Note: I know constantly having to identify the separate versions of Link, Zelda, Impa, Purah and Robbie will likely get confusing, so I'm addressing it now. Post Calamity versions will have a bold C after their names, Post Upheaval will have a bold U.
ZeldaC led the way to the throne room to speak to King Rhoam about the whirlwind of events that had come to her attention. She hadn't yet reported about the other ZeldaU having awoken, let alone anything she said.
He was already aware of the Gate at the Forgotten Temple, and informed the likelihood that Terrako was involved, as well as Terrako's strange transformation.
Behind her, she noticed Daruk fidgeting. She figured this meant that what he had been able to inform her of so far had been only the start.
LinkC noticed this as well and addressed his friend.
"Hey, I know Zelda said we needed to call the others, but if there's something important in all this, you can tell us while we walk..." LinkC ventured.
"Yeah... look, you know I'm usually a patient Goron, but these two I met dropped something heavy..."
Near Woodland Stable, 2 days ago
A pair of Sheikah emerged from Minshi Woods. The lead one, Paya, breathed a sigh of relief once she saw the Stable.
"I was worried that green flash might have meant something sinister, but everything so far seems intact... mostly."
Behind her was a large Construct, piloted by her Great-aunt Purah's number one pupil, Josha.
It was her current pet project to recreate the Construct that the Sage of Spirit, Mineru, had inhabited. The parts were used for reference, as was LinkU's reports of a similar Construct with a few unique features made by the Yiga Clan.
Currently, it resembled a more compact version of the Yiga's project, similarly replacing the head with cockpit. It was impressive and effective in its own right, but Josha wasn't satisfied enough to call it completed yet.
One of her chief complaints was though she had painstakingly recreated the Fuse mechanic in it, it could only Fuse 1 object to itself at a time. There were other complaints of efficiency and desired original features as well.
Josha herself had aged 5 years, naturally. She was around 15, approaching Paya in the height department. She now opted for smaller glasses and a single braid rather than the pigtails of her youth. When piloting her beloved Construct, she also wore goggles similar to Robbie's.
Paya hadn't changed much in appearance, but her inherent timidity had diminished greatly, seen in her expression. Battling the monsters that inhabited the Depths helped with this, also giving her new appreciation for her friends as well as her grandmother and late parents.
"I still can't shake the feeling something is different here, chief." Josha remarked, "Subtle stuff so far, though. Not like the first thing we noticed."
She was, of course, referring to the absence of the Minshi Woods Chasm. It was the first thing they noticed, having been transported from the Post-Upheaval future just as they were Warping to the Kyononis Shrine (in the work-in-progress Castle Town) from the Depths when the green flash occurred, and they awoke at the Southeast Edge of the Lost Woods.
Other oddities were then noted. The Purah Pad warp function had stopped working, and they noticed as they went through that not only the Chasm, but Ekochiu Shrine was gone, too.
They also didn't see any travelers on the path they had taken, but didn't think much of it at the time. Paya noticed the footsteps of people and horses, but when she could safely conclude they weren't hostile, she shifted her focus elsewhere.
They had no way of knowing that Josha's Construct had attracted attention, or what was waiting for them at the Stable.
Now, there they saw a lineup of Goron Warriors, none of whom they recognized. They were taking a defensive stance, and seemed shocked to see a pair of Sheikah with what had been reported as a possible Guardian headed that way.
Their mild surprise turned to shock when one Goron said "Hey, guys... isn't that Lady Impa?!"
The arrival of Daruk helped calm the initial confusion.
Goron City, 1 hour before
Daruk shouldered his treasured Boulder Breaker, ready to head out to investigate the mysterious Guardian said to be heading in the direction of Woodland Stable. He had sent out an advance party to guard the Stable so they could evacuate the civilians if needed.
The past few days had been exciting yet tiring for the Goron Warrior. In less than a week, he had fought 7 Hinox, 15 Stone Taluses, 3 Lynels and a Flame Gleeok, just to name the big ones. 6 of the Stone Taluses were Battle Talus, something he hadn't seen before and threw him off the first time.
The fights and new foes were fun for him, and by the time the constant calls with little to no downtime started to get old, it finally began to settle down. He was able to return focus to training and spending time with his son, Rupon.
During the Calamity, Rupon was the Goron equivalent of an 8-year-old. Gorons aged slower than Hylians, though not nearly as much as the Zora, so 2 years had barely seen any aging in the boy. He had only 6 months ago reached the age to begin training with a Cobble Crusher. Daruk had even taken him to observe when the monster hunts involved only a single Boss Bokoblin. It was relatively safe, since his son could watch from the safety of his own barrier of Daruk's Protection, something hereditary.
With a last bite of his Rock Roast, Daruk began rolling down the mountain, plowing through various small fries as he went.
After an hour, he arrived at the Stable, met by the same bizarre sight as his panicked advance party.
"Whoah! Hold on guys! Quiet down!" He urged his soldiers, who obeyed.
He them approached what seemed at first like a familiar face, "Hey, Impa! Fancy meeting you here! Were you here about this strange... Guardian...too...?"
He paused. This woman he thought was Impa was looking at him incredulously, like she had never seen him before but also wondered what he was doing there. Upon a closer look, he saw subtle differences in her face.
"Wait... you're not Impa! Who are you?! You too, in the Guardian!"
Josha tilted her head, "Guardian? This would be a CONSTRUCT, my good Boulder man! I can't believe you would still confuse..."
"Josha, quiet for a moment!" Paya was uncharacteristically assertive at that moment, in a way usually reserved for commands in the Depths. She turned to the Goron before her, the one with Yunobo's Boulder Breaker, and a dead ringer for a certain statue in Goron City, "Are you... Champion Daruk, by any chance?"
Josha held her breath when she heard this, her curious mind already racing with possibilities for if it was confirmed.
"Uh... yeah? Even if you're not Impa, I figured a lot of people knew...?" He was interrupted.
"OMIGOSH! PAYA! Do you know what this means?! The Chasm, the shrine... that green flash has taken us to the past, before the Great Calamity!" Josha gushed, lifting her goggles with her eyes sparkling.
Paya, hearing this turned to Daruk for confirmation, but Daruk looked slightly confused.
"No... we sealed the Calamity two years ago. But... You're from the future?" If Terrako was indeed behind these portals as was reported, the idea didn't seem that far-fetched to Daruk, "Do you know a Goron named Yunobo, by any chance?"
Paya's eyes widened, and she held up a hand to stop Josha from rattling on further. She needed to ask the questions here.
"How... do you know that name? Yunobo is your descendant, but you were long gone by the time he was born?" She asked, "But no, wait! You said you sealed the Calamity? The one that..." She sighed, collecting her thoughts, "This isn't making sense..."
Daruk also seemed to sense a disconnect, "Uh... listen... why don't you tell me what you know about it over on that Stable. You look exhausted, so I'll have one of my guys here get some food we can discuss things over."
They entered, Josha getting down from her Construct (reluctantly), and Paya told Daruk the tale of the Calamity as she knew it.
When Daruk heard it in its entirety, he felt like he had swallowed an ice-cold rock. It was a disturbing revelation, though the second part of it offered a great deal of relief.
Still, he knew he needed to inform the princess.
"I'm gonna need you guys to come with me. We need to go to the Castle. Now." He ordered a wagon be prepared by the stable.
"Hold on! We told you what you wanted, now explain things to us!" Paya demanded.
"We can talk about that on the ride over." Daruk assured her. As they headed on a two-day trip to the castle, he divulged the story as he knew it. About Terrako, the interference of the pursuing Calamity, the Seer named Astor, the intervention of warriors from the future, all the way up to the conclusion.
He was able to go into detail, answering a few questions along the way. He finally finished explaining the recent incident with Terrako that seemed to cause the current portal situation tight before they arrived.
Hyrule Castle, Present
"So I found these two at the Woodland Stable, and it was already weird. One of them was piloting this thing we thought was a Guardian, but she says it isn't. The other one looked almost like a dead ringer for Impa." Daruk explained, "Actually, she told me she's Impa's granddaughter, and she's from a hundred years in the future, about!"
"A hundred years? She may know the warriors we fought with..." ZeldaC posited.
"I asked her, and they both do! But get this, she says she knows you two also!" Daruk pointed to both LinkC and ZeldaC, "And not as old people like I thought she might! The way she says it... the ZeldaU we have here is from the same time!"
ZeldaC stopped and turned to him, "How can that be?"
She fully suspended her disbelief at this point. After all that she had been through and learned, all that had been thought of during her discussion with Mipha, she just wanted to know if the answer was any closer.
Daruk rubbed his head, "She told me exactly how. It's...like I said, it's heavy, but listen..."
He recited it as Paya told him, almost like a book of history. The contents had stuck in his brain, and he even imitated her voice and accent. Nobody bothered questioning that, it seemed to help him remember it as well as he did.
Over 100 years ago, Hyrule was at its peak.
It flourished as a peaceful, advanced civilization.
But signs started showing of the reemergence of Calamity Ganon, a destructive force of Malice that plagued Hyrule for generations...
It was a dramatic retelling of their own preparations. The sealing power. The hero with the sword that seals the darkness. The Champions chosen to pilot the Divine Beasts.
But it diverged when the Calamity hit. On Zelda's 17th birthday, rather than early as they remembered. It got worse.
The Champions lost their lives. The king and those in the castle perished.
Many lives were lost as the Guardians spread across Hyrule.
ZeldaC, LinkC, and Mipha visibly paled, horror in their eyes. It was the worst-case scenario they had contemplated. But Daruk continued.
The Knight was gravely wounded to the point of near death.
In that time of desperation, the Princess awakened her power. It drove back the pursuing Guardians.
Alone, the Princess went to confront Calamity Ganon.
She sealed him along with herself in Hyrule Castle, keeping him at bay in a constant struggle with her own power, never wavering for the next hundred years...
ZeldaC was wordless now. Even as Mipha gazed at her sympathetically, she was more concerned to hear the rest.
As she began to become exhausted, the hero awakened from the Shrine of Resurrection.
The damage he suffered had been great, the century it took to revive him left him weakened... and without any memory even of who he was. All he had was the Sheikah Slate.
LinkC narrowed his eyes, struggling to picture it, but said nothing.
It is said he heard the voice of the Princess calling to him, and received guidance from an Old Man.
After he gathered the Runes, the Old Man revealed himself as the regretful spirit of King Rhoam Bosphamorous Hyrule, who told him of the Calamity, the Divine Beasts, and his mission.
Through great trial, the hero recovered his lost strength, the Master Sword and his memories.
The Divine Beasts, which had stirred to wreak havoc as the seal was weakening, were reclaimed by this hero, banishing the Blights that controlled them.
The Spirits of the Champions remained within the Divine Beasts. Not even death was to prevent them from carrying out their sworn duty.
When ready, the Hero delved into the Sactum of Hyrule Castle, just as the seal finally broke.
And so, the Divine Beasts fired, in an event 100 years in the making. The hero defeated the Calamity, freeing the Princess to seal it once more.
Peace returned, Hyrule could finally rebuild, and the King and Champions could finally move on in peace...
Daruk finished the tale, wiping sweat off his brow as if the story itself exhausted him.
Now that it was over, ZeldaC found a series of emotions wrestling within her.
This wasn't her experience. She had avoided it, but hearing about it still broke her heart.
Her own battle with Calamity Ganon had been hard. Extremely so. She often felt herself nearing the breaking point. She never wanted to imagine if she had failed. Lost everything.
But the ZeldaU currently occupying her chambers had experienced just that. Worse, she had to imprison herself, battling the Calamity for a Century. ZeldaC was honestly amazed she came out of it sane.
LinkC shared that thought and thought of himself. Waking up with no memory... he didn't know whether to think it preferable to waking up knowing he failed. He was willing to sacrifice anything for Zelda, for his kingdom... but losing his friends... his family back in Hateno.
It also occurred to him that if this other LinkU did regain his memories... he must be frantic. He knew how he would feel if ZeldaC disappeared before his eyes. If he had no idea where to start looking.
What he didn't know was how LinkU had already had such an experience once before... with a near-conclusion that tormented him with a tragedy that should by all means have been irreversible.
Mipha had suspected this might have happened, and confirming it offered no comfort. SidonU's mysterious behavior added up in ways she wished it hadn't.
But the revelation that Calamity Ganon didn't destroy everything, that Zora's Domain survived, that it no longer plagued his future gave her hope. She prayed that SidonU would continue to make her proud in his own future.
Snapping out of her stupor, ZeldaC straightened up once more, and resumed her walk to the throne room.
"It... was suspected, but we can't dwell too long on it right now. Father needs to hear about this."
The others followed. Urbosa was already there when they arrived, having already been in town checking in with her husband.
Shirana had been assisting the soldiers in monster extermination in Central Hyrule. Urbosa had recently gotten Gerudo Desert stable enough to visit her.
She had been unable to leave the desert until that point due to strange monsters called Gibdos. A few hives had popped up in the desert, and Urbosa's Fury was the most effective way to destroy both the hives and the otherwise resilient Gibdos.
"That's a grave look on your face, Little Bird." Urbosa noted.
"Zelda... has our guest awakened?" King Rhoam enquired. ZeldaC nodded, and King Rhoam had all low-ranking staff clear out. This was to be discussed in secrecy.
"We have discovered many things, father. This may take a while... but please bear with it."
She began her report on Terrako, ZeldaU's recovery and behavior, the identity of Daruk's guests currently in a separate room, and what Daruk told them.
Urbosa gasped a few times during the retelling of the Calamity, while King Rhoam made an effort to remain stone-faced, though finding himself close to tears.
"I...I see. It must be hard on her... I can't imagine how she must feel, seeing the way we have things now..." The King mused solemnly.
Urbosa cast a sympathetic glance at him, "Your Highness... if you wish, we can speak to the Sheikah from the future for more details while you talk to... the other ZeldaU?"
It was something he desired to do. From the sound of things, his other self had never made amends, dying full of regret. Even if he was at peace in that future... did that ZeldaU know how he felt all those years? Or were her only thoughts of him as her stubborn father who disregarded her thoughts and feelings, always pressuring her, never praising her?
"It may not be my place... a later time, if she herself desires..." He decided, "Please, bring those two in, I will talk to them with you."
Near Mount Gustaf
At the time Paya and Josha were being brought to the throne room, a group of Rito were en route to the Castle in answer to the summons received a few hours prior.
They had actually already been preparing to go there when the message was received, as their own guest had insisted on accompanying Revali there to report about him.
Tulin's arrival at the village had been intended to be brief. However, the people of the village seemed fascinated by him.
He was the son of the warrior Teba who had helped Revali before, and he himself was based in the village when his father found he had come through time as well.
His identity as well as his aging was intriguing itself, but he also welded the Great Eagle Bow like Revali.
This led to him honestly answering a question from the elder that was meant as a joke "Can we take it you have also mastered the winds?"
"Yeah! I have!" Tulin answered, seemingly unaware that the Elder didn't actually suspect he had.
Revali, who knew this prior from both Dranor's report and the tailwinds that Tulin had generated on the trip over, chuckled at the looks of shock surrounding them.
Tulin had spent the next 2 days at the Flight Range. At first merely proving his skill to onlookers, but then Revali insisted on training competitions.
Both of them admittedly got carried away and lost track of time. Revali had long wished for someone to compete against to raise his own skill. He had long tried to get that out of Link, his provocations intended to spark a spirit of rivalry. Link never answered this and seemed to mistake it as pure antagonism.
Tulin was more eager, seeing it as an honor. He surpassed Revali's expectations. Revali even thought he might just be his equal. Tulin seemed to deny this, thanking Revali for going easy on him, even long after Revali had stopped doing so.
When Revali finally noticed the strange nature of the arrows Tulin used, he paused the training to ask, only to realize that a whole day had passed, and he needed to notify the King of what he found.
"Sorry, we'll talk later. I need to tell the King about you!"
"Wait! Let me come! I have to find out some things myself, and that's probably the best place to start!"
Fast forward to the present, the two were now flying near the peak of Moung Gustaf, 4 additional warriors in tow as escorts. One of them was Craj, who hadn't seen either of them since they returned to the village days ago.
"Hey... you're Teba's kid, right?" He struck up a conversation.
"Yeah. I remember you, kinda. One of the Villagers that visited us last time I was here?" Tulin didn't remember every face from that time, but Craj was a frequent visitor. One Teba seemed interested in.
"I'm just noticing now... it was the same with your dad, but... your feather pattern, it kind of reminds me of my wife!" Craj responded, "I didn't think at the time, but could I be your ancestor?"
It was a stretch, but not much of one. His wife, Boria, was Revali's cousin. Teba had been an outstanding warrior in his own right, and Tulin's skills had made a blood link to Revali seem even more likely.
They hadn't gotten around to discussing the differences in futures, or even the future Tulin came from much at all. Between the question of his wind abilities and subsequent showcase and day-long training session, the closest they had gotten was Revali asking if Teba was doing well.
"You know, maybe! I don't know much about my ancestry... at least recently... but my dad got his feathers from my grandmother. I heard you have a new daughter? Is her name...?" Tulin was interrupted by a report.
"Master Revali! Down there! That caravan is under attack!" A soldier reported.
Over by Passeri Greenbelt Cave was a caravan group of merchants and travelers under attack by a Battle Talus manned by Bokoblins.
"Darn it! We're running late as it is! This rock will regret wasting my time!" Revali spat.
"Master Revali, if you are in a hurry, I don't mind handling this for you!" Tulin volunteered, "I'll meet up with you when I'm done! I know the way to the castle, just let them know I'm coming!"
"I'll help him out!" Craj assured him, "Trust us! Go on ahead!"
Revali hesitated only for a second before continuing, "Don't be too long, now! I may have to double back if you keep me waiting!" He called back.
Hyrule Castle Town
"Linky... is that you?" PurahC inspected LinkU in an oddly familiar way when she spotted the group en route to the Castle. RobbieC was with her, currently looking at Tauro.
"Link and the others I recognize, but this weirdo is certainly new!" He proclaimed without a hint of irony.
LinkU was more surprised at RobbieC than PurahC, who looked more similar to PurahU, but he immediately disregarded them.
"ImpaC! This isn't the time!" He urged her.
"Right... sorry, PurahC, but we really need to get to the Castle. Both them and I are in agreement on this. If you want to insist, you can come with." ImpaC mediated, knowing full well her sister wouldn't refuse.
With the two researchers in tow, they headed to the Castle where Revali had just arrived.
A Hideout Under The Sand Near South Lomei Labarynth in Gerudo Desert
Raiga sat across from a a pale, red headed teenager whose face brought back bad memories. The teen had two attendants at his side, and Raiga had two Yiga footsoldiers with him. He was still acting alone, but had roped in two closer associates from the desert for this meeting.
The Seer kid, Crowl, had appeared to him as he still stalked Tanagar Canyon. They had briefly quarreled before realizing each had something the other wanted.
Crowl had actually found the gate and crossed through shortly before Tauro's team had come to find it at the Temple. It was a risky move on his part, but it seemed to pay off.
He met this Yiga Member who had relative promise in his skill of utilizing Gloom. More importantly, he had a steady supply of the special containers needed to store it.
The process needed to make these strong containers with the properties needed to store pure magic energy of any kind was once widely taught to many artisans in Hyrule, but by the time of the Post-Upheaval, the ones who had inherited that skill and knowledge had vastly dwindled.
Crowl had access to none of them. He had a set number of containers he had managed to obtain, and often had to use the Gloom he generated as fast as he produced it.
He wasn't the original source as the Demon King was. If he didn't store his Gloom properly, it would weaken and eventually dissipate after half a day.
But here, in this alternate version of the past, he had a chance. He had heard how events had unfolded here from Raiga.
His grandfather had achieved greatness here! Those accursed Champions somehow robbed him of his glory and struck him down! (Raiga was not privy to the specific details of Astor's downfall, not knowing that Harbringer Ganon had betrayed Astor himself)
His father had never been born here. It was up to him to carry out his grandfather's revenge! If he played it right, both futures would be his for the taking.
For Raiga, he didn't trust this kid as far as he could throw him. This Crowl boy clearly viewed him as a disposable tool, like Astor had.
If he gained his own access to the containers, he would undoubtedly do away with Raiga. Raiga wasn't the brightest, but he wasn't that dumb.
He couldn't outright refuse him, though. His ability to produce that precious Gloom he had previously been harvesting in diluted mist form was too good to pass up.
He had to be careful, but the payoff would be huge. Once the meeting here ended, he would send his footsoldier friends to notify Master Kohga. Surely he could at least spare some assistance.
So those two discussed, neither truly trusting the other. This alliance was sure to multiply the trouble these two menaces had individually caused both futures...
To Be Continued...