The light dies down from the blinding intensity it had first taken on. It now had a subtler, warmer quality instead of the harshness it had first had.
Ax looks around, and looking to his side, jumps to say, "Hey! How come you're bigger than me?!"
Corqren replies, "But ... you're still bigger than me ...!"
Mi Shen says to both of them, "how come you’re both are so much smaller then usual?" He's about an extra foot taller then Ax.
Mai looks on at the situation, and says to try and break up the fight, "What we should be worrying about is where we are ... and why Yu's eyes are glowing ..."
They all look at Yu. Corqren goes over to her and pokes her. "yu?"
Yu says simply, "What?" She doesn't realize her eyes have turned glowing yellow.
"What! How come you're taller! I'm the eldest!" Yu says as she notices Mai is taller. "Oh." She says as if she realized something. "This is the sacred realm." She says as if she always knew. "And we are all sages ... who woulda guessed?" She says with an amazing calmness.
"How can you possibly say that with a straight face?!" Mai yells.
Ki looks around pouting at everyone because they're all taller then her. Even Corqren is taller by two inches.
Makera looks down at her feet. "How come I don't have a disc to stand on?"
"Your not a sage. Your the hero of Time ... Duh."
Mai looks at Yu with the same shocked expression of disbelief. "
"What?" Yu says. "You can't say you didn't see all this coming!"
Ax looks grumpy. "what's a f*cking sage....?"
Yu looks at Ax with Mai's expression. "Don't tell me! You live in this place and you don't know?"
Ax looks dumbly at her. "uhh ...?"
Mi Shen sighs. "oy ... what a dipshit ..."
Yu lets out a sigh and states it in very clear words, "A sage is a person who upholds the seal of a temple until the day they must grant their power to the hero of time." She points to Makera, who points to herself a little confused.
Ax still looks dumbly at her. Mi Shen sighs again. "don't bother.... I think the heat burnt his brain...."
Ax says grouchily to Mi Shen, "We'll see who's burnt here soon."
Mi Shen shakes his head. "little hothead ..."
Corqren looks between the two.... “do I have to be here? ...” (the water seal is between the shadow and fire ones in the circle)
“Would you shut up! There’s more I have to tell you!” Yu says loudly.
Mi Shen and Ax look at Yu ignoring each other for the time being.
Corqren lets out a sigh of relief
"Okay!" Yu says, cheering up noticeably, "The good news is that one seal is already unlocked. The bad news is there are five to go."
Corqren looks at the seals on the ‘ground’. "which one....?"
"Mine. How do you think I know this stuff otherwise?"
Corqren shrugs. "I dunno..... you're really smart...?"
Mai tugs on Corqren's ear as a warning not be trying anything on her sister.
Corqren yelps slightly. "what'd I do...?"
Yu smiles at Corqren’s pathetic attempt to suck up, saying, “not that smart anyhow.”
"This is because the Temple of Light has no material form and thus does not need to be protected."
"Your a little young for me anyway kid." Yu says as she notices Mai obviously is jealous. "Last note." Yu says seriously to the group, "If you hadn't noticed, for us to become sages we had to be aged-meaning we're 7 years into the future. We don't know WHAT that brat Link has done in that time!"
They look at each other. Ax looks shocked and says. "You DO look older!" Pointing at Mi Shen. Mi Shen gives him a look of, “God.... he finally gets it....”
Makera jumps at the mention of Link."Yeah! We gotta get that stupid jerk! He's gonna be punished GOOD this time!" She makes a practice crack in the air with her whip.
Corqren flinches at the whip crack.
Mai looks at Makera strangely, wondering if she is sane.
Ki stares at everyone. "EVERYONE'S TALLER THEN ME-----! and Ax is a Moron!" She states the obvious.
Ax says, "I'd kick your tiny little ass ... if there wasn't any water between me and you ..."
Yu holds her head as if it hurt, and waves her arm saying, "I'm tired of this. Let's get going." That same light as before appears again.
A unknown voice tells Mi Shen, "Be careful in the future, A sturdy shield hides a wounded soul"
Mi Shen whispers to himself. "wha ...?"
They shield their eyes and are back at the temple of time.
Yu is the first to recover from the brightness, and states in a take-charge-sort-of-voice, "Okay. Where to first?"
Ax and Corqren look at Mi Shen weirdly as Mi Shen looks around for Mi. "Mi? Mi where are you ...?"
“I’m here.” a soft voice says from behind the alter of the stones. Mi turns around as she realizes they are there. Mi, like the others, is older, and-well, a little better developed than she previously was.
Mai comments out of the blue, "Funny ... everyone's clothes fit as if they grew with them ..."
Yu looks between Mai, Mi, and herself, and her own ‘assets’, "What the-? How come your bigger than me too Mai?"
Corqren counts on his fingers. "if we jumped 7 years into the future ... then I'd be about 14 years old ..." He says to himself.
Yu stops silently growling at Mai for a moment to contemplate her own age. "That means I'm ... 16 or 17 ..."
Mi Shen yawns. "I'm an 18 year old? damn..."
"But your only 14 Mai! How can you have that kinda figure? And you’re taller too! How!"
“At least I don't have too much competition from Mi ..." She looks over at Mi.
Mi snaps at that remark, "Hey!"
Mi Shen looks at Mi with interest. "And this would put you at what age Mi?
Ax inches closer to Yu. "you're pretty ..." he grins.
Mi responds quickly to Mi Shen, "17!" before going back to Yu. "And I'll have you know I'm just at big up top as you! So what if I'm shorter? I have better hair!" She flips back her green hair grouchily.
Mi Shen raises an eyebrow. "I think someone needs to cool down ..."
Yu look at Ax, blushing. "Um ..." she stammers, having no idea what to say.
Ax's grin gets even bigger. "you have a nice rack"
Yu slaps Ax for that comment. Mi smiles towards Yu as if to say "Atta girl"
Ax holds his face and mumbles to himself. "ooook... bad approach...."
Ax glares at him. "shut up!"
Mi Shen touches the part of his face scared from the impact with the wall. Mi turned away whistling innocently.
Corqren sits down and sighs. "what are we going to do now....?"
"Pick a temple or two and head out." Yu says, now serious after Ax's remark.
Corqren sighs and gets up, seemed like he liked to get off his feet. "I do wonder what has happened for the last 7 years...."
"Hey cheer up Corqren! Ruto probably doesn't even remember you!" Mai says happily.
Ki gets hyper all of a sudden. "I wonder what it looks like out side!!" She hops out the door.
Corqren smiles slightly. "that is if I’m lucky ... hopefully she doesn't pounce on me or something ..."
Ki comes back in silently, her face as if she'd seen a ghost. She drops to the ground crying out, "It's all gone!"
Corqren looks at her and says, "what's gone?"
"All of it!" Ki says between sobs.
Ax gets a freaky look of concern and runs outside, obviously to look at death mountain.
Mi Shen and Corqren follow. Mai and Yu look between themselves and follow quickly after. Mi watches them all leave, almost hesitant to move. She only takes a step after they have reached the entrance of the temple. Mai drops to the ground near where Ki had stopped to look at the carnage that had once been Hyrule. Her eyes widened to take in the burned buildings, dead bodies and re-deads that filled the streets of the once-prosperous town. Yu stands-however it is obvious she is shaken by what to her was only moments ago lush and green. She wrings her hands nervously in absence of something to do, and can't seem to say anything at all. Ax looks at death mountain and the cloud around it. Mi Shen looks at all the dead and bows his head. Mi walks slowly as she reaches the same point as the others, and has about the same reaction as Yu (minus wringing her hands). Her eyes seem to dilate and undilate as she looks, and she holds an arm over her eyes long enough for her to get a little sanity back.
Corqren sputters. "C...can we get outta here....?"
Yu gulps before she states simply, "We can't GO anywhere. All of Hyrule is likely to be like this. But we can get going. We have to unseal the temples anyhow ..."
Mi is the first to walk away from the scene, heading down the path leading up to the temple of time; into the once town of Hyrule. Mi stops as she notices the others aren't following. She turns and yells, "Don't sit there gawking! We can only help the living!"
Mi Shen is the first to move and the other follow after. They stood outside what had once been the Hyrule gate. Mi Shen runs out and looks towards Kakariko village. Mi runs after him. The others shrug and follow, seeing as no one else can decide where to go to. He runs into the village and to the graveyard. He pants as he sees the graveyard overgrown with weeds and poes floating around everywhere. Mi stops just behind him, out of breath because she would usually just fly. She couldn't figure out why she hadn’t, actually.
"This means Dampé is de-" Mi stops mid word as she realizes who she's speaking too. Mi Shen winces and looks at all the gravestones frantically.
"I think Link would be too busy taking over the world to pull out gravestones ..." Mi says so soberly.
Mi Shen doesn't pay attention and kneels at dampé's grave. "dampé ..." A poe floats up behind him and whacks him in the head with it's lantern. Mi Shen winces and puts a hand over the back of his head which is bleeding slowly.
Mi asks, "Want me to get rid of it?" with the same sober tone.
Mi Shen shakes his head as he slowly and forcefully kills it with a slap from his quarterstaff.
"I wonder if your lantern is still here?" Mi says to the air. He finally lets out an low 'ouch' as he holds his head.
Yu hits him on the head with her staff where he got hit before. "Wake up already! Your not a re-dead!"
Corqren comes up behind Mi Shen, puts a hand on the back of Mi Shen's head and heals the cut. Mi walks past Mi Shen to fly a short ways through the air to the place where the royal tombstone once stood.
Corqren pulls on Mi shen's arm "Come on Mi Shen! Mi's going in without us!"
Mi looks back at the group, "Come on! If we get this over with then this might not have happened!" Mi knew that made sense in her head, but it certainly came out wrong. "I mean ... we might still change the past!" she says to correct herself.
Corqren nods. "Yeah!" He walks right towards a somewhat large hole. "the we don't have to WAH!" He would have fallen in the hole if it wasn't for Mi Shen grabbing him before hand.
"Watch where you're going next time ..." Mi Shen pulls him back up and sets him down.
Mi just smiles. The faint sounds of re-dead moaning is heard from the hole.
"Hey Mi Shen ... I said I'd ask first. So I'm asking now to enter the Temple of Shadows."
Mai looks down the hole, "Sorry guys, supper's canceled tonight. Fried shrimp is off the menu."
Yu pulls Mai back from the hole. "Don't forget you don't have wings ..."
Mi Shen looks from Corqren, who is currently blasting the re-deads with bombs compliments of Ax, to Mi. "sure , Mi. Go ahead."
Mi turns towards the temple, pouting a little. She was hoping Mi Shen would accompany her. Yu and Mai head after Mi.
Mi Shen Jumps up to where Mi is and offers him arm. "Shall we?"
Ax looks up, thinking, "So close to Death mountain ... I can see it from here."
Mi blushes a little, and practically "jumps" on the offer (and on him). She looks back to where Makera is puffed up like a fish, and sticks her tongue out.
Makera stomps along after, and Mi turns forward as Makera taps the whip at the side of her hip. Mi doesn't want ANYTHING to do with THAT side of Makera.
Mi Shen turns his head. "Makera would you stop ... I promised her I'd show her the temple ..." he says, knowing he’s bending the truth just a little.
Mi Shen and Mi are the first to enter the temple, and as Mi looks around, she puts her head against his shoulder, saying, "It brings back memories, doesn’t it? ..." and she smiles. Mi Shen isn't sure if it's from her kicking him or meant as a threat, but it sounds ... sincere.
Makera whistles innocently, and as Mi Shen turns back around she glares at Mi's back.
"like the memory of you listening to me snore ...?" He almost laughs.
Mi blushes more than before, saying nervously, "You knew I was there the whole time?"
"you think these things are ornamental?" He flicks one of his cat ears.
"Yeah but you were making more noise than me" she says slyly. "Besides, bat's-" and she flicks a finger to her hair ornaments, "have better hearing then cats."
He shrugs "I can ignore my own snoring ... and you haven't seen how far away I can hear a person...."
"yeah I guess having it that way your whole life's better than magic ...
Yu isn't sure to fake retching or say "aw ho cute!" Mai looks on happily.
He shrugs. "being a stranger in a place you grew up in isn't that bad ..." He says, speaking of himself.
“Yeah ... gotta be better than just being a stranger" ... Mi says with a strange tinge of sadness.
"Yeah but that just made me want to be involved even more with the village ..." He sits on the stone in the center of the torches.
Yu walks up behind Mi Shen, and whispers to him, "When're you gonna pop the big question?" She says sarcastically, but with a hint of sincerity.
Mai hits Yu upside the head, whispering to her angrily, "Stop wrecking the mood!" She then drags Yu away, nervously laughing about, "she was only kidding!"
Ki looks on at the antics of the mature “adults” with embarrassment.
Mi blushes. "We should head in now ..." Mi says to change the subject.
Mi Shen shakes his head. "oh damn!" He chuckles somewhat. "I forgot why we were here is the first place!" He goes over to the torches. "hmmm ..."
Mi walks over to look at the same torch.
Ax goes over to the torches and kicks one. Ax grumbles. "stupid torch! light!"
Makera is grumbling in the background, and looks around a little bit before inching over to Corqren, saying, "Hi Cutie!"
Corqren takes a few steps away. "uhh...-" He runs over to Mai. "Hi Mai!" He chuckles nervously.
Mai looks at Corqren a little crossly, "so I'm just an excuse to escape psycho-whip-girl, eh?" then says loudly on purpose so Makera will hear, and less mad, "well I can understand why you'd want to!"
Corqren winces. "Well! You're a lot nicer then she is!" It was Mai's turn to blush.
Makera clings to Corqren. Corqren whines. "and you don't go clingy on me EITHER!" He says the last word higher as Makera squeezes him in a tight hug.
"Would you guys get serious!" Mi says angrily from where she is standing with Mi Shen.
"The hero of time doesn't have to answer to someone who isn't even a SAGE!" Makera says angrily, flicking back her hair elegantly.
Mi Shen chuckles. "Now who gets to wait to pop the question...?
Mi just sits very still where she is, barely breathing. Yu and Mai look at each other quickly, then scowl at Makera.
Corqren pries himself away from Makera. "Then you get to answer to me! DON'T CLING ON ME!!!!" He braces himself for a possible whipping.
"Sage?" Mi says quietly, looking at Yu and Mai from the corner of her eye, and trying hard not to look at Mi Shen at all ...
Yu clenches her fist. It's true she didn't always SEEM nice to Mi, but Mi was a good friend ... and she and Mai both agreed on that matter.
Mi Shen shrugs and goes about lighting a stick on fire, the old fashioned way.
Yu clenches her hand hard till she calms her urge to slap "the hero of time", she then turns and looks at Ax happily, "Ax-dear?" she says .. Ax knows what that means ...
"y...yes...?"
"seeing as you have fire magic and all, could you?" she shakes her head towards the torches" like them for us? she smiles sweetly.
Ax looks at all of them. "ALL of them ...?! Just that ...?" He grins knowing the intent of what he says.
Yu back off with a look of nervousness. “Um ... everyone ... get back from the torches ..." she says, because she know he'll go overboard.
Mai steps back, bringing the very out-of-it Mi with her.
Corqren crouches near the door to the outside and Mi Shen goes against a door with a big craved eye in it. Makera is still pouting from her place nearer towards the doorway. Ax grins and starts to cast his fire magic making a large circle lighting all the torches and opening the door Mi Shen is against making him fall into the doorway of the temple.
Mi Shen. "Whoa! Ouch!" Holds his head as he sits up
Mi snaps out of it when Mi Shen falls. "Mi Shen-" she says as she runs over.
Mi Shen ignores her and gets up. "Get away from me ..." He walks into the temple.
Corqren starts to run after him. "Mi Shen..?"
Mi falls back, sadly looking at the floor, at Mi Shen's behavior. She puts her head against her arms, and then simply hides her face. Yu and Mai don't dare do anything, so they just leave Mi alone.
Makera looks forward, surprised by Mi Shen's actions, but thinks it's a chance for her. As she passes Mi she sticks her tongue out, but the smile leaves her face as she realizes how much it hurts Mi.
Ax goes over to her. "c'mon! We don't know what kind of trouble he'll get into!" Mi allows herself to be dragged along by Ax.
They hear Corqren scream, "MI SHEN!"
Corqren is lying over the side of a pit yelling Mi Shen's name. "Mi Shen!" He notices the others. "Who knows spells for making light! puts some light down the pit! He went down there!!!"
Yu runs to the edge of the pit too, and looks down. She whips her staff in front of her, and grits her teeth, concentrating on the spell. The light begins to come from her staff and wash over the room. they see a small tunnel that quickly vanishes from sight as the light glares on it.
Corqren whispers. "He's... gone ..."
The light stops as Yu lets out a breath ... it took less effort than usual, she thought ...
Mi looks over the edge of the pit wordlessly looking down, with little emotion in her face.
From somewhere the group hears a melody.
Corqren looks like he's about ready to jump down the hole but stops as he realizes it turns into a bottomless pit again. Mi gets up again, slowly walking to the back of the group, where she crouches again with her head in her arms.
Everyone else is too busy wondering what the melody is/where it's coming from.
Corqren looks at her. "Mi..?" He goes over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder...
Mi slaps Corqren's hand away from her shoulder and gets up; it's obvious now she's crying, "Just leave me alone! It's not like I'd help .. I'm not a hero or a sage .." she says before running out towards the torch room.
Corqren looks at where she went. "mi ...?"
"Mi! wait! come back!" Ki says as she rushes after her ...
Yu and Mai look back sheepishly, and even Makera seems to feel guilty. Yu says quickly, "I know her ... she probably wants to be alone right now ..." What Yu is really thinking is, "I shouldn't have joked about her and Mi Shen.”
"Okay then .. lets head out!” Yu says, determined.
* * *
The group looks up at the room. They stand silently on what appeared to be giant drums, and as they looked up there began to be signs of something appearing from the darkness surrounding them.
Yu looks up, and tilts her head as she looks around, "what is this place?"
Mai continues to look forward, and taps Yu to make her look as well. She points wordlessly as two giant hands appear from the shadows.
Yu says, "oh." quietly.
Corqren looks at the hands and makes a 'splat' sound, meaning "if we get under those we go splat..."
"Thanks for the encouragement" Mai says soberly. She slowly reaches for her bow behind her.
Ax looks next to the hands "Mi Shen!" Mi Shen is sitting cross-legged in a black bubble next to the hands.
"I can use this like a trampoline-hey Yu, know how to rocket people?" Yu looks over, shaking her head to say, "I won't let you get yourself killed!"
"No choice" Mai shrugs, "someone's gotta do it!" She grins, and Yu knows it's because she'll take any chance she gets to use her bows.
Mi Shen looks at them with vacant eyes.
Corqren points at the bubble. "pop it! get him loose!"
Mai says, "Okay!" and draws the string back, concentrating on just keeping it a regular arrow...
Mi Shen stands up and makes a "bring it on" motion.
Mai freaks out and the arrow flies way off target, into one of the hands, which then shakes in pain.
Corqren still doesn't get it. "Mai! you missed!"
Yu looks on, realizing a little what is happening. "I wouldn't do that .. something's not right!"
Mai nods in agreement, and bounces up again a bit higher, this time aiming towards the blackness between the hands. "I only miss on purpose!"
Ax slaps Corqren. "DON'T YOU GET IT?! He's possessed!!"
Corqren looks at Mi Shen who looks back with a vacant yet evil grin.
Corqren freezes the other hand and the eye is revealed
Ax runs up and slashes it multiple time before getting thrown back as Bongo Bongo recovers from the stun.
Yu flies over and semi-catches Ax, at least stopping him from falling into the outside.
Mai lands roughly, purposely stopping her bouncing, and fires and ice arrow into each hand. "I think you've got a good idea Corqren!"
Ax gets all hyper and runs at it again. As he's slashing it Corqren notices the bubble containing Mi Shen getting lower to the ground behind Mai. "MAI! BEHIND YOU!"
Mi Shen's bubble pops and as he brings his staff onto Mai; Corqren pushes her out of the way getting cracked on the head himself. Corqren falls to the ground his head bleeding a little.
"Corqren!" Mai screams as she falls to the ground a ways away.
Yu looks over, and quickly begins her spell. White light swirls around her and begins to flow towards Mi Shen. Mi Shen looks back at Yu as he slowly loses movement. Mi Shen growls out. "God ... D ...damn you!"
Mai jumps up into the air, yelling out, "get ready Makera!" Makera snaps out of whatever she was doing, saying, “ok!"
Mai shoots an ice arrow at Bongo Bongo, and he falls against the drum stunned. Makera runs up and slashes Bongo Bongo for the final time. As he disintegrates slowly, the party sees a beam of light reaching to the surface. Each person in turn walks into the light, and are mysteriously transported to the chamber of sages. Now Mi Shen's eyes glow purple just as Yu's eyes glowed yellow.
Ki sits on her disc silently crying. Yu walks over to find out what’s wrong and turns around towards Mi Shen.
Mi Shen looks around in total confusion, “What?”
“Mi’s GONE!” Ki cries out between sobs.
“What? Who? How? WHEN!” He says, running over to shake Ki by the collar of her clothes.
“She just ... vanished after she went outside! I couldn’t stop it! She just stood there and then kinda faded away! And there was this strange music ... I’ve never heard anything like it!” By this point Mi Shen had dropped her back to the ground and Ki was containing her sobs somewhat. Mi Shen just stared into the empty space between himself and Ki. Everyone else was either staring at him or the ground.
Yu particularly was killing herself over her own decision. “I shouldn’t have left her alone ...”
“Mi’s gone ...” Mi Shen repeated to himself as if it couldn’t be true.
But it was.
