Nagori, Saimon and Senkyoku - A Wind Waker Tale

This portion was also expanded as I took a smaller part from the next and slipped it into this chapter…There really is only one way Grandma could be in the places I put her – but I decided not to be vague and just let Link figure it out ahead of time. When I stopped writing new chapters and began the process of editing the older chapters, I wrote this:

I’m planning on updating this a little after Thanksgiving – but then the best laid plans of me and that turkey may not turn out so good…it’s now 1:33 am on 11/19/05…

Well at least I got back to this before Thanksgiving this year (o.0) - (9/4/06)


nifty cover art by Koroks Rock

Chapter 46:
For the Love of Pancakes

Link stopped when he stepped out onto the porch and saw his grandmother speaking quietly to the Princess. He got a nervous feeling and wondered just what those two were talking about knowing all that he did now. He was curious what his Grandmother remembered of Tetra. His eyes moved from the older woman to the younger as the Princess’s thoughtful expression changed to one of muted surprise.

The Princess whispered something to herself and when she brought her gaze up to meet his, there was, he thought, just a glimmer of recognition. It was so fleeting…but he found himself wishing she’d snap out of it long enough to shout at him for something, anything really. His attention reluctantly returned to his Grandmother when she said, “You’re probably wondering about that hat…”

His hand wandered up and he realized he was wearing a long green cap and sighed. He didn’t need to look down to know his clothing had shifted to the Hero’s green tunic. His purpose was solidifying and becoming more real by the minute. Just another indication he was running out of time.

“A little, but you know that’s not why I came here. Do you now when Zill left the island?” Link asked as he stepped off the porch.

”I believe the last time I saw him he was headed for the dock,” his grandmother answered.

Missed him by less than an hour, he thought. Link looked out at the bay, the pirate ship was well out of sight on the horizon. There was no doubt in his mind now what the random premonitions he’d had during his stay in the past meant. Zill was even less prepared than he’d been twelve years ago. There was still the chance Jinchi and Chiyuu would find him, Deal with what you can and leave the rest to others. Tetra said that to him at least a hundred times so Link closed his eyes and crossed off a few things from his mental list. When he opened them, Link glanced at the Princess; she wore that faraway expression on her face again. Link leaned closer to his grandmother and asked, “I know you remember her as Tetra, she’s not going to stay like that long, is she?”

Grandma Namaki shrugged.

”How long did it last for you?”

”Why, whatever do you mean, grandson?”

”What I mean Grandma, is that Time’s Sage has always been with us. Watching over the remnants of Hyrule waiting for her successor to awaken.” There was no look of surprise, just a small smile as she took his arm and guided him a short distance from the Princess.

“Did I ever tell you about the dream I had on the night you were born?”

Link’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her askance and said, “No, but I have a feeling you’re going to now.”

“It’s nothing bad, but it was one I’d never forget.”

“Alright, but can you give me the short version? I really do have to get off the island before anyone else sees me.” What he really meant was before Sue Belle spotted him. The last thing he needed was her setting off the alarm that the murderer of her grandfather had returned.

Grandma Namaki grinned. “You say that like a long story is a bad thing.”

“Grandma…”

“Very well dear. I do understand why, just keep your hat on. It’s important you know this, so try to be patient with your old Grandma.”

Link took a deep breath and let it out in a puff. “Sorry,” he said scratching his head, “I guess I’m a little wound up.”

“On the night you were born,” Grandma Namaki said unfazed, “I had a wondrous dream. At that time, I was living alone on Overlook Island. The night was chilly and I was taking my tea in the small room at the top of the tower there. As I sat, wrapped in a warm blanket in my favorite chair, I drifted off. When I opened my eyes, there in front of me, was a man I’d not seen in a very long time. Lien spoke to me gently-“

Link interrupted her when he asked, “You saw Lien?”

“Yes and he told me I must return to Outset even though he must have known I had no wish to go back there, he insisted. From then on everything he said to me was a puzzle.”

Link felt that odd twitch in the back of his head. He’d known there was a good chance Lien would figure out how the spell he’d used on the letters worked but that also meant, he’d probably spoken to Chiyuu. Link decided he’d better hear his Grandma out so paid closer attention as she continued.

“He told me, that soon, I would be needed to raise the boy who would one day father our children.”

Link stared at her for a moment and blinked when the meaning of what she said sunk in. “Then you didn’t know they weren’t yours?”

“No, until that moment, I knew them to be my sons. Lien did all the things a good husband should do, but he knew I wanted to have a child of my own. It must have pained him greatly that he could not give me one and when you approached him to take the boys…” She paused when she saw his sad expression. “Is something wrong dear?”

“No, Grandma, go ahead.”

It was a lie, but Link squashed his sadness, he just didn’t have time for it right now. He’d lost his children and Tetra spent her time in a fog remembering nothing of what had been between them. Though it was all ancient history for everyone else, for him, it quite literally happened yesterday. Link struggled for a moment with a sudden urge to just leave the island and get this all over with, his depression clearly written on his face.

“Don’t bury your grief, child,” Grandma Namaki said gently, “In the end, it will fester and make you a bitter old man.”

Link managed a small smile as he wrapped his arms around his grandma and gave her a squeeze. “Thanks, Grandma, and not just for the boys,” he said and paused. Another random thought hit him and he said, “I’m guessing you know what’s happened to Aryll and Gonzo…”

“Yes, but it wasn’t until you and the Princess returned that I realized how well Aryll had named her two seagull friends. To think those two were right under my nose for twelve years. It makes me wonder if they remembered me.” She sounded vexed but without a trace of surprise, and Link smiled at her. She was ever his calm oasis in the midst of the chaotic happenings of his life and he owed her so much. “Those boys of yours certainly kept me on my toes.”

“I can imagine,” Link said and fought back another twinge of regret. “I just wish it could have been different…even though I know it has to be this way.”

“You and your wife did what you believed to be best for them. When I think on it, you did nothing I would not have done myself. Your Princess is an amazing woman and very thorough, grandson. She not only cut the bindings between yourselves and the children, she created new, latent ones, which only manifested after Lien brought Chiyuu and Jinchi into our home.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t explain it really and I’m still not sure how she managed it so completely. She even altered their eye color. In the end it didn’t matter, because when Lien brought them home he told me their names, and insisted we rename them to whatever I wanted.”

“Jake and Jasper.”

“Yes, the names suggested by my younger sister. She always loved the adventures the histories told of that pair of Elemental Guardians.”

“I know I’ll never understand the magic she wields, kinda scares me actually. She said the memories she’d lose were just bits of time frozen in her head and so were within her power to manipulate,” Link said. His thoughts drifted as he remembered the nightmares Tetra experienced near the end of their stay in the past. When she explained what she thought they meant, Link, didn’t want to believe her. Even though he knew the why, he’d managed to convince himself their names were only a coincidence and there was some other solution to the problem. As the nightmares worsened, Link realized the connection created by the Wind Waker and his own denial of the situation that was intensifying them.

That was when he decided to dig a little deeper into the Book of Mudora. Everything the Book told him led to one answer; if Jinchi and Chiyuu were going to survive to adulthood, they would have to leave them behind. The Goddesses often worked in strange ways and Link could no longer deny what needed to be done.

Link looked back at the Princess and said, “Tetra told me a clean break would be best so she searched for a while for a way to make the transition as painless as possible. When we handed the boys over to Lien, she watched him as he left. I didn’t know until we returned that she’d done more than seal off the boys memories of her. Actually, I only have a vague idea of what she did.”

Link absently sent a thought to the part of his mind where, for the last four years, Tetra always was. There was nothing there, not even a whisper. It remained vacant and the silence for him was deafening. If there was ever a time to close off that connection, Link knew it would be now, but he let it be out of some perverse hope she’d come back to herself sooner and not later. He felt the twitch again and caught a glimpse of the Princess; she was sitting on a large rock nearby watching the ocean. Though he sensed she was restless, it was impossible to tell where her attention really lay. He was briefly tempted to check her thoughts, but some instinct told him to steer clear, so once again he held back only coming close enough to be sure she was alright. In fact he’d not ventured near her thoughts since she’d changed her name. His attention returned to his grandmother when she said:

“I am curious about one thing though, I understand the name change but I never understood why she chose to change their eye color.”

“From what she told me, her problems were twofold: Jasper was old enough to remember us on some level and she couldn’t have her past self in the future realizing who they were too soon. Hence, the unusual eye colors. The accent though, I think that was all Chiyuu’s own doing.”

“I often wondered at the language Jasper used with his brother. I’m sure now, that the boy who had been Chiyuu, used it as a way to hold his memories of you both. He always was an unusual boy, just like his father in so many ways. He was always a daredevil that one. You left quite an impression on him.”

Link was inwardly pleased that Chiyuu had managed to do that.

“Through all of this, Jasper has remained unaffected by the magic that trapped Tetra. He found her in my garden and guided her to me in the past,” Grandma Namaki said, “I don’t know why my memory of that day remains clouded, but I know I called him by his true name. Jasper never forgot it. Boys at that age are very attached to their mothers.”

“But you must have felt some change.”

“No, I wanted a child so badly, that from the moment Lien placed Jake in my arms, I was lost to the sage’s magic. I only know it now because of what Lien told me. The Princess knew she was destined to lose her children. Even now, I still hold within in me those precious bits of time she sacrificed and gained more than just two wonderful sons as her memories of them became mine.

From her perch atop the rock, the Princess said suddenly, “Pancakes.”

“Yes, Princess.” Grandma Namaki said gently.

“I can make them…” she said and wore a slight smile.

“Is that so?” the old woman replied.

“Yes, they are very tasty too.”

Link never took his eyes off the Princess when he asked his grandmother in a low voice, “She hasn’t smiled since she picked that new name of hers. Just what did you say to her?”

“Nothing she didn’t already know,” Grandma Namaki said as she reached up and pinched his cheek. Link didn’t pull away, she only did it to get his attention but he really hated when she did that. The old woman smirked at her grandson and said, “Don’t worry Hero, she’ll sort it out. Just try to be patient with her for a bit.”

Link did a double take.

“You too with the hero crap?” he asked just a little louder than he intended. “You, at least, must remember my name, it’s-”

His Grandmother’s hand moved so quickly Link stared at her for a moment in shock as the sting from her slap set in.

“Why…” His grandmother raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, a frown marring her serene face. Link paused and remembered the last time he’d earned a slap from his grandmother. He inwardly berated himself for being such a clod. Link straightened and said as he bowed to her, “I apologize Grandmother, I did not mean to use such language. I forgot myself, please forgive me.”

“Forgiven, Hero.”

Link cocked an eyebrow and considered her response for a moment; it wasn’t just the swearing then and chose his words carefully. “So, I’m still not allowed to swear or mention…you know.” When his Grandmother nodded, Link sighed. “Great, so tell me about the rest of the dream.”

“There’s only one other thing I needed to tell you. Aside from informing me I must return to Outset, Lien said you mustn’t allow him to fight.”

“Allow who to fight?”

“I don’t know, he never explained.”

Link rubbed his face and looked over to the Princess. His frustration was building as he noted the Princess watched the scene with a look of mild confusion. Their conversation stopped however, when an angry voice behind them shouted, “Link! I knew you’d come back, you filthy murderer!”

Link’s heart sank into his stomach, when the Princess’s eyes went wide. She stood up from the rock and almost immediately sank back down as she gasped when her Triforce piece glowed. The Princess stared at her hand in fascination, just the way Tetra did when she first received the relic eleven years before. Link winced as the bearers in the Princess’s head sent a barrage of thoughts and memories of the different Link’s there’d been in the past. Caught off guard the memories continued to rush through the Princess in a torrent and none of his attempts to block them worked. Link shook his head furiously to clear it as bits and snatches of Hero’s past settled into his consciousness.

This was the reason his Grandmother avoided using his name. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the bearers in the Princess’s head were only the trigger as they quieted and became secondary to the Hero types now wreaking havoc in his own head. Tetra told him about the menagerie in his head, he’d just never become conscious of them, nor, he knew, was he meant to. He struggled with the Hero’s and it took all Link Namaki’s concentration to keep being overwhelmed by them.

He managed to push them back and made his way to where the Princess sat. She focused on him with concern in her eyes, she knew what was happening but was powerless to stop it. There was a shift in the air and Link turned to see that golden light as it raced toward him. He took a step back from it and the light paused. Link realized, he’d had it backward all along; he wasn’t moving away from the light, he’d been racing toward it. For some reason he didn’t understand this thought calmed him.

As Sue Belle’s irate voice continued in the background and though Link tried hard to ignore his former neighbor’s tirade, he felt himself losing focus. The Princess grew angry as she looked past him and he heard an angry voice yell in his head:

Silence!

Sue Belle’s voice cut off in a strangled gasp and though She was not in his direct line of sight, Link was sure the Princess had done…something. Her eyes were cold, and completely lacking of the gentle kindness he’d always known her to have. When he heard the choking again, he said, “Please, let her go, Princess.” The Princess’s glare softened when she returned her attention to him and he added, “She can do me no harm.”

The Princess frowned and turned her head toward his Grandmother as she sniffed in disdain. Link turned as the choking continued. It was then he realized his Grandmother was angrier than he’d ever seen her. Master Orca was on the porch now and put a hand on his Grandmother's shoulder. He whispered something that made her stern expression turn to a frown but the choking stopped. Sue Belle dropped back onto the porch and Master Orca steadied her but Sue Belle was still gasping as she bolted off the porch in the direction of the beach.

At this point Link no longer cared where Sue Belle was going as long as she didn’t return before they left the island. The Princess wavered again, and Link could still hear the bearers in her head as they urged her to punish the troublemaker. Link knew she wouldn’t be able to focus enough to get them where they needed to be.


Get off the island!

An almost familiar voice said in his head, but at that particular moment, he’d no idea how to.

Think!

Get off…Link forced his chaotic thoughts to halt and he struggled a moment to focus.

Princess…

His swirling attention coalesced as his looked at his Grandmother with new eyes. As Link scooped the Princess up in his arms he said, “Grandma…Lady Natsumi…I really hate to ask, but…”

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

The shadow man’s staff sent a shower of sparks into the air when it struck the stone floor of the Tower of the Gods. Hito stared in a moment of disbelief as Mei continued to pull his semi-conscious sister further from him. “I can fix her,” was the only thing Hito understood from the stream of inanities that spewed from that crazy old man. Hito snarled and let out a growl as he raised his staff again. It was clear to him these two were useless; he could even smell the taint of fairy magic. All his plans lay in ruins, and someone was going to pay for it.

Distracted, he failed to see the fast flying object that at that instant, smashed into him. The force of the impact sent him skidding backward into the bell tower. Hito was only able to clout the offending attacker once, catching him soundly on the side of his head, but not before the shadow lost his grip on his staff. Hito heard Mei cackle with delight as the weapon clattered away from him just out of reach. The mass of feathers in his face made him think at first his assailant one of the four. Even angrier, he turned his head, only to find that he had been set upon by something worse.

“Cursed Rito,” Hito spat. He loathed the filthy beasts even more than the rock like Goron and slimy Zora peoples of old. The feathered people of Dragonroost, however, he despised most of all. The Earth Sage came from that ilk, and it only fed his rage that he’d missed his chance to be rid of her and that bit of bark that made up the wind sage.

Frustration mounting, he turned his head and called for Mei. When no one answered, Hito threw off the unconscious rito still atop him, but he could no longer see the old man. Mei must be taking the opportunity to drag the limp body of his sister somewhere. Scrambling to his left, he grabbed hold of the staff that lay only a few feet away. The staff didn’t budge and all Hito could do was glare at the large booted foot atop it.

“Long time no see, eh Sarith?”

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