Chapter Four
Professor: Hello again! Sorry it has been so long since an update. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
Groose was not having a good day.
To be fair, starting off with his childhood coming back from the past only to be kidnapped by a crazed, sparkly, monster so that he could use her soul to resurrect his master probably wasn't a good sign for the rest of the day.
But to be fair, Groose did get to play Hero and catch Zelda as she fell, which was great. He loved that part.
Then, Link killed the imprisoned guy (in the past, the little show off!) and all was supposed to be fine.
When the three of them stepped through the Gate to return to their own time though, and Link and Zelda weren't there on the other side, it all went straight back downhill again.
Granny had no clue what had happened, claiming she hadn't seen them. Groose knew that they had gone through the Gate before him and yet...nothing. They were gone. Disappeared into thin air. On the same day that the Surface and world as they knew it was supposed to be destroyed by the supposed 'god of destruction'.
So, Groose felt perfectly justified in saying that he hadn't had a good day.
He groaned and went outside, looking up at the statue of Hylia that now stood outside the Temple, trying to think of anything that they could do now.
Watching the small birds that were landing all around the statue, it suddenly struck Groose exactly how weird it was to think that the same thing he had grown up looking at his whole life actually belonged to the same section of the Surface that he now lived on. But it had killed the monster that lived in the bottom of that giant pit, so it all seemed to work out.
"Um, excuse me?" a voice startled Groose out of his thoughts. Quickly he spun around, coming face to...rabbit?
"What the-!" Groose jumped back, falling into a clumsy defensive stance as he glared at the giant purple rabbit in front of him.
"Sorry!" the rabbit squeaked, "Didn't mean to startle you there!"
"Y-Y-You didn't startle me!" Groose yelled at it, "I was totally prepared! We get giant purple rabbits on the Surface here all the time!"
The rabbit tilted its head, "The...surface? Do you live underground or something?"
"Above it, obviously." he scoffed, "Way above it, like up in the-wait a second! How are you talking?!"
The situation just seemed to slam itself into Groose all at once. This was a giant rabbit. Talking to him. Rabbits do not talk!
"Um, with my mouth?" the rabbit tilted its head the other direction, "Just like you? I mean, it seems fairly straightforward. Unless this world has its own rules...Oh, that will be difficult to get used to. See, this is why I hate world hopping."
There was an awkward pause as Groose just stared. Eventually the Rabbit just kept talking.
"See, I was trying to get back to Lorule to stop Mr. Hero from killing Princess Hilda in defense of Hyrule, but also stop Princess Hilda from stealing from Hyrule, but on the way I got mixed up here. I also lost my friend, Sheerow, so I got to find him. Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the nearest source of magic power? I'll, uh," the Rabbit spared a glance towards the large bag he had slug over his shoulder, which Groose was just noticing for the first time, "I'll pay for it."
"P-Pay for it?"
The Rabbit nodded slowly, somehow seeming to grimace at the thought, "For the information. How does one green Rupee sound?"
"One green Rupee?"
"Ok, ok, you drive a hard bargain. TWO green Rupees. That's a good deal there my friend."
Groose promptly took a step back. Then another. Then he outright started running away.
"GRAAAAAANNNNNNYYY!"
Groose was not having a good day.
And frankly, at this rate, the Rabbit wasn't either.
"There it is folks, Outset Island! Just as I promised!"
"Thank you Beedle. You are helpful as always." Fi said as the island came into view.
"Thank you! ...Exactly when have we met again?"
Fi ignored the question for the 7th time since meeting the sailing shopkeep, leaving him just as confused as before.
"Exactly how do you know him?" Ezlo whispered. The two of them stood at the prow of the ship, watching as the dark land mass came closer and closer.
"I believe I know an ancestor of his. It seems the most plausible explanation. Although, I must say, the resemblance and the exact same name is curious. If we had time I would conduct a more thorough study, but I believe that my resources are best spent continuously scanning for any familiar auras." she responded.
Ezlo nodded in agreement. After spending the past two days traveling with her, he had come to the conclusion that Fi was the most prioritized scholar he could ever hope to meet. Everything interested her, but she focused only on 'their current, most imperative goal of finding Master Link and returning the timeline to its proper intact state of being'. Although, if Ezlo had any money on him, he would bet that Fi was enjoying the once-in-a-lifetime chance to study other times. And honestly, he was too.
The idea that at some point in the future the kingdom he knew would be flooded and civilization would adapt to live on mountain tops and then islands? As amazing as it was, the idea did make him wonder how the Picori had fared in the change. Did Picori even live in other time periods?
Fi claimed to be at the very beginning of the timeline for the kingdom, yet had no record of his race existing. What if the Picori only existed in the middle of Hyrule's timeline? It was a concerning thought.
Ezlo shook his head and refocused on the conversation at hand, "We should thank him either way. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to leave Forest Haven."
"Affirmative. Enacting the Great Deku Tree's plan would have been 89% more difficult without his assistance."
"You don't have to give a statistic for everything you know."
"From what I know of you, there is a 53% chance that you are giving me a slight glare. Please confirm."
"Oh you know very well what I'm doing!" Ezlo squawked, "For once could you not do that?!"
Fi didn't respond, but Ezlo could practically feel the satisfaction rolling off of her.
"Land ho!" Beedle yelled, slowing the ship down as they came close to the beach.
Fi nodded and sent a quick 'thank you' towards him before disembarking.
Outset Island, at first glance, looked very quaint. Wooden houses, children running around, a tall lookout platform to gaze at the ocean, gardens being tended. It was very picturesque.
"Scanning immediate area." Fi said, breaking the silence that had fallen as they examined their immediate surroundings, "Scans complete. Scans indicate multiple life signs. Most life signs carry traces of my Master's aura, indicating that he, or another Link, have come in contact with them. Dowsing shows that there are two locations where the auras scan that are denser than the others, indicating a possibility of a Link in those locations. One in the lookout and one in the farthest house on the island."
"Well, the Great Deku Tree said that the Link of this time lived on this island," Ezlo reasoned.
"Affirmative. Which location should be investigated first?"
Ezlo looked at the two places she pointed out. They were currently standing next to a dock that lead to the lookout, but the house was on the other side of the island.
"Let's start here." he said, jerking his head towards the platform, "It's closest."
Fi nodded and began making her way in that direction. Within moments they were nearing the top of the structure.
"Scans indicate a life sign at the top of the platform." Fi informed him.
"Good to know." he huffed, "Can we get on with it then?"
"Affirmative." Fi said, pushing them farther in the air and clearing the railing of the platform easily, "Although I did not calculate a high percentage that this plan would be this successful."
"What do you mean?"
"Observe."
Ezlo turned away from his temporary partner to see who was up in the lookout.
The person that they found up there was someone they both recognized, despite the small differences in facial structure and fashion sense. He was tall with sandy colored hair and an angular face, a very familiar sword and shield strapped to his back.
The person they found was most definitely a Link.
"Ok," he said, looking at them in shock, "Wasn't expecting that."
Her headache was pounding. Throbbing. Insisting that she wake up and pay attention to it.
"Princess, are you ok?" a voice asked nearby.
Princess? What's a princess?
"Your Highness? Can you hear me?" a second voice asked.
Wait, is he talking to me?
She groaned, reaching up to rub her forehead in an attempt to appease her migraine.
"Oh thank the Spirits you're alive!" the first voice cried out, sounding very relieved.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking away the brightness until she could make out the shapes in front of her.
One was an elderly man in a striped shirt, leaning on a cane above her. The other was a younger man, around her age, wearing a bandana and leaving his shirt open enough to show his muscled and tattooed chest.
"Your Majesty," the young man knelt next to her, helping her sit up as her headache began to fade away, "Are you ok? What's happened? I thought you were with Link."
"I-I was." she said. Sitting up made the world swim in front of her eyes. She was very grateful for the man right now as he quickly adjusted his grip so she could lean against his side instead. Having something grounded like that really helped to stop the dizziness, "Something happened. We were separated. I just...I remember some really rough, I think it was water? I don't know."
"Well, you're ok now." the older man smiled at her, "And we'll find Link soon. My ward has a habit of showing up when you least expect him."
"Your...ward?"
The man holding her nodded, "Yes. Niko has taken care of Link since he was a child, ever since his parents died. I'm surprised that he didn't tell you that. But it doesn't matter now. We're just glad to have you back, although we are surprised at the changes that Malladus made to your body. We certainly weren't expecting him to make you grow up."
"He's right," the old man laughed, "We hardly recognized you!"
She looked down at her clothes. She was still wearing the white dress that the old lady at the Sealed Grounds had given her. She didn't think she looked any different. More importantly, why did these two think that they knew her?
"Um, sorry, but who are you?"
The two of them exchanged a very panicked glance.
"Princess Zelda, you don't recognize us?"
She shook her head slowly, "Sorry. I mean, I know Link. You mentioned him. But I've never met either of you. And, what's a 'princess'?" The word felt very strange coming off her tongue.
They exchanged another glance.
"Maybe she hit her head?" the older man whispered.
"Or a side effect of Malladus's magic." his friend responded.
"I can hear you!"
They turned back to look at her. The older man sighed, "Your Majesty, I think we should get you some help. You don't seem to remember anything!"
"I remember plenty!" she snapped, "I just don't know you! Find Link, I'll prove it to you!"
Zelda suddenly felt herself being lifted up, carried by the younger man towards a nearby cottage.
"What are you doing?!"
"I'm taking you inside," he said, "Then, we'll contact your Teacher or maybe someone is at the Tower of Spirits. We'll figure this out."
"Let me go!" Zelda struggled, trying to get out of his arms, to no avail. This man was strong.
"Niko!" he called as he entered the house, heading for a bed to set her down on, "Keep an eye on the Princess. I have to make a run to Castle Town."
"Understood!" the older gentleman saluted.
"Would you please just tell me what is going on?!"
The man gave her a gentle pat on her head, "Relax. We'll figure this out. You're safe now."
"That doesn't explain anything!"
He didn't respond. Just gave her a sad smile and left the room.
Zelda turned to the older man, Niko. He smiled at her too.
"Want something to drink?"
Professor: Short chapter, nothing major, but I did this while waiting for my laundry to finish. At least it's an update of some kind, right?
I feel like I made most of the characters fairly obvious, but who do you all think that that Link was?
Also, I have this head canon that the characters in Skyward Sword don't actually know what royalty is because they don't HAVE ANY. They have ranks, such as Knights and Captains and such, but no actual royalty. So they don't know what any of that is. It all has to be created when they move to the Surface.