[Mari]

Little Arle sat in Busy Bee Lobby, waiting impatiently for aid to come. It was actually hard to see her from above the table, as she wasn't tall enough to be sitting in the big girl's chair for once. The smol mage squirmed anxiously as she waited, surrounded by a bunch of strangers that were somehow scarier than she remembered them being. Hnnn... Well, if she just kept waiting someone would come and pick her up.

...If it was Schezo she was going to be really angry.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

"She's somewhere around here, I'm sure of it." Came the voice of Rulue who just entered into the Busy Bee Lobby with...odd company. Rider, the shy 9 year old little girl was accompanying the Fighting Queen to help her with this little 'de-aged Arle' problem.

"S-so, um...why did you need me...?"


"I figured a smaller Arle would enjoy the company of someone who is only slightly older than her."

"O-oh..." Rider nodded. "Wh-where is she though...?" She asked, to which Rulue scratched her head. "Good question...speaking of that, where is the other two there were supposed to be with us?" Rulue asked before shrugging it off and beggining to search for the new smol mage.

"Arle? Where are you?" She called.

"M-ms. Arle...?" Rider tried to join in, however her voice might be a little harder to hear.

[TartoonHand94]

High in the unfortunately rainbowless skies above Rainbow Square, two birds were coming into view.
Upon their backs, a big man and a little woman were mounted upon them like horse riders.
"According to the map, we’re almost there." Groose updated, fighting with his map blowing in the wind worse than his pompadour.
The other, Zelda, could point out Rainbow Square with her own eyes.

"Down there!" Zelda indicated and began to descend. "Come on, Groose!"
"Huh what?" Groose tried clumsily to pry the map out of his face. One silly wrestle with a piece of paper later, he opted to throw it away rather than deal with it any longer. "Paper trash." He scoffed at the map as it blew away. He looked over to his traveling companion who was nowhere to be seen until he heard her loftwing screech from bellow."Huh? Hey wait for Groose" Groose called as he hastily commanded his bird to dive down after her.

Little Arle, Rulue and Rider could hear the majestic flaps of a loftwings wings before they could see it touching down to meet them. Zelda gracefully dismounted her bird and approached the group of girls.
Not much sooner than Zelda got off her loftwing did Groose stomp down with his, a much messier and rushed landing than the former. Groose gruffly stumbled off his bird and was still looking around for her.
"She’s right over there." Zelda gestured toward the group of girls, getting Groose’s attention and guiding in the right direction.

"Well Hell-Low-There!~ We were came because we heard a little lady needed our help." Groose greeted with a new sense of interest in his job. "The name’s Groose, but you can call me... any time." He introduced himself to Rulue with a suave whip of his pompadour.

"Not her silly, Her!" Zelda corrected, pointing Groose away from Rulue and toward Little Arle.
"Hello by the way, and to you too!" She politely nodded at Rulue and Rider as she made her way over to little girl.
"And hello to you especially." Zelda greeted as she knelt before Arle.
"You must be Arle. My names Zelda. You summoned us because you needed our help, correct?" She gently introduced herself to the child.

[Mari]

Little Arle looked up and around. Was someone calling her name? She looked over the back of her chair curiously, but her rather pathetic height and the crowded nature of the lobby prevented her from really tracking sounds. It wouldn't be until Zelda introduced herself that Little Arle became fully aware of the group. She leaned forward, shifting anxiously in anticipation. She couldn't help herself however. She smiled at Zelda's choice of introduction.

"Yup! That's me. I got a problem with my age!" Little Arle replied, gesturing to herself. She seemed somewhat aware that she wasn't supposed to be this way. Little Arle's gaze then trailed to Rulue and Rider and she inched to the edge of the chair, wanting to get down but a bit hesitant to jump. "I'm five... and I can't go back." Arle went on to explain, still quietly contemplating the seemingly inevitable jump from the chair.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rulue...made a weird look at Groose's 'introduction'. "I am the Fighting Queen, Rulue. The green-haired one here is Rider." Rulue introduced herself and the other smol girl, who waved at both Zelda and Groose...shyly. "H-hi...!"

So that was the problem. Arle...somehow got back into being a five-year-old. Well, that was certainly an odd situation. Her rival de-aged into a little kid, and now she had to play babysitter while they found out a way to bring her back to normal. Well, a good starting point was to ask what had happened.

"...So, Arle. Do you know or even remember how and why you de-aged into a 5-year-old?" Rulue asked.

Rider, however, saw that Arle wanted to go down the table, and offered her a little helping hand...by grabbing the little girl up and putting her on the back. She was surprisingly light, despite rocking apparent armor that would probably weigh a ton.

"U-um, tell me if you feel uncomfortable, okay...?" She said to the younger mage.

[TartoonHand94]

"Fighting Queen ey? Well what a coincidence, I happen to be the king of Grooseland. There’s a really awesome temple over there. Maybe I could show you around over a cup of coffee sometime?.. "

"Why is being such a precious little girl such a big problem?" Zelda asked coyly, complimenting Arle on her cuteness in an attempt to lighten her mood.
"Either way, don’t sweat it. Rulue, Rider, -ehem-, Groose and I are here to watch your back until you grow up, okay?" Zelda gestured toward the others, taking a chance to wave hello back to Rider. She put emphasis on Groose’s name in an attempt to get him to focus.

"Huh? Duh-Oh yeah! I’m a bodyguard extraordinaire!” Groose confirmed, snapping his attention back to the mission at hand. "Guarding people; that’s what the Groose doose."

[Mari]

Little Arle was picked up by Rider, her eyes flashing with surprise as the most smol of her guardians chose to take her. She was placed onto Rider's back and promptly clung to the other, wrapping her arms around Rider's shoulders. She seemed somewhat tense, but in spite of being a startlingly fast and energetic child she accepted being carried and leaned in to place her chin on Rider's shoulder, her cheek inadvertently brushing up against the other's rather large ear as a result. "Alright... Just don't let me fall, okay?" Little Arle replied. She seemed a bit anxious about hanging on without any support from Rider's arms, probably because her tiny body had a pretty weak grip.

Now that her immediate concerns were dealt with, Arle turned her gaze up at Rulue and smiled at her ever so innocently. It was definitely a familiar expression to Rulue, only on a much younger face. "I'unno. It just happened all'a sudden!" Arle went on to blurt out. In spite of her earlier demonstration of knowledge of her older life, she seemed to have reverted to some far more childish mannerisms. Little Arle's attention then snapped to Groose. Was he..? Her gaze traveled between Zelda and Groose. She got good vibes from Zelda, but Groose...

"Grow up..?" Little Arle asked, bemused by this prospect. Was she... Was she stuck like this? Was growing back up the only way? She was decidedly unsure how to feel about this, but... it was nice having friends who cared.

"...Thanks for coming Rulue, Rider, Gwoose, Zelduh. I didn't know what to do." Little Arle admitted lacking any obvious anser to the problem. There were no villains to fight, no readily apparent magic to dispel. Nothing. Just a smol girl who shouldn't be quite so smol. ...A very unorthodox predicament. Shame Princess Peach couldn't get to her first.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rulue was just as unimpressed with Groose as she was before. "Groose...kindly shut up." Rulue replied. She was coming dangerously close to punching his guy up in the face. But that was not the time for that (unfortunately). She turned to Arle as the now-little girl replied to her previous question by saying it 'happened out of nowhere'. Rulue thought for a moment. "There must be some sort of catalyst for this transformation." Rulue said. Then she had an idea.

"You have items, don't you, Arle? Can I see them?"

Rider allowed the smaller mage to adjust herself, getting a little tensed up with the ear-brushing. It was a rather...sensible area. The little girl pet Arle as she finished adjusting. "You'll be fine...I won't let you fall." Rider reassured her. She felt a foreign warmth on her heart. It beckoned her to protect Arle this time around...

Is this...what being a big sister feels like? She thought.

[TartoonHand94]

Rulue had some spice to her. This only served to heighten Groose’s interest in her.
"Your lips say shut up, but your eyes say-"
"That’s enough Groose.” Zelda stepped in between the two and gave him a stern look.
"You better behave yourself or you’ll be the first one to get a time out!" Zelda punctuated with an authoritarian point of her finger.
"What? Me? But I…but…she but…I…uh-" Looking Zelda in the face seemed to rob Groose of his ability to speak coherently. His chiseled face seemed to melt like butter in her indomitable glare. He was reduced to a blushing snorting dork almost instantly. Helpless to do so much as talk back, Groose relented.
"F-fine, whatever. I’ll be good. Okay?" He finally backed off with a pout.

With a satisfied sigh of finally getting things back under control, Zelda turned her attention back down to Little Arle on Rider’s back.
"Now then. It sounds like a simple case of a miscast spell." Zelda diagnosed as patiently as a nurse.
"All it should take is finding the spell to reverse it, and you’ll be your old self in no time." Zelda couldn’t help but giggle at Little Arle’s reaction to the prospect of growing up all over again. "Unless of course you want to stay forever young.~” she teased. While Zelda wasn’t serious, deep down, she didn’t mind Arle staying so small and cute for a little longer one bit.
"Now let’s see those items you're carrying.”

[Mari]

Little Arle giggled at Zelda's choice to tease Groose. She seemed to enjoy watching him get his just desserts. However, her cheerful demeanor quickly turned into a pout at the idea of staying this age. It didn't seem to be sitting well with her and she didn't quite seemed amused by the idea. Whether that could be changed depended on how much they could ease her into getting used to and comfortable in this new form.

Thankfully, she had Rider to help with that. Little Arle lacked older Arle's mild aversion to touch, and she leaned into Rider's hand in response to being pet. It seemed like she really appreciated the affection and closeness after her jarring transformation, and that Rider's choice to pick her up had earned her a bunch of free trust points. She'd just have to make sure not to drop Arle, lest she lose them just as quickly.

Now, asking a five year old to share all their toys could be a difficult prospect. Little Arle was still in the tail end of the 'mine' phase, agewise, and this definitely had the potential to go wrong judging by the little whine that escaped her in response to Zelda's request. She hadn't phrased it as a question, which made it harder on the small girl to cooperate.

"Here they are..."

...However, Arle quickly relented. Perhaps Rulue's words had simply outweighed Zelda's, or perhaps she was simply a good kid. Either way, she moved to produce a deceptively small bag, holding it out to Rider over Rider's shoulder. As her arms were quite short, Rider would be the only one she could give it to from her current position.

If one were to open and sift through the bag, they'd find that Arle was actually carrying a lot of valuable loot! One could get quite rich if they were willing to steal from a five-year-old. One item in particular might be very familiar to Zelda... The goddess sword that once resided inside a skyloft statue could be found residing inside Arle's bag. Had she stolen it from Link or something?!

Content of Arle's Item Bag:

Super Bell x3 Magical Timepiece x1 Floral Headband x2 Lip's Stick x1 Deku Nut x3 Super Spicy Curry x2 Assist Trophy: Rebecca x1 Super Mushroom x3 Gooey Bomb x2 Smart Bomb x1 Explosive Crate x1 Isaac AT x1 Sinistar AT x1 Super Leaf x1 Star Rod x1 Squirter: A strange tool that is highly capable of consuming liquids and shooting them back with a push. With this item, you can suck up anything that is not physical and then be capable of firing it as a projectile. The traits of the fired substance depends on whatever it previously contained. However, given the fact that it may need a good cleaning between uses, you can only store and use one type of substance that you suck up. i.imgur.com/HEJRBdI.jpg Chibi Frog Suit: A suit that was designed for a small robot but thankfully the suit enlarges when brought through the portal. This frog suit is able to be taken off and put back on at will. It will allow you to understand any kind of language you normally would not be able to. Also makes you a really talented swimmer. Not much use otherwise. i.imgur.com/xLUyTpL.jpg Golden Egg: Mysteriously crafted by an unknown source, this egg has multiple uses. You can hatch it, sell it to the Black Market for 5000 coins, or it can be used as a weapon. In battle this egg can be thrown, which is quite heavy, at an opponent for a whopping 40% damage, hurting a foe so much they will be unable to use their final smash until three turns afterward. It has a limit of only one use per thread though because of its weight and the effort it takes to use it. After 3 completed missions or 100 IC posts the egg hatches; contact @shadowex to see what it hatches into. i.imgur.com/XAwzz7D.png Pikachu Tail: A Pikachu Tail! Upon waving this item in the air, it summons a Pikachu at random to perform a spontaneous electric attack on an enemy, a powerful one! At a roll of 5 or below, it will perform a thundershock on a foe for 10 percent damage and then flee. At a roll of 6 to 15, it will perform a thunder attack on a foe for 20 percent damage and a 5 percent chance to inflict paralysis then flee, at a roll of 16 to 20, it will perform Volt Tackle on a foe doing 25 percent damage with a 10 percent chance of paralysis. Because the Pikachu that is summoned is a wild and a resident of Viridian Forest, it will not stay with you unfortunately, it will perform an attack and head back home. This item has a limit of 2 uses per mission or event. i.imgur.com/xY75OgJ.png Goddess Sword: This is not the actual Goddess Sword but a mirage copy of it. And Fi has granted Arle as chosen user of the mighty sword. This item can not be sold or given away as it is binded to Arle. This sword can be used to swipe (8% Light STR Attack) or perform a Skyward Strike (18% Medium Wisdom Attack). However, it can only be used to strike up to 7 turns in a mission before it breaks. Using it less will keep it in perfect condition. However, this Goddess Sword comes with it's own Fi for Arle which makes it useful outside being a weapon. Arle can ask Fi for guidance, giving her information on an area or enemy or Fi can use a Flat 15 Knowledge Check to aide Arle. The Knowledge Check has a 3 turn cooldown.) i.imgur.com/fnEKmzl.png Ocarina of Time: This magical instrument of legend was found by Arle in the mirage. This magical instrument came with the sheet to play it's most iconic and unique song: The Song of Time. When using this Ocarina to play the Song of Time, Arle can reset herself three turns in the past. This can be used to escape danger and cancel out status ailments if they occurred 3 or less turns ago. However, damage that has already happens stay. This song only works once every mission/thread. i.imgur.com/nNThLsb.png Rod of Seasons: Found in a secret part of the Library, this rod possesses great power. Once per thread you can channel one season into this rod to convert the area into that season for 5 turns. Depending on the season this rod has different effects. Spring: The arena starts to get a heavy rain through the area. It boosts the power of Water and Lightning/Electric Moves by 1.5 but weakens Fire by half. It is impossible to be burned in the rain. Summer: A hot heat and the power of the sun engulfs the area. The sun boosts the power of Fire by 1.5 but cuts Ice and Water in half. It is impossible to be frozen in the Summer. Fall: A strong wind and leaves blow through the battlefield. The winds push things around and the rod may be used to create a tornado to leap. Additionally, the leaves fill in pits. Winter: A strong blizzard flows through the arena with intense force. The winds weaken Fire by half but boosts Ice and Cold by 1.5. It is impossible to be put asleep in the cold. i.imgur.com/UfFtxy8.png Pokemon Transmogrifier This fancy little reproduction machine is based on the works of Bill, creator of the Pokemon Storage System. Specifically, that time he transformed himself into a pokemon. While Bill's actual work never became commonplace, for one reason or another, this did not stop special interest groups from continuing to develop and refine it. This device can, simply put, transform you into a pokemon! Unfortunately, the device has a few limitations still. For starters, you don't automatically know any pokemon moves. You also still speak your normal language and don't automatically understand other pokemon. It also only stores enough power to make one transformation per mission thread. It does, however, make for a great disguise. The wearer may add a +4 to any persuasion roll to convince other characters that they are, in fact, a pokemon. i.imgur.com/wBgrRwr.png

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rider had picked up the bag Arle was holding and soon gave it to Rulue. She gave the little girl some extra support by wrapping her hands around Arle's legs as Rulue settled down the bag in order to see what could possibly caused Arle to de-age to a kid again.

"All right. Let's take a look at what she has. Now, that does not mean we are gonna use them, unless Arle gives us permission. Understood?"


"All right...!"

As they opened the bag they found...a lot of stuff. And by that, I mean a lot of stuff. Rulue glared at the endless small bag before looking back at the smaller mage. "How did you store these in here?!" She questioned baffled, before taking a bit of a breather to try and calm herself down. In the end...Rider had to ask. "C-can we...take the items off and examine them...?" Hey, you needed to be careful with children's permissions with their belongings.

[TartoonHand94]

"Of course.” Zelda agreed. She and Groose leaned in to watch Rulue sift through Arle’s deceptively small bag.
"Don’t worry Arle, we won’t take anything without asking you for it first. Okay?” She promised Arle with a warm trustworthy smile.
"And if we do, we’ll give them all back as soon as we’re done. Promise.” She gently reassured.

"Man there is a Lot of loot in here!”
"It would be a much bigger surprise to Zelda and Groose that so much could fit in Arle’s little bag, but they were no strangers to capacious compact carry ware. Their friend Link used them all the time.
"Just like a good old adventure pouch. You could fit a duck load of stuff in those things!" Groose bragged about the Skyloft bags.
"This must be a deluxe model. Worth a fortune in rupees."

Sifting through the abundance of wares in Arle’s bag, something long and shiny caught their attention immediately.
"Houwaaah! No Way! Is That Link’s Sword?” Groose gasped at the sight of the goddess sword. "How Did You Get It?”
He reached into the bag to take the sword out and get a better look at the it. He tugged, he pulled, he jerked, but even with two hands, he couldn’t lift the sword out of the bag.
"Never mind how you got it, why can’t I get it out?" Groose huffed in frustrated confusion.
"That is because the goddess sword is bound to and can only be wielded by its master.” Zelda interjected, hip bumping Groose out of the way.
"I should know, I made it. Sort of…” She opted to examine it from inside the bag without taking it out. Her eyes narrowed with interest, and then widened with amazement. She looked up from the bag and at Little Arle with a whole new sense of intrigue. A more profound one. How did this little girl come across this sword? This would mean so many wonderful things about Arle, but they didn’t make any sense.
"But wait… This could not be Link’s sword. True, his most definitely used to look like this, but his has already evolved into the Master Sword. Remember Groose?”
The sword indeed resembled Link’s Goddess Sword in its earliest form, nowhere near the magnificent blade of evil’s bane that Link wielded when he saved the world from Demise.
"Huh… I suppose it did get kinda different from the first time I saw Link wagging it around." Groose recalled, scratched his head. "But that don’t explain this one."
Truthfully, Zelda didn’t have an explanation for it after all.
"Well, regardless of how, one thing is for certain; this sword belongs to Arle.” Zelda confirmed.
"And that means Arle is one Very special little girl.~” Zelda commented with a rather congratulatory tone.

Besides already wanting to help her, Zelda was curious and impressed with Arle.
"We have so much to talk about.” she said with a faithful smile.

[Mari]

Arle seemed to relax slightly at Rulue and Zelda's reassurance that they wouldn't take anything, as well as the extra support Rider gave. She no longer felt like she might fall if she relaxed her grip on Rider and while she was well past the 'mine' phase, but she still felt strongly about protecting her own things. She was, however, a bit startled by Rulue's rather demanding question. Had she ... done something wrong? The smol mage lowered her gaze a bit as if to bury her face in Rider's shoulder. "It's magic..." Arle softly replied, apologizing to Rulue with her eyes. The tiny girl was probably incapable of explaining exactly how the bag worked due to sheer limitation of vocabulary.

Rider was able to distract Arle however, the five-year-old glancing over towards her bag for a moment. She almost seemed reluctant to allow them to touch her stuff. But then... "Okay~ You can borrow them." Little Arle relented, going a step further. Apparently she was willing to let Rider play with her toys.

Meanwhile, as Groose and Zelda searched the bag, the inevitable happened. They found the goddess sword. Rider could feel Arle tense as she was questioned, though a giggle did escape her as she watched Zelda hip check Groose out of the way. That just looked silly. They seemed like good friends. Arle beamed ever so brightly up at Zelda in response to her compliment. "What'd'ya mean..? You guys know Fi?" Arle asked curiously. She'd come to identify the sword as the magical being inside of it rather than it's proper name.

[TheSpatialWeeg]

Rulue sighed in a rather odd display of relief. Guess it really was a brilliant idea to drag the 9-year-old with her. Taking a moment to silently rejoice, the fighting queen began looking at Arle's items. She displayed an odd amount of curiosity while scouting for the items.

"I can't see this odd bell de-aging Arle..." Rulue muttered as she onlooked the Super Bells. "Nor this...no, this one is unlikely..."

Rider kept holding Arle tight, so she didn't manage to grab any items. However, she had the ability to chat with her, at the very least!

"Um...Mi--I mean, Arle...how's the ride over there?"

[TartoonHand94]

"That Lavender flower Link hung out with had a name.” Groose asked, still scratching his head and searching for his memories.
"And how do you say it anyway? Is it Fi or Fi?"
"It's pronounced Fi, Groose." Zelda enlightened him.
"And yes, we do know Fi." She turned her attention back to Arle. "You could say I was Fi's mother of sorts.” She hummed nostalgically.

Rulue managed to remind them both that they were looking for a way to restore Arle's age, effectivel freeing them from the brief hold nostalgia had on them.
Looking in the bag one more time, Zelda did spy something suspicious. She reached in and pulled out a pocket watch.
"So... it's just a pocket watch. What's the big deal?" Groose rolled his eyes.
"This is not a mere ordinary pocket watch. " Zelda corrected, as she had often did today. She was tempted to hip check Groose again just for the smile it put on Arle's face. "It does more than just Tell time..." Giving it a closer inspection, Zelda could verify.