Nagori, Saimon and Senkyoku - A Wind Waker Tale

A/N: So no advice? Either that or no one is reading - well, while this wouldn't surprise me, I am a stubborn soul...

Yes it's more oddness on the Great Sea. So! Be prepared for...almost romance...potential gender twisting...and remember kids never try to be vague and indiscriminant with someone born to solve random puzzles... what?

Chapter 23: Jasper

Holding Jasper, Aryll stepped into the entrance of the Fairy Fountain with little fear. Her brother brought her to the one on Outset so she knew what to expect. Well, not completely. A fairy never healed her before, and the way Link described it, made her a bit nervous. As the portal set her down, she stepped out of the column of light and set Jasper down. Her footsteps echoed on the tiled floor as she walked slowly toward the shimmering pool. Senza followed but stopped short of entering the main cavern. Aryll looked up into the seemingly endless blackness above, and wondered just how far down these fountains were. The trips in and out didn't feel as if she were traveling that far.

The only light source, emanated from somewhere below the pool of crystal clear water. Aryll followed Jasper further inside and the gull's cries echoed off the walls with a quirky tinny sound. The bird ran to the pool and settled in the water with a splash. Tiny health fairies floated over the pool on some unfelt breeze and Aryll noticed that even though the gull was just inches from them; the fairies completely ignored the bird. Concerned Jasper would be overlooked, Aryll bent down to pick her up. As she did, the crystal pendant she put on earlier fell out of her shirt.

After she stood up, Aryll was surprised to see the crystal floating in front of her nose as if suspended on a string. She started when two fairies, swirled up and around herself and Jasper. As one swept past her injured leg, she hissed and almost dropped the squirming gull. Aryll's leg burned as the fairy magic knit the slice back together. The intense pain lasted only for a moment and then was gone and Aryll looked down at her wound to see only a thin white scar remained. Her brother, Link, sported a number of such lines, some clean and thin like hers...Others...not. Even though most faded as he'd gotten older and taller, others, like the one that ran the length of his left arm, never did. It always made her wonder what the wound that caused it must have looked like. Tetra knew, and Aryll guessed it must have happened during their final fight with Ganon. Either way, it didn't matter since neither of them ever talked about that battle.

Jasper snapped at a third fairy that swirled about them and squawked as the little creature giggled. The seagull twisted her head about in an attempt to keep track of it before it disappeared from sight. With a loud screech, the gull finally managed to wiggle free of her grasp and hopped down into the pool. Aryll noticed the feathers the bird was previously missing, reappeared and she smiled.

"Hey, you could be a little more grateful you know," Aryll admonished her friend.

Jasper continued her squawking, but her cries took on a quieter tone. The gull spread her wings as she tested them out and settled them back into place. Finally, content the gull paddled leisurely around the pool without further comment.

"Well at least it will be a quieter ride back." Aryll commented and looked back at Senza who laughed.

"She is a feisty one, neh?" he asked and let out a chuckle.

Aryll nodded and turned her attention back to the pendant. It still floated even after she pulled the chain over her head. "Senza, look at this," Aryll said as she let go of the chain. The crystal dropped in to the water with a wet plop. That's weird, She picked it out of the pool and the crystal again began to float. Just to be sure, Aryll let go of the chain again, and watched perplexed as it fell back into the water. The third time Aryll picked it up, she looked back to where Senza was standing. His mouth was open, but she couldn't hear anything. In fact, the pirate had stopped moving all together and his frozen expression made her uneasy. A flash of panic gripped her and she dropped the chain. Senza immediately started moving and speaking again. Aryll's head felt fuzzy and she didn't understand what the pirate said at first until Senza walked up to her through the shallow water. He put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you alright, Miss?"

"I guess so," Aryll said confused. "What happened? Did you see something? You looked like you'd seen a ghost or something."

"For a moment, I thought I had. You just got all see through. Are you sure you're alright, Miss?" Senza asked and rubbed his beard for a moment. "Where did you get that thing anyway?"

"It was wrapped around Jasper's foot when I pulled her out of the water," Aryll said and she focused on the pendant lying at the bottom of the pool. Was it glowing?

"Where did she get it?" Senza asked as he picked it up. He held it a little away from himself and it spun slowly around, but did not float.

"I don't know, but I'm betting it has something to do with that Tower she doesn't want us to go to." Aryll looked at the bird. Jasper spread her wings and bobbed her head up and down. Aryll thought for a moment and asked the seagull, "Al's there, isn't he." Again, the seagull indicated yes. "I sent Jake to Great Fish, I wonder if that means Link didn't get those letters..." After a moment, Aryll shook her head. "He must have, otherwise Jake wouldn't have come back without them and he would have told me if he didn't find Link."

"They must have separated for some reason," Senza said.

"Maybe," Aryll said and reached for the pendant. "Anyway, let's hope so, Master Orca was pretty keen on Link getting his. Let's get out of here." Aryll held out her hand and Senza dropped the crystal. It never touched her hand, instead if dangled in the air on its invisible string again just above it. Uh oh. Aryll looked at Senza, again the pirate stood in front of her, still as stone, with that surprised look on his face.

Being the little sister of the Great Sea's Hero of the Winds, Aryll never felt fazed by the strange and unusual. Like her brother, it only made her more curious to find out why it was happening. A sound behind her made her turn to investigate and for half a second, Aryll thought the boy she found standing in the pool with her, to be her brother, Link. She knew that was crazy, since this boy couldn't be more than twelve years old. She wondered how he'd managed to get this close to her without her noticing. He did look familiar though, but at the same time not and Aryll sloshed back a step and sent fairies scattering in every direction. She paused when she realized the pendant still hung in the air between them, but now, it was just out of reach.

"Who are you?" Aryll asked.

"Ju do not recognize me?" the boy asked sounding offended.

The stranger's odd accent threw her for a moment and Aryll stared at him and she struggled to remember just who it was, his face reminded her of. His amber eyes were full of mischief and Aryll was a little unnerved. So damn familiar but she still could not remember where on earth she'd seen eyes like that before. His pale blonde hair lay on his head in a jumbled mess, while his clothes looked no different from the usual, they were most certainly not the latest fashion. The boy was also a little on the short side even if was the twelve year old he appeared to be.

"Uh...no, should I?"

"Ju haf known me since ju were quite small."

"Is that so? I'm sorry, I feel like I should but..." she trailed off. Aryll looked around and it occurred to her then that Jasper was missing. She looked toward the entrance and behind the still motionless Pirate, but the bird was nowhere. Aryll stared at the stranger again. She gasped when she noticed his face held a distinct birdlike quality and she asked, "Jasper?"

"Aryll!" he cried, but when he said it sounded like Air-eel, "See? Ju do know me!"

"Oh my..." Aryll faltered for a moment, confused she asked, " How...Why? You are a seagull right?"

"Jes, but not always."

"And Jake?" Aryll asked. When he only smiled she added, "Should I ask?"

"Another time I weel tell ju all about it."

"Yes, I think that is a story I'd love to hear." She stopped and noticed the pendant's glow intensified, "Do you know what this is? Where did you get it?"

"Eet is zee heart of our seester Delia," the boy answered sadly, "She lost eet to zee Shadow."

Aryll was starting to get the hang of that accent and asked, "But, how can you lose your...You mean your sister and the Shadow...?" Oh my, she thought when he nodded again. "This is the same shadow that's after Tetra right?"

"Jes, and ju must set her heart free again eef she and our brosser are to survive."

"Brother? You mean Jake?"

The boy shook his head and replied, "Dalkeen."

"Dalkin?" she asked and he nodded. "Are they seagulls too?" He shook his head. "I am completely lost, Jasper. You'll need to slow down. I don't understand." Aryll stopped and blinked. "You never mentioned you had a sister...but then again, I thought you were a girl...So you have two brothers and a sister..." The boy chuckled as she worked it all out. Something familiar clicked in her head and Aryll took a step closer to him and asked, "Please tell me you're not the same Jasper my Grandmother is always telling me stories about?" He only shrugged and Aryll sighed. "Now I really want to hear how you got to be seagull."

"Aryll, I haf but leetle time," Jasper said as he took the pendant from her. He touched the crystal and sighed. "Do ju see zee light trapped witheen? It eez one called Senkyoku, she holds zee key to Delia's memories."

"She?"

"Jes, she ees her guardian spirit."

"Okay, but how am I supposed to get her out of there?"

"Look heer," Jasper said and pointed, "there is a crack already along zees side, only a leetle more preture and it should come apart."

"Pressure here?"

"Jes."

"It's not a very big crack."

"No."

"Well that's kind of a tall order don't you think?"

"Not ford ju," he said and he came closer. "Ju are just zee right one ford zees task."

"Well, I guess I'll have to try."

"Eet eez all I can ask."

"Is that why you didn't want us to go to the Tower, we need to get Senkyoku out of this pendant first?"

"Jes," he said and sounded very relieved. "Ju are smart like jour brosser. I knew I could count on ju."

"Jasper, when we leave can you check on Link for me?"

"I am soree Aryll, I must return to zee princess."

"Why?"

"She weel need me for help."

"Any chance you can show me where she is when you get there?"

Jasper thought for a moment. "I weel try," he said and walked out of the pool. As the boy neared the portal, he began to shrink. His arms raised, feathers sprouted and in short order, Jasper returned to her familiar seagull self. The gull turned back called to her as she spread her wings and ran toward the light of the fountain's portal. With an exaggerated flap or two, the seagull caught that undetectable breeze and shot out of the entrance with alarming speed.

Aryll stared at the vacant space as she pulled the pendant back over her head. She looked up and noted Senza's expression went from that of surprise to concern.

"Is what the boy said true, Miss?" he asked.

Her mouth dropped open. "But how? I thought you were...?"

"Must have that knack."

She smiled. "Lets go."

"Yeah, this place is starting to give me the creeps."

They stayed only long enough to collect a few more fairies in the extra bottles they had found on the ship. Once outside they boarded the longboat and Senza began to row them back to the ship. Aryll used the time to examine the crystal. It was beautiful, and sparkled in the waning afternoon sun. It sparkled with more facets then she'd ever seen on something like this and was warm to the touch. The glow shone more brightly as the sunlight played across its surface and Aryll held it up to her eye and looked inside. She almost dropped the fragile looking pendant and was surprised when she heard a tiny voice in her head say, (Who are you?)

"I'm Aryll, and you must be Senkyoku."

(Yes, but how did you know my name?)

"Jasper told me."

(How is that possible?)

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Who are you talking to Aryll?" Senza asked watching her.

She looked away from the crystal and answered, "Senkyoku, she's the guardian spirit Jasper said was trapped inside. You can't hear her?" He shook his head. "Well if you hear me talking to myself, at least you'll know why." Aryll returned her attention back the trapped fairy and asked, "How long have you been in there?

(Many days.)

"Who put you in there, the shadow?"

(No, it was Delia she was tricked by Kei.)

"Well, who is Kei?"

(Delia is Kei.)

"Really..."

(Yes, it is quite a long story.)

"I hope I get to hear it someday."

(You must return me to Delia. Dalkin put me out the window then a seagull came and took me away.)

"Well, before we take you back we have to get you out of there first."

(Can you?)

"Were gonna try Sen, can I call you Sen?"

(Yes, but when you do there is a possibility that I will not be able to remain with you.)

"How come?"

(It is complicated magic, but I too am more than one.)

"How is that possible?"

(Just remember, if you free me ask my name first. If I say Kageri, it will be because I am.)

"Well if you say so. Is there something about Kageri you're not telling me?"

(You will have to ask her, our memories are not joined, but she may answer now.)

"Sounds like your problems are more complicated than just getting you out of there."

(Lady Aryll, you are a kind. If the one called Jasper thinks you can help than I will trust you.) The crystal went quiet and Aryll realized they were almost back to the ship. "Sen?" There was no answer so she tucked it back in her shirt.

Sitting in Tetra's cabin back on the ship, Gonzo listened without comment until he began to pace the floor near the end of their story. He stopped short and asked, "So where is Jasper now?"

"I don't know really, he, err...she said she had to get back to Tetra in case she needed help."

Gonzo raised and eyebrow. "How is a seagull going to help?"

"I have no idea."

"So what do we do now?" Senza asked.

"Decide whether we go directly to the Tower or take a seagull's advice and try to figure out how to bust that spirit out of the crystal."

"Well, Jasper did say that we should do that first," Aryll said.

Gonzo nodded, "True, but if we delay will we be putting Miss Tetra's life in danger?"

Senza stood up and nodded to Gonzo. "Well Captain, unless you need me for something else, I'll go get the crew ready. Whatever you decide we'll need to be ready to get underway quickly."

Gonzo nodded and Senza left. Aryll watched as he weighed his decision, she could see how much the responsibility of being Captain had affected him. He was so much more serious than he used to be. She wondered how much of his previous goofiness had been an act. Probably more than he'd ever admit to she decided. Still she needed to convince him to find a way to get the fairy out of the crystal.

"Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not sure why, but Jasper," Aryll stopped trying to pick the right words. "She knew where to find us."

"What do you mean?"

"Of all the places we could have been that day on the Great Sea, she found us...that leads me to think she was sent."

Gonzo gave her a slightly stunned look. "You're right, but by who?"

"I don't know. She was so busy yelling at me, she forgot to tell me."

The captain stood quiet for a moment and said, "Nagori did say that Jasper was unaffected by the magic."

"Do you think it was her?"

"Just like you, I have no idea, but a lot of things would almost make sense then."

"If you say so."

"Can I see that for a moment?" he asked holding out his hand. Aryll pulled off the pendant and dropped the crystal in his hand. He held it up to the lamplight and he looked at it carefully. He ran his finger along the crack. "Pretty thing," he said as he let it dangle in front of him. "Ice might just work."

"Huh?" Aryll looked at him and felt her face get warm when he reached over and lifted her hand.

"Ice," he said again, and gently returned pendant to her. "We're not too far from there either."

"Where?"

"Ice Ring Island," he said. The captain was obviously was thinking about something else and his hand lingered over hers for a moment longer. "It'll probably be a lot easier to break open if we can get it really cold first." Distracted he pulled his hand away and Aryll closed her fingers around the crystal and stared at her hand in an attempt to hide her red face. "Feel free to change into something else if you want, I'm sure Miss Tetra wouldn't mind," Gonzo said as he turned and left her.

Aryll took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If they were going to Ice Ring Island, it would be a while before they arrived. She looked in a few drawers and pulled out some clothes. She wasn't used to wearing trousers, but she needed to change. Her clothes felt dirty and after changing she made her way to the laundry. She looked around and sighed. With Niko gone there was quite a pile of dirty clothes. She added her things to a pile and began the unsavory task of scrubbing a ship full of pirate's dirty shirts. She'd been at it for some time, when Senza appeared in the doorway.

"So here you are."

She looked up as she hung up another shirt. "Just making myself useful."

"Well, you'd better come topside, we should be within site of Ice Ring Island soon."

Aryll nodded and hung the last one. When she got to the door Aryll looked back, smiled, and decided it had been a good day.

~~~~~~~~~~
Distractions
~~~~~~~~~~

Tetra watched as Niko flickered a bit and disappeared. She looked up at the Deku Tree and asked, "Where did he go?"

"Since you returned him to the present, he has fought off several small invaders."

"Wow, I never would have guessed he had it in him."

"Yes, my children are quite taken with him."

"I'm glad he has not been a burden for you."

"No, Tetra, but allow me to put you on the highest ledge, you will be safer there."

She nodded, and the Deku strained greatly but lifted the lily pad to the uppermost ledge of his cavern. Tetra stepped off and thanked the Great Tree once again.

"Good luck to you Princess Tetra, I am confident you will find your way through."

Tetra bowed and left the Forest Haven through an opening in the wall. It was dark, but it had been close to nightfall when she'd arrived. She walked outside and gazed over the Great Sea. The dark water shimmered in the moonlight and Tetra found herself feeling wholly unconfident. She was in this mess way over her head and if she calculated it right, she had less than seven days until left until the new moon. Then it was anybody's guess what would happen.

Tetra's eyes strayed to the ornate gown that symbolized her role as the last of Hyrule's Royal bloodline and whether she liked it or not, the great sea and all its inhabitant were her responsibility. You've run from your destiny long enough Tetra Shukkon, time to grow up and be the leader your mother taught you to be. She looked up at the stars that had guided her in her travels back and forth across the ocean and raised her hands to the heavens.

"Nayru Great Goddess of wisdom, and guiding patron of my spirit...I have been a poor servant to you and my people. I beg your forgiveness for my past failures and ask your assistance in this hour of need. My people need your guidance. Grant me the wisdom to see the right path and show me how I can help them..."

Tetra felt a shift in the wind and when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on the beach of Outset Island. She also realized she was not completely there when she noticed her hand was only halfway solid. Tetra watched as the people of the island were forced, young and old, from their homes. Herded into the cliff pass they were kept there by a group of nervous bokoblins.

Link arrived a short time after that, and Tetra saw how tired he was. Lost in his thoughts as he headed up the beach toward his home, he only stopped to take a package from the postbox. What made no sense was a shadow that was clearly not his own trailing after him. The darkness broke away from Link and Tetra gasped when she realized it was headed for the people in the cliff pass. It surrounded the trapped islanders, changed their outward forms from human to bokoblins, even the children.

She looked back at Link in time to see him shaking that damn letter she sent and not paying attention, as he should be. LaRuto was right, Tetra was playing catch up and she'd better get her head in the game or she wouldn't be able to help Link or anyone else. Tetra sent a fervent prayer to Farore to aid him...somehow.

A brisk wind almost pulled her letter from him and made him look up. Link pulled out a staff headed back toward the beach. He managed to dispatch the first few boko's that rushed toward him. When he jammed the staff into the ground Tetra was surprised and winced at the sheer force of the magic he let loose. Bokoblins real and not fell about as the island shook. What the hell is that idiot thinking? He'll kill them all!

As she thought it, she looked up and saw the mist that now swirled above the hero. Tetra pushed back her panic and dredged from her borrowed memories, a shielding spell. Tetra did her best to direct it toward the bokoblin's she knew were really his neighbors and felt a moment of dread as everything within reach of the magic Link used, froze where it stood.

She was in for a second shock as Link pulled a few bombs out of his pack and idly tossed them over his shoulder. Tetra covered her eyes, she couldn't watch. She knew her shield, already weakened by the staff's magic, wouldn't survive that sort of direct assault. There was an explosion and the brightness of day suddenly overtook her. Tetra cautiously looked around., another frog on a cloud? How many of them were there? He spoke harshly and Link put away the staff and stood staring at the ground. Once the frog left, she shuddered to think what his neighbors might do. She was surprised when after a short discussion they turned and walked away.

Tetra caught site of the shadow again, it still lingered around the postbox. Link was walking back toward his house with Master Sturgeon and the shadow went inside the post box causing it to wiggle and shake. Link opened the letters he received and read them as he continued toward his home. Shadow trailing all the way. Tetra thought of the inside of his house, and she was there. This mode of travel was convenient, but she remembered ending up in the strangest places. She sat up on the top bunk and let her feet dangle. Tetra looked around and saw the house was empty except for the old man and Link. She hoped Mako and Zuko were taking good care of Link's Grandma. Link sat down after giving his guest some soup and ate quietly.

When he finished, he sat down and stared out the window. It was clear he was thinking about something that made him unhappy. His eyes started to droop and Tetra noticed the shadow was there again. It remained close by him almost as if it were hiding. From her perch atop the bunk Tetra closed her eyes and thought of them both in that weird garden. She wasn’t sure where the garden really was…sort of a half plane of existence, where she could pause to rest. Tetra smiled when she opened her eyes and saw him asleep next to her. It was only a temporary solution but that shadow meant to kill him.

Tetra brooded over what the Shadow really was, while Link slept next to her. All the past bearer's of the Triforce of Wisdom seemed to have something to say on the subject, but there was really only one she was interested in hearing from. The girl behind that wall in her head held the key. LaRuto had hinted at it, but her own stubbornness had kept her from seeing the truth. She needed remember her and for some reason none of the others seemed to. That Princess Zelda must be the same girl she recalled seeing in the portrait in Hyrule Castle. A little girl whose memory was lost under the Goddesses tears, what happened to her after the flood?

Link stirred and opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, confused and when his eyes settled on her, he almost smiled. She knew how to make her clothing behave and chose to remain as she appeared to the Deku Tree.

"Wow," he said as he sat up. "You are real, right?" he asked and reached up and touched her face, as if expecting her to disappear. When she didn't he frowned for a moment until his eye went wide. Link rubbed his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong Tetra," he said as he regarded through spread finger. His hands dropped and he gave her a strange look. When he spoke again he sounded extremely nervous. "When I looked at you just now…I remembered what you told me about…the ravens."

And just like that, he knew. For some reason his knowing made Tetra feel keenly embarrassed and she felt herself blush as she looked away. "Oh right."

"You're sure?"

“Idiot male.” Tetra resisted the urge to whack him and said, "We didn't fight all the time, Link."

"True, it only felt like it," he said then turned his head and muttered something that sounded like, Gods, when am I gonna learn to keep my mouth shut. They fell into an awkward silence until Link asked, "So I'm guessing from that outfit, if I call you Princess again, you won't smack me upside my head?"

"Don't be to sure," she said. Tetra thought of their first meeting here as she pointed at him. "Looked in the mirror lately, fairy boy?"

Link looked down at his clothes and sighed as he tugged at the green material of his tunic. "Yeah, I was just given another reminder that I better start doing this right." He flopped backwards on to the ground and covered his eyes with his hat. "I can't believe I almost killed all of my neighbors."

"That's partly why you're here, that shadow is trailing you, Link. Whatever you got out of the postbox, it's not what you think it is."

"I thought so," he said and frowned as he sat up again. "My Grandma is missing, so is Master Orca."

"Are you going to look for them?"

Tetra heard the pain in his voice as he said, "No, there's not enough time, I figure I have less than seven days left to figure out how to re-cage that shadow."

"Then you can't destroy it?"

"No, its evil alright, but I feel like there's a reason it exists. Master Orca must have known because he reminded me of an old form he taught me when I was a kid. It's all defense, and he never teaches anything without a reason. I need to find out something about this staff, it is powerful, but I have no idea how to control it. If I had kept that in mind when I got to Outset, the whole bomb incident probably wouldn't have happened."

Tetra felt overwhelmed by a sudden urge to shout at him. There it was again, that anger she just couldn't explain or seem to control and all of it was directed at Link. She bit back on the smart remark that struggled mightily to escape and the effort left her wanting to take a nap. Tetra yawned and said, "I'm sorry, Link, but I'm expending a lot of energy and I don't think that's a good thing for me right now."

"Well try not overdo anything, Princess, I plan to see you again when this is over."

Unable to hold back the weird wave of anger any longer Tetra said, "Yeah, whatever fairy boy."

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