Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

BGM: Faron Woods (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Everyone landed on the ground shortly after they dove down into the light. "Alriiiiight, back into the woods!" Masaru smiled.

"Goodness me!" Zelda said as she looked around, immediately bringing out her Sheikah Slate and proceeding to take pictures from it. "I've never seen Faron Woods so lively!" Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she went around taking pictures. "Oh, these mushrooms are so big… these trees have personality to them! The ground is… more colorful! The whole area of Faron Woods is so beautiful!"

A Kikwi wandered nearby as Zelda gasped and picked up said Kikwi. "Eeep!"

"And these Koroks are so fluffy, I just want to squeeze it!" Zelda hugged said Kikwi.

"Mgyuuuu! Go away, go away, go awa-... ooooh, your hugs are quite warm, ko-weeeep!"

"Should we tell her those aren't Koroks?" Midna whispered.

"Ah… let her figure it out." Cia responded.

"I will admit, looking at this forest makes me believe it took a nosedive over the centuries." Ganondorf said.

"Eh, it was still pretty good in my time." Midna shrugged.

Zelda dropped the Kikwi and patted him on the head as she went forward to explore some more, where she would see a few Bokoblins patrolling an area. "Oh, those must be Bokoblins!" She said as she took a picture of one and compared it to her versions of Bokoblins. "...Goodness me, they look cuter in this era. What the devil happened?"

Weiss sweatdropped. "You think these Bokoblins are cute?"

"Everyone's got unique tastes." Lana shrugged as Zelda continued to explore the area, right when she spotted the tree that Yor kicked down.

"Oh my… what happened here?"

"Mom kicked it down." Chelsea said nonchalantly.

Zelda blinked, turning to Yor who casually smiled. "...No. Really. What happened here? I doubt she can be strong enough to destroy a tree just like that."

Cardin chuckled. "Looks can be deceiving."

"Yup, this pretty lady destroyed it with one kick!" Kokichi grinned.

Zelda sweatdropped. "Uh-huh… is this a "Have to see it to believe it" type of deal?"

"Yeah." Chelsea nodded.

"Noted." I seriously doubt that's possible. Zelda thought to herself as she went off exploring again.

"Should we… intervene?" Akame wondered.

"Nah, let's not worry about that. She's having fun." Leone responded as they walked after the princess while taking out the occasional Bokoblin that got way too curious or an Octorok that tried to spit a rock out at everyone, though the Octorok also was confused when Zelda took a picture of it.

"Hmm… compared to our Octoroks… goodness, this era's Octoroks are adorable!" Zelda giggled, causing the Octorok to tilt its head in confusion while they slowly made their way to the Great Tree, where they noticed a Moblin wandering around.

"Oh, hey, I was wondering when we'd run into them." Lana said.

"Moblins?" Zelda snapped a picture of one and compared it to her version. She sweatdropped immediately after. Talk about a glow up…

"Hmm? What are those butterflies gathering around for?" Maki wondered as they saw several Blessed Butterflies flying around.

"That is where we need to go." Fi said as they walked toward the Blessed Butterflies.

"Mmm…" Oran suddenly groaned.

"Oran? What's wrong?" Laura asked.

"I don't know… I feel as if something's off about this…"

"You too?" Kokoro asked, rubbing her arm with her ears lowered. "I'm… sensing something amiss. I don't know what it is, but it's bothering me."

Yor's motherly instincts kicked in and immediately wrapped her arms around her. "I'm here, honey…"

"Thanks, mom…" Kokoro smiled, leaning into the hug, but her ears were still lowered.

"Papa… I'm scared…" Anya whimpered as Loid immediately picked her up.

"What are you scared over?"

"If the Faunus are reacting strangely… that means there's something seriously wrong here." Mira said.

"Mana Man…" Manaphy shivered.

"Manaphy too?" Weiss wondered as she picked him up and wrapped him over her arms, while Oran hugged her by the waist while Wolf Link let out an irritable growl.

"You as well? Okay, something freaky's going on here and I don't like it." Midna said as Link pulled out his Goddess Harp. "You sure that's a good idea, dude?"

I've got a bad feeling about this… Mavis thought.

"Well, if we don't know what's bugging them, we'll never know if we don't see it for ourselves." Link said as Fi came out of the Goddess Sword while he brought out the Goddess Harp as both of them played Farore's Courage, and once they were done, a gate appeared before them.

"Coooooool! …What is it?" Kokichi asked.

"That is a Trial Gate. It gives you access to the Silent Realm. Within it, you are to search for Sacred Tears to add to your Spirit Vessel." Fi explained.

"Oh, so it's the Tears of Light all over again." Midna said.

Tears of Light? Ravio wondered with intrigue.

"Yeah, the Silent Realm is more of a spiritual realm where your spirit leaves your physical body." Lana added. "Your spirit is the key to get these tears. However, there's a catch to it. There are these beings who patrol the Silent Realm known as Guardians."

Zelda's blood went cold. "G-Guardians, you say?"

"Yes, but not what you're used to, princess." Cia explained. "And what makes these guys worse is that you're completely defenseless. One hit from those guys and you're completely toast."

"I knew there was a reason why I didn't like this…" Oran mumbled.

"Luckily, you don't die. You can keep retrying as many time as you'd like. It's a trial, so it's meant to be difficult." Lana said. And a bit stressful.

"Only the Goddess's chosen may enter. Not even I may enter the Silent Realm." Fi said.

"Pah. We can work around that." Cia waved it off.

"This is not for the faint of heart. Are you willing to try this, master?" Fi asked.

"I'm ready for anything." Link said.

"Guh-guh-good! Because… I'm not…!" Groose gulped.

"Insert the sword into the Trial Gate when you are ready." Fi said as Link unsheathed the Goddess Sword and impaled the ground.

Pause BGM

In the Silent Realm…

BGM: Farore's Silent Realm (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Link found himself in the Silent Realm, noticing that everything was quiet and eerie. He looked around to see that the sky was different, and noticed several statues immobile.

"Link! Can you hear me?"

"Lana?"

"Oh good, you can hear me. I'm calling out to you from the outside world. Do you see anything glowing?"

Link looked around and saw a tear in front of him. At that moment, a flower stem appeared in his hand. "A flower stem?"

"That's the Spirit Vessel."

"I see. And yes, I see something glowing in front of me."

"That would be a tear. You're supposed to collect fifteen of those scattered throughout the area."

"Good to know."

Link started to walk.

"WAIT!"

Link's boot hovered just barely out of the gate. "What is it?"

"If you step foot out of the gate, those Guardians will awaken and hunt you down. Those tears will deactivate them… but you have at least ninety seconds to get each of the tears to add to your Spirit Vessel. The flower petals act as your timer."

"Anything else?"

"There's some fruit in the area that you can use to make beacons of light appear. They will help you locate the remaining tears."

"Got it."

Link stepped out of the gate, when immediately, the Guardians woke up as an Earth Guardian approached Link. He immediately booked it toward the first tear and snagged it right as the Earth Guardian walked down the steps. The moment he took the tear, the Earth Guardian went back to sleep on the stairs.

"Alright, that's disconcerting…" He said as a dark portal opened up as Cia walked out with Weiss, ATMC, Yor and Zelda.

"Told you we'd work around that." Cia said as Link noticed that there was an aura around them.

"You too?"

Weiss tried to summon a glyph, but nothing was made. "Okay, our semblances are a no go."

"Same with my powers." Cia said, trying to summon darkness within her hand.

"Goodness me, so that's a Guardian of this era…" Zelda said with a grimace. "Definitely… not one to take lightly."

"Okay, split up. We'll cover more ground that way." Akame said.

"Just a heads up. Only Link has the Spirit Vessel. If one of you touches a tear, it will not be added to Master Link's Spirit Vessel. It will only count if he touches it." Fi warned.

"What?! Oh, that's annoying…" Lana mumbled.

"So gather as many as we can and give it to Link. Got it." Mine nodded.

"I guess my keys are useless here." Tatsumi said. "Alright, but enough about that! We need to move."

"Spread out." Cia said as they took off. "And Link? …Good luck."

"You too." Link nodded as he ran up the stairs, finding another tear for himself as he found a berry, and when he touched it, beams of light appeared in front of him. With a nod, he vaulted off the platform and went running.

Nearby, a Watcher floated around as Cia peeked behind a corner. "Tch… think you're all that…" She picked up a rock and threw it across, where it landed near the Watcher. The movement caught its attention and curiously went over toward it as Cia went around it and picked up a tear for her trouble.

Alright, gotta get this to Link. Let's see if I can't pick up a few others.

Zelda spotted a tear on a small patch of grass surrounded by water. She immediately walked over to it, but stopped herself before she looked at said water. "Hmm… Lana? Fi? This water seems very suspicious."

"Good eye, your highness. That is known as Waking Water. If you touch it, it will immediately awaken the Guardians, regardless if Link's timer is full or not." Lana explained.

"Lana is correct. Be careful, princess."

"Noted." Zelda nodded as she spotted a bridge as she walked over it and picked up the tear, then she crossed the bridge normally… when all of a sudden, the whole area suddenly went red. "Huh?!"

Ten seconds earlier…

"Hmhmhmhm~ Good thing there's no Waking Water here~" Mine hummed as she picked up a tear near a tree as she walked across, when suddenly Waking Water popped in out of nowhere underneath Mine's feet. "HUH?!" She yelled. "OH, THAT'S BULLSHIT!"

In the present…

"What on earth happened?" Zelda wondered as she was poked on the shoulder as she turned around… and saw the Earth Guardian behind her ready to slaughter her.

Pause BGM

BGM: Guardians Awaken (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

"EEEEK!" She shrieked and took off running right as the Earth Guardian swung its sword down. It then chased after her as Zelda turned around, pulling out her Sheikah Slate. "Come on, Stasis. Work! WORK!" She pleaded but to her dismay, it wasn't activating as she kept running, but there was a random twig that was embedded in the ground that made her trip.

"Ack!" She yelped as she looked down and saw her foot was embedded in it. "Nnngh…" She tried to get her leg out but the Guardian quickly caught up to her and towered over the princess. She paled and closed her eyes as the Guardian raised its sword up and swung down.

…However, two hands caught the blade as it was inches away from Yor's head. "Rrrgh… mmmph!"

"Yor!"

"Princess, get out of here! I'll… try to hold him off!" She said as the Guardian pushed forward, making Yor drop on one knee. "...Run…! Now!"

Zelda nodded, getting herself unstuck from the twig as she took off running as Yor growled as she pushed herself up as best she could. "You… won't… overpower me that easily!" She grunted as the Guardian pushed down, where it was an eternal struggle between the two.

At that moment, Yor heard a shriek nearby. "Nnngh… Chelsea…?!" She grunted as the Guardian continued to push her down, until it had enough and pulled the sword away from her, before knocking her down with its foot, pressing against her chest and attempted to impale her head but Yor caught the blade again… but the Guardian pushed its whole body weight into her as the tip of the blade was merely inches away from her jugular.

The Guardian raised its foot and slammed down onto her stomach, making Yor wince as the blade nearly slipped but Yor composed herself and tightened her struggle with the blade just barely pressing against her chin with the pointed end just hovering above her neck.

The Guardian stomped on her again, making Yor grit her teeth but she pressed on… right until the Guardian lifted the sword, and then stomped on her shoulder, crushing the bones within it as Yor cried out in agony as the Guardian then shoved the sword into her neck, making her disappear.

With a nod, the Guardian went off to collect another soul… before it suddenly shut down mid step.

End BGM

"Phew…" Link sighed with relief as Zelda had given him the tear she found. "Couldn't find any of 'em." He said. "...You okay?"

"Yor… she sacrificed herself to try and save me."

Outside the Silent Realm…

"Gah!" Yor yelped, sitting up straight and panting. She felt her shoulder as she had felt no pain. "Phew…"

"Mom!" Chelsea wrapped her arms around her. "Oh thank Oum…"

"Chelsea! …What happened? I heard you scream."

"I… I protected Weiss from a Guardian when… a sky Guardian came out of nowhere and struck me."

"Where did it come from?"

"The wall."

"What?!" Yor yelled in horror while a groggy Tatsumi rubbed his head as Laxus, Ieyasu, Sayo and Blanche were right beside him.

Back inside…

Resume Guardians Awaken BGM

"We also lost Chelsea!" A voice said as Akame approached with an annoyed Mine. "She protected Weiss from a Guardian when suddenly this flying one just popped out of a wall and impaled her."

"The flying ones can do what?!" Zelda said in horror.

"Yeah, and not only that, but the Waking Water just appeared out of nowhere underneath my feet!" Mine said. "So if anyone's to blame for that bullshit, it's not me. It's the damnable Waking Water that just decided to pop into existence!"

"Is that what happened?" Weiss asked as she returned with an armful of tears. "I thought Link ran out of time!"

"Nope." Link shook his head.

"We also lost Tatsumi." Cia approached. "He was cornered by an Earth and Sky Guardian and there was no way out for him."

"The Silent Realm is no joke… we have to be careful." Weiss said.

"And watch what we're stepping in." Mine grumbled as they handed Link the tears they collected, including Weiss who had Chelsea's tears as well.

"That makes fifteen." Link said.

"Great. Now we're not out of the woods yet." Cia said. "Just because we have it all doesn't mean we're immune to the Guardians. They can still KO us if we're not careful… like if we're in a Watcher's line of sight."

"So how do we get out?" Weiss asked.

"The same way we got back in." Cia said. "To the Trial Gate."

"Then let's hurry." Link instructed as they hurried back to the Trial Gate, luckily not running into any Watchers as they proceeded to exit out harmlessly.

End BGM

"Weiss!" Oran happily hugged her as she got out. "Oh thank goodness you're okay…"

Weiss smiled, hugging Oran. "I wasn't going to die, don't worry."

"So, what do these Guardians look like?" Midna asked curiously as Zelda pulled out a stylus from her Sheikah Slate and proceeded to draw a picture.

"I'm glad Purah installed a Sketch app in this thing…" Zelda said as she showed off the Guardians that she saw.

"Oh. They look annoying as hell." Midna said. "And you're saying the flying versions go through walls?"

"Yes." Chelsea nodded.

"Ohoho, that's LOVELY." Midna rolled her eyes.

"Yikes…" Groose grimaced.

"They're no joke. They even managed to overpower me." Yor mumbled.

"Don't be ashamed, Yor. You did all that you could." Lana said reassuredly.

"I'm not going in there… it's EVIL." Anya said.

"I am so with you there, Anya." Albedo agreed. "Those guys don't look friendly."

"Same…" Kokoro shuddered.

"At least I have a reason not to go in." Kotoko said, moving her not-as-good shoulder.

"Yikes…" Masaru grimaced.

"And there's more of that nonsense? Pass!" Sky chuckled nervously.

"Hmm…" Ganondorf rubbed his chin, deep in thought… when the Spirit Vessel that Link had glowed brightly as it exploded into light and enveloped everyone in a light blue aura.

"That is one of the gifts." Fi said. "With that, you can breathe underwater."

"So I don't need a penguin suit anymore?" Weiss asked. That's a shame, I actually liked the diving suit…

"I do not know what that is, but… yes." Fi then turned to the body of water near the Great Tree. "I am picking up activity underneath that body of water."

"Sooooo… I hate to be that girl, but… is someone gonna carry me underwater? I'm a bit… disabled at the moment." Kotoko said.

Masaru laughed. "Don't worry, Kotoko. I got ya!"

"Thanks." Kotoko said as she climbed onto his back as they all dove underwater, all of them unaware of Wizzro who watched on.

"Hmm…" He mused as he disappeared in a dark portal. "Master Ghirahim. I bring news."

"What is it?" Ghirahim asked as he was working on something.

"The heroes opened up this thing called the Silent Realm and-"

"Ah yes, I've heard of those… I actually forgot about them, to be honest. I presume they have the ability to move underwater freely?"

"Yes. Although they can breathe underwater too."

"Interesti-" Ghirahim paused. "Wait… I thought it could be only accessed through the Goddess Sword."

"Yes, and Link has it."

"WHAT?" Ghirahim yelled. "How in the name of Lanayru did he manage to get the Goddess Sword?"

"Well, here's this next tidbit. They have a Zelda with them, so it is more than likely that they used that Zelda to proceed with the festival."

"A Zelda? Who is this Zelda in particular?"

"She had blue clothing from the looks of it, and she mentioned someone named "Purah"."

"Ah, the Zelda from the Wild Era." Ghirahim mused. "Oh… wait, she has the whole Triforce for herself. I can snag the Triforce of Wisdom from her." He chuckled darkly. "And perhaps I can mess with these Trial Gates as well… make the Silent Realm a bit more interesting for them. Hmhmhmhmhm~"

"And there's one other thing. Ganondorf is with them."

"Ganondorf, you say?" Ghirahim smirked. "Why, that gives me an idea."

Personally, when I played Skyward Sword for the first time on the Switch, I didn't find the Silent Realms to be THAT bad. Well, Faron Woods and Lanayru Desert in particular. Eldin Volcano was annoying and Skyloft was stressful as hell. Buuuuut, for the most part, they really weren't that bad if you know what you're doing.

Ibuki: Ibuki agrees! She's seen Chiaki-chan play through it and's as calm as can be!

Deadpool: We sure Chiaki ain't a robot when she's playing games?