Chapter Fourteen
Impa blinked at the bright light that was waking her up, glaring when she realized that it was the sun.
She hated the sun. It was always far too bright and hot, often burning her.
"Pleasant way to wake up." someone said nearby, sounding amused.
Impa jumped up, drawing her weapons and flying into a fighting stance.
A woman sat on the sand in front of her, hands held up peacefully, although Impa could tell she was armed. A sword and shield, well-maintained, but obviously used.
"Calm down, I don't want to fight you." she said evenly.
Impa just narrowed her eyes, taking in the rest of her surroundings. She was on a beach, houses and trees bordering her on the left and the ocean stretching out to the right.
"Don't trust easily, I get that." the woman nodded. She had long red hair and was dressed far more appropriately for the heat than Impa herself was.
"Who are you? How did I get here?" Impa demanded.
"Urbosa. Not sure how you got here, but I saw you bobbing in the ocean there and thought I would grab you." she shrugged, smiling softly and she pointed to the exact spot she'd apparently seen Impa floating. She didn't seem the least bit worried about Impa or her weapons, something that got under Impa's skin more than she cared to admit.
"And your name?" Urbosa asked, eyebrow raised.
Impa stayed silent.
Urbosa sighed, finally standing up and brushing the sand off her skirt. Impa tensed at the movement, but Urbosa barely acknowledged it. "Fine, I won't force you to talk to me. Now, if you don't mind, I'd also like to find out where we are. I woke up on the beach not long before I saw you and I would rather find my way back home."
Impa watched as she started to walk away, weighing her options. The last thing she remembered was Link and Zelda leaving. She'd fallen asleep, staying in the past to watch over the sleeping Zelda there and then…nothing. She couldn't remember anything after that. Maybe something cold?
She groaned to herself, yelling out against her better judgement, "Wait!"
Urbosa paused, looking at her over her shoulder, "Finally speaking up then?"
Impa took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, "Impa, my name is Impa."
For the first time, Urbosa's face showed something other than mild amusement, looking puzzled. "Do you happen to have an aunt or cousin, someone with the same name as you?"
"No. I have family, but I'm the first of my name. Why?" Impa asked. She sheathed her weapons, although stayed prepared in case she needed them.
"I know another Sheikah named Impa." Urbosa answered, turning back to face her properly, "She looks similar to you, I assumed she would be a family member."
Impa shook her head, "Sorry to disappoint."
"Hmm." Urbosa seemed more thoughtful than disappointed.
"You said you found me in the ocean?"
She nodded, "There was no one else around."
Impa frowned. How had she ended up there? "And you said that you woke up here as well?"
"Yes, although I'm not sure how long I was unconscious. I've been rather…confused about the situation."
"What do you mean?"
"I wasn't exactly in a safe spot to take a nap." Urbosa smirked, "I was fighting actually. I dodged an attack, next thing I know, I'm falling into an ocean. I must've passed out for a moment. I woke up on the beach and saw you a moment later."
Impa's confusion only grew, "And you've no clue where we are?"
"Not one, but it looks like we're getting company." Urbosa frowned, nodding to something behind Impa.
The Sheikah turned around, catching sight of a small dot in the sky. It grew larger as it flew towards them. If she wasn't mistaken, it almost looked like a girl on a broom.
Zelda held on tightly to the Headmaster as the Loftwing slowly glided to the forest floor. She may have been in countless dangerous scenarious with a decent head for heights, but apparently flying above the clouds on a giant bird was her limit. She tried desperately to stop her hands from shaking, waiting until Gaepora told her it was safe to dismount.
She scrambled off as soon as she could, eager to finally feel solid earth underneath her once again. He chuckled as he watched her.
Zelda took a deep breath, making sure to walk several paces away from the Loftwing before she actually calmed down. As nice as the bird may have been, she had trouble completely trusting it.
She took in the surrounding area while Gaepora got his Loftwing settled.
They were in a massive forest, trees taller than any she had seen before. On one side stood a giant statue, a woman with wings smiling down at them. Gaepora had told her that this statue actually used to be part of Skyloft before the Link of this time had sent it down to the Surface. Across from it was an old temple. Something about it gave her a familiar feeling, but she couldn't place it.
"So this is the Sealed Grounds?" she asked when the Headmaster walked up to her.
He nodded, "Yes. According to Link, the old lady should be in that temple there."
"Let's go then. I want to try to get home as soon as possible." She strode off in that direction purposefully, Gaepora following close behind.
Knocking as loudly as she could, Zelda waited with bated breath. She could be only a few minutes from going home, from figuring out what had started all this mess. It was hard not to let the anticipation bubble up inside of her.
A tall man with a truely outrageous pompadour answered. Zelda blinked, trying not to openly react to the eyesore.
"Headmaster Gaepora?" the man looked dumbstruck, "What are you doing down here?"
He looked around hurriedly, eyes landing upon her.
"Z-Zelda! You're ok!" his face broke out into a wide smile and before she knew it, Zelda was swept up into a massive hug. He held her so tight it was hard to breathe and she began to cough and sputter for air while he made it worse, jumping up and down in excitement while still holding her.
"Guys! GUYS! Zelda's back!"
"She is?!"
"Where'd she go?!"
"Let me see!"
A swarm of tiny lights flew out of the open door, bumping into her and this man as they tried to get a good look.
"Let her down! She can't breathe!"
"Be careful with her!"
"Groose!" Gaepora's voice was firm, drowning out the tiny voices that were berating the large man, "Put her down at once!"
Groose smiled sheepishly, finally letting her down. Zelda gulped in air greedily.
"Sorry." he said, still smiling, "I was just happy to see you alright."
"Princess, are you ok?" one of the lights asked, flying a little closer to her.
She nodded, finally recognizing them, "Yes Navi, I'll be fine."
"You know Navi?" Groose looked confused.
"Yep!" Navi said cheerfully, "This is Princess Zelda of Hyrule! She helped Link seal away Ganondorf!"
"No, no, see this is Zelda." Groose spoke slowly, like he was explaining it to a child, "She isn't a…what did you call it? Princess? Whatever that is, she ain't it."
"I think you're forgetting something rather obvious." a voice sighed behind him, "Or have you forgotten the conversation we've been having for the last 2 hours?"
He turned around, revealing an older lady covered in a large red cloak and-
"Link?!" Zelda burst out in astonishment.
He grimaced, "Not Link actually. Just another version of him. My name's Ravio."
"Another….version?" she questioned, walking forward to get a closer look at him. He leaned back, uncomfortable and she backed off immediately, "Like the one from this time?"
"Kind of? Wait, you know about the time thing?!" he burst out.
She nodded, "I figured it out earlier today. I appeared with Levias and after talking with him, it wasn't hard to figure out."
"So…you're a Zelda from another time?" Groose asked skeptically.
She nodded and his face fell. "So our Zelda is still lost then?"
"I'm sorry, but I do want to try to help find her, if I can."
"We were hoping that you could provide some help." Gaepora spoke up, looking at the older lady.
"I'll help however I can." she assured him, "But at this point, Ciela may be the best hope all of you have for returning home."
"Ciela?" Zelda asked.
"That's me!" one of the other fairies piped up, flying in front of her, "Me and my siblings were with another Link too! We're spirits. I'm the Spirit of Courage and Time!"
"Is it possible for you to get us home?"
Ciela's wings drooped for a moment, "I-I'm not sure. I can pause time in small pockets and I'm really good at sensing things about time. Actually moving people through it though? I've never tried."
"It's something that we were just discussing before you arrived." the old lady said, "Ravio and the other fairies had just finished telling us their stories and we were brainstorming ideas to get all of you home."
"So you are all from other times?" Gaepora asked, obviously curious.
Ravio nodded, "Including this time, we count five timelines between us all."
"I still say it's hard to believe." Groose huffed.
"I can assure you, it's quite real." Zelda said firmly, looking at him evenly.
His eyes widened and he didn't make a sound after that.
She turned back to Ciela, "As I'm sure Navi must've told you, our Link did quite a bit of time traveling. Because of that, I studied it as much as I could. Maybe together we could combine our powers and get us home?"
"That might work," she said hesitantly, "But it might make it worse. What if we get stuck in another time period?"
"It's entirely possible." Zelda admitted, "But we have to try something."
"Can you use this thing?" the purple fairy flew over to the spinning gears in the middle of the room.
"Is that the Gate of Time?" Zelda asked.
Ravio nodded, "Ciela was going to try to redirect it to our own personal times."
Zelda frowned as she looked at it.
"Is everything alright Your Majesty?" Navi asked, noticing the expression on her face.
"Nothing." Zelda mumbled, "It's just, I wonder how this turns into the Door of Time, back in our Hyrule."
"Magic cannot be destroyed, but it can change form." the old lady said, having heard her, "And it can be transferred. I'd bet that's what happens here."
"I'd be curious to learn how that occurs."
"As would I, but maybe not the priority right now?"
"Right." Zelda shook her head, forcing her thoughts back to the issue at hand, "Ciela, if we work together, what are the chances of us redirecting this to where, sorry, when we need to go?"
The fairy was silent for a long moment, thinking it over.
"Not impossible." she finally said.
"You don't sound very encouraged."
"Sparkles is just nervous." the other yellow fairy quipped.
Ciela immediately trilled in anger, "Stop calling me that! I'm not nervous!"
"Then do it." they taunted.
"And if it doesn't work? What then, huh?!"
"Oh, so you are nervous."
Ciela flew over, crashing into the other fairy, "I'm not nervous! I just didn't want to get everyone's hopes up! Excuse me for being considerate of your stupid feelings!"
"I don't need you watching out for my 'stupid' feelings! You aren't my mother!" the other fairy yelled back.
"Sis, no one called her our mom!" the purple fairy yelled. He was ignored by the other two.
The dark blue fairy sighed, "Five minutes. They can't go five minutes without arguing, can they?"
Zelda rolled her eyes, "Allow me to help then."
She reached into her pocket, grabbing something and raising it over her head. Just as the other fairy made a very cutting remark, she brought the item down, throwing it sharply to the floor right underneath them. There was a sharp 'snap' and then a bright flash as the Deku Nut cracked onto the floor, startling the two fairies into silence.
"Perhaps we should stop the arguments." the old lady suggested. Her voice was both diplomatic and firm, showing that she would accept no other option, "We are all working towards the same goal here, remember that."
The two fairies grumbled, but didn't say anything.
"Good." she nodded, turning to Zelda, "What would you need to start?"
"I wouldn't need anything." Zelda said, gesturing towards Ciela, "If she is a spirit of time, then she'll be the best one to do this. I'll simply lend her my magic and let her focus it into her own spell."
"Is it that simple?" Ravio asked, looking up at the fairy in question. It was very strange to see another version of Link with dark hair and a purple bunny hood hanging off of his shoulders. Zelda tried not to stare at him.
"Basically." Ciela sighed, "Though I am worried."
"About what?"
"The Goddess of Time." She said, "Something's happened to her. She's alive, but that's all I can tell."
Zelda smiled softly at the fairy, "If something did happen to her, we'll do everything we can to find out and help her. I promise."
Ciela hummed a little, but otherwise made no response.
"Well, let's get going then!" Ravio said excitedly, jumping a little. Zelda almost laughed at his enthusiasm. "No point in wasting time!"
"I agree." Zelda said, holding a hand out to Ciela, "Whenever you're ready."
The fairy hesitated for a moment longer before flying over, settling into Zelda's palms. They turned towards the Gate.
Zelda took a breath and closed her eyes, focusing on the tiny fairy. Slowly, she focused her power into her hands. Transferring her power felt like having water running over her skin, only instead of it falling to the ground, it was siphoned into the fairy.
Ciela's wings fluttered even faster as the magic transferred. Zelda heard gasps from around them and opened her eyes, seeing that the Gate had activated. The gears spiraled into a long tunnel, spinning towards another time. Zelda tried not to focus too hard on it, the view giving her an intense feeling of vertigo.
Ciela wavered in her hands, "S-Something's wrong!"
"What is it?" Ravio asked, rushing over. He held his hands out, then stopped, obviously not knowing what to do.
"I-I don't know!" Ciela continued to waver back and forth over Zelda's palms. She tried to cup them around the fairy, but Ciela collapsed instead. Zelda barely noticed, the fairy was so light.
Zelda stopped pouring her magic into the fairy, desperate to do something to help. Vaguely she realized that the Gate had deactivated, the symbols reappearing on the front of it.
Ciela panted, looking completely exhausted.
"What happened?" Navi asked. The others gathered round as well, matching looks of worry on their faces.
"Something…grabbed my magic…drained it away." Ciela said between breaths. "I couldn't…stop it."
"What could do that?" Gaepora whispered.
"Nothing good." the old lady said grimly, mouth set in a firm line as the implications of that set in.
Zelda set her shoulders, forcing her heart to settle down as best she could, trying to comfort her, "Your magic will return. You need plenty of rest, but you should be fine."
"What does this mean for us?" the blue fairy whispered.
Zelda just shook her head.
She had no idea.