Chapter Text
It was the evening following the Wing Ceremony. Link was facing Zelda, the two of them laughing playfully as they flew together on the backs of their Loftwings.
“Link! I can’t believe how well you flew out there!” Zelda beamed, gazing at the young man with pride. “I just knew you’d be the one to become the next Knight!”
Link’s face flushed pink from her words. “T-Thanks, Zelda! You did a wonderful job as the Goddess yourself..” He complimented back as Zelda tucked back a loose strand of her hair.
“Thank you, Link.. by the way.. I was meaning to ask you-
Before she could finish her sentence however, the faded pink sunset grew dark and ominous as a massive tornado black as night tore through the skies.
“What is THAT?!” Zelda screamed as their Loftwings flailed and thrashed about. “It looks like a tornado!”
“We need to get out of here!” Link yelled as he tried to calm down his bird.
“LINK!!”
In a swift gust of wind, the black tornado ripped Zelda off of her Loftwing, dragging her down underneath the clouds as Link was forced to watch.
“No.. ZELDA!!!” He screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he was launched off of his Loftwing toward Skyloft.
Just a few minutes earlier..
The students of the knight academy were all off doing their own things once evening fell. Some excitedly chatted amongst their friends about Link and his victory during the Wing Ceremony, while others were content keeping to themselves.. Or, if you were Groose, You were moping around like a loser.
Pipit just so happened to be outside at the time, Thank Hylia for that. He was taking a relaxing stroll around the main Plaza when he saw it. The clouds above darkened, leaving several of Skyloft’s residents confused and worried.
“What the…” He muttered to himself before remembering what Link was planning on doing that evening.
Shit. Those two were flying today, weren’t they?
He frantically dashed to the main plaza, where several people were shouting and panicking. Sure enough, in the distance, he could spot what looked like Link and Zelda, both equally terrified as they tried to get away from the massive storm.
They were definitely flying today. Rule number one- NEVER fly during a storm.
Shit shit shit shit shit- Was all Pipit could think as he saw one of them struggle to keep steady on her Loftwing before he saw a speck being launched in the direction of the statue of the Goddess.
Without thinking, he dashed as fast as he could to the massive statue. There, Pipit was relieved to find Link and his Crimson Loftwing, both extremely exhausted- but not dead.
“Oh, thank HYLIA you’re alive! I saw you in the tornado.. I thought you-”
Pipit’s relief was short-lived however, once he realized who was missing.
“Where’s Zelda..? Oh, Hylia.. Did she..?!”
“..Zel..da..” Link moaned in pain as he fainted. Pipit started to panic, his eyes darting everywhere in the hopes of finding someone to help. Thankfully, he could spot Headmaster Gaepora running up the steps, panting slightly from moving so quickly.
“Headmaster! Link’s up here! He's not doing good, though.. I can’t find Zelda anywhere!” Pipit called out in a panic. Gaepora rushed to Link’s side, checking his pulse.
“..He’s still breathing, so it looks like he’ll be fine. It seems his Loftwing managed to grab him before they hit the ground.. That’s why they’re both so exhausted..” The Headmaster deduced, a relieved expression forming on his face. “As for Zelda.. No one has reported seeing her on Skyloft. I fear the worst..” He sighed as his attention snapped back to Link. “We can only hope he knows what happened up there..
Pipit watched in awe as Gaepora gently lifted Link's unconscious body off the ground, carrying him inside the Knight Academy and into the teen’s dorm room. He rarely saw this side of Gaepora- the man was usually stoic and calm, but his eyes were filled with worry and uncertainty. He laid the young knight down on his bed, letting him rest.
“Pipit.” He turned to the yellow-clad Knight. “ I trust you must be very worried about Link.. But he needs his rest.”
“I understand, Headmaster. I’ll leave him be.”
“One more thing..” Gaepora started, giving Pipit a small smile. “Please inform the others that Link is doing alright. I’m sure they must be worried about him, too.”
“Of course, Headmaster.”
Pipit exited the room, where he was immediately met with Fledge, a timid freshman of the knight academy. He looked frantic. Pipit couldn't blame him- he had no idea what happened.
“Pipit! Where are Link and Zelda?! Are they alright? Is Link-”
“Link’s fine, just really exhausted.” Pipit answered with a smile. “Zelda, though.. We have absolutely no idea where she is. Gaepora sent out search parties and everything- with no luck.” He sighed, patting Fledge on the shoulder to comfort him.
“Dear Hylia.. At least Link is okay.. He sighed hopefully, gazing at Link’s room behind Pipit. “Can I go see him?”
“No, not yet.. Pipit answered, shaking his head. “He needs his rest.”
“Of course.. That’s understandable. That tornado.. Eegh, just thinking about it puts a chill down my spine!” Fledge shuddered as he remembered the storm. “It all happened so fast..”
“Yeah, something about that tornado.. It gave me the creeps.” Pipit nodded in agreement. “I’ve certainly never seen a black one, that’s for sure.”
Karane dashed up to the two , her face filled with concern. She was one of the upperclassmen, like Pipit.
“Guys! Is Link okay?! Word got around that he was launched off of his bird and that no one can find Zelda..”
Pipit and Fledge both told Karane what happened. She was very shocked, but also relieved that they could find Link.
“Phew.. well, at least Link is safe.. I overheard Groose and his two cronies talking about how it was ‘Link’s fault this- Link’s fault that’ for Zelda’s disappearance.. I swear, he can be such an asshole sometimes..”
Pipit and Fledge stared in shock, bewildered by what they just heard.
“You’re kidding. He really can’t be that thick-skulled, can he..?” Pipit groaned, his hand sliding across his face.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s quite gotten the memo. I swear to Hylia, if he says one more insulting thing about Link-”
Karane’s threat was interrupted.
Groose burst through the academy door with a smug sneer plastered across his face as he pulled back his obnoxious red pompadour, closely followed by his two cronies Cawlin and Stritch.
“Speak of the devil..” Pipit muttered to himself.
“Well, well, well.. If it isn’t Link’s little band of losers..” Groose chuckled to himself, amused by his offensive joke. Fledge was hiding behind Pipit, as he was terrified of Groose’s imposing figure looming over them.
“Hey! We are not losers. And neither is Link, asshole!” Karane snapped back, surprising everyone in the room. “Don’t play dumb. We know exactly what you were saying back in the plaza, so don’t you even think about weaseling your way out of this one.” She chastised, pointing an accusing finger at his face. “Link didn’t cause that massive tornado to appear, now did he?”
Groose’s dopey sneer morphed into a scowl as he tried to come back at Karane, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“Just.. drop it, Groose..” Pipit groaned.
“How do you know he didn’t?” Groose scoffed as everyone stared at him with the most dumbfounded expressions they could muster.
“Are you KIDDING me?! Since when can Link summon fucking TORNADOES from out of nowhere?!” Karane shouted, throwing her hands up into the air. “Honestly, Groose.. Just accept that you’re wrong once in a while!” She groaned in exasperation. “Come on, guys.. We’re leaving.
She walked away, letting Fledge and Pipit follow behind. Groose could only stare at them with a dumbfounded expression as Cawlin tried to get his attention.