Zelda - The Winged Ones - ch18

Chapter 18: Water and Wings


Chirin showed up a short time later along with Yubreit. "Well?" he asked.
"Kaepora left to the desert."
"Left? How?"
"With the wolfose mask."
"The what?"
"…I never told you guys but, the wolfose that used to live in the ice cavern, the old one; he was dying such a slow and painful death, his soul troubled by the lonely and bleak existence it lived through for generations in that cave… I used the song of healing to mend his soul and a mask resulted, though I was not expecting it."
"So Kaepora is a wolfose right now."
"Yes… though I am not sure if we are supposed to wait here or what."

"You can go home."
Link looked around in confusion, as did Chirin.

"Oh, right I never used this before have I? Only recently have I mastered this new trick. I can now reach out to souls that have been close to me, and aside from my family no one is closer to me than you two. So, you won't be able to reach me but I can reach you. Go ahead and go home, this may take quite a while, I'm not even out of the valley yet."

Chirin spotted Luda tying to secretly peek at him from out her bedroom window, he turned around and whispered to his father blushing, "Dad… can we go?… Luda is spying on me again." Link sighed, he knew all to well what it was like to be pursued as if he were the only eligible bachelor in all of Hyrule… However, he could tell by the look on Chirin's face that the feelings in this case likely went both ways, he never saw the boy blush around any other girl.

The hero looked to the dragon, "Hey, you, Yupert," the snowy beast turned, responding to Link's silly nickname, "I assume you are not still too shaken up to take on a passenger are you?" The dragon crouched down for Link to climb aboard, "We need to head to the Spirit Temple, I can't leave Phantom out there," he said, climbing aboard, wishing the saddle was better insulated against the dragon's cold skin. '…My butt is going to be numb by the time we get there…' he thought to himself.



After picking up the black stallion, Chirin took to travel by ground rather than by air so that they could ride home together. Chirin remained in his winged form because as a Tenshioni he loved the cold nature of the dragon's skin.

When they got back to the castle they found Impa watching over Aryll who played obliviously in the grass at the front of the castle hunting bugs. Zelda had enlisted Impa as a bodyguard in light of the situation considering Chirin was taken without any warning in the past.

When the little princess spotted her returning family the girl careened down the hill as fast as she could and then jumped onto Yubreit's dragging tail to ride it the rest of the way up to the castle giggling all the while.

"Any news?" Zelda said.
"Kaepora is looking into it, he will get in touch with us soon."
"You mean he is coming all the way here?"
"Well no," he said dismounting, "It seems he has found a way to communicate through us much like he did when I held the essence of the medallion of wind. He told us to keep on our toes but not to worry." Link said, his words holding a little white lie to calm the worried mother of his child.

"Hey Yupert, you should stay with us okay?" he said looking over to the dragon which was now playing with Aryll… who was trying to convince him to eat the bugs she'd found… "You and Chirin are the only ones who can fly and we may have to make use of your wings." The dragon looked at him and yawned, he then walked over and curled up in the shade of a tree.
"I will take that as a yes." Link mused to himself.
Zelda looked at the dragon, "Must he sit on the lawn, the frost is going to kill the grass!" Link chuckled to himself as he went inside.



A day and a night passed and there was no word from Kaepora. Link tried to keep his concern at bay by busying himself with his family and keeping the boisterous Aryll entertained and out of trouble.

And his little adopted daughter sure knew how to keep him busy as she found new ways to get into mischief including climbing up the curtains and building mudpies on the kitchen floor. Chirin was never this wild as a child but he also was not a Gerudo. Aryll being born to the warrior race meant she had inherited the desert folk's feisty nature, and Nabooru had already assured them that all Gerudo girls act like this.
The little family easily accepted and even adored her tenacious tendencies…Including the calm older brother who was always there to get her out of a tree if she climbed too high or rescue her from the shed roof when shed got stuck. Little did Chirin know Aryll often got herself caught in high places on purpose just so she could she her older brother use his wings.


But as the third day came Link was getting worried and the fits of darkness caused by his bound forms kept coming and going more than usual. He tried not to let any concern show on his face, not wanting to worry his family any further. However later that day they all got something new to worry about.

Link and Zelda were in the main hall seated at a large table along with their son going over what could be done to keep the citizens of Hyrule safe if turmoil does arise because of the boy's dream.
"Your Highness" a guard came in "Queen Ruto is at the front steps." "Ruto?" Link was not expecting visitors, and while Ruto may be a playful creature she had never showed up unannounced before meaning the nature of her visit must be business not pleasure.

"Let her in."
Link already did not have a good feeling about this.

The aquatic being came in at a hurried pace, her face awash with worry as she approached the table.
"Oh Link it's worse than in the future that almost was. The lake, its completely dried up! It happened last night and so fast, I sent two of my guards to investigate but they never came back."

Link looked to Zelda who got up and pushed the chair aside "I'm getting my mask, tell the guards to get the horses ready."
"What? Your coming?" the king said.

"Well yeah, I wanted to help you in the future that almost was when you faced the temples and right now I damn well am going to do just that."
Link was taken aback by how crudely she said that, and then grinned, Sheik talks like that. He was glad to hear the same relaxed tone come out of her princess self for once and not just out of her warrior guise.
Being bold suited her more.
While in the form of the Sheikah warrior Zelda was allowed to drop her royalty routine and be herself…and so Link liked to see her take on the form of Sheik…even though he was not sure if Zelda was still even a "she" or not while cloaked in the shadow of the fallen Sheikah prince…and at times Link thought maybe he did not want to know the truth… he liked to assume Sheik was a girl.

I'm coming too said Chirin "For once I am not going to object to that." Zelda said at the door "After that dream you had I would rather you not leave my sight."

Zelda hurried down the hall and stopped at the inner garden where Impa was watching over Aryll as the girl tended to her little section of erratically planted flowers.
Zelda crouched down next to her little red haired adopted daughter "Mommy has to go away for a while again, okay? We may be gone for a day or more…Can you be a big girl by yourself while we are away?"
the Queen had not stayed away from home overnight on any of their small monster quests and was worried if Aryll could handle such a big change. The little girl nodded but did not seem happy to oblige, Zelda hugged her adopted daughter tenderly "Be strong for me okay, and make sure you stay very close granny Impa and listen to everything she tells you, alright?" Impa sighed at the notion of "granny" she both liked and disliked the phrase. For one it made her feel her age, but on the other hand she felt as is if Aryll was her own granddaughter, so she embraced the idea of being called granny.

The Queen went to the bedroom to see if her King was ready. Chirin was there for he had already geared up, he had on the same classic green getup Link used to wear right down to the hat and gauntlets, only over that he wore silver Tenshioni armor.
Link was about ready to disembark, he was incredibly grateful for Zelda's recommendation that he have the Goron and Zora tunics modified to suit his wings, so he would have them just in case.

Link put on the blue tunic, including the hat since he was not exactly sure how the darn thing even works and did not want to discover the hard way that omitting the hat dispels the ability to breath under water.
"Yay! My hat is back!" Navi said flying into it, she had made it quite clear she missed Link's habit of hat wearing.

Zelda did not have to gear up, everything she needed came with the transformation "Well now or never I suppose." she said donning the mask "Oh ma not in front me…" too late, Zelda was caught in the painful threshold of the transformation. As the pain subsided the form of Sheik now stood in the room.

The red eyed warrior spoke in a voice that was a blend of Zelda's and the Sheikah prince "Sorry Chirin, I forgot it bothers you. I am so used to it now. Well, Come on, lets go, I don't want to leave Aryll for too long."
"Wait a second." said Link going to the dresser "Chirin take this."
"But dad, this thing is huge, and it means I have to leave my shield behind." Link thrust the double helix Oni blade towards his son
"Take it. I have a strong feeling we will need it."
Zelda did not like how he said that…
Chirin latched the sword to the clasp at the side of his armor and followed them out the door already annoyed by the large sword as it bounced off his hip with each step.

They made their way down the long hall and back out to the front room, Sheik paused as Zelda within remembered something "Oh crap, I forgot Ruto! She still does not know it's really me!"  the red eyed warrior tried to sneak away to use the back door but "SHEIK!" the fangirlish scream met the Sheikah's sensitive ears "oh god." shuddered Sheik, Link was not the only one whom Ruto had creeped out with her species bending ideas of marriage.

The fish queen came bounding over "My you look the same as ever, where have you been all this tim-" with a precise touch to the side of the face Zelda took off the mask, Ruto seemed to stop in mid air "Good. Now with that settled can we go?" Zelda said flatly as she headed for the front door. Navi popped out of Link's hat "Great, what'd I miss?"

Link was apprehensive to go to the lake for it is where his son's nightmare took place, however it was broad daylight and there was no wind or flames which all contrast the dream's setting…

It made him uneasy to take on this task…but his kingdom needed them, they must answer this call for help.



Link and the others released the horses as they arrived at the dry lake bed trusting them to stay close and out of harms way. Epona and her offspring gladly nommed on the plants by the two scarecrows.

The trio stood at the edge of the empty lake, all the water was gone, drained down to the temple doors.
"We may get split up" Link said "I have the tunic, and we already proved what Kaepora said about Chirin's abilities when he sent you into a panic pretending to drown."
Chirin rubbed the back of his head coyly, remembering when he was twelve and ruined their playful outing at the lake with his stupid prank
"But you don't have a means of breathing underwater, so lets hope we don't have that problem." The hero looked at the temple gates, frowning at the idea of his wings getting soaked…Wet feathers weigh a ton.

As they entered the temple Link found it eerily quiet….there was nothing trying to kill them and there was no water slowing their path.

Link lead the way to the where he fought Morphia in the future that almost was. The hero was very apprehensive despite the lack of monsters because there was one room they must cross along the way, one where events unfolded that still haunt him to this day.

Link has evaded death's hand many times but only twice has death almost completely take him from this world. The second event was with the fire demon…the first…
The winged hero reached up and put a hand on his neck. Zelda within Sheik saw this and grew worried, Link wore high collared shirts just for the sake of hiding the scar on his throat, concealing this reminder of his near fatality.



The hero's mind wandered back to that day, to the battle with Dark, how the shadow had struck him deep in the side as well as across the chest and arms, each time enjoying the pain it caused the hero.

Link recalled how when he finally thought he'd won, the dark incarnation lashed out with one last dying motion.

He remembered the blackened Master sword biting into the side of his neck, the smile on the doppelganger's face as the shadow hit the ground believing he had taken the hero down with him.
His mind could still see those red eyes and the devious grin as Dark laid in the mirrored water, dying, savoring his last moments watching Link struggle, enjoying the sight of the hero's tunic soaked with blood and the look in his eyes.

Navi had gone off in a panic to seek out a pink fairy. Link laid there, alone, dying as Navi went to find help. Desperately holding onto life for a pink fairy can only bring one back from the brink of death and cannot help if one falls over the edge.

He remembered how much it hurt when the pink fairy brought him back from the grip of death, the sensation of the rapid healing, the fairy's sacrifice. The physical and emotional agony of that day, the pain seemed to grip him even now…



Link was suddenly brought out of his dark thoughts.

As his mind returned to this world the hero saw Sheik had taken his hand, the red eyes remained staring straight ahead.
The winged king smiled gently, even while cloaked as Sheik his bond with Zelda was still strong, she knew just what Link was thinking.

He felt better for the rest of the trip, keeping his focus on brighter things…that is until he got to the room is was so dreading.

As the hero entered this room his heart grew tight…what laid before him was not what he was hoping to see. After defeating Dark In the future that almost was this room became like all the others they had been in…

Link grew worried as he looked at the endless expanse of mirrored water and fog to either side. His eyes locked on the door across from him…once again, between him and the exit, stood the tree on the island in the middle of the room.
"I hate that tree" Navi said.

The winged hero walked past the tree with his family, they knew not of what this room was. He cringed to see them marveling at the beauty of the sea green sky and glistening water, he knew all to well that the beauty of this place was deceitful.

  The winged hero put his hand on the knob…the door would not open. The feeling in Link's chest deepened and became cold. The scar on his neck began to throb with the beat of his heart

He turned around.

Propped against the tree was the shadow of himself, solid black with eyes glowing red.

"But how…" Link whispered in his state of foreboding shock.

"I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me huh?" the shadow said as he took a step closer and materialized into his flesh form with his black hair and dark clothing. " I thought I had seen the last of you as well …when your son here killed Ganon." his last words held spite.

"But as it turns out Ganon was not the only one who could create me from the essence of… you." he said putting snide emphasis on his last word. "Oh and I just cannot wait till you find out who my new master is, I think you will be oh so surprised. I know I was… quite pleasantly surprised." Dark said with menacing joy as he walked to one side swinging the sword.

Dark stopped and looked at Link's wings "Ah yes, those obtrusive things, thankfully I was crafted from your old self, I am no mangy half breed." Link took offence to his tone.


  "Oh and by the way" dark said gracefully spinning the sword with one hand "it seems my new master knows a few more tricks than old Ganon seemed to have…would you like to see?" Dark said with his old devious tone.


From deep within the mist two new forms appeared, ones that made Link's blood run cold.


"My master made me some new friends to play with." the shadow grinned cruelly.