Chapter Fifteen

For the first time in his life, Revali was uneasy about flying.

Not scared. He wasn't scared of anything. He knew he could take care of himself without an issue.

But uneasy, sure. Maybe even going so far as to be concerned.

It was a strange feeling, one he wasn't sure how to cope with. He hadn't been concerned very often. And he had never felt that way about flying. Ever since he was a hatchling Revali had loved flying. It had been a challenge, one he relished. He loved the freedom it gave him, as well as the mobility. Before he had finished molting he had tried to fly, against his mother's wishes, and as soon as he could, he'd taken off, determined to map all of Tabantha and Hebra before dinner.

(One of the few missions he'd taken on that he hadn't been able to complete, although he chalked that one up to youthful overeagerness.)

The point was, flying was something he was never worried about. It was something he could do, with plenty of confidence, and know that no one could possibly beat him at it. Flying was safe.

And again, he wasn't scared now. He was just…concerned. Uneasy. Wary.

It seemed an appropriate reaction to him, considering the situation.

He distinctly remembered fighting on Vah Medoh. His memory of that was clear as day. Yet, the part after that was fuzzy. Then, he'd woken up in a field, Medoh nowhere in sight. Instead, the sky was taken up by something else, the very thing that gave him pause about flying.

In other words, Revali woke up and saw the moon close enough that he could fly up and touch it. In fact, the moon looked like it was about to come crashing down on the town in the distance. He could only wonder what would happen if he did go up and try to land on it. Surely nothing good. After all, he wasn't an idiot.

Something had happened, that much was clear. However, he couldn't figure out what. He didn't remember anything after that bomb exploded, knocking him out of the air.

He groaned, rotating his wing slowly. He was a little bruised, but it wasn't the worst injury he'd ever had. He'd be fine. Turning to examine the moon again, Revali suppressed the shudder that went through him at the expression it held. The moon had never had a face before, certainly never one like that. The menacing glare it had made it seem like it wanted to destroy the earth beneath it, and, even worse, that it could.

Could this be the work of the Calamity? Had Revali accidentally stumbled onto its attack plan? Death by celestial planet? It seemed unlikely, but what else could it be? Could the Divine Beasts even destroy an entire planet? How were they supposed to stop this?

"HOY!" A voice yanked him out of his thoughts, much to his irritation. He was dealing with something important here, trying to save all of Hyrule. He didn't have time for distractions!

Revali grumbled, looking in the direction of the voice, watching as another Rito began diving towards him. He opened his wings, landing softly next to the Champion. Revali immediately took back his assumption. This man, whoever he was, wasn't a Rito. He was some other avian race, obviously, maybe attempting to imitate the Rito, but he wasn't one of them.

This man had a beak, but only for a nose. His mouth was pressed into a firm line underneath it, matched in attitude by his equally stern crossed arms. His feathers were more subtle, but his wings fell dormant as he landed, falling down at his elbows to reveal human arms and hands.

As Revali stood there examining him, the man was obviously doing the same to Revali. He seemed more confused than anything, but shook his head quickly, "My apologies for interrupting you. I saw you down here and was hoping to ask a few questions."

"I don't have time for questions." Revali huffed, crossing his own arms, "I have to return home."

"As do I." the man assured him, "I promise, I won't take up too much of your time. I only need directions."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I won't be much help there." Revali turned away from his gaze, glaring at the ground in frustration, "I…am a bit lost myself."

"Perhaps we can find out together then." the other man suggested, "It's better than both of us wandering around on our own."

Revali grimaced. He worked much better alone, but the man did have a point. Shrugging, he said, "So be it."

He nodded politely, holding out his hand in greeting, "My name is Quill."

"Revali." he said, ignoring the offered hand, "Champion of the Rito."

Quill's eyes narrowed as he said this, "My tribe does not have a champion."

Revali snorted, "Your tribe? You aren't a Rito, Quill."

"I assure you, I am." Quill said cooly, "I am the second-in-command of the Rito Tribe, at least until Prince Komali matures and accepts his role. You are the one who is not a Rito."

His wing clenched into a fist and Revali forced himself not to yell out in anger, "I know what I am, far better than some upstart wanna-be who doesn't even have proper wings."

"I would ask that you not insult my wings. I earned them, same as all the Rito." Quill almost growled out, "The Great Valoo gifted me with them when I came of age. He would not do so to someone not worthy of them."

Revali just snorted, "You had to be gifted them? You weren't born with your wings? How pathetic. No true Rito could ever be 'gifted' wings."

Quill took a deep breath, obviously trying not to lose his temper, "Perhaps we should move on to a different discussion and simply…agree to disagree. There are more important things to worry about than this at the moment."

"No, I think not." Revali smirked, "See, I can't let you just go around and disparage the good name of my tribe. No, instead, I think you'll admit that you're wrong and then we'll move onto finding out where we are."

Quill punched him.

Link whistled to himself as he walked into town. The sign said 'Kakariko Village' which was the name of the place on the map where the next spirit was supposed to be located.

Overall, he hadn't had a very difficult trip so far. He'd been able to make it here with few issues after a few days, although he was starting to run low on food. There were a few bokoblins that had tried attacking him that morning after he'd had breakfast, but after his adventures, it hadn't been hard to defeat them. The roads were well marked and the castle in the distance made a great landmark to help stop him from getting lost.

The strangest part was to see what seemed like never ending land. After growing up on an island and then sailing around the entire Great Sea, he'd become used to having the ocean as a constant companion. Now it was just…gone. The idea of that was weird under his skin. How did everyone survive without having the sea right there? With having all of these cliffs and mountains? It didn't seem right to him.

The town itself was…well rundown seemed like a good word. Abandoned might have been a better one. Link didn't see anyone around and his heart fell at the thought of not restocking on food while he was there. Maybe after he was done with the spirit he could look through the houses to see if there was any abandoned food. The stale bread he had had that morning was disappointing. What he wouldn't give for some fresh fruit or cheese. Sadly, he finished his leftover soup from Grandma the first night after he'd arrived in this time.

The spring was close to the entrance to the village and Link made a beeline for it. Just like the other ones, a drop of water fell into the spring before it began glowing. The ball of light appeared first before it was followed by the Light Spirit. This one took the shape of a bird, spreading its wings out before landing gently on the ball of light.

"Young Hero of Wind, I, Eldin, welcome you to this place." the spirit said, bowing his head towards Link.

Link nodded his head back respectfully, "Thank you. I wish I could say I was happy to be here."

"I understand. I also wish I could say it was under better circumstances."

"Ordona and Faron sent me here to ask if you could share your power." Link said, holding up the flower to him, "We're trying to contact the Goddess of Time to see if she can help fix what happened."

"I am aware of my siblings' plan. This is our best hope for repairing our past, present, and future. Take my blessing." Eldin lifted his head slightly and the flower in Link's hand began to glow. The third petal unfurled, becoming the same pale, glowing color as the others.

"Thank you." Link said, putting the flower away carefully. "Faron said that you could update my map, in case the others who fell through time had moved at all?"

Eldin nodded again, "This I can do with ease. They have both awoken, but one is greatly injured. I would not waste time in finding them."

"I'm headed for both of them next." Link promised, looking at his map. The one to the north hadn't changed, but the one to the west was in a slightly different spot. It looked like they had moved east slightly, closer to him. That may turn out to be helpful in the long run.

"Good luck young Hero." Eldin whispered before folding his wings back in and fading away.

'I'll need it.' Link sighed to himself. He tucked the map away and went back towards the town. There was a large hut near the spring and it looked the most intact of all the buildings. Hopefully it might still have some food.

He got to the door, knocking just in case he was wrong and the place wasn't abandoned.

It was lucky he did. The door swung open, showing someone a little taller than him with black hair. The girl's eyes grew wide in shock.

Link scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Hi there."

"Luda, who is at the door?" a voice called out behind her.

"L-Link?!" the girl burst out, hands flying to her mouth.

Link shook his head, confused, "Sorry, I don't think we know each other."

It didn't matter what he said. As soon as she said his name, the door was flung wide, revealing a large room, packed with people. Some were children younger than him, others were obviously adventures, and Link was fairly certain that the two in the far back of the room were Gorons. He had only met a few of them on his travels, but it was hard to mistake creatures made of rock.

The man who had swung the door open, standing right behind the girl, Luda, was obviously her father. They had the same dark hair and the same serious eyes. Those eyes were looking at Link now in disbelief.

"Link, what happened to you?" He whispered.

One of the children, a boy, ran forward, poking his elbow, "You got a lot younger. It's weird."

"And blonder." another of the children, this one a girl, said snootily, eyeing his hair.

"Sorry, I'm not Link!" he said hurriedly, trying to push away the boy's continued pokes, "I mean, I am, but obviously not your Link!"

"What do you mean, our Link?" a serious looking woman said from beside the door, looking at him critically.

"I mean, well, it's complicated and-would you stop already?!" Link burst out, yelling at the boy who had moved from poking him to pulling on his hat.

"Talo, leave him be." the first man scolded him, "In fact, all you children leave. Let us handle this."

The girl that had commented on his hair grumbled, "Aw, come on Renado. We never get to be part of the important meetings!"

"Speak for yourself," the baby muttered, making Link do a double take at the perfect Hylian coming out of the infant's mouth, "I'm involved in important meetings all the time. Part of running a business."

"You can be when you are older, I promise." Renado told her.

"Come on Beth, they'll tell us later!" A blond boy grabbed her hand, leading her outside. The others followed, grumbling to themselves. A teenaged girl with short hair sighed as they left.

"I'll go watch them." She volunteered.

"Thank you Ilia." Renado said, closing the door behind her.

"Sorry about them honey, they get a little excited." A woman winked at him. She had her red hair tied back and was stirring a cooking pot over the fire.

"It's alright. My sister's the same way." he said, readjusting his hat from where the boy had pulled it askew, "I'm normally more patient, but it's been a-is that soup?"

His train of thought was permanently derailed when the aroma of whatever she was cooking finally reached him.

She smiled at him knowingly, "Depends, are you hungry?"

Link's stomach answered for him, growling loudly.

She laughed, patting the seat next to her, "Alright then. I'll feed you, you tell us your story, deal?"

"Deal." he answered without thinking, rushing straight into the chair.

"My name's Telma. That's Renado, Ashei, Auru, Rusl, Gor Coron, and Darbus." she introduced them as she filled up a bowl for him. Most everyone raised their hand when their name was said.

"Nice to meet you." Link smiled at them before turning back to the soup Telma was handing him. "Thanks!"

"Anytime sweetie." she said before turning to the rest of them, "Anyone else hungry?"

Link began shoveling the soup in, groaning in appreciation. This soup was amazing. Not as good as his grandmother's, but definitely in the top five, maybe even top three.

He held his bowl out for seconds before anyone else had finished their first serving. Telma just laughed and refilled it.

"Thanks." he said again, "I was hoping to restock on food here, I didn't know I'd find such good soup!"

"Is that the only reason you're here?" Renado asked, eyebrow raised, "You said you were Link, but not our Link?"

"That's the complicated bit." Link said, swallowing another mouthful. "Out of curiosity, do any of you talk to the Light Spirits at all?"

They all shook their heads. Auru spoke up, "The Light Spirits only speak to those they deem worthy in times of great need. The only ones they've spoken to in decades are Princess Zelda and our Link."

"They spoke to me too." he told them, "Explained what happened and gave me a mission."

"That's certainly not something to take lightly." Rusl said.

"What mission did they give you?" Ashei asked, still watching him carefully. Link assumed she just didn't trust him yet, which he couldn't blame her for.

"That's why I asked if you all had talked to them. If you had, this next bit would be simple to explain, but if not…" Link's voice trailed off and he stared into his now empty bowl.

Telma refilled it again, surprising him.

"Start at the beginning then." she said.

"Ok, well, this is the confusing bit." he said, more than a little awkwardly, "See, I'm from Hyrule, but a different Hyrule. Or well, maybe the same one, just a different time frame? That's the confusing bit…"

Ghirahim sneered as he looked down at the bound prisoners. "Are you sure this is who you want?" He nudged one of them with the toe of his boot, looking disgusted.

The mask in his hands shook slightly. To anyone else that would've been it. However, Ghirahim easily understood.

"A puppet is a puppet. Appearances matter not."

"Appearance is important," Ghirahim looked at the mask distastefully, "How can you expect to serve perfectly if you yourself are not perfect?"

"I serve only one and it is certainly not him." the mask hummed angrily up at him.

"Trust me, neither do I." Ghirahim assured the mask, "An alliance of necessity. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't improve yourself while we wait for our true Master. Using this…well, let's just say it leaves something to be desired."

It shook once again, "I do not care for appearances. My perfection awaits only in strength and power. A lesson you would well learn if our true Master actually arrives."

"Spoken like someone who doesn't have the glory and privilege of my role." Ghirahim laid a hand on his chest in a mocking manner. "And quit doubting our Master. He will arrive. If we have to suffer through fools until then, then so be it."

The mask, one shaped like a heart and surrounded by spikes, seemed to vibrate at him. "I do not doubt his power. I doubt That Fool's ability to follow through with his promises. For his plan to work we need to defeat a specific hero."

"And we will, once we find him," Ghirahim continued to smile, although now it looked more demented than haughty, "We've confirmed that the heroes are lost in time. They are scattered, isolated, abandoned. We outnumber them. They don't stand a chance."

"That's what I thought." the mask hummed, "Yet somehow, I was destroyed. If That Fool hadn't pulled me through time when he did, I would've been killed, permanently, by one of those heroes. Do not underestimate them."

"I'd be careful how loudly you insult our 'leader'." Ghirahim smirked, "Or he may put you right back into that very moment."

The mask didn't respond, but Ghirahim got the feeling that it was glaring at him. He flipped his hair back and straightened his cape, feeling accomplished. It wasn't easy to win an argument with Majora, but it was so satisfying when he did.

Ghirahim actually respected Majora, if nothing else than for the mask's power level. He was easily as strong as Ghirahim himself, at least when he was at full power. After his fight with one of the heroes though, Majora had been reduced to a mere mask once again, in need of a puppet to restore himself.

That was what they were doing now, getting ready to bind Majora to a new puppet. If only the puppet wasn't so…disgustingly mortal. The demon lord looked at the unconscious humans at his feet as if they were bugs to be stepped on, which to him, they were.

Ghirahim knelt down, ready to place Majora onto his new puppet's face. "Last chance to change your mind. The other one at least has magic. This one has nothing."

"I have no need of Spirit Magic." Majora hummed, "Besides, her magic is far too pure to ever work for me. Leave her to Bellum. A magicless puppet will suit me far better. A blank canvas, endless possibilities."

"If you say so." Ghirahim sighed, finally placing Majora on the man's face. This particular human was tall and wore a blue coat with a tiny excuse of a beard on his face. That was the most insulting part of the man's appearance, other than his horrifying scent. Ghirahim wasn't a fan of beards, but if you had to grow one, at least grow it properly.

He stood back up, waiting as Majora slowly took over his new puppet. While he waited, his eyes glanced over to their female captive. She was at least fashionable. Long red hair that was pulled back. Baggier pants, but a short, tight top. Her dark skin showed that she was one of the desert people. 'That Fool', as Majora had labeled him, stated that he knew her, that she had betrayed him. Well, if that was true then Ghirahim couldn't think of a better punishment than becoming possessed by Bellum.

Majora stood up, stretching and testing out the limbs on his new body. The mask covered the man's face, which Ghirahim was thankful for. Honestly, there was no reason why evil couldn't be beautiful. He proved that every day.

"This man was in poor shape." Majora finally huffed. It was strange hearing the mask talk with someone else's voice. "He was cowardly and mostly stayed on his ship."

Ghirahim rolled his eyes, "Oh please stop sorting through memories. They don't matter when it comes to siphoning power away."

"He has memories of a hero. Those will prove useful." was Majora's response.

"You can deal with that later. We have a job to do, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Majora sounded unnervingly excited, "I've been looking forward to this."

Ghirahim grinned.

Professor: Hi everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update again! I had a lot of car issues and work has been absolutely insane. It made it difficult to get a chance to write or post anything for the longest time. However, car is now fixed and while work is still insane, it's now a manageable insane. Other than that, I've also been very distracted by Tears of the Kingdom. My pre-order actually arrived a day early and I became obsessed. Sorry (not that sorry, I love the game!).
So Revali is actually one of my absolute favorite characters. However, I will also be the first to admit that he needs an attitude adjustment. He did get some character development in the game, but not enough for people to forgive his attitude. So, we are getting character development here! Even if it has to be literally punched into him by Quill (another of my absolute favorite characters). It will be a slow process, but I promise that it is worth it.
For the villain scene at the end, I wanted to start showcasing some of the overall plot and what our bad guys are up to. Ghirahim is one of my favorite villains, and a bit of a diva, so of course he took center stage. I'm trying not to reveal too much, but I feel like it's been fairly obvious what the plot was going to be since chapter one.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you have any questions, I'm happy to chat! I hope to update a little bit more regularly from now on, but no promises. Sorry (actually sorry that time, I really love writing this story!).