Nagori, Saimon and Senkyoku - A Wind Waker Tale

Yes, well I suppose it's a good thing Link and Tetra made it back...they were starting to confuse even me...whatever - remember those authors notes so neatly attached at the bottom. Uh I think that's everything...I think...and I've depressed myself again.

The picture is somethin KR made - is it not cool looking - I think so - but it will take me a while to insert it into all the chapters (0.o)


Chapter 43:
The Needs of the Two


The sun came up slowly over Mother and Child Island, but Tingle was already awake. He put away everything except his newly made map and the tuner. Senkyoku flitted from where she was near the frozen pillar when she noticed he was sitting up.

"Are you ready Mapmaker?" the fairy asked.

Tingle stood up and said, "Yes, Senkyoku, I have been ready since the day I was born." He then lifted the device and pushed a quick series of buttons, but instead of his brother Knuckle, he saw the Guardian known to him as Jasper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiyuu slipped the last tile into place and stared at the face in front of him. "Mother," he whispered.

The woman in the picture appeared younger than he remembered. Her green eyes held an expression of mischief that was familiar to him. He noticed her dark auburn hair bore none silver strands that raising four children alone brought her later in life. Chiyuu reached up and touched the image but when he did, it flickered, and showed him another face he also knew very well.

Grandma Namaki's face smiled back at him and Chiyuu tilted his head as he pondered the implications. When he and Jinchi left Outset as Guardians all those years ago, he did not know of his adoptive mother's past life as a princess. It was not until he found the Princess Zelda of his own time that he realized who Lady Natsumi had been.

The image flickered again, this time showing a row of small arrows up, left, right, right up, down. Chiyuu stared at them. Maybe this was the reason he'd been called here. Cautiously he reached up and tapped the first arrow lightly with his finger. He pulled his hand back when it let off a low echoic tone and Chiyuu looked back at Link's pack and realized these must be notes for the Wind Waker.

After a short hesitation, he tapped the second and it let out a deeper tone, but still nothing happened. Deciding not knowing was worse than wondering Chiyuu took a deep breath and tapped the rest. While he really wasn't expecting much, he was more than a little relieved that when the last tone faded, he was still in one piece. It was a bit of a let down though. Walking back to the table, he wondered what was the purpose of showing him that when he needed to be some place else.

Irritated, the Guardian snatched the pack from the table and inadvertently knocked some things onto the floor. Chiyuu stared at the items be before he picked up them up. He was very sure that table was empty when he came in. The items included; a small green device, a letter, and a wooden box. Chiyuu set the letter and device on the table and examined the box.

He recognized the kagenmi; it was the same one Link gave to the Princess. Why was it here of all places? Chiyuu started to get that sinking feeling and his eyes got wide when he noticed on the kagenmi, that the small-carved sun glowed.

He'd been set up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the Guardian vanished from the glass plate and Knuckle's head appeared, Tingle wondered. He'd been shown that for a reason, perhaps to let him know that Mr. Fairy and his wife had returned. They must need him to do something else for them. However, none of that mattered now, and he decided he'd better take care of the Fairy Queen first. Tingle glanced at his map, still on the ground and then up at Senkyoku.

"Let's get this done."

Carefully aiming the tuner at the first target he'd set the day before, Tingle pushed the center button marked 'start'. The device let out a small whine as a bright light shot into the first target. From there, the purple-tinged light bent from target to target until all of them glowed. Being careful not to break the connection, he pressed the up arrow located just to the left and held on tight.

A series of ghostly bombs moved from target to target until each held one suspended at various points around the pillar of ice. Tingle sighed, he knew that when he pressed the last button, the chances of him surviving the blast were slim, but if he really wanted the Fairy Queen's blessing, he'd have to chance it. Besides, Mr. Fairy and his wife were counting on him...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Komali glanced over at Medli; it was close to dawn and the Earth Sage stopped praying and gently plucked the white bird's song on her harp. She noticed his look and smiled. In all the excitement he's forgotten to tell her why he'd been in the area of Southern Triangle Island. The barely audible tune lifted the Rito Prince's spirits. The violence below was becoming more intense and Komali looked down at the man suspended over the rock.

"You must fly me close enough that I can stand on that one's feet," Makar said.

"Very well, Wind Sage, whenever you are ready."

"Ooooooo," Makar gasped, "Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Komali asked but even as the words left his mouth, he did. Something in the air changed and Komali felt the quirky shift in his memories. He'd forgotten something important, but had no idea what. "Earth Sage, what was that?"

Medli paused in her playing and said, "It's magic..." She closed her eyes and concentrated and after a few moments she turned to Makar and said, "Temporal magic...Time's Sage..."

"Yes," Makar replied, "she has returned."

"Returned? From where?" Komali asked confused, he looked around to ask the sea fairy, but Nagori was missing.

"Komali," Medli said drawing his attention back, "time grows short and there's not enough of it left for me to explain any of this. A great deal of sealed magic has been unbound. I don't know the source, but that was what you felt just now." Medli paused and looked down at the Shadow still raging below them. "Its gone unnoticed by our enemy, so I don't think he's the cause of it." Komali nodded and was further surprised when he found himself wrapped up in a hug from the Earth Sage. Medli held him very tight for a moment longer and said, "You be careful, and Komali, whatever you do, don't look into the shadow's eye no matter what."

Still confused, Komali shifted his attention to the Wind Sage as he waited for Makar to swallow down the last of some water the korok stored in a nut tied to his violin bow. When Makar was ready, Komali picked him up and readied himself for the short flight. The wind still gusted beyond their perch and he asked, "Do you wish me to wait a bit then swing back to pick you up?"

"No, Rito Prince. That will not be necessary," Makar replied, "You should see to the woman, she does not look like she can withstand many more blows."

Komali looked down just in time to see the Shadow man hit the woman so hard she slid across the floor. She landed in a crumpled heap near the old man, who grabbed her hair and roughly lifted her head, forcing her to look at her tormentor.

"We go now," Makar said and Komali leapt from the bell tower. Immediately the wind swept them high in to the air above it. Though slower than when they'd arrived, it still threatened to toss them into the sea below. Komali adjusted his flight and allowed himself to dive headfirst toward the hanging man. He felt Makar let go and from the corner of his vision spotted the korok as he landed gently on the man's feet. Almost at once, the Wind Sage began to softly play his violin and Komali let the winds that still swirled about, throw him clear of the bell tower. Once he'd righted himself, Komali saw shadowy Link below raise the staff he held. There was no doubt it would be the killing blow and the Rito Prince turned and dove straight for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jinchi felt himself slipping as the ropes that held him loosened. So focused on the scene below him he did not feel the Wind Sage land on his feet. He heard the music now, both the Sages were playing, but very softly, it wouldn't do for Hito to notice either of them too soon. When he slipped a little lower, he stole a glance back at the Shadow. Hitokage was reverting to his natural form but didn't appear to notice he was losing his grip on his host.

Dalkin's eyes were glassy and Delia barely conscious. A shadow passed him in the torchlight and Jinchi looked up to see the Rito Prince regaining control of himself as the winds battered him above the Tower. Komali paused there only a moment and dove.

Jinchi tried to see where the Rito headed, but at that moment, his bonds gave way and he found himself falling headfirst toward that damn rock. With no time to think, he squawked as he automatically switched to his seagull self, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to stop his rapid decent. Jinchi screwed his eyes shut and braced himself for the impact he knew was coming. A bright flash of light exploded behind his eyes and he opened them when he realized he was still falling. Still moving too fast to stop, the Guardian hit the grass hard. As he skidded to a halt, Jinchi's last thought before passing out was, Grass?



~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medli watched as the Guardian started to slip and knew there was no way he'd be able to stop himself before he hit the rock. The image the Guardian held of Link melted away as he slid free of the ropes and at the same time, Komali started his plunge toward the Shadow. Medli leapt from the ledge of the bell tower feet first, but did not extend her wings; she knew she needed to be closer. Makar used his propeller to keep himself aloft for the extra moment she need to reach him and the tiny korok landed safely on her back.

Her intention was to knock the Guardian away from the rock, but he switched form to that of a seagull, squawked, and was gone. Medli didn't have time to worry about that now, so extended her wings, and caught the updraft. "Oooooooo," Makar said as Medli banked and landed a short distance away. Telling Makar to hold on she dove for the cover of a large statue and peeked back at the action just in time to see Komali smash into the Shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chiyuu set the kagenmi on the table and picked up the letter and the green device. Tingle's tuner should not work with his tower collapsed, so why would it be here with the other things? He stowed it in the pack and noticed the Wind Waker was also inside. Another curiosity. He pulled the baton out and looked at the letter. Neatly printed on it, were the same series of arrows, displayed just as they had in the picture. The Guardian sketched 6/4 time off into the air with the Wind Waker and noted the kagenmi's sun glowed just a little brighter.

Fascinated, Chiyuu rounded the table and he smirked. Whoever or whatever brought him here, obviously knew him well enough to know his sometimes dangerously curious nature. This was a person, he decided, he would like to meet and stuffed the letter in his pocket.

He again sketched out 6/4 time and without further hesitation, conducted the notes the arrows indicated. Up, left, right, right up, down. The notes faded and Chiyuu found himself a little woozy by the amount of magic the Wind Waker used. A flicker to his left made him turn toward the picture. The notes he tapped earlier were gone and now it depicted a ship on a stormy sea.

Chiyuu moved nearer and upon closer inspection, saw a small figure in the crow's nest he recognized as Zill. What in Farore's name was he doing there? The picture flickered and Chiyuu watched as Jinchi slipped from his bonds, turn into a seagull and disappear. The scene shifted down and Chiyuu saw his brother Dalkin pull an apparently unconscious Delia from the path of Hito's staff.

The picture then cut to the Sages. The Earth Sage caught the Wind Sage and the pair landed a short way away and hid now behind a large statue. The image rotated and focused on the shadow as the Rito Prince slammed into Hito, knocking him backward. The picture flickered again. This time, Chiyuu watched as Tingle squeezed his eyes shut and pushed a button on the device he held. There was a blinding flash and the mapmaker disappeared.

The pictures faded as the image of his mother in her youth returned. He looked back over at the box that still lay on the table. It popped its latch with an almost inaudible click and Chiyuu knew he only had one chance to get it right. Walking back to the table he shouldered the pack and opened his mouth to speak, Wind Waker still in hand. Before he could make a sound though, an unfamiliar and muffled voice behind him asked, "Do you really think that's a good idea, Mr. Fairy?"

"Of course it is a good idea." Another muffled voice chided.

Chiyuu whirled, arrow notched and ready but stopped when he discovered there was no one there. He lowered his weapon and looked around carefully. He was quite alone in the cabana. A series of whirring and jingling noises emanated from the pack he was wearing so Chiyuu reached back and came up with Tingle's Tuner. He turned the device over in his hands and was surprised to see the mapmaker's invention had activated. Tingle's face momentarily appeared on the tiny screen, until two quick bursts of light made Chiyuu hold the gadget away from his face and then glass plate went blank.

Chiyuu was not at all sure what to make of that and was about to put the device back in the pack when he heard a third distinctly female voice say, "Hey! What are you doing?" This was follow by another burst of light. He also got the feeling, whatever was happening, wasn't over so set the tuner on the table and backed away. He barely had time to register the three balls of light that now flitted around his head as the tuner's glass plate shone very brightly.

The Guardian's mouth dropped open as one after another the great ocean fairies rose out of the tiny device. They laughed with delight at this new mode of travel and soon all seven surrounded the confused Guardian. Chiyuu's attention returned to the tuner, which whined now at a very high pitch. Edging closer to the table, he stumbled back when the tuner erupted with yet another burst of iridescent light. Childlike laughter filled the cabana and all the other fairies fell silent as Venus appeared over the tuner's glass plate. Chiyuu noticed she was not here as the others were, for she was tiny and her image flickered in and out of focus.

"Peace on you Blue Guardian."

"Peace on ju as well," Chiyuu answered and moved closer to the table. "Tell me Venus, why do ju not come out as jour daughters?"

"I have remained within the mapmaker's device so you may retrieve your brother and fellow Guardian."

"Jes, where did Jinchi go? It feels odd that I cannot sense him at all."
"He is caught within a moment of time to prevent him accidentally fulfilling the shadows desires. He was sent there by the Princess, but she is unable to retrieve him."

"Why not? Churly this is note out of reach for Time's sage."

"Even the most powerful of the Sages, is bound by her limitations. Do not forget Chiyuu she is still within the cycle of days. The Princess, to her credit, found a way to turn even that to her advantage. The Hero too, has learned what he needed, but now that they have arrived here, she cannot leave the present. If she does, a great many things will come undone."

Chiyuu nodded and glanced back at the kagenmi. "So, what do I do with zat?"
"You must ask it to take you to your brother. Be wary of how you word that request, for the kagenmi will take your words quite literally."

The Guardian looked at the three balls of light that now swirled over his head. "And zees three?"

"Saimon and Senkyoku will travel with you to guide you both back. The third must begin his journey toward his appointed purpose."

"Which ees?"

"That is for the mapmaker to discover, let us hope he is successful."

Only one shot then? Chiyuu wondered about the Fairy Queen's ominous statement. Whatever was in store for Tingle, it was up to him to discover what it was so the Guardian took a moment to ponder what was needed.

"Take me, Saimon and Senkyoku to the place where the Green Guardian will soon appear and drop the mapmaker off near his intended." The box flipped all the way open and Chiyuu felt himself twist up as he was drawn into it followed by the three fairies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Link gazed at the black clouds swirling over the Tower of the Gods and watched a single white bird as it disappeared into them. Aryll was on her own this time and Link whispered a prayer after his little sister in hopes she'd survived this mess unharmed.

Still on his island oasis, Link waited while the Princess removed Jinchi from his current predicament. In every way now, Tetra, truly was a Princess of Hyrule, and since sunrise, fully Time's Sage. Her gaze fell on him and Link smiled but the gesture wasn't returned, infact she'd not smiled once since she uttered her chosen name. Instead, the Princess turned back to look toward the tower, her frown deepening.

Though they'd done what was needed, Link wasn't happy about it. By leaving Chiyuu and Jinchi in the past, they closed the circuit and, Link decided, the Goddesses possessed the most bizarre sense of humor. Once they settled in the past, Link knew whatever else happened, they could never undo any of it without, in fact, undoing him. He wasn't kidding when he told Tetra about having a pair of ancestors named Jake and Jasper and he recalled how strange it felt witnessing the birth of his own great, great grandfather. He actually wasn't sure of the number of generations, but he knew he wouldn't have traded that experience for all the treasure in the ocean.

He already missed Chiyuu jumping on him every morning to announce the sun was up, he was hungry and they should get out of bed. Of holding Jinchi while the sounds of the crickets put them both to sleep. The stories Tetra would tell and the strangely gentle songs the pirate captain would sing to Chiyuu to settle him before bed. The smells of pancakes and sausages, something Tetra made often. He'd offered to take on that chore, he'd cooked often enough for his own family. Nevertheless, Tetra was adamant she could handle it, once she learned to do it without setting something ablaze that is.

In the short four years that Tetra managed to squeeze from the situation, Link learned a lot. He could control the kibou staff with ease, thanks in part to Sturgeon's book of Mudora. When they arrived Tetra could already do some amazing things with her magic, but with the help of the past bearers she was able to concoct new spells with barely a thought. Now it was time to put that knowledge to use. Link knew his part in all of it; he just hoped Tetra wouldn't slip too far away before she did hers.

Even though Tetra looked the same; since they returned she'd been losing bits of herself to the sage's magic awakening within her. Link never really understood what Tetra meant, though she told him what to expect when she picked her new name.

He still wasn't prepared for it and as the sun broke away from the horizon, he watched with worried fascination as Tetra lost something very basic within herself. It was something she told him, she'd always feared, and something she could run from no longer. The air around her quivered outward as the ancient spell she unleashed worked hard to rearrange his own memories of her. It didn't work, but Link knew it wouldn't, the binding created by the Wind Waker shielded his memories of her. She was a wholly different person from the woman he knew as her memories of her life as Tetra were shuffled aside and another Princess emerged. Even as the magic wave subsided, she met his worried stare without an ounce of recognition and Link knew it was gone.

"I have sent the Green Guardian to a safer place," the Princess said pulling him back, she sounded a little confused when she added, "but I cannot pull him back, something is blocking my magic."

Link knew why, but didn't explain as he replied, "Don't worry, Princess, I've already arranged a way back for him."

"But Hero, you don't know where I've sent him."

She's all Princess now, Link thought as he looked back at her and said quietly, "Don't need to. However, we have one more stop to make before we go to the Tower."

"Do we dare delay any longer?" she asked.

"We'll have to chance it. There's someone I need to talk to. It won't take long."

"Very well, Hero, tell me again the name of this place?"

Link scratched his head. They'd known each other for almost eleven years, but the woman now in front of him, didn't even know his name. So much of Tetra was gone that she only referred to him now, as Hero. Link took a deep breath as his brain ran through the list of things they needed to do. Maybe it was for the best knowing what was coming, it still depressed him though.

"Hero?"

It's all gone now, just like a dream.

The Great Sea's Hero of the Winds never felt lonelier in his life as he replied, "Outset."

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