easy, unless they've come up with a counter to our stealth system overnight."
"Agreed, Link."
Link reached into the cook-box. "… Really, a burrito?"
"Chimichanga, technically, there weren't any burritos in storage… What, virtual intelligences aren't allowed to make jokes?"
"Not funny ones, I'm sure there's a law of robotics about it."
There was a vibration as the two ships connected. Hopefully, the crew would think it was a micro meteorite or something. Getting boarded out of the middle of nowhere by an invisible ship wasn't high on the list of contingencies to plan for.
NAVI started hacking the airlock immediately. This would be one of the most unpredictable parts of the mission. If there were any crew nearby, none of them would miss the airlock cycling.
"We're through. Opening the doors, Link."
Link grunted, and cradled his laz-pistol.
CHUNKA CHUNKA
He ran through the now open pathway into the hallway of the enemy's ship. A guard in smooth red composite armor turned around at the commotion, only to receive a bolt of laz in the face. They slumped to the ground, lifeless.
Link surveyed both sides of the hall. No one else was present. He was in.
19.10 (cipher100)
Zelda blinked as she Woke up, only to find herself once again on a ship. A black ship that seemed vaguely familiar but she could not place where it was from. Resigning herself to the situation, she once again used her spyglass to look around. Only to see vast white desert with no water in sight.
And then her loop memories hit.
"Captain Jacqueline Sparrow" She sighed with a face palm.
19.11 (cipher100)
"I am really starting to dislike my curiosity right now," muttered Link, as he once again found himself in the Great Sea and against his better judgment was climbing the ladder of Tingle Tower.
It seemed whenever he came to see Tingle, he was forced to deal with wacky or strange situations. Link was starting to think it was karmic feedback for using Tingle as a test subject/punching bag for all of those loops. He was still getting flashbacks of the Tingle Gai event.
Unfortunately for Link, his curiosity, which was supposed to be in time-out, was forcing him to seek the short green garbed man to ask a single question.
Why do they push that turn-style on the tower?
"Oh. Hello Mr. Fairy, are you here for Tingle's help?" Tingle called out as he walked over to Link, suction cup footsteps and all.
"No. Actually I was just wondering why you and your 'brothers' are always pushing that crank in the center of the tower?" Link replied, indicating the said contraption. Tingle in return places his hand on his chin and looks at Link with a contemplative expression. After a while he seemed to have made a decision.
"Mr. Fairy, you seem to be a trustworthy individual, and since you saved me from imprisonment. I will tell you what it truly is." Tingle said with a serious voice Link had not heard from him before.
"The top of the tower houses a Hyper Space Interstellar Distress Beacon." Tingle calmly informed Link.
"What? Why do have that and why do you need it?" Link exclaimed in disbelief.
"Because, we are not from this world Mr. Fairy, our home world, Elgnit, is over 10,000 light years away in the Din Nebula. Our ship crash landed when it malfunctioned due to spatial distortion." Tingle replied.
"Okay, that explains a few things (for this Loop, anyway), but it still doesn't answer my previous question."
"When we encountered the distortion, it disrupted several of the ship's systems, particularly the primary and auxiliary power cores. Even the emergency power was rendered inoperable." Tingle explained. "The only way we could power the beacon was to build a generator. Unfortunately the only way we can get enough power is to turn it manually."
After explaining his brother's and his predicament, Tingle's usual cheer had been replaced by melancholy, saddened at having to remember the events that put them in this situation. Link was also affected by the news as well. In a sense, he was in the same situation when it came to the loops, knowing where Home is but unable to reach it.
Breaking the silence, Tingle said. "Probably the worst part, Mr. Fairy, is that we have no idea when or even if we will be rescued. Our people rarely journey into this corner of space. Not only that, we were only able to salvage so much from our ship before it fell into the sea. That was how I was able to give you the Tingle Tuner after all."
Upon hearing this Link pulled out said device and peered at it. Of all the things he had been expecting, this was nowhere near what he had thought. Tingle was an actual ALIEN stranded on a planet with little chance of being rescued, doomed not to see his home again.
Somewhere out in deep space, a lone space craft that looked like a rupee with wings was currently plotting a course to the distress signal that it had recently detected. The signal had a transponder number of a ship that many thought would never be seen again.
The Tingle brothers were going home.
19.12
Ganondorf broke out into a fit of maniacal laughter for the fifth time in the last hour, as he once again read over the scrawled letter from one of his minions. He couldn't believe that the small gamble he'd made on a whim at the end of one Loop had actually come to fruition. Ganondorf had often been frustrated at Zelda's habit of starting up alternate histories for the Loops, and how almost all of them seemed to end up with Ganondorf entering in some awkward family relationship with one or either of his fellow Co-Anchors. Ganondorf had tried to make his own changes to the flow of history, but they all tended to blow up in his face. A perfect example was the Loop before last. A while ago, he had set up the Gerudo as a dominant economic power in the world, only to wake up the Loop before last as an enslaved Hylian under the Gerudo Empire. He'd had to inspire a rebellion against the very Empire he had helped found. What a waste.
Ganondorf chuckled again as his eye found the letter on his desk. This time, however, it seemed that his attempt to change things had paid off beautifully. An Unawake Link had beaten him to the Triforce as an adult, and it had lead to the events that would cause the Great Flood. The Loop had lasted long enough for Ganondorf to break free after Link returned to the past, and he had decided to try something he had been discussing with Dumbledore the last time he was at Hogwarts.
Most prophecies are false. In almost every case, a prophecy is just a declaration of a potential future, picked out from thousands of equally valid futures. What gives a prophecy power is the meaning that the general populace give to it, and to a certain extent, how dramatically the original prophecy is delivered. Apparently, a dramatic prophetic declaration atop a mountain while facing a dark army will almost always come true, while the same declaration made to your local baker while picking up a couple of loaves will have virtually no power. Dumbledore had shown him a massive study that he had performed, and the evidence was compelling, if somewhat sparse.
In any case, as the goddesses sent the pouring rains to cover up Hyrule, Ganondorf had raised a hill outside of the Hyrule Castle and shouted to the heavens:
"Ye Proud Goddesses, that condemn your darkest children to a grave beneath the sea.
I am the chosen king, the Lord of the Desert, decreed by your sages to lead my people to greatness!
Yet, you have abandoned me, the Chosen of Power, and all those that followed me.
We seek a better lot, and we shall claim it, even if we must cast your proud, skyborn children down to do so!
I prophesy, a hero will be raised among the dark legions, a humble moblin, born with hair of gold.
He shall take up the garb of your hero, but he shall oppose your arrogance,
and he shall bring the oppressed darkness up to the pinnacles of the skies!"
He thought it rather impressive, given that he had been ad-libbing the entire time. Naturally, moments later, the waters had come down and the Loop had ended, so Ganondorf had pretty much forgotten about it. Now, however, he had Awakened in the Forbidden Fortress, holding a small note from on of the moblin captains.
'Mi wify haz beby. Gooldy hair, lik yu saez. Gunna be Mobbly heroik'
Ganondorf could feel Link through his bond to the Triforce, but the connection was dull, Link was still Unawake. And Ganondorf knew he had just the right gift to wake Link up (or at least set up a funny picture when Link Awakened).
"Here is yu hat. Taken gud cares of it, and go beaten da goddsees."
Link automatically reached out and took the hat from his mother, arraigning it on his head, as he sorted through his Loop Memories. It was a rather simple task, as up to a minute ago, his thoughts had centered around either food or swords.
'Well, this is embarrassing. How can I be a better natural swordsman as a Moblin than as a Hylian?' Link had gained a truly epic amount of skill as a swordsman throughout the Loops, but none of his incarnations had the level of natural talent that his current Moblin self did. Apparently, he had drawn his first sword at a month old, and had been training to use one ever since. Now, at seven years old (verging on adulthood for a Moblin), he was the most talented swordsman out of any Moblin Link had ever seen, capable of dual wielding any two blades with lethal precision. 'I hope some of this talent bleeds over.'
Then the door opened, and Link groaned as the figure on the other side walked in.
"Now, now Linky, aren't you happy to see your Uncle Ganon?" Ganondorf laughed as Link buried his head in his hands. Off to the side, Link's Loop Parents looked vaguely confused (so, exactly like they always did).
19.1 - Link once beat a Loop using only a Deku Stick. His next goal, is to beat it using only the Rubber-Chicken-With-A-Pulley-In-The-Middle.
19.2 - Speed Runs are fun.
19.3 - Will Zelda survive? Find out next time on the Legend of Zelda: This Adventure Is Actually About Zelda This Time.
19.4 - Zelda, Pirate of the Lake
19.5 - Zelda is one of the more proactive princesses in the Multiverse.
19.6 - Link started running when Tingle offered to teach him how to open the Eight Fairy Gates.
19.7 - Zelda, Pirate of the Puddle
19.8 - Wind Warping Around!
19.9 - Link's new motto: Blame it on the burrito.
19.10 - Zelda, Pirate of the...sand crab things.
19.11 - Tingle phone home.
19.12 - Link iz gud Mobbly heroik.