The Legend of Zelda: Crystal Keepers

It's been six months since the completion of the Amazing Race and the start of CJ & Stacey's relationship. Peace and prosperity have reigned in Hyrule since the defeat of the Zora Lord nearly six months ago, but all that is soon about to change…

PROLOGUE: Old Friends, New Sages

23-year-old CJ Francis stood in a small clearing in Hyrule's southern woods with his best friend, 13-year-old Shaylene Johnson.

"So… I'm confused…" Shaylene said. "Why'd you call me to the Forest Temple?"

"Because…" CJ said. "The goddesses have approved a transfer of power."

"A… transfer of power?" Shaylene asked. "Wait… You're taking away my powers? CJ, how could you do this to me? I thought you loved me!"

"I do love you, Shay." CJ said. "But not like that… You're like a sister to me… I was wrong treating you like something else… You're too young."

"So… Why the transfer of power?" Shaylene asked, still confused.

"Like I said, kiddo." CJ said. "You're too young… You're 13. I want you to grow up and live a normal life. I want you to find love with someone your own age. And I don't want the burden of protecting Hyrule to be on your shoulders. And, the goddesses agreed with me. The same goes for the Triforce of Courage."

"So, I'm just going to be a normal girl again?" Shaylene asked.

"For the most part." CJ said. "Truth is… you'll still have Kokiri blood in your veins… You'll still be able to tap into your natural magic and cast spells; they just won't be as powerful as they would be if you were still a Sage. Had you never come to Hyrule, you would've never received your Sage powers. But you did come, that can't be changed. But still, I want you to live a normal life."

"I understand, CJ…" Shaylene said, smiling a little. "Do what you have to." CJ then held out his hand. His Triforce Amulet began to glow and an orb of green magic was pulled from Shaylene's body. It then formed into a small green medallion and dropped into CJ's hand. The Triforce of Courage then appeared on his hand as well.

"And listen…" CJ said. "I will still train you so that you can use the magic you have to defend yourself if necessary."

"Cool." Shaylene said. "Thanks. But, who's going to be the Sage of the Forest now?"

"The power will react when someone worthy of possessing it is in its presence." CJ said. "In other words…"

"The power will find its own Sage…" Shaylene said.

"Exactly." CJ said.

A short time later, CJ was standing in the castle courtyard with his girlfriend, Stacey. CJ wore bronze armor, and Stacey was wearing blue armor that looked similar to the scaly skin of a fish. Both were holding wooden swords.

"Gimme your best shot honey." CJ said. "You're a Sage now, and I want to make sure you're ready to defend the kingdom at any moment." Stacey readied her sword and rushed toward her boyfriend. He deftly dodged her swings, before striking her in the ankle with his wooden sword from behind, causing her to fall to her knees. As soon as she hit the ground, she swung her sword behind her, catching CJ off guard and knocking him over.

"How's that for my best shot?" Stacey chuckled.

"Not bad." CJ said, standing up. "You've got skills with a sword."

"Hey, I've been taking sword lessons in the town square for a while now, what did you expect?" Stacey said.

"That's good." CJ said, sheathing his wooden sword. "Now, I wanna see how much you've learned from your Sage training. First, attack with me with a basic water blast." Stacey stood back and gathered water energy into her hand, forming a ball of water. She launched it at CJ and he stood there.

"How was that?" Stacey asked.

"Not bad…" CJ said. "Put a little more energy into it. See if you can cause me to stumble a little."

"Okay." Stacey said, charging another water blast. She launched it at CJ. It struck him in the chest and he stumbled back a little bit.

"That was better." CJ said. "Let's try something a little more advanced." CJ then threw down a green crystal, and a light enveloped the two. When the light vanished, they were standing on the shores of a crystal clear lake, known as Lake Hylia.

"What are we gonna do?" Stacey asked.

"You are gonna try your next technique." CJ said. "The Water Pillar. Focus your energy into creating a pillar of water beneath you, and rise above me."

"Okay." Stacey focused for a moment, and a small pillar of water formed beneath her quickly, before falling apart.

"Almost." CJ said. "Try again, but this time, focus just a little more."

"Okay…" Stacey gathered some energy into her hands and began to move them in a pulling motion. Within a few moments, she had formed a pillar of water beneath her that was slowly rising.

"That's it." CJ said. "Now, I want you, while standing on that pillar, to shoot me with your strongest water blast." Stacey then moved her hands and began to gather energy into them to make a water blast. Suddenly, the pillar vanished and she fell into the water. She swam back to shore and sat down on the grass.

"Great… now I'm soaked." Stacey said.

"Let's head back to the castle." CJ said. He then pulled out another green crystal.

"What is that, by the way?" Stacey asked.

"It's a Farore's Wind crystal." CJ said. "It'll teleport you to anywhere you want to go. Just hold the crystal, focus on where you want to go, and throw the crystal at the ground. When it hits the ground, it'll explode and teleport you wherever you want to go. You can also say where you want to go before throwing it instead of thinking about it. Watch…" CJ clutched the crystal. "Farore's Wind… teleport to Hyrule Castle main bedroom…" CJ then threw the crystal and he and Stacey then found themselves in a large bedroom in Hyrule Castle. It had two dressers, two mirrors, luxurious red and blue striped curtains on the windows, and a queen-sized bed. The wall was painted ocean blue in color, and on the floor was a large green rug with the Hylian Royal Family's insignia on it: the golden Triforce above a red Phoenix. Attached to the side of the room was a large bathroom.

"Wow… That's pretty cool." Stacey said.

"Yeah." CJ said. "It comes in handy. Now, go get changed before you get sick." Stacey walked over to her dresser, grabbed some clothes and walked away to change. She soon walked out of the bathroom in a blue t-shirt and jeans. As the two walked out of the bedroom, they were approached by a guard.

"Your Majesty, someone is here to see you…" The guard said. "They're in the throne room."

"Thank you, Allan." CJ said to the guard. He and Stacey then walked down the hall to the throne room. Inside waited a brown-haired, blue-eyed young woman about 19 or 20 in a black t-shirt and jeans. She had glasses on, as well as a silver necklace in the shape of a dragon. Next to her was a blue-eyed young man about the age of 22 or 23 with light brown hair and glasses, dressed in a green t-shirt and jeans. The girl noticed Stacey and immediately ran over and hugged her.

"Stacey!" The girl exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here." Stacey said. The girl was shocked. She looked at CJ.

"Hey, Sarah." CJ said. "How do you know Stacey?"

"We went to school together." The girl, CJ's friend Sarah, said. "How do you know her?"

"We met on my last trip back home." CJ said. "I was searching for the new Sages, and it turns out that Stacey was destined to be the Sage of Water. We started hanging out, she moved to Hyrule, one thing led to another, and next thing we knew, we were dating."

"You're kidding?" Sarah exclaimed.

"Nope." Stacey smiled, as CJ wrapped his arms around her. "It's true."

"So, who's this?" CJ asked, pointing to the young man next to Sarah.

"This is my boyfriend Mike." Sarah said. Suddenly, CJ's Triforce Amulet began to glow. The Forest Medallion appeared in front of Mike, and an orange medallion appeared in front of Sarah.

"What the heck is this?" Mike asked.

"CJ, what's going on?" Sarah asked.

"It looks like you guys have a big place in Hyrule…" CJ said, as the medallions vanished. Mike briefly glowed green, and Sarah briefly glowed orange. "Mike… you're the Sage of the Forest. And Sarah, it seems as if you're the Sage of Spirit."

"I thought Yugi was the Sage of Spirit." Stacey said. A young man with purple eyes, blond bangs and spiked black hair with red tips walked in. He wore a blue t-shirt and jeans shorts.

"Hey, CJ." The young man said.

"Hi, Yugi." CJ said. "What's up?"

"My power vanished this morning." Yugi said.

"Sarah, when did you guys get here?" CJ asked.

"Around 11:30 this morning." Sarah said. "We've been sightseeing all day."

"Yugi, when did your powers disappear?" CJ asked.

"Around lunchtime." Yugi said.

"Yugi… You were chosen by the goddesses to be a holding vessel for my cousin's power until the new true Sage of Spirit emerged." CJ said. He turned to Sarah. "And it looks like that true Sage is you, Sarah."

"Whoa…" Sarah said. Suddenly, Stacey's hand began to glow and the Triforce of Courage appeared on it.

"CJ… Look." Stacey said.

"The Triforce of Courage has chosen you." CJ said.

"Why me? I'm not brave…" Stacey said.

"You've spend your whole life caring for your sister, correct?" CJ asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Stacey asked.

"That's why you got the Triforce of Courage." CJ said. "The goddesses saw that you had the courage to step up and care for your sister after losing your parents, and because of it, they gave you the Triforce."

"Wow…" Stacey said.

"So, wait…" Mike said. "I'm like the green-haired girl from Ocarina of Time?"

"Uh… I guess…" CJ said, thrown off by the strange metaphor. "That's a good way of putting it… I think…"

Meanwhile, in northwestern Hyrule…

A man walked around Hyrule's tallest mountain, Mt Crenel, looking for something.

"Where is he?" The man wondered. "I thought that legendary blacksmith lived up here." Suddenly, the man heard a loud roaring sound that got quickly louder. He looked up and saw a large meteor hurtling toward him. He tried to run but the meteor crashed down upon him, creating a large crater and killing the man.

"The memories here shall feed me perfectly…" A dark and sinister voice echoed. Suddenly, a dark purple mist covered the Hyrule.

"Not if I can help it…" Another voice whispered to itself. Suddenly, seven glowing crystals appeared around Hyrule. Strange trees with glowing green, crystal-like branches appeared around Hyrule. The branches hung down over the trees, making them resemble a reaching hand.

Back in Castle Town…

A guard burst into the throne room.

"Your Majesty!" He shouted. "A strange crystal just appeared in Castle Town Square!" The group rushed outside and looked up. Where the town's fountain once stood was now a large blue crystal.

"And some strange fog has blanketed the kingdom." Another guard said. "We tried to venture through it, but when we emerged, we were weak and we found ourselves back in Castle Town."

"That sounds kinda like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles." Mike said.

"This crystal is like the ones in the towns and cities." Sarah said.

"And the fog is like the miasma." Stacey said.

"Mike… Sarah… There's something you need to know about Hyrule." CJ said. "It's an inter-dimensional link. Between earth and the planet Corneria. Corneria is a planet home to many video game worlds, including the world of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Somehow, the crystals, miasma, and probably the myrrh trees have appeared in Hyrule."

"CJ, look." Stacey said. CJ looked down next to the crystal and found a small bowl-like object. It had a handle that stretched up and hung over it. Attached to the handle was a small crystal.

"A crystal chalice…" Mike said.

Suddenly, three golden women appeared before the four Sages. One was surrounded by a red glow, another by a blue glow, and the final by a green glow. CJ and Stacey got down on one knee at the sight of the women.

"Rise, young Sages…" One woman said. They then looked at Sarah and Mike. "And welcome to Hyrule, O new Sages of Forest and Spirit."

"Thank you." Sarah said.

"Young Sages…" The red glowing woman said. "It is on your shoulders to fill the crystal chalice with myrrh. You must power up the seven crystals in the cities and towns of Hyrule in order to pass through the miasma and save the kingdom. By empowering each crystal, your chalice will gain the ability to pass through the miasma. Hurry, young Sages… the fate of Hyrule rests on your shoulders."

"Do we need to stay near the chalice to be protected from the miasma?" Mike asked.

"No…" The green woman said. "The miasma is concentrated in streams which divide the country. It has not mixed with the air in Hyrule. If you are separated from the chalice, you will be safe." The women then vanished.

"Well… You heard the goddesses…" CJ said. "Time to save the kingdom. Looks like you three get to put your Sage powers to good use quickly. Follow me." CJ then led the others to a small room in Hyrule Castle, filled with weapons, armor and shields. "Whoa… my armory is almost completely empty!"

"Ha ha ha ha! I've cleared out your entire armory and turned all your armor, accessories and weapons into scrolls, scattered across Hyrule. If you want to replenish your armory, find the scrolls and craft the items once again!" A sinister voice echoed.

"Well, I guess we'll have to make do with what I've got…" CJ said. "Mike… For you, a Deku Shield, bronze armor and a bronze belt. Sarah… A Deku shield, bronze armor and a bronze belt. Stacey… A Deku shield, bronze armor and bronze gloves."

"What about weapons?" Sarah asked.

"Of course." CJ then pulled out weapons. "Mike… A Kokiri Bow and Arrows… Stacey, a Zora Sword… Sarah, a Copper Spear. Now, let's go."

"What about you?" Stacey asked.

"I have my blade." CJ said, drawing a brown-hilted, bronze sword. "A Bronze Sword. As for my equipment… A Deku shield, bronze armor and bronze gloves. Unfortunately, that's the best I've got. We're gonna have to find materials and designs and get better weapons crafted. There's a blacksmith in Castle Town who can help us with that. He's the best blacksmith in all of Hyrule… his name is Daniel Matson."

(2/3/11): This story is dedicated to the memory of my father, Ralph, who sadly passed away on February 3, 2011. I love you, Dad, and I'll miss you. I know you've gone to live in Heaven with the Lord, and I'll see you someday when I get there too. You're no longer in pain, and you're no longer suffering. I love you so much and I'll miss you Dad.