Chapter Nineteen
Pipit frowned.
Then he glared.
Finally, he huffed.
"You have to let me go sometime."
"You will be let go when time says you will be taken." the man said, waving his hand mystically over the crystal ball in front of him. He was dressed in orange robes with vaguely purple hair. A green eyeball sat in the middle of his hat, seemingly always staring ominously at Pipit no matter where he stood in the cluttered tent.
"That makes no sense!" Pipit yelled, frustrated, "How can I be let go if I'm getting taken?!"
"Hey, watch what you say about my sweetie-pie!" the old lady guarding the door screamed at him, "His fortunes are never wrong! If he says you need to be here, then you need to be here!"
"His fortunes are made up! There's more value in Chu Jelly than in listening to him!"
She grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at him. Considering this was the fifth pillow that the woman had lobbed at his head, Pipit didn't even blink. "Watch your mouth before I wash it out with soap! We didn't have to take you in when we found you, you know! You should be grateful!"
"I was grateful right up until you started yelling at me." Pipit growled out through his clenched teeth, crossing his arms and trying, and failing, to not look like he was pouting.
"Gratefulness will never be given, only earned." the fortune teller spoke up, lifting his voice to sound ominous.
"Ok, seriously, what does that EVEN MEAN?!"
Link woke up to the smell of sizzling bacon and the sound of hushed voices.
Groaning, he sat up. Blinking rapidly, trying to chase away the sleepy haze that clung to him, he saw his friends gathered around the table on the far end of the room, Rusl was crouched nearby and focused on the breakfast foods.
"Did'ya save some fer me?" Link mumbled. He still felt exhausted and the words somehow felt heavy in his mouth.
None of that mattered though, not when he could see the bacon. It looked delicious.
Rusl jumped up at his voice, "Link!"
"You're awake!"
"How are you feeling?!"
"Do you remember what happened?!"
The others all started yelling, their words jumbling over each other in a desperate attempt to get answers. Link's head started to hurt, trying to sort through everything they were saying.
The group had rushed towards the bed as they spoke, Auru getting there first. He pulled the young hero into a tight hug. Link let out a groan, his entire body feeling sore, but hugged back.
"How are you? Are you feeling alright?" he asked quickly.
Link nodded slowly, "Mostly hungry."
Auru let out a sigh of relief, smiling, "Well, that's easy enough to fix."
"I'm on it!" Rusl called out, turning back to the food and immediately fixing Link a plate.
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat as much as you do." Ashei said.
Link raised an eyebrow at her, catching the slight smile she sent his way. Link knew that was her way of saying she was glad he was ok.
Rusl came back quickly, holding a plate piled high with food. Link took it eagerly, stuffing some toast and bacon into his mouth at once. The flavors seemed to melt together perfectly and he sighed in contentment.
"Fanks." he mumbled through the bite.
Rusl chuckled, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Are you really feeling alright though?" Auru asked again.
Link swallowed and then nodded, "For the most part. Sore, but mostly tired."
"You've been asleep for almost an entire day." Impaz told him.
Link's eyes widened in shock, "An entire day?!"
The others nodded.
"We were really worried." Rusl said, "After what happened, you just collapsed. We couldn't wake you up, no matter how many potions we gave you."
"'Wh-What happened'? What do you mean 'what happened'?" Link asked.
They all exchanged a nervous glance before Auru spoke up, "How much do you remember?"
"I remember getting here. We got to the village and knocked on the door and….wait, that's not right…." Link trailed off, confused. "I woke up here. I was really hurt and you all were trying to explain something, but there was…wait, that's still not right."
"Link-" Rusl said as gently as he could.
Link just shook his head, ignoring him and looking more confused than ever, "This is impossible. I have two sets of memories. I remember coming here with you guys and waking up here, not knowing who any of you were."
"What else do you remember?" Ashei asked.
"I…I remember Hyrule and…fighting Ganondorf." he mumbled, "But I remember it two ways. That's not possible, right? I can't remember both. One of them has to be wrong."
"Maybe not." Impaz muttered. Link stared at her, finally catching sight of the grim expressions everyone else had.
"What do you mean? Do you know what happened?"
Auru sighed, "Look, from our perspective, what happened was strange."
"That's putting it mildly," Ashei huffed.
"Well?" Link sat up as straight as he could, ignoring the ache in his arms as he propped himself up. He looked at all of his friends intently, "What happened?"
"You, well, the you in the bed, he touched your hand, touched the Triforce." Auru explained, "As soon as he did that, the both of you started to…" he seemed at a loss for words, unable to describe it.
Rusl jumped in, "Blur. You both started to blur. We could tell you were there, but it was like a ghost. You were very indistinct."
"That's it, precisely." Auru nodded in agreement, "You blurred. Then you two seemed to melt together until there weren't two of you anymore, just one."
"You came back on your own, no more blurring or melting, but you were unconscious. You were breathing, and the injuries from the Link in the bed were gone, but we couldn't get you to wake up. We gave you four potions before Auru said we should just let you rest." Ashei said.
"I-I don't remember any of that." he whispered.
"If time really has broken, this could simply be time trying to repair itself." Impaz suggested, "Two of the same people, from different points in their life, can't exist at once. It's impossible."
"The Light Spirits did say that I could contain the damage if I found the others who fell through time." Link mumbled, "I didn't think they meant this though."
"Do you really have two sets of memories?" Rusl asked, leaning forward curiously.
Link nodded, "I remember falling to this time, but I also remember getting to the surface and sailing away with Tetra. We were trying to find a new Hyrule, but got taken by a Ghost Ship to the Ocean King's Realm."
"I guess that's what was supposed to happen if time hadn't fallen apart." Impaz said.
Link shrugged, still sorting through the two sets of memories he had. It was strange, comparing them side-by-side. Knowing exactly what his life was, and what it could've been. His brain hurt trying to think it through.
"Do you think that the other traveler is another version of you that you have to 'absorb'?" Ashei asked.
He shuddered immediately, "I hope not. It hurt."
"Are you ok?" Auru whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder.
After a minute, Link nodded, "I…I will be. I-I think I just need some time."
"Anyone would." he smirked, "How about your breakfast? Food helps no matter the situation."
Link cracked a small smile, "I won't argue with that."
Irene spotted two women waving at her from the island's beach and immediately changed course for them. The sooner she could find directions back to Hyrule, the better.
As she got nearer she was able to make out more details. The two women looked like polar opposites. One was dressed in all dark clothing, her forehead covered in a tattoo of an eye and a long strand of blonde hair hanging from her temple. The other was dressed in much brighter colors, her fierce red hair held back by a jeweled band.
Irene brought her broom to a simple stop in front of them, about a foot off the ground.
'Perfect landing.' she smirked to herself.
"Hey, would either of you know the way back to Hyrule from here?" she called out.
Both of the women looked at her, stunned. Then the red head smiled, hand on her hip, "What a surprise, we were going to ask you that."
"You were, I wasn't." the other one said, "I've never heard of Hyrule."
"You haven't?" she raised an eyebrow at her companion, "Why didn't you say so?"
"We didn't exactly have time for detailed introductions."
"Wait, you two don't know each other?" Irene asked, confused.
The first woman shook her head, "We met just a few minutes ago. Suffice it to say, we're lost ourselves."
"Darn it." Irene huffed, "I really need to get home."
"We do as well." the blonde woman said, "Do you know where we are at least?"
Irene nodded, "Astrid said that this was a place called Mercay Island. She also said that I should ask for a guy named 'Oshus' and that he could point me in the right direction."
"Maybe we should talk to him as well." The red head suggested.
Irene shrugged, "I don't see why not. Astrid seemed to think that he could help."
"Then, if you don't mind the company, we'll come with you. I'm Urbosa." she smiled again.
"Irene." the witch nodded politely.
"Impa." The blonde woman said.
Irene's smile grew excitedly, "Hey, I have a friend named Impa!"
"Must be a common name." she huffed, ignoring Urbosa's knowing smirk.
Irene just shrugged, "Maybe. I'll admit, I don't know her that well. I met her kind of recently thanks to Greenie."
"Greenie?" Urbosa asked.
"Friend of mine and a complete slowpoke. Seriously, he owes me big time for hauling his butt all over Hyrule and Lorule." Irene huffed. "Seriously, would it be too much for a simple thank you?"
Urbosa chuckled, "I like you kid, and I'd love to hear more about this 'Greenie', but maybe later. Now come on, let's find Oshus."
"There are some houses nearby." Impa pointed.
Irene shrugged, "Good enough for me."
She hopped off her broom, walking in between the two women to the closest house. On the far side they could see a bridge and what looked like a village.
The door to the house was wide open. Impa knocked on the doorframe, calling out a greeting. There was no answer.
Impa knocked again, but Irene poked her head in.
"Irene!" Impa scolded immediately.
"I don't think anyone's home." Irene muttered, "Plus the door's wide open. It might be abandoned."
"That doesn't mean you can just walk right in!"
"I didn't though." Irene said cheekily, pointing to her feet which were still outside of the door, "I only poked my head in."
Urbosa chuckled, "She's got you there."
"A loophole doesn't make it any less rude!"
"If it is abandoned, can I go in?" Irene asked.
"No!" Impa huffed.
"Sure, why not?" Urbosa shrugged at the same time.
Irene smiled and strolled in, ignoring Impa's grumbling.
Urbosa laughed softly, "Lighten up Impa, she's a kid."
"She needs a lesson in manners."
"My Granny taught me plenty of manners!" Irene yelled over her shoulder, already nearing the back wall of the house, "She also said that if someone is dumb enough to leave their door open then they're just asking to be robbed. We aren't robbing them, this is more like a lesson in not leaving your door open, so really, we're being doubly polite."
Impa could feel her eye begin to twitch and Urbosa started laughing again.
"You'd know, I'd love to see you argue your logic with a friend of mine." she said, walking in after her.
Impa groaned, finally accepting defeat and following them in.
"Gladly." Irene smiled up at her before she kept looking around.
The house was actually very well kept. She couldn't see any dust anywhere and everything was organized and put away. Irene was sure that even her Granny would've liked how organized the shelves were. She was always telling Irene that a witch's first lesson was to keep her shelves organized, otherwise you could never find the ingredients you needed when you needed them.
"For someone who didn't want to be rude, you sure are snooping through a lot of items over there." Urbosa's voice rang out.
Irene spun around to see what she meant.
"I was just curious." Impa muttered, looking intently at the painting in her hands, "This looks remarkably similar to a friend of mine."
Irene's eyes widened as she recognized the golden frame.
"Hey, that is my friend!" she yelled, rushing forward. She tried grabbing it from her, but Impa was much taller, easily lifting it above Irene's head. The witch caught a glimpse of the painting, seeing the simple, stark lines that detailed her friend's image. She suppressed a shudder as she remembered what it felt like to be trapped in a similar painting.
"What do you mean this 'is' your friend?" Impa asked, eyebrow raised at the young girl.
"I mean my friend is trapped in there!" Irene yelled, trying to jump up to grab the painting. She failed, her fingers coming nowhere close to the edge. "Yuga trapped us all in paintings like that!"
"Yuga?" Urbosa asked.
Irene nodded, glaring at the painting, "He used all of us to release Ganon and try to steal the princess's Triforce. Greenie saved all of us and was trying to save her! Now, let me have her back!"
She tried to get the painting again, but Impa held it even higher.
Urbosa grabbed Irene's arm, stopping her from jumping again, "Wait, did you just say Ganon? And the Princess?"
"Duh." Irene said, "Ganon was sealed away by the Seven Sages. Yuga used us to free him so that they could try to steal the Triforce from Zelda."
"Zelda?!"
"Her Grace?!"
Both of them exclaimed at once, turning to each other in shock once they registered what the other had said.
"You know the princess?!"
"I don't know who 'Princess' is! I know Her Grace, Zelda!"
"Wait, how do you both know Zelda?!" Irene yelled at both of them.
"How do you know her?" Impa snapped.
"Excuse me, I made deliveries to the castle all the time before she got kidnapped! I never saw either one of you there!"
"Interesting because I never saw you there." Urbosa turned to glare at her, "And I would certainly remember a 'Yuga' turning the princess into a painting. There is no one named Yuga in Hyrule. There is a Yiga clan, but no Yuga."
"That's because he's from Lorule!"
"There is no Hyrule or Lorule!" Impa yelled, "There is the Surface and there is Skyloft, nothing else!"
"That has to be the most ridiculous thing you've said yet!" Urbosa barked at her.
"Let me have my friend! I have to get her back to safety before Yuga shows up to kidnap her again!"
"Your friend isn't in this painting!"
"I have to say, this isn't quite what I was expecting when I came home." A new voice interrupted. All three of them turned to the door, shocked into silence, and saw an old man with a large cane in the doorway. He wasn't much taller than Irene with a large bushy beard that covered most of his face.
"Now, what exactly is going on here?" he asked.
Urbosa sighed, trying to force her anger away, "Our apologies. The door was open. We were looking for someone and saw the painting you have here. It…Let's just say it sparked an argument."
"That would be an understatement." he chuckled, "But then again, I suppose that any painting that appears out of nowhere could cause an argument."
"Out of…nowhere?" Irene asked, tilting her head in confusion.
He nodded, "Yes. I had just gotten home and it appeared in the sky, landing on my head! Not a great welcome back, I must say."
"We're sorry for barging into your home." Impa sighed.
"I don't mind visitors." he said, making his way to the table, "Tell me, who exactly were you looking for?"
"Oshus." Irene answered, "Astrid sent me to find him and we met on the way."
"Good for you then." he said.
"It is?"
He nodded, "Yes. I'm Oshus. Astrid is a good friend of mine."
Irene's shoulders slumped in relief.
"I'm Urbosa. This is Impa and Irene." Urbosa gestured to each of them.
He nodded again, pointing to the other seats around the table, "Why don't you three join me? Something tells me we're going to be having a long conversation."
The three of them exchanged a quick look. Irene shrugged.
Urbosa shrugged, leading the way with the others following and settling into their seats, Impa laying the painting in the center of the table.
"Now, who wants to go first?" Oshus asked.
"I guess I could." Irene volunteered.
"Very well."
Irene took a deep breath, bracing herself, and then launched into her story.
Professor: Hi everyone! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
I know that everyone wants to get to the main plot. I promise, I do too! I honestly planned on this being the last chapter where I introduced characters, but the story got away from me! Just a couple more chapters though, I promise! Please just be patient! I only have four more characters to introduce before we start on the main plot and I'm trying to work them in as quickly as possible! If I can, I will try to put them all in the next chapter so that the main plot/explanations can be in Chapter 21! It will all make sense eventually!
As for anyone who is also following the story on Archive of Our Own: AO3 is currently down right now. As soon as it is back up, I will post this chapter there as well!
Thanks for all of your support and reviews! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them!