The Legend of Aang Ocarina of Time
To Hyrule Castle!
The trio found themselves walking out of the Kokiri forest. Now, in what could be considered Hyrule Field, they were dead set on heading to the Castle. Their current experience had them all very troubled about what was coming ahead… Except for Link who strolled casually along inspecting his new Ocarina, the expression on his face had been thoughtful.
Aang opened his mouth to question him when on a nearby tree branch a voice called down to them. "Hoot hoot! Look up here!" Tilting their heads up, the three saw a giant owl which seemed to be where the voice originated from.
"It appears the time has finally come for you to start your adventure! I see the Avatar made it to you safely, my apologies for dropping you, I was surprised when that awful man tried to set me ablaze…"
"Wait a second-" Aang said, "You're the one who brought me here?" The avatar questioned, his finger pointing to the overgrown great-horned owl.
The brown owl tilted his head, "Hoot hoot! Do you not remember?"
Navi flew up, "Because you dropped him, Aang has amnesia!"
"This will not do at all…." The owl twisted his head upside down, his lower face had two dots, and upside down his feathers could be mistaken for a second face, "I deeply apologize, this was not supposed to happen either…"
"What do you mean, either?" Aang asked.
"I realized that you would need help, unfortunately, the companions I brought for you also got scattered over Hyrule, and crossing over has become more unstable due to the shift of balance… I am aware that one of your friends can be found at Hyrule Castle."
Aang lowered his head, "So I have friends, but if I see them I might not recognize them…"
"But they'll recognize you." Navi supplied hoping that would ease him up a bit.
Link nodded in agreement, patting Aang's back.
"You will both encounter many hardships ahead… That is your fate." The owl said, knowing the Great Deku Tree had fallen as well, "Don't feel discouraged, even during the toughest times!"
"So how would we actually get to Hyrule Castle?" Navi asked, ready to move on.
"If you go straight this way," The owl's wing extended as he pointed, "You will see Hyrule Castle. You will meet a princess there. If you are lost and don't know which way to go, look at the map."
"What map-" Aang's question was answered when the owl threw a map down at them.
"If you don't know where to go next, try heading to one of the locations marked with a flashing dot. Did you get all that?"
Link nodded immediately seeing no problem with the explanation.
"A Flashing dot?" Aang and Navi asked confused, looking over the seemingly normal piece of paper.
Little did they know that only spurred the owl to repeat his whole explanation. By the middle of it they regretted their choice of asking considering he didn't even explain what the flashing dot was.
"Did you get all that?"
The three wasted no time nodding this time, not wanting to go through the long speech again by accident.
"All right then, I'll see you around! Hoot hoot hoot ho!"
The large owl spread his wings and took flight, leaving the three to their own devices once more.
"Well, let's get going!" Navi said, fluttering ahead, "Sure, two of us are used to the forest while the third has no memory or knowledge of this world, but I'm sure we'll get through this."
"Way to be optimistic!" Aang smiled, as they walked the path through Hyrule Field.
"I was being sarcastic Aang."
They watched Link turn around and begin walking backward, seemingly going faster than if he was walking forward. Shrugging their shoulders the two followed the boy, seeing the large owl still flying away in the distance… From afar it almost looked like an average-sized owl.
. . .
The trio had spent their morning trying to break the Curse on the Great Deku Tree, by the time they made it to the moat surrounding a large white wall, the sky was orange and the sun was beginning to set. Luckily they made it to the drawbridge just in time, crossing over as fast as they could before they were locked out.
Once past the bridge, the only real option they had was to go forward into the town.
…So Link decided to veer right and walk into a random building. "Link wait! You can't just walk into random houses!" Navi called, but alas it was too late.
"Guess we'll just follow him." Aang shrugged, holding the door open for Navi.
"We're supposed to be heroes, breaking and entering isn't very heroic…" Navi shook her head, also entering the building nonetheless.
Once inside they could see wooden crates and clay pots gathered all around the room. And in the back, a lone knight stood with a spear, Link was currently standing in front of him. Aang and Navi were about to rush in, thinking the worst of the situation.
"Man, I am SO bored…" The knight picked at his ear, talking to Link, "Things would sure be more interesting if there were more… troubles in the world…"
Aang and Navi exchange an incredulous look as Link nods his head confused, but listens nonetheless.
"Hey, that's just between you and me, okay?" The knight winked at Link, now noticing Aang and Navi.
"Anyway," He coughed, "Maybe we can let off some steam by breaking some jars."
"Isn't there something fundamentally wrong with destroying property?" Aang asked, confused by the knight's lax behavior.
Link, however, only needed to be told once. He was wasting no time, picking up jars left and right, throwing them at walls, the floor, and each other. His partners stared at the boy, not expecting this destruction, but he looked like he was having a great time. The knight hummed satisfied listening to the shattering glass, his boredom lifting a bit. Link even found a Gold Skulltula in a crate, unfortunately, a jar had struck it down while Aang blinked. Link grabbed the token, wondering why this kept happening.
They walked out of the building after Link had destroyed half the room, his wallet now holding some extra rupees that were in some of the pots. The knight allowed him to keep them for entertaining him for a few minutes.
They made their way to the market where a fountain stood in the middle. Already they saw so many people, a pair of twins laughing with each other by a tree, a bearded man with green tights running around, a bald man in blue pants and a red sack slung over his shoulder also running around, crowds of people at different stalls, there was the elderly, children, young adults, lovers, the town was just so full of life.
Link stared on in amazement, taking in the different sights all around him. It was so different from life in the forest. Navi had to admit that she too was impressed at the advancements the Hylians had made over the years, she knew fairies could easily do this, except their size meant it would probably take a few hundred years…
Aang could remember parts of growing up in the air temple now after remembering Gyatso, it wasn't all there yet completely, but he could at least remember the air temple, the carefully built structures air nomads would often use airbending to traverse to and fro.
And this town… was way different, he felt as if he had been to towns like this before, but he felt like he had been to many places before. He figured that wasn't odd for a nomad, he did think it was somewhat odd for a young monk in training, which is what he assumed he was, but since he was also the 'Avatar' he probably had some special privileges and training…
"Aang?" Navi was waving her hand in his face, her blue light finally catching his attention.
"Oh sorry! Must've spaced there for a second." Aang laughed a bit.
"I was asking how you think we should break into the castle." She recounted.
"Now you want to break in?" Aang raised his eyebrow in amusement.
"This time, for a cause." She nodded, "It's for the greater good." She looked to her side where Link was previously standing, "We need to put a leash on that kid or something."
Spotting him over by the hysterical twins, they walked over.
"I wanted to see Princess Zelda! I avoided the guards… swam through the moat… I was almost there when they caught me!" One twin told his brother and Link, a slight pink tint to the twins' faces from a special order of Lon Lon Milk, "I found a small hole in the side of the castle that I thought I could sneak into, but I got stuck there."
"Wha-ha-ha! What a crazy guy!" His brother laughed looking at Navi and Aang, "Can you believe this guy was crazy enough to try to sneak into the castle to see Princess Zelda?"
"You know the Princess is a child, right?" Navi deadpanned, pushing Link closer toward Aang.
The twins wore the same outfit, the only difference being their shirts one wore red while the other wore blue. The blue-shirted brother was the one who had tried to sneak in while the red-shirted brother had passed out by the castle's gate.
"It was for a bet! I almost got 5 whole rupees for it!" The blue-shirt twin burst into a fit of giggles.
His brother pointed his thumb in his direction, "All because of this idiot, they've tightened security at the castle. Wha-ha-ha!"
The twins slung their arms across each other joyously bursting into fits of laughter as Navi's eye twitched. She pushed her partner away with Link innocently following along, "Let's just go Aang." Aang nodded flowing along after the twins had fallen over.
Walking along the fountain a hunch-backed elderly lady was tossing a few rupees up and down her palm, "I made a lot of money! Maybe I should go look for more things to sell!" She told Link, eager to share the news of her fortune with anyone.
"What's with these adults and talking to strangers?!" Navi threw her arms in the air, "A child no less- Did you say a lot of money?"
"Navi you're pretty quick to change your tune." Aang laughed, the fairy's attitude amusing him.
"I know!" The old woman snapped, "I should go to Lake Hylia! Many things float down the river and end up there! Hah hah!" The woman continued her stroll, the rupees clinking together as she shuffled forward.
"People here sure are friendly." Aang commented.
"A bit too friendly if you ask me." Navi shrugged.
"Come on Navi not everything is so bad, look that woman's even dancing." Aang pointed to a blonde Hylian with a blue shirt and a long flowy green skirt that went down to her feet.
The woman overheard slightly, her ears twitching, as she waved her arms, "I'm not dancing, you know… My back itches! Ooh! Aaah! Ooh!"
Aang and Navi slowly backed away, grabbing Link who had stood there watching the woman trying to reach her back. They back up directly to a young redheaded girl with blue eyes and a simple white dress with blue accents on the sleeves and hem, and a yellow bandana around her neck secured with a pin of a Koopa King's face.
"Hey!" She said delightedly looking Link up and down, "Your clothes! They're… different…" She smiled in a friendly manner, "You're not from around here, are you?"
"None of you are, I guess!" She said looking between the trio.
"She's good." Aang said to Navi with a smile, before turning to the girl, "Link and Navi here are from the forest, and I'm from another world."
The girl clasped her hands together, "Whoa that's amazing! That explains your ears." She said, noticing how round this stranger's ears were, she knew the Gerudo had round ears, but she didn't think he was Gerudo…
She turned back to Link excitedly, she had heard that children in the forest had fairies come to them, "You're a fairy boy from the first! My name is Malon! My dad owns Lon Lon Ranch!" She introduced.
"I'm Aang!" Aang responded, "And I already mentioned these two before."
"You know those guys over there ordered a bit too much of your milk?" Navi whispered pointing to the tree the twins were currently napping under.
Malon shook her head, "They only had a bottle each. Lon Lon Milk isn't for the weak."
"Dad went to the castle to deliver some milk and he hasn't come back yet…" She said, looking over to the castle in the distance.
"Don't worry, we're heading that way anyway if we spot him we'll send him right over." Aang promised.
Malon nodded, "Thank you!"
Deciding to head to the castle the three turned and were about to leave the market area, when a dog trotted toward Link and happily licked his hand, Link patted the dog excitedly.
"My precious puppy can run faster than any other mutts around here!" A heavyset woman in a sky-blue dress with rigid purple verticle stripes and rather large red lips set, her hair was pulled into a rather large bun, that larger than her head.
Before they could respond to her, a twirling couple stumbled into them, too absorbed in each other to notice or even apologize.
"Hey! Watch it!" Navi shook her fist at the couple, having had it with these distractions.
"Ohh…" The redheaded young woman said, "You are… so handsome…" She gazed deeply into the young man's eyes, "Just like the King of Hyrule… Hee hee." She dreamily sighed as he lifted her up lovingly.
"Come on Navi, it's kinda nice how in love they are." Aang smiled, watching the man blush as he spun his partner lovingly.
"The Great Deku Tree wanted us to go visit the princess at Hyrule Castle… Shouldn't we get going?" She pointed to the sky and they watched as the sun was already beginning to set and the sky was beginning to darken.
"Actually, I don't think the sun has moved since we've been here." Aang commented.
"That doesn't mean this doesn't feel like a waste of time." Navi retorted, tired of watching the couple spin around.
"Okay you have a point, let's go, Link!" He picked Link up under his arm and ran off toward the castle, with Navi flying as fast as she could to keep up, "Hey! Wait for me!"
. . .
Quickly making it down the path thanks to Aang they reached a lone tree at the end, where their old friend the owl was.
"Hey, Link! Aang! This way!"
"And Navi!" Navi added, flipping her hair.
"Yeah sure," He waved turning to the two, "The princess is inside the castle just ahead. Be careful not to get caught by the guards! Ho ho ho hoot!"
"Couldn't you just fly us through? You kinda owe us for giving Link's guide amnesia." Navi commented atop Link's head.
"On this ground, time flows normally. But time stands still while you are in Lon Lon Ranch or in a town." The owl revealed.
"How does that work?" Aang tilted his head confusion obvious in his tone.
"By magic of course. If you want time to pass normally, you'll need to leave town. Well, well, which way are you going to go now? Hoo hoo hoot!"
"Do you want to hear what I said again?" The owl's head twisted his second face being revealed as he closed his eyes, effectively creating the illusion of brown spots.
The group shook their heads, "No, but how about that ride?" Navi asked again.
"Hoooo. You're a smart kid." He nodded to Link.
"Stop ignoring me." Navi glared at the owl.
"Good luck, then. Hoo hoo." And the owl took flight leaving the group to break into the castle on their own.
"Do you think he could be evil?" Navi asked Aang as they watched him fly away.
"Don't be so negative Navi." Aang laughed.
"Easy for you to say, he acknowledged you." Navi crossed her arms turning away.
During their conversation Link rolled into the tree, knocking a Gold Skulltula out of it, unfortunately, it didn't survive the fall, leaving only a token behind. Link collected it before Aang could turn around and question him about it, knowing it might upset him. Somehow he had already collected five of them, he was surprised that they had come across so many.
He walked back over to Navi and Aang who were discussing their plans to break in now that night had fallen. "I mean if that man could get far so could we."
"Yeah, but because of that man, they increased security, and now the place is gonna be harder to navigate." Navi said, flying up high and getting a view of the place.
Returning, she nodded her head, "Okay, there are a couple of blindspots that I think we can easily slip through." She pointed to the nearby mountains surrounding the castle, "If we climb up these vines we can sneak over the gate, get down to the floor level, sneak past a few other guards, and get to the moat. Luckily it's night now so it should be harder to see us."
Aang and Link nodded following her instructions, scaling the vines on the wall to a ledge more on level with the top of the gate. Aang grabbed Link and jumped down using his airbending to land safely. Walking up a slope they tiptoed past the guards, unluckily, a stick cracked underneath Link's foot, causing the knights to rush over.
"Hey, you! Stop! You, kids over there!"
Aang and Link were promptly grabbed, rushed to the gate, and tossed over roughly.
"And don't come back!" The guards said clapping their hands in satisfaction.
Navi flew through the gate's bars, "You know they're pretty lax considering how many people have tried to break in recently."
Link and Aang gathered their bearings and stood up, backing away from the guard at the gate, he offered to let them back in for a bribe, but they weren't gonna do that when they could just climb up again for free.
Malon sang softly nearby occupying herself well as she waited nearby, "Hey, fairy boy! Have you found my dad?"
"Not yet." Aang said as Link shook his head, "We were kind of thrown out…"
"Oh, good!" Malon said, reaching behind her, "He must have fallen asleep somewhere around the castle. What a thing for an adult to do! Tee hee! If you find him, you'll need this!"
She pulled out a little nest with a lone egg, "I've been incubating this egg very carefully… Tee hee!"
Link immediately held it high, "Da na na naaaa…" Aang sang.
"You got a Weird Egg!" Navi said, rubbing the shell, "Feels like there's something moving inside!"
"Good luck! I'm going to head back to the farm!" Malon skipped off, giving them a final wave, "Thanks again!"
They climbed the wall once more, went past the first gate, up the slope, past the little clearing in front of the second gate, this time avoiding any sticks. They weren't able to use the second gate due to the guards standing by. Navi whistled, pointing to nearby vines that would get them on the other side of the gate.
Now there, they realized that they couldn't just walk past the guards without being noticed. Link jumped into the moat, swimming to the other side and getting out unnoticed. Aang jumped a few dozen feet in the air and landed where Link was shaking the water off himself. Navi shrugged casually flying over as Aang dried Link with his airbending.
By the time they were on the side of the castle at the end of the moat, a man was sleeping near a few milk crates. Approaching the sleeping man they noticed how relaxed he looked.
He was a heavy-set man wearing blue overalls and a red shirt. He had a rather large nose and a bushy mustache, his hair was balding at the top, and he had the same medallion Malon wore.
"This is Malon's father?" Navi asked.
"Guess so." Aang said, poking him with his staff, "Hey, heeeeey."
"Zzzzzzzz…." He swatted the stick away in his sleep, "Welcome… our ranch is so fun… C'mon and look around…" He continued to snore, "Zzzzzzzz… Zzzzzzzz….. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz…."
"Well, at least we know the ranch is open to visitors!" Aang smiled.
"I think I'll need a special order of milk after this…" Navi sighed, poking the guy's nose, "Hey! Wake up!"
The man swatted her away, "Let's-a go…" He mumbled in his sleep turning over.
"The nerve of this guy!" Navi was red to show her annoyance, stomping her foot in the air. She didn't feel like she had the time for this, she could already see the sun rising, meaning it took them ultimately all night to get here…
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO
Navi returned to her normal color at the Cucco's crow. "Look! A Cucco hatched from the egg you were incubating in your pants!"
"It's the miracle of life!" Aang wiped a tear, "Isn't it beautiful?"
Link pulled the Cucco out of his pants, and it crowed again immediately seeing its new owner, the cry was so powerful that Malon's father stirred from his sleep.
"What in tarnation?" He stretched his stiff muscles, "Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here?" He said to no one in particular.
"Uh, hi!" Aang waved, and the man turned around noticing the trio for the first time.
"Hello, and who might you be?" Malon's father asked.
"I'm Aang, and these are my friends, Link and Navi." Aang introduced. "And I'm assuming you're Malon's father." He asked.
"Yep. I'm Talon, the owner of Lon Lon Ranch." He nodded pointing to himself with his thumb, "I went to the castle to deliver some milk, but I sat down to rest, and I guess I fell asleep."
"That was yesterday, though." Navi deadpanned, "It's the dawn of a new day, Malon sent us here last night to find you." She explained as the man's eased attitude became shrouded in fear.
"What?! Malon was looking for me?" He slapped his hand to his face, "I'm gonna catch it now! I messed up bad, leaving Malon to wait for me!"
"I don't think it'll be that bad-" Aang had tried to say, but Talon was already speeding off, dust trailing behind as he ran for his life.
"She's really gonna let me have it!"
He turned the corner, exiting the gate and that was the last that they had seen of Talon the milkman, for that moment at least.
"Okay, now that he's gone I have an idea. Take the crates and push them into the moat." Navi rubbed her hands together.
"And we'll use it as a bridge to access that small opening where water is being released on the side of the castle successfully sneaking in. You're a genius, Navi!" Aang deduced, seeing the fairy's plan and nodding in approval, beginning to help push one box while Link pushed the other.
Navi sweatdropped, only wanting to inconvenience the man a little for inconveniencing her…
"I'm glad you appreciate my genius Aang…"
. . .
Since the opening they crawled through was rushing with water it wasn't a big surprise when they emerged from a pool in the castle courtyard.
"This is where we'll need to be careful, if one guard sees us we'll be kicked out and have to start all over again…" Navi warned, not wanting to return all the way back here when they were so close…
As soon as they stepped past a hedge a guard noticed them and grabbed them, "Hey, you! Stop! You, kids over there!"
The guards gathered and once again picked up Link and Aang throwing them out of the Castle. This time, instead of escorting them to the outer gate, they just threw them out of the Castle's building back to where the milk crates were.
"Well, that's convenient." Aang commented as they just went through the opening again.
"This time please don't get caught again." Navi begged, feeling her hair graying from this ordeal.
Walking past the hedges once again, they snuck past the guard patrolling the area. Leading to an area with two parallel fountains and two guards circling the area. The trio waited for their backs to turn, rushing past them to the next area of the courtyard.
There was a wooden structure with five different beams holding up wooden planks, which would make it easy to sneak past the guard below circling the beam in the middle, surrounded by rupees. Navi tilted her head up in that direction, "That way!" She whispered as she and Aang took the higher option.
"Where's Link?" Aang questioned, noticing the boy hadn't followed. Looking down below them, they watched as Link avoided the guard and picked up the discarded rupees before crossing to the other side undetected.
Aang and Navi reunited with the boy. Navi sweat slightly at the stress of watching the boy.
They passed a statue of a sword-wielding figure surrounded by two stone women, being patrolled by two guards. This led them to a hedge-filled area, where they snuck past two more guards and a statue.
"They didn't make that easy did they?" Aang scratched his head.
"It's almost like they want to protect the princess…" Navi commented.
They walked through an open stone corridor which led the trio to a clearing within the castle walls. In the Castle Courtyard stood two figures upon some steps gazing through a lone window.
The three approached the pair who were trying their best to peek inconspicuously. Link tapped the Princess on the shoulder and she turned with a soft gasp.
"What?! Who?! Who are you?" She asked, "How did you get past the guards?"
"AANG!" The other figure tackled the bald boy into a hug, "I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!"
"Hey, Sokka." Aang said lying in someone's arms on top of a metal ship. "Thanks for coming."
"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory." Sokka grinned, kneeling beside the boy...
Another time at the Air Temple he grew up in, a familiar voice sounded behind him after discovering Gyatso and being overwhelmed with emotion, "Katara and I aren't gonna let anything happen to you. Promise." Aang collapsed, feeling secure, he knew he didn't pass out though…
The scene changed and Aang knew he felt horrible, he couldn't remember what he did though. "What did you do?" Sokka angrily asked as he approached.
"It was an accident! I'm so-" Sokka tackled Aang before he could finish.
"I told you we shouldn't mess around with this! Look what you did! You burned my sister!" Aang's stomach dropped as he heard those words, he couldn't remember what the boy's sister looked like…
He could remember happier moments with Sokka as well.
"I got to admit, now I'm really glad I bought this bag. It matches the belt perfectly." Sokka adjusted the belt he eventually had to give up again…
A room in a lost library that acted like a calendar, he didn't know how he ended up there, but the room had darkened, "Great. You must've broken it." Aang commented.
"It's not broken." Sokka chimed in, squinting, "The sun is behind the moon. It's a solar eclipse. It's literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history. Now I get it." Sokka grabbed Aang by the shoulders, "Something awful happened on that day. I don't know what, but I do know why."
He leaned in closely before excitedly shaking Aang, "Firebenders lose their bending during a solar eclipse!" He threw Aang away with a final shake, "Sorry!"
Now in a well-decorated room, Aang took a curtain off a wall and wrapped it around himself in a mock robe, "Good evening Mr. Sokka Water Tribe." The two wore curtains bowing to each other until their heads collided and they knocked each other down.
Now on a ship, Sokka was sat in front of Aang wearing a Fire Nation soldier uniform, "And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage. We have a secret." He whispered leaning in closer to Aang. "You."
"Me?"
"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead." He smiled happily, standing and spreading his arms out, "Isn't that great?" Aang didn't think this was great at all, he failed again… didn't he?
Now atop some cliffs overlooking the sea, he stepped beside Sokka, "Look, your moment of truth isn't going to be in front of some map. It's going to be out there on the battlefield."
"You seem so confident about everything." Sokka turned his head to the bald boy, "How do you know we're going to win?"
"Because I already failed the world once at Ba Sing Se. I won't let myself fail again."
Suddenly, he was in some deep secret underground tunnels with Sokka yelling at a girl, "Where's Suki?" Sokka growled. "Answer me!"
Aang hadn't seen Sokka this furious for a while, placing a calming hand on his shoulder, "Sokka, she won't talk."
"Where are you keeping her?!" Sokka demanded to know, even as the clock was ticking…
Quite some time had passed since then, and they had fun on the beach until they weren't… A plan was revealed to them and Sozin's comet was approaching, but he wasn't alone.
"All right! Team Avatar is back!" Sokka cheered next to Suki.
"Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fan and Sword!" Sokka said handing Suki a fan made of leaves and holding a longer leaf of his own high up in the air.
So they began to train, they listened to Sokka's strategy and executed it perfectly to take out the Melon Lord. Aang just had to deliver the final strike but… he couldn't do it.
"I can't." He shook his head, eyes downcast.
"What's wrong with you? If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now." Sokka yelled at him.
"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself." Aang responded.
Sokka without a word unsheathed his sword and sliced through the watermelon, much to Aang's horror, "There! That's how it's done." He said walking away, leaving Momo to eat the remains of the head.
And that was one of the last times that Aang had seen…
"Sokka?" Aang asked, his head hurt as he tried to process what was happening.
"That's right! I'm glad to see you, buddy!" Sokka hugged the boy close, tears falling from his eyes, "We took down the air fleet and saw your battle with the Fire Lord until that angry Owl Spirit swept you two away!"
"Oh, is this the friend you spoke of?" The princess inquired.
"Yep! This is him!" Sokka proudly said, placing his arm around the other boy's shoulders. "The almighty Avatar Aang, master of all four elements and close friend of the Water Tribe!"
"You're the one from the Water Tribe?" Navi asked flying up to him, "I thought you were gonna be a Zora."
"Whoa, this is one small Spirit you found Aang!" Sokka said trying to poke the blue ball.
"Spirit?!" Navi said aghast, "I am a fairy."
"What's that?" Princess Zelda leaned forward, "Then are you… Are you from the forest?" She asked looking at Link's clothes and equipment.
She grew excited momentarily forgetting about those around her besides the blue-eyed swordsman, "Then… then… you wouldn't happen to have… the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?! That green and shining stone… Do you have it?"
Link nodded, pulling the Kokiri Emerald out of his pocket and happily showing it to her.
"Just as I thought!" Zelda cheered.
"The Great Deku Tree died in the process though…" Navi sadly lamented, "It's surreal to think that happened just a day ago..."
"Wow, sounds like you were busy." Sokka said to Aang.
Aang passively nodded, "Right…"
Zelda spoke up once more, "I had a dream… In the dream, dark storm clouds set ablaze were billowing over the land of Hyrule… But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest parted the clouds, and lit up the ground…"
"The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy and a pair of glowing eyes… I knew this was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest and be joined by a band of heroes… Yes, I thought you might be the one…" She had a faraway look in her eyes as she studied Link leaning in closer to his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule."
Zelda tilted her head slightly staring at the boy, "What is your name?"
"Link doesn't actually talk much." Navi said hovering above him, "Aang and I do the talking for him usually."
"Link…" Zelda repeated, "Strange… It sounds somehow… familiar." She happily clasped her hands together, "OK then, Link. I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone…"
Link shook his head, causing everyone to freeze.
The Princess crossed her arms, "C'mon… Don't be a blabbermouth!"
Link nodded with an amused smile as Zelda continued, "The legend goes like this… The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule… the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity…"
"If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil… That is what the legend has been foretold… So the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones." Zelda finished her story.
"So there's an actual physical entrance to the Spiritual Realm in this world?" Aang asked.
"That's right… The Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world." Zelda confirmed, "But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. And, in order to open the door, it is said that you need to collect three Spiritual Stones."
"Anything else we need to know?" Sokka asked, leaning in to whisper to Aang, "She wouldn't tell me a thing until I could prove you existed."
"Another thing is needed… the treasure that the Royal Family keeps along with this legend… The Ocarina of Time!"
"A magic flute?" Navi asked, "Wasn't expecting that to be a key element here."
"I forgot to tell you!" Zelda exclaimed suddenly, "We were spying through this window just now. The other element from my dream… the fiery dark clouds… I believe they symbolize those men in there!"
"Ooh! Are they coming? We've been waiting forever to see!" Sokka groaned.
Link stepped forward to the window watching a rather tall dark-armored man walking forward to greet the King of Hyrule. The man kneeled as Zelda spoke, "Can you see the men with the evil eyes?" Another man with long black hair and red robes stepped forward before kneeling as well.
"That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudo. They hail from the desert far to the west." Zelda explained, "He named that man as one of his new Royal Advisors. Though they swear allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere."
"The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream… They must symbolize those men!"
"I'LL SAY!" Sokka shrieked, "That's a very bad man!" Sokka pointed, "Right, Aang?"
Aang however was stunned frozen seeing the man walk in and kneel as well.
"Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that he has amnesia." Navi chimed in, causing the older boy's eyes to widen.
"He has what? But he said my name!" Sokka said unwilling to accept this, "He has to remember some things!"
Navi shrugged, "He said things are coming back in bits and pieces. Maybe he did remember things about you, like your name."
"And you didn't think to say anything before?" Sokka slapped his hand over his head.
"Hey! There's been a lot going on!" She argued back, "First, Aang gets dropped on his head getting amnesia, then the Great Deku Tree died, the Owl has been stalking us, and now we have this Ganondorf guy to deal with and-"
"Ozai..." Aang said.
"Huh?" Navi asked, turning to the window.
"He tried to kill me..." Aang grabbed his head, as the Phoenix King smirked evilly at the King.
Okokokok. Done here, we're getting to some of the juicier bits and yes this is where we're ending this chapter. At this fun cliffhanger!
Is it really a cliffhanger tho? Kinda yeah. There's so much more to explain and yet, so little time. Haha, no but really, there's still a lot more to explain in the next chapter.
Sokka is the first to reunite with the team, considering he and Aang have some of the most interaction in the series, besides the lovely Katara. I included the flashback scenes that I find pretty good in the series to show Aang remembering more details about his life, most of the other faces are blurry to him as he tries to recall, but his memory was being triggered by similar events before. This time it's triggered by someone he knows directly appearing before him triggering a stronger reaction, although I'm not sure how this would work in real life this work of fiction has it working like this.
I already planned out where each person who is showing up will be.
I'm not sure what else I can say. I can't wait until next time! The story will definitely pick up the more it goes on, and honestly, chapters might get longer or they might get shorter. This story is definitely really fun to write for though.
Read, review, favorite, anything you want! It's up to you gang, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!