SPECIALIS - :A Groose Call: [29]

Things felt a tad less-casual to me as we soared above the clouds, each on our Loftwings. I looked at the sea of white, still feeling the loss of Ticktock. Is that how Fi felt when she watched Link die? The blue figure was safely in Link's Goddess Sword, and yet I couldn't help but wonder if she, too, had comprehension of feeling. I believed she did.

I looked up and caught Link looking back at me. He took a spare moment before he whipped his head back to the front, and I frowned. Eh...? "Something wrong, buddy?" He denied anything and pointed out the big beam of green light, "We're getting closer; get ready to jump!" I nodded and took my Loftwing into a slight nose-dive, spurring ahead of Link and easing myself out of the stirrups. "Steady, steady...there we go...all right, ready?" My Loftwing gave a whistle and carried me over the opening. I leaped off and performed the swandive I had seen Link execute so many times before. Link came in after me, both of us falling down towards the forest.

"HEEEEEEEY!!!" I whirled around and began to fall backwards, "What the Hell was tha--" Link began to turn his head around, "What is what--" We both gaped in stunned silence for a few moments as we saw a giant red-haired figure plummeting towards us like a cannonball dropped off a building. Finally we cried out hysterically as Groose, the most unlikely person to find falling through the air, slammed into Link and dragged him far further towards the trees than I was dropping. "Link! HEEEEEELP!"

Oh, for the love of... I straightened my arms and legs and aimed my head downwards, cutting through the air and speeding towards the two flailing figures like a bullet. "Link! Use the sailcloth!" Link managed to maneuver himself and pulled out his cloth, creating a parachute and gradually slowing their decent, but they were far too close to the ground that, if they landed, they'd still take some significant amount of damage. I slowly opened myself back up to a swandive, veering in to wrap my legs around Link's chest. To this day, I still don't know how I managed to do it, but I knew then I'd never be able to do it again. I opened up my own sailcloth and created a double-parachute effect, lightly carrying everyone down to the ground like a leaf from a branch.

We landed in a pile, but very softly. Groose got up first and dusted himself off, "Ah, a nice landing. I don't think I even broke anything--but Link, seriously! We would have crashed if--" His eyes bulged out of their sockets and his mouth was wide open, and I barked a laugh at the sight as I rolled off of Link. Groose was staring at some colorful, small birds fluttering about on the forest floor. He shouted with surprise as they took off, "T-Tiny birds? What-WHAT are they?!" Link groaned as he slowly got to his feet, and I gave him a hand up. "Geez, you'd think he'd have seen a sparrow or a finch before," I muttered and Link shook his head, "Just...give him a minute." I looked to the side and saw a familiar figure off to the side and grinned, "Oh, hey there Gorko!" I waved my hand at the Goron, and he waved back with a smile before carrying on with his map.

Groose was flabbergasted. "But...how...Wh-why...wha-what...WHERE AM I?!" I sighed, "You're in a forest, idiot. This is the Faron Province here on the Surface, where Link--" The brute was already up on his feet and had grabbed Link, the first person close to him, and proceeded to shake-slash-interrogate him wildly. "What's going on here? Ever since Zelda vanished, you've been zipping and out of town all in a hurry, just like Jacqueline!"

"Why'd you follow us, Groose?" He looked at me and stopped shaking Link for a moment, "...I...figured I'd tail you two, and you guys might lead me to Zelda." He pulled away and pointed at Gorko, "But this is...so wild. Seriously, what IS that thing over there?!"

I sighed and scratched my head, living a moment of deja vu. "That's a Goron--you know, rock people."

Groose looked up, his hands strangling something invisible and unseen to the naked eye. "And what's with all these trees? There are so many!" He then sought a new form of prey and planted his hands back on Link's shoulders and began to jostle him again. Link looked at me pleadingly with a Help me look, and I helplessly gestured I'm doing the best I can. Groose's voice boomed, "Just give it to me straight! I can take it! Where are we? Is Zelda here?"

"Eh...yeah, technically she's supposed to be around here somewhere." I wormed the words out as best as I could without confusing both Groose and Link, though Groose didn't seem satisfied. "And what's the deal with this place?! If there's supposed to be nothin' below the clouds, what's all this?" He continued to jostle Link before I sighed and placed a hand on his bicep, "Groose..."

He turned to look at me, and then back at Link as Link smiled gently and placed a hand on his other bicep, and together, we freed Link from the savage clutches of a scatter-brained idiot and stepped back to let him get his bearings. I looked at Link as he looked at me, and we both nodded in understanding. I turned to Groose, "Well, you see, this land is pretty much undiscovered by everyone on Skyloft, and the best way to protect you all was to deny any present-knowledge that there was anything on the Surface...of course, all of that kind of went down the tube when I came to Skyloft..."

~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Groose fell to his knees after Link and I had finished explaining everything about the Surface to him and he gawked up at us. "Uhhh...whoa...you're kind of imploding my mind right now...But I think I get what you're saying. If I've got this right, Zelda is down here somewhere, and she's...okay?" Link smiled helplessly at Groose and nodded, and the relief over the bully's face gave me a new perspective of him. "She's...she's okay. Oh, wow! That's so great! Hearing that is such a...huge relief off my mind." He began to snort piggishly and chortle with bashful relief, and I sighed and shook my head with a smile. He stopped and looked around himself with a smile, "You know...it's sort of all right down here." I was impressed with how mature and grown-up he was sounding, and I crossed my arms in some fascination of this transformed-Groose.

And then he shattered any form of hope for him as he suddenly said, "This land needs a name. Yeah...a name fitting for this rugged, adventurous wilderness. From now on, we'll call it...GROOSELAND." Link and I gaped at him, and then exchanged looks with one another, and I covered my face with a hand. "Oh boy..."

Groose turned to us, "So, Jacqueline--you said that the old lady down here at a temple knew where Zelda was, right?" I nodded, "Uh, yes, I did--why?"

He shrugged with a grin, "I just needed to know if she did. I'm going to go look for her, but you and Link can head back to Skyloft now. Big Groose can handle the search for Zelda all by himself. I'll find a way to save her and bring her back to Skyloft..." He began to chuckle to himself and going on about "making their relationship official and asking her out", though from my clearer understanding of Zelda, it was likely that his dreams weren't going to come true. However, I gave him an over-enthusiastic, sarcastic send-off and a "good luck" as he dashed away and left Link and I together alone again.

I looked to Link, "Do you think he'll get past the F.U. Baba?" Link smirked to me, "I'm not sure, but I wouldn't put it past him." I smiled warmly and watched him as he walked on and I followed behind. I stopped for a moment, thinking on Groose's words. "..Uh, Link?"

"What is it, Jacqueline?" I looked at him, "I was wondering...does it bother you if Groose is pursuing a relationship with Zelda?" Link smiled, "Not at all, really."

I gaped, "It doesn't?" Link looked away in thought and shrugged softly, "Zelda is my best friend, and I care about her a lot; she's one of the sweetest people I've ever known, and she has a way of making you feel special whenever she looks at you. As if she sees you." He looked towards me, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to fight Groose for her. Considering the stakes, I think it'd be up to her to choose if she wanted to get into a relationship. I've had thoughts before, but those don't matter right now. Why do you ask?"

Okay, that's not a yes or a no... "I was just wondering, since I didn't know how deep your relationship was with her." Link frowned slightly, "I don't see why you would want to wonder about something like that--I'd do anything to help her out, but that's because she's my friend."

It was my turn to frown. "I think if anyone is curious about anything, they'd want to know! I just wanted to know how deep of a friendship can really go, you know, before you...uh, turn into a Groose." Link smiled at that, "Well, I can understand how Groose feels about her, and I won't hold it against him. He's the one trying to ask her out, not me." Aha! So you aren't taken! That weird jealousy suddenly evaporated, though a small darkness remained that I couldn't put my finger on; it was as if there was a barred door holding a treasure with no key to insert into the lock. Forbidden, forever.

I shoved it away, "All right, I just wanted to know. No other reason." He glanced at me for a moment, "Is everything okay?" I assured him and hurried on, walking in the direction Groose had gone. The temple loomed before us, familiar and ruined as usual. We stepped inside to hear Groose firing away exclamations at the old woman, and then turn around and run off crying. "I take it he's not handling the break-up very well?" I half-joked as we climbed the stairs, and the old woman smiled, "Nay, child of fate, he is merely adjusting to his suited role in the future that is to come."

"Where is Zelda?" Link asked, and the woman scanned over the two of us--particularly me--and then back to Link to address him. "She and the guardian sent by the Goddess, Impa, have retreated to a special place for an important duty that plays in expelling the darkness from this land. In order to reach Zelda, key events must occur before you will be able to see her again. Link, I believe the spirit-maiden bestowed to you a gift before she and Impa disappeared?" He drew out a golden treasure, and I blinked; where had I seen it before? It was a rather genuine-golden harp and had a warm glow about it. My chest pulsated the dark, cold dead and I fought to swallow it. Something inside of me--Ghirahim likely--was tempted on destroying the harp, shattering it with my hands. But I kept my hands to my sides. The old woman proceeded to instruct Link on how to wield the harp, and as he tested the strings, I felt a calmness overcome me. I sat down on the steps and watched him as he began to play what was called the "Ballad of the Goddess". It was a calming, important tune that spoke to me in a way I couldn't understand. Fi came out of Link's sheath and alighted next to me, watching him play.

When he finished, the slab that had risen up for me before began to rise again at the beckoning of the harp, and Link turned to watch the stone rise up. I looked at the gate, nostalgia washing over me. "This great slab is known as the Gate of Time. It is the last one known in existence."

I looked at the old woman, "And I'm guessing that on the other side of that thing is where Zelda is, right?" She looked at me with a smile that told me hidden secrets, and nodded. "Precisely, my dear; however, to activate the gate, the Chosen Hero and you will need to overcome obstacles and many hardships before you can awaken the slab from its dormant state. It is the role the both of you play in desti--" Suddenly the floor came alive and shook us, setting Link off-balance. The entire temple was shaking. Old Impa, as I exclusively knew her as, looked up. Her voice was quiet, but resonated as if she were speaking loudly amidst the quakes. "This shaking...I fear the seal has been broken. I expected it would react to the summoning of the gate, but I never imagined the seal to break so quickly."

Dread pounded and racketed my body, and I felt cold all over. I gasped as my chest sharply pained and began to have a strange pulling-motion as if my heart was trying to break forth from my body. I held myself and shivered, "I think...Ghirahim has a hand in this, too; he's using the darkness he's hosting inside of me to try to break the seal faster and beat us to saving Zelda." Old Impa turned to me, "There will be a time and place to talk about your situation, but right now the two of you must head to the bottom of the pit outside. You must stop the Seal from becoming undone and letting The Imprisoned escape." I nodded and got to my feet, trying to ignore the cold numbing my body and the pain in my chest. I ran down the steps to run with Link back into broad daylight. There, I knew something was going to happen, and a part of me wanted to flee from what was going to come.

~~~~~~~~~The Imprisoned~~~~~~~~~~~~

Groose ran to us and stumbled, "W-Whoa! What is with all of this shaking? I thought the ground was supposed to be solid down here..."

I exchanged looks with Link. "Come on," I said urgently, "We have to check the sealing spike down in the pit, and try to seal it if we can! We can't let whatever's sealed in it from getting out!" He nodded to me, taking in my expression for a moment before heading down. I stood at the top of the pit, unable to move closer to it. I didn't want to; I wanted to run away. I forced myself to hang onto my arms and lock myself in place, braving the sight of the pit and the smoke that was rising from the spike in the center of the seal.

As Link approached it, the sense of cold death riveted through my entire being, and I cried out, "Get back! Don't touch it, He's coming out!" Link looked up to where I stood before backing off from the seal as the ground turned pitch-black and opened a hole into an otherworldly realm.

I heard His cry before I could even see him, and I clasped my hands over my ears and collapsed to my knees, screaming in pain as the Imprisoned burst forth from the depths, unleashing another ferocious roar into the air. The ringing in my ears wouldn't fade, and I could hear Ghirahim's cackling somewhere in the back of it. I groaned and kept a lid on my screaming, writhing with my head in my hands. "Link!" I managed to yell to him, staring at the ground without courage to face the Imprisoned, "We can't...let Him get to the temple! Drive Him back into the pit!" Link was already running to attack the embodiment of evil, striking Him wherever he could. The only weakspot were the toes on the grotesque body, and somehow, miraculously, Link brought the creature down in a matter of moments onto His back.

"Use the Skyward Strike on the spike!" I called hoarsely, desperate for anything to get Him out of the world of the living. As Link raised his sword and brought it down, the strike solidly hit the spike, and suddenly the pain and shrieking deafened considerably. I began to recover and felt immense relief from the pain, but the effects wore off and I was slammed back into the mental turmoil. I groaned loudly and braced myself for the rebounds of pain whenever the Skyward Strike would hit. Fuck you, Ghirahim...fuck you for doing this to me... I chanced my eyes to open, watching the Imprisoned try to make His way up the ramp of the pit, traveling only a fraction of the way up before stopping to stand and try again. Link continued to try to drive Him back, but even with all the pain He was enduring, His hunger for Sacred Power was greater.

Link struggled with the Imprisoned as He tried to gain ground up the ramp, varying His travel by doing a strange motoring-type-motion up the path and forcing Link to abandon the ramp to find another way to higher ground and keep ahead of Him. I watched as they fought and Link desperately tried to impale the spike into the Imprisoned, but it still wouldn't go deep enough. He tried to avoid the impounding steps as the Imprisoned cleared a path for Himself, coming closer to the Temple. The hero nimbly wove his way between the legs, slashing and slicing the toes of the monster off. He successfully sliced the front toes clean off, slowing the beast. I felt a sense of satisfaction from seeing that.

And then Link's luck ran out; the Imprisoned roughly stomped the earth, catching Link off-guard with the change in pattern and forcing him to the ground. I gaped in horror; he was barely keeping ahead of the Imprisoned, and when he tried to get up to flee, the stump would come slamming down and knock him off his feet. He's playing with him! I have to do something... I felt utterly useless, and I recalled the sacrifice Ticktock had made, and the promise I said to Link. It was so ironic, it hadn't even been that long ago. I forced myself to get up and I started running, panicked and fearful I wouldn't make it in time. Link was strong, but he was facing a god of evil, and it looked like his fortune had run dry.

If whatever that hag said is true, please give me some sort of sign that I have Sacred Power too! I gasped for air as I ran, abandoning my sword and equipment to the side to lose the extra weight and gain ground. As I approached, I heard His voice ring out through my soul. YOU WILL NOT SAVE HIM; GIVE IN NOW, FOR DEFYING ME WILL ONLY PROLONG THE INEVITABLE. I tried to shake the voice out and kept running, reaching the edge and leaping off for the Imprisoned. I landed roughly on His head and crawled for the spike at the forehead, sticking out like a nail in the ground.

His voice came again as my fingers shakily wormed for the stone-like figure, sweat pouring down my face and through my body. WHY DO YOU FIGHT WHEN YOU KNOW YOU WILL FAIL? GIVE IN, THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE HERE. I dragged myself and clung to the spike, shivering and shaking against it in fear. I looked down and saw Link barely conscious, being covered in the shadow of the stump as the Imprisoned prepared to crush him underfoot.

"...No." My voice was nothing more than a whisper as I clutched the spike and shoved down as hard as I could into the head of the Imprisoned, and my ears rang in pain as He roared in agony, thrashing His head to and fro. His body was beginning to glow white, and He continued to thrash. I clung to him, screaming and shrieking in pain as He tried to exact some form of punishment before He would become sealed again. THERE IS NO CHANGE TO FATE; I WILL RETRIEVE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE. He roared, enraged and began to stumble about, finding a cliff wall and slamming His head into it. I clung to the spike, crouched against His scalp as it was slowly being embedded into His head with each impact He made. THERE IS NO HOPE LEFT FOR YOU, OR THIS WORLD. I WILL COME AGAIN, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME. With a final gutteral bellow, He brought His head towards the cliff wall again. The spike was almost flattened, and there was no way I could avoid this.

I uttered a soft gasp of despair, watching the cliff wall rushed up to meet me and I felt a bone-shattering impact--