Inside Hyrule - Freya_Howlett - The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: Falling down - TOTK

Chapter Text

"This isn't safe," you commented, trying to gather the enough courage to get into murky water.

"It never is," Link never missed a beat. He threw himself to the water below. You sighed and jumped too into the small pool, extending your arms as soon as you fell so Link could help you get out.

"I mean it, you shouldn't be doing this, you just lost an arm," you tell him as you step out of the water. No matter how low you kept your voice in that lonely, dark and silent cave, it was like you were speaking aloud. How come you both always ended in places like that where it seemed like a not a single living soul had been there in centuries?

"You know we can't just stay," he frowned his eyebrows at you. You both continued walking, soaking wet, only to find another platform, this time taller, where to jump at another body of disgusting water. "Zelda is..."

"Don't even start, I was there, I saw it and, yeah, it was awful," you imitated his expression. "But I'm worried about your health and if you'll be able to keep going".

"No need to worry about me, do that for yourself," he smirked before jumping, this time backwards. Although you knew him from years back, and also all his other past lives, you were always taken aback by his endless stamina.

"C'mon," you muttered and jumped again.

After climbing a stone wall and diving one more time, you finally reached a point where you definitely had to stop.

"I'm not doing it," you said. There was another platform to jump from, but this time, the water was down, down below. "How many feet do you think it is?"

"Doesn't matter, we have to jump," he answered, cracking his neck, getting ready.

"Uhm..." you muttered.

"C'mon, when have I ever leave you alone?" Link smiled calmly, reaching his hand to take yours, which you did, pushing your lips together as you looked down. You hoped that pool was deep enough so you wouldn't crash against the dangerous large rocks below.

"I know, I know," you said, before getting ready with him to dive. You expected some sort of pain from hitting the water from that height, but you felt nothing. Without letting go of your hand, Link pulled you to safe land.

"See, it wasn't that bad," he said as he wringed his hair to remove the excess of water.

"I'll give you that," you said, panting a little from the adrenaline and looked around. There were thick roots all over the walls. "We must be under a tree. But... I don't remember any trees this big at the castle," you thought aloud.

Link was listening, also looking around. You were distracted still looking up when he tapped your shoulder.

"Hey, look, there's sunlight over there," he pointed at what seemed a passageway where a scarce light was entering. "Let's go".

Desiring to leave that cryptic cave behind, you both ran quickly to the passageway. Link had been right, it was filled with sunlight and even some birds flew away, scared, out of the way. The exit was right there in front, flanked by stone columns and, in the horizon, the clear blue sky. You didn't notice at first the floor ended a few inches where the passageway ended, distracted by the immensity of the firmament, and you ended up colliding slightly against Link's back, who had stopped suddenly at the absence of where to step.

Looking around, you finally noticed you weren't on land, nor even a tall mountain. The clouds were below you and there was nothing around, except for some floating rocks in what seemed miles and miles away.

"It's a floating island," Link said, almost like reading your mind.

"How the hell are we going to leave this place?" you stuttered. You had a height phobia, this was like out of your worst nightmares. Link tapped with his feet the place where he stood and you recognized what it was: another diving platform. "Oh, no, no, definitely not".

"We've no choice, you know that," he said, turning his head to you.

"I know!" you exclaimed. "But this... this is beyond me".

"I'm not leaving you here if that's what you mean," he raised an eyebrow. "Remember you were so afraid of using the parachute? And now you use it just as fine, this is similar".

"How is this similar? We don't have a parachute to save our asses right now," you complained.

"There must be something below that will protect us".

"Does your weird hero instinct says so?" you mocked him. Link chuckled slightly.

"No, I say so," he answered, jokingly. "Let's do it the old way, shall we? Get on".

You knew that posture. Whenever you had troubles with heights, you'd clung to him in a piggyback and he'll control the parachute, your weight not affecting a bit his control. At the beginning it was kinda embarrassing and it made you feel guilty how often he had to help you, Link made it seem so easy to simply throw yourself at whatever came. You thought that all you did was hold him back, yet he never complained and helped you with a smile on his face.

"We're going to crash into the ground," you stated as you clung to his neck. Link let out a chuckle.

"It'll probably be a very, very soft ground, you'll see," he said as he doubled his knees, getting ready. He sprinted forward and jumped off the platform, not fazed by you clinging to him. For a moment, there was nothing but the covered-in-clouds abysm below and the strong wind that hit your face. You closed your eyes shut, thinking you were taking your lasts breaths. When passing one of the fluffy clouds, you felt a bit of humidity touching your skin.

"For the Goddess, check this out!" Link yelled.

"We're going to die?" you asked. The wind was so strong that you wondered if he heard you, but he replied immediately.

"Not yet!"

You opened your eyes only to see a large mass of land below with a great structure, like a tower, made of stone at north. It was still in the sky, but this one had what it looked like whole ecosystem, a small world, by itself. Just behind the tower, a vast dragon was soaring.

Your eyes now followed the direction of Link's head and you realized that, in a piece of floating land above the great island, there was a large lake. Link changed position with little effort to prepare for a dive.

"Hold your breath!" he yelled and you did as he said, again closing your eyes.

Again, you were surprised that it didn't hurt to hit the water. You let go of Link and floated to a nearby nenuphar to sit on top of it, with your knees at each sides and your ankles crossed together. It was enormous for a plant, and very thick also, enough so also Link could hold to it without sinking it. You removed the water off your face and took a long breath, your heart beating like drums against your chest.

"See? I told you we were going to be fine," Link was smirking smugly again, resting his elbows on the nenuphar while the rest of his body was still in the water.

"I should listen to you more often," you complied, smiling too.

Chapter 2: A new companion, an old friend - BOTW

Chapter Text

"Hey, there's something I wanted to show you," Link said as he took his Sheika Slate from his belt. "I got something new I wanted to try out."

You turned your head in wonder. You both had formed an improvised picnic in the Great Plateu, now you were completely rested and with a full stomach thanks to Link's cooking skills. You had even taken out your belts and weapons to laid them at your side so you could take a break.

"Okay..." he muttered, touching the screen. "Here it is. Let's see what this does."

The Sheikah Slate glowed in a slight golden color, almost white, and he pointed at some inches in front of him. Then the activation sound was heard and in the middle of the air appeared a column of green light where small black squares danced for milliseconds. You knew that effect very well and opened your mouth in amazement.

The black squared turned into a black mass that quickly formed into an animal shape and, just like that, in a flash, there was a familiar wolf in front of you both.

You stood up, letting out a happy squeal that also sounded too childish. The wolf turned his enormous head to you and recognized you instantly, his tail starting to wag.

"Wolf!" you exclaimed as you threw yourself at the animal to let him lick your face and rub his fur against you. You chuckled a bit. "Hey, hey, don't be so harsh."

When you turned to Link, he had his eyes raised in confusion and was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is there something I had to remember?" he asked, worried. You felt a sting, you could see how hard it was for him to be amnesiac.

"No, no," you answered quickly. "You forgot nothing," as you were kneeling, holding Wolf's head against you, you had to be careful with your words. "He's an old friend of mine."

Link only nodded and you could see the relief washing over him. You buried your face in Wolf's neck, hugging him, to hide your expression in case it'd give you away.

You remembered this wasn't the first time one Link had encountered another. Wolf met the Hero of Time, but neither he nor you revealed that connection to him. You even wondered if the Hero of Time himself knew about it because you'd never say it aloud.

As far as you were concerned, none of the Links knew about his past lives, nor that he had met you plenty of other times before. That's something you from early age decided to keep for yourself. The reason? Who knows. Even you wondered what'd happen if you opened your mouth, but also you were afraid it'd harm him, his soul. If you yourself learnt you were trapped in a vicious endless cycle where you'll always be forced to be the hero and fight evil forces, maybe you'd get crazy.

You looked into Wolf's dark eyes, wondering if he knew what was going on and where he was, but you were only met with kindness.

"So... that's a wolf and he's your friend," Link stated slowly, like trying to understand.

"Yeah," you nodded, standing up while still touching Wolf's head. "He accompanied me in some trips before."

"Alright, so, is it friendly?" he went down to one knee, extending his arm carefully towards the animal carefully, however that wasn't necessary, Wolf threw himself at Link cheerfully and licked his face as the surprised boy laughed. "Wow! Didn't expect that!" he laughed, grabbing Wolf by the cheeks.

"I'm glad I got to see you again," you scratched Wolf's ear as he comfortably had his head laid on your lap. There was a deep low growl that came from his throat whenever he exhaled, it was almost like some sort of purr or snore. "Have you seen...?"

He shook his head slightly before you could mutter her name. You pushed your lips together, no need to keep on wondering about things you'll never know the answer of. Instead, still caressing his fur, you focused on the nocturn landscape in front. Link fell asleep, surprisingly, before you inside his tent a few meters apart and the only sound was that of nature, wind and the fire in front of you dying out. At the horizon was Death Mountain, ever fuming, with the moon behind its smoke, but still you were very well lighted. The Temple of Time was behind, you couldn't see it, but felt it.

"I feel nostalgic, Wolf, I think you've noticed how destroyed everything is," you muttered absently. He moved his ears, a sign of his attention. "This world is different."

Wolf raised his head to boop you with his nose on your cheek, it was slightly wet and warm. You understood what he meant: "You too."

"I guess so," you chuckled slightly, cleaning his wetness from your skin. "I can't ride on your back anymore, I'm heavier now."

A flashback of a younger you holding onto Wolf's fur for dear life as he dashed and sprang all over Hyrule Field appeared in your mind. You had to admit you miss that, but would never tell.

"We still can have fun anyways," you smiled as he raised to his front paws, sitting at your side really close. He directed his head towards the tent and raised his mouth and nose once. "Link? Ah, he's nice," you shrugged. "I often feel like cargo, you know? But if I am to him, at least he doesn't say it," you poked the grass under your legs. "He does not remember a single thing of his past, he wouldn't even know his name if it wasn't because a voice woke him up, so we're trying to recover his memories. In that sense... I'm more of a moral supporter."

When you turned to face Wolf again, he moved his head and raised on his four feet, you know he meant his time was getting over and he had to go. Where? You didn't know and in a certain way didn't want to ask, so you just smiled softly.

"Already? I wanted to show you the Temple of Time, maybe you recognize it," you said, but he only booped against your cheek again. "I'll see you again, doesn't it? As long as he can summon you."

Wolf only nodded and you leaned your head against him softly, looking into the horizon. However, you stopped feeling his fur for a moment, and instead there was cloth. When you faced him, you saw the Hero of Twilight smiling at you. He was shimmering slowly with that golden aura, he was going to fade away in a few seconds.

"Hey," you greeted him, he hadn't changed a thing. "Glad to see you again."

He only kept smiling warmly and tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear with a light gente touch, contrast to his rough fingers, and then faded in the silence of the night.

"So, Y/N..." Link spoke, muffled due to the food in his mouth he was still chewing. And to think he was a knight, you thought. "Who was the guy?"

"What guy?" you asked as you blew on your plate to cool off the eggs with rice you had made. That morning, breakfast had been your task.

"The one who was here last night, I almost jumped on him if it wasn't because you seemed to know him."

You coughed a little bit, pretending you had something in your throat and cursed to yourself. You didn't like the idea of Link, this Link specifically, getting to know Wolf's truth. He had too many issues with his memory to add more than he could take. Besides, he had only been on his human form for a second, how did he notice?

"You must've been dreaming, no one showed up," you said, biting on the eggs slowly.

"I swear I didn't, because you took your sweet time to go to sleep," he insisted.

So the gaslighting wouldn't work, so you changed your tactics to something else.

"You tracking me?" you raised your eyebrow. "And also, you were supposed to be asleep because you've been truly tiring you out recently. Maybe you were seeing things because of exhaustion."

Link frowned, still eating. He wasn't believing a thing you said, but you could see in his expression he gave up on his inquiries.

"You may be right."

You stayed in silence for a moment, eating with the sounds of the birds singing above you until you decided to ease the moment:

"C'mon, Link, we have to prepare for another long day," you sighed. "Weren't you going to show me how to get rupees from a Blupee?"

He smirked enthusiastically.

Chapter 3: Found - TOTK

Chapter Text

"You think this is the last one?" you asked, walking through the curved land that was the Rist Peninsula. A new Tear had fallen in the end on that part that seemed like a snake's tail, exactly in the middle, and, as you got closer, you could see the small pond shimmer in gold.

Link didn't answer. He was concentrated, with his eyebrows frowned deeply, probably without him being aware of that. Since the moment he discovered that the geoglyphs and the glowing ponds were actually some sort of visions about Zelda, Link had almost gotten crazy looking for all of them. It had been such an exhausting journey, traveling quickly through all of Hyrule, using the towers to propulse you both to the skies in order to have a better look at land; falling from such heights was something you still hadn't gotten used to no matter how many times you did it. And after eleven geoglyphs, the gigantic Light Dragon that soared the clouds dropped a tear exactly at the spot where you were now. You wondered if that beautiful, imposing creature knew something about the princess.

You could tell Link was a nervous wreck, but decided to stay silent, just jogging at his side. He didn't like to feel weak nor vulnerable, he was trying his hardest to keep his composure so it'd be better if you intervened only when he asked. However, you had underestimated how much anxiety he felt, as he surprised you when he sprinted towards the water instead of keeping the walk on the trail.

"Hey!" you exclaimed.

"It's faster this way!" he expressed, distracted. The water was deep enough to reach his waist.

"C'mon..." you muttered as you also entered the water, slower, and you immediately shivered at the cold, damp sensation invading your clothes and skin.

Link reached the glowing pond fast, dripping with salt water. Meanwhile, you soon caught up to him, tensing your jaw and teeth together.

"And you had to do this at night," you complained, taking a deep breath, but he didn't listen to you and instead got nearer to the pond.

"Alright, here it goes..." he murmured as his prosthetic arm's rune glowed. Immediately the liquid inside the pond reacted, just like the previous ones, and shimmered in the same light, splashing in reverse until there was only a single ball of liquid floating, turning into a shining light source that embraced you both in its warmth.

Zelda appeared suddenly in your mind, behind your eyelids, she was standing in the open platform where the decayed Master Sword disappeared and behind her was what seemed the Temple of Time in better times and, also, curiously, standing on mainland instead of floating on a piece of land among clouds. The vision was impressive in the sense you could see everything so clearly, as if you were next to the princess, but you couldn't move nor speak, it was all just happening inside your head.

Your natural reaction was to gasp when Zelda put the Purah Pad in the hands of the Construct that gave it to Link at the beginning, but not a single sound came out of your throat. Zelda then stood in front of the plataform where the decayed sword rested and she looked at it with a small concentraded frown.

"Link, I will restore the Master Sword for you," she murmured. "I will care for it until the time comes. I will pour my secret power into it. It will be the weapon that defeats the Demon King."

She then grabbed the small golden stone resting softly on the skin of her neck and sighed.

"Y/N will surely never leave you alone in your battle against darkness and that reassures me," she whispered, this time more to herself; she opened her eyes as she pulled the stone, they were full of tears that didn't fall.

"You must..." she spoke as she stared in sorrow at the stone between both her hands and then brought them to her lips. At that moment, you wanted to yell and stop her, but you didn't even feel your body. You saw her swallow and suddenly her body illuminated in a bold of light as she trembled and struggled to reach the decayed sword.

"Y/N! Link!" she exclaimed, she put the sword close to her chest and hugged it. The light became more intense and her eyes turned animalesque, blue surrounded in purple. "Protect them all!"

There was a big explosion of blinding golden light and a familiar dragon came out of it, soaring to the sky, while a tear slipped from its eye to explode and separate in eleven smaller dropplets that fell to the land. The dragon then disappeared behing thick clouds, leaving its roar echoing through your ears and mind.

Finally, you could open the eyes, which you didn't realize were watering. When the floating drop of liquid dropped down and disappeared, you realized you and Link were now both surrounded by Silent Princess flowers whose glow shimmered lovely in contrast with the darkness of the now colder night.

"Goddess, Zelda..." you whispered, your throat tight and dry. You turned your face to Link, he was just staring quietly at the empty pond, his mouth slightly open.

A massive howl was heard at the sky, the vibrations of the sound rumbled across your body . You looked up and saw the Light Dragon, Zelda, floating ethereally on the sky above, its head with a trail of yellow, green, and blue glitter that shined beautifully against it's glistening golden mane. You stared as it went away to continue its wander.

A single tear slipped through your cheek and you took a deep breath, you knew this time Link needed you more and you had to stay put.

He was still standing, a few steps behind you and his eyes were locked on the sky where the dragon had disappeared. His expressions were always difficult to read, but you could see how much he was struggling to remain calm, how much he was trying to resort to the expresionless soldier he used to be, but to no avail.

"Link, hey..." you stepped a bit closer and raised your hand to touch his shoulder, but he collapsed next to you on his knees before you could do it. You heard him sob slightly into his closed tight fists.

"f*ck..." he muttered. You had to admit him swearing caught you out of guard. He wasn't a stranger to insults and bad words, he actually was really creative due to his time surrounded by nothing but men in military training, but he didn't really use them. However, this occasion surely warranted it.

"Link, we..." you started but he interrupted you, screaming at the ground:

"How the f*ck am I going to bring her back!?" he punched the ground with his fist as he took the other to rest on his knee, his whole body was shaking, his voice trembled and broke. Your shoulders fell, defeated. You had no answer for him. "All this time! All this f*cking time she was right there, above us! She's been..." he interrupted himself by gulping. "She's been like that since the Imprisoning War..."

There were no words you could say to make things better, because you were also at lost. How were you going to solve this? That's the reason you came into this world to begin with, why you kept coming back generation after generation, to help the Hero and the Princess to defeat evil. But this time, despair ran through your mind and nothing else. You lowered yourself to grab his shoulders firmly.

"Listen, Link, there's always..."

"Don't say that! Don't you dare to say that there's a way! There isn't! Zelda's a bloody dragon!" he exclaimed as he shook. You expected him to take your grasp off him, but he didn't do it, he remained in total defeat on the ground among the glow of the Silent Princess flowers. "There's just no way. I can't do this," his voice sounded hoarse, as if he was drowning. He shook his head slightly. "sh*t... no, I can't..."

You kneeled next to him, put an arm to hug him from the back while putting your head on his shoulder, and you used your other hand to rub his arm affectionately in an attempt to at least accompany him on his pain. A pain that you also felt, for Zelda was one of your best friends there, and she had been for generations at that. Link kept on trembling, sobbing, and he grabbed firmly the arm hugging him with both gloved hands. Your embrace was probably what kept him from falling apart.

"Your heard it form that Zonai woman," he murmured. "'To become an immortal dragon is to lose oneself'," he cited and you felt his fingers digging into your arm without causing you any discomfort. "She's not there. That... that's not her"

"Stop it," you said with the firmest tone you could, but your voice was also vibrating. The breeze seemed colder now, even in the dry parts of your body. You felt the blossoms of a Silent Princess flower touch the exposed skin of your leg. "This isn't over, there's still much things we got to do and maybe we can do something once we finish with this."

Link once again shook his head slightly.

"I-I don't think I can do this..." he whispered and, again, he held on tight to your arm.

You didn't really remember if you had ever seen Link so crushed like that. He had always been the first one to be positive and hopeful, to fight his way to the victory, but now he was breaking in front of you. You wondered if that attitude of his on his past lives was because you were a mere child accompanying him, you depended on his strenght, and thus Link fought to remain positive for you; but now that this Link had you as an adult, maybe it was now your time to support him. And you didn't think you were doing a good job since you neither could find any solution.

Why did Zelda had to sacrifice herself like that?

Your eyes started to water even more and this time tears fell through your cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Link, for not being able to help you at all," you murmured in a shaky voice. "And I'm sorry she thought becoming a dragon was the only way, I should've seen that before. I failed you both"

Link sobbed slightly stronger and you put your forehead on his hair above his ear.

"I'm so sorry..." you whispered.

The soft glow of the Silent Princess surrounding you both kept on shimmering. Flowers believed to be extinct but now thrived in the wild with their pretty blue color and glistering light, you wondered if it was a sign of hope or a crude reminder of your dear friend's sacrifice.

Chapter 4: Picnic - BOTW

Chapter Text

"We should really take a break, my legs are killing me," you almost begged to Link as you put your hand on a trunk to support you as you moved your feet to relief pressure. The boots you were wearing were comfortable enough for hiking, climbing and running, but that didn't mean that you were freed from the pain of traveling tirelessly.

Your adventure partner had been walking a few steps in front of you for a while. You had suggested a break a few kilometers ago, but either he ignored you or didn't hear you at all.

The usual jovial Link had been really quiet since the moment he had a flashback near the Royal Ancient Lab Ruins at North Hyrule Plain. Every single time he was reminded of everything he lost it made him go into a silent, depressive mood. Something that happened more often than not. You tried to help Link, but the truth is that it was too painful, even for you since you also lost there, even more so because he knew everything used to be special to him and he didn't even remember what it was.

"Oh, sorry," he quickly said. "I was lost in thought."

"It's okay," you responded, clearing your throat. "Why don't we make a picnic or something?"

"Sounds good," he shrugged. "Lunch is on me, I have some special ingredients I could use."

"Special ingredients you don't want me to ruin you mean," you chuckled.

"You said that, not me," he chuckled back.

You both chose a small grove close to the Hyrule Garrison Ruins as the picnic place, it was covered enough to eat in peace while protected from the hot sun. As Link prepared dinner in an improvised fire and a pot, you cut two trunks to use the logs as benches with Link's axe, then you took the little chestnuts that fell from the leaves. They'd make good dessert for later.

You had to admit Link was an excellent cook that could do a lot with scarce ingredients, but it was still a surprise to watch the warm, creamy, tasty-looking soup he had prepared with a hearty radish, a voltfruit, hydromelon and a bottle of milk.

"Remember Ashai?" he asked as he stirred the soup.

"Oh, yeah, the 'Voe and You' class teacher," you answered, taking your boots off while sitting on the log, the grass was pleasant on the soles of your feet. "It was such an interesting experience."

"Well, she gave me this recipe. She also has cooking classes."

"Really? I didn't know, why wasn't I there?"

"You were Sand Seal surfing with the kids," he shrugged.

"Oh, right. Those kids do know how to surf on sand since young."

Link passed you a bowl with the deliciously hot soup, the steam giving you a whiff of the tastiness. He sat at your side and you noticed he was waiting for you to eat first.

"Go on," he smiled. "I want to see how good is it."

"So you're already sure that it's good, uh?" you smirked. "Alright..."

Your mouth was flooded immediately by the sweet taste of the pink cream and the soft cut vegetables. You could taste each one of them, creating a balance that your tongue was grateful for.

"So... it's good," Link laughed, watching your expression and spooning his own soup.

"Very much so, I won't doubt you again," you smiled.

As you ate, your body felt more revitalized. You didn't ask because you didn't want to lose your concentration while eating, savouring every single bite, but you assumed the soup had some health properties. You weren't a stranger to potions and food with attributes that could help in your journey, like allow you to bear extreme temperatures. That or you had been starving more than you thought and your body was reganing energy.

"Thanks, Link, you just saved my life," you complimented him. "I'm not full yet so I'm gonna have seconds."

"Go ahead," he replied with his mouth full.

You stepped forward to the pot and grabbed the soup ladle when a faint red light, a laser, appeared illuminating the tree in front of you.

"Hey, Link, take a loo..."

Your whole body went down, pushed suddenly, and your face hit the ground, but the leaves and grass saved you from hitting yourself hard. There was an unexpected surge of heat and blue light, and the trees in front of you fell, burning. A heavy weight was on top of you and you felt Link's hand on your head, clutching you down. The dirt that entered your tongue resulted in an awful contrast to the previous delicious taste from the soup.

"What's wrong with you!?" you exclaimed, frowning. Link didn't seem rushing to get off you and now the soup was completely to waste! Now the big hearty radish was lying on the grass. However, a metalic, mechanic sound was heard behind, and a beeping followed by the same red laser appeared, pointing exactly in front of your face at the ground.

"Go, go, go," Link muttered as he raised to his feet and pulled your arm with so much strenght that you thought he'd tore it from your shoulder. That's when you saw it: a gigangic, spider-looking machine that was now pointing his laser directly to Link's back, shining in red, color of malice.

"Uh..." you muttered.

Before you knew it, Link grabbed you from your waist and behind your legs to carry you over his shoulder and run away without much effort. The machine immediately changed its aim while moving its legs forward.

"What the f*ck is that!!?" you screamed, clinging to Link's shirt. The beeping sound got faster and the machine shot a blue laser that Link managed to avoid only for a few centimeters, hitting a Fallen Guardian and burning the grass and moss growing around it. You understood then what it was and cursed yourself for not recognizing it before, how the hell were you supposed to fight that away?

"They're faster than I remember!" Link exclaimed as he rushed to hide in the ruins. His statement was proven true when the Guardian shot another beam, but this time it hit close to Link's feet and the resulting explosion made you both fly in the air a few moments before hitting hard the ground. Link didn't let go of you, so you both rolled on the dirt until you stopped. Half of you was lying on top of him as he had tried to break your fall with his own body. You both growled in pain while you moved off him, a sharp, deep pain whent through your nude ankle when you were about to stand up.

"I can't..." your voice was hoarse. Link glanced at your foot quickly, as the Guardian was again pointing at you both with the laser.

"f*ck..." he muttered as he pulled you and helped you reach behind a wall of a destroyed tower. The quick steps to that place made your ankle scream in pain and you fell to the ground, panting.

"That thing is gonna keep following us, I'll have to get rid of it," Link said, rushing, pulling the sword he didn't remove from his back. But that was all he had. It wasn't even a good sword, just one he had found at an abandoned outpost. The Guardian made some metalic noises, it wasn't going to be long before it found you both.

"You don't even have a shield," you complained, putting your hand on your ankle, that action itself hurt like hell and you started to feel it swollen. It was probably broken.

"There's no choice," he stated and moved outside the safety of the wall. You saw the red light reflected on the skin of his face and golden hair. "I'll keep it here, you find a way to escape!"

That didn't sound like a plan. Link didn't know what he talked about most of the time, why would you listen to him now? You didn't know about this life of his, but his past lives had the Triforce of Courage, not Wisdom. Fighting was his thing, not strategy, and the latter was what you needed the most right now.

As you listened to Link's shouts, you used the wall to support yourself and walk, ignoring the ache, to the shambled interior of the tower, where a pile of bones rested with some flies around. However, among the corpses and rotten meat (you realized soon it was from an animal's, probably work of Bokoblins), there was a single Wooden Bow and three used arrows. How lucky.

Hopping on one foot, you took them all and moved to the ruined staircases to get close to the single square that used once to be a window. You went up the stairs sitting while putting one of the arrows on the bow. The sound of metal against metal, the constant beeping and explosions was all that there was around. Link wasn't going to make it alone and unequipped. When you peeked through the window, Link was hitting with all his strenght the Guardian's legs in a desperate attempt to incapacitate it, but it didn't take much for the machine to grow them back and keep on advancing. Everything had a weakness, but what was that thing's? Link had managed to fight Guardians off back when he was a soldier, such a disgrace he probably didn't remember how to do it. You definitely didn't know. You saw the single eye, maybe that one? If it wasn't, at least you'd make him stop shooting.

You aimed at your target and shot an arrow. The machine stopped for a few moments before continuing and you repeated the same process.

"I told you to leave!" Link yelled as he hit the Guardian's leg with the sword.

"Since when do I listen to you!?" you screamed back, shooting another arrow and incapacitating, again, the machine only for a few moments.

"You should've this time! This motherf*cker's gonna kill you!"

"And you!"

"Why can't you ever list-!?"

Link was interrupted when the Guardian slapped him hard away with the leg that had just grown, throwing him to the ground. You had no more arrows left and your eyes moved to an abandoned, rusty Traveler's Spear stuck in stone wall. You had to use your whole weight to unpin it and then you climbed the destroyed wall. Link's sword was meters from him on the ground, having been smacked out of his hand, and the Guardian had managed to pin him down with his leg and claws. The beeping sound started again and you saw once again how the laser pointed at Link's head while he struggled in vain to get away. You had to act now.

"Hey, over here!" you yelled as you threw a laying rock, rubble from the wall to the Guardian, which caught its attention. You saw Link's scared expression when the machine this time was pointing at you.

"No, go away!" he shouted, but you ignored him. When the Guardian raised his single eye to properly aim at you, you jumped from the wall with your hands gripping hard the spear and used all your strength to stick it inside its eye, sucessfully, just as Link had taught you. The Guardian instantly started to malfunction, moving and turning around erraticaly as you hung from the spear with both hands; however, your sweat was affecting your grip and you prepared yourself to fall painfully to the ground, except that once you slipped Link catched you, ran, panting, towards cover and put his hand on top of your head when the Guardian finally exploded, only leaving metal clinking behind.

You both were breathing heavily, covered in dirt and sweat, and you peeked over Link's shoulder, clutching his shirt in a fist.

"Is it over?" you asked.

"Seems like it," he responded, breathless. He removed his arm under your knees when you moved your good leg to go off him, then you sat on the ground with his help and Link followed you tired.

"I told you I had it," he rubbed his eyes. You frowned at him when you recognized his frustrated expression.

"It didn't seem like it," you objected, raising an eyebrow. Slowly, the pain in your ankle was starting to flare up now that the adrenaline was disappearing. "A thank you would be enough, you're welcome. You taught me some battle techniques, didn't you? Why don't you ever trust me?"

"You could've died," he pointed out.

"And you too."

"So? Does that matter how? I was technically killed by one of those sh*ts a long time ago," he exclaimed, you were slightly taken aback.

"And Zelda saved you, don't waste that opportunity," you slapped his shoulder, still frowning.

"Opportunity for what?" he rebutted, opening his palms, his hands resting on his knees. "To watch what my defeat caused to this place? To wake up with all my friends, who I don't even remember, all dead? The princess captive who knows where? The destroyed...?"

"Hey, hey, okay, I get it," you shushed him. "You lost a lot, great. But now you're here and, yeah, and even when you won't be getting everything back, at least you have a second chance to redeem yourself. Don't let Zelda down." You patted his shoulder. "You aren't alone, I'm right here and, see? I saved your ass," you stated, firmly. You wanted to find more comforting words for him as Link didn't seem convinced at all, but your ankle was really aching. "But, right now, I'm gonna be cargo for you," you complained, rubbing the injury. Link sighed.

"Let me see."

You removed your hand so Link could check the extense of the damage. As he grabbed your ankle softly, you kept talking:

"You've been looking after me all this time," you spoke, softer this time. "Although you're not in the best shape to take care of someone. You've always done that," your voice trailed off at that one, the image of all his past lives you met before appearing on your mind. "Now It's my turn, let me enjoy my moment in peace, okay?"

Link half smiled and shook slightly his head.

"Seems like it got a bit crushed with the fall, but it isn't broken, you'll just need some rest," he responded, standing up. "Let's go to Hateno."

You nodded, pushing your lips together, and took the hand Link was offering you as support to raise to your feet.

"I hope you have more ingredients for that soup. That stupid Guardian didn't let me finish my lunch," you complained while putting your arm over his shoulders, Link was already sliding his finger through the map in the Sheika Slate.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," he chuckled.

Chapter 5: Gloomy issues - TOTK

Chapter Text

"Look! How do I look?"

You turned around and saw Link trying on a familiar green cap. You laughed.

"Silly," you answered. You approached the chest where Link had found the cap as he bent down to take a small piece of paper lying on the bottom.

"It reads: 'According to legend, this cap was crafted for a hero who travels the wild lands'," he then removed the cap to observe it. "It's weird but wearing it just feels so right."

Yeah, 'cause you did in a past life in a different era, you thought to say, but remained quiet. Link this time, however, had more questions.

"So, you met other heros of legend, didn't you? Was this one real?" he inquired.

"He was," you nodded, crossing your arms non-chalantly. You remained silent for a moment because, being honest, the presence of that cap was confusing. It should't be there at all. That time was, literally, a different time, a different alternative for the future. Or that's what you thought. Maybe you were wrong. No worth mentioning anyways. You shrugged visibly. "He was the one I traveled with before you."

"Oh," he exclaimed, amazed, taking the cap off and observing it as it may hold some secrets. "How long ago was that?"

"I mean, it's now a legend, I can only imagine how long it was."

Link shook his head, astonished.

This conversation was going to dangerous places. Talking about the reality of things wasn't in any way your desire, but you also understood the curiosity. You used what was true inside his world: you were someone meant to help the wielder of the Sword that Seals the Darkness or hero of prophecy whenever he needed it, no matter the time, era or world. This Link was particularly interested in learning more, and he was aware that there had been multiple heros before him, but he didn't know it was him in different versions. He didn't need that knowledge. He also got inquisitive about your age once, a natural question since his perception was that you've been alive for thousand and thousands of years. You found an easy answer to that:

"I just age slower," you responded as you shrugged. "Way, way slower. But I'm about the same as you."

Surprisingly, that answer satisfied his curiosity, only for that moment at least.

"C'mon, I'm hungry, why don't we camp or something right here?" you asked, trying to change the subject.

"In this massive skeleton?" he asked, motioning towards at his feet. You were standing in the jaw of a massive creature.

"I meant on the ground, but yeah," you responded. "It can be a safe cover, don't you think?"

"Hope those Horriblins don't come back," he mentioned as he effortlessly jumped down and removed the new cap.

The place maybe wasn't the best to eat, but the food was delicious regardless: steamed tomatoes and some honey candy the Hateno children kindly gave you. However, despite the nice lunch, you both had to keep on the move. You hadn't found the zone's Lightroot yet, so the area was pitch black and dangerous. Your only source of light was some brightblooms you both had gathered and Link's Miner's Armor top and trouses he decided to bring. It was such a spectacle.

"I still think you look ridiculous with that," you teased him.

"You're just jealous you aren't brave enough to wear it," he answered sarcastically, gathering his stuff to keep on traveling.

"C'mon" you chuckled.

You and Link walked under the skeleton through it's lenght, maybe it had something interesting under it. The chains on Link's outfit didn't make as much noise as you thought at first, even in that extremely silent spot. As ridiculous as it looked, you had to admit that costume was quiet useful.

"Be careful with that gloom," Link's voice was low. In the Depths, it was for the best to not make as much noise as possible to not alert the creatures living there who could see you way before you could. So most of your trip had been in silence except for the small 'picnics' and resting spots, and that after making sure the surroundings had no undesired companions.

"Ugh," you expressed when the sole of your boot touched a bit of gloom, which was a disgusting, thick, mud-like substance all over the place. It's life-draining characteristic made it extremely dangerous, but a tiny bit wouldn't do harm at all.

The steep was large and difficult to walk on, but you both kept on walking carefully so as not to fall on the gloom and your spear helped you with its support. A squishy soft sound caught your attention behind you and you stopped to turn while Link kept on walking. Maybe a Horriblin had decided to sneak behind you through the gloom, after all they were immune to it. However, there was no one.

"Something wrong?" Link asked in a whisper.

"No, it's fine," you murmured back and continued walking. Not even two steps more when the sound was there again and you knew it wasn't just a coincidence.

When you turned, you saw the gloom was... moving? bubbling? fuming?

"Hey, Link," you patted his arm to caught his attention. "What's...?"

Before you finished your question, some weird-looking long tentacles appeared from the disgusting dark mass, towering you both. The gloom, you realized, was moving with them. Before Link or you could even react, the tentacles faced towards you and let out a phantasmagoric screech that penetrated your whole body and mind.

You saw with horror those weren't tentacles, but hands with eyes in their palms. Your scream was combined with their high piercing shriek.

"Run!" Link yelled as he took your hand and ran towards the path you were heading originally. The steep made it hard to run, however you both managed to be faster than the horrible creatures following you.

"Should't you fight those things!?" you yelled as you fought hard as you could to keep on with Link. His pull, however, was helpful.

"They're made of gloom! Do you want me to die!?" he answered.

"No, but what the hell are they!?"

"Shut it and run!"

Outrun them was proven a tiring effort, it took a good distance for them to suddenly dissolve and dissapear. Your left side hurt in a stabbing ache and you were out of breath. As soon as you were free, you threw a brightbbloom seed to the ground and fell, gasping for air.

"For the Goddess..." you said wearily. Link wasn't really affected by the race, he was still standing, patting his outfit. "I've never seen something like that."

"Me neither," he answered, distracted.

"I don't want to encounter them ever again, they were so scary," you continued. They were very similar to enemies you found before: Dead Hands, Wallmasters and Floor Masters. You always found them disgusting, creepy and horrible.

Link didn't answer you, he was still patting his clothes, this time looking more worried. You arched your eyebrows: "Is something wrong?"

"My cap," he answered, facing you with a troubled expression. "I may have forgotten it back at the skull."

You stared at him with an open jaw, astounished. You knew what he was implying.

"No," you shook your head. "Oh, no, no."

"Please! I won't leave it there! It's special!"

"You only had it for like ten minutes."

"Those were some special ten minutes!" When you didn't buldge, he kneeled besides you and took you by your shoulders impressively tightly. You mouthed 'ouch', but Link kept on talking: "C'mon! We don't have to fight whatever those things were, we can just slip past."

"Slip past how?" you questioned, frowning.

"We can climb the steep. They were on the bottom part, we just have to climb the rock to go around them. Didn't you realize they heard or felt us because we passed right by their gloom? Maybe we can avoid them by going on the upper side, quietly and all done. I get my cap and we're all happy."

"Me happy as in what? What do I earn going in there with you?"

"My happiness," he insisted with a funny tone. "You've said so yourself, you came here to help me and your help is what I need at this moment."

"To recover a dusty, old cap you yourself forgot," you raised your eyebrow, your tone remained ironic. "A cap that's completely useless."

"I won't lend it to you if you keep insulting it."

You let out a sigh and removed Link's hands from you. You knew you had no choice at all, after all, he was right and you came to that world to help him, despite the stupidity of the situation. Your own Purah Pad was heavy in your hip, how easy would be to just use it and leave that awful place! But once Link made his mind about something, he didn't retreat.

"Okay," you answered, resigned. "If I get killed, I won't forgive you."

You had to calm your breathing the walk back, soon you reached a part you both could climb, way faster than you wanted.

"I'll be right beside you," Link whispered, animating you. "As long as we're quiet, we'll be fine."

You only nodded and gulped. The rock was easy to climb and you moved sideways to advance, with Link at front, guiding the way. The brightblooms you threw in the lower path were still there, so that was comforting in some way to not be completely engulfed in the darkness. This time the weird hands wouldn't take you by surprise at least.

You saw the pond of gloom and noted that it wasn't moving at all, still and deceitful as before. Carefully, you and Link moved hands and feet to advance.

Beeeeeeeep!

Your heart sank to your stomach. Your Purah Pad was vibrating and ringing on your hip.

"Hi, Y/N!" Pura's lively voice was heard, you recognized it as a voicemail. "Bet you're busy right now since you're not answering my messages!"

Link stared at you in horror, he held himself with a single arm as he tried to reach for your Purah Pad. The creepy hands below let out a screech.

"Like this new feature? Thought it'd be a nice surprise. You can now hear my voice wherever you are!"

Link managed to take your Purah Pad, the screen glowed and illuminated his face, but it was too late. A hand took you by the ankle to pull you with unbelivable strenght and you gasped.

"Say hi to Linky for me!"

Link growled and let go of the Purah Pad, which fell loudly to the gloom-covered ground, to hold your wrist and try to pull you up. The hands were relentless and you felt another one pull your other leg.

"Bye-bye!"

An anormous hand took you by your upper body and pulled you away without much effort. Link exclaimed something behind you, but you didn't hear him. In your vision there was only gloom and yellow eyes as your energy was being drained away. You struggled and tried to fight back, but the hand holding you was too strong. You gasped for air, it's hold strangling.

An arrow passed by you and you saw Link standing with his bow ready. The hands snapped and let you go, dropping you like a sack.

"Y/N! Move!" Link exclaimed as he shot another arrow.

You dragged yourself as far as you could, your hands and knees getting scratched by the dirt. You lungs weren't working at all, no matter how much you tried to keep the air inside, they didn't process it. There were explosions behind you, Link was definitely using bombs. You took your hand to your chest as you hid behind one of the bones.

There was another detonation but your ears were already ringing.

"It's over!" you heard Link yell and his hurry steps approaching. "It's over! They're done," his voice went lower as he got close and kneeled in front of you. He put his hand on your forehead. "You're so pale."

Your eyes weren't on him, but looking in the pool of gloom that haven't gone away. It was still moving.

"Link," your voice sounded so hoarse, lacking air, as if you had been strangled. "No, look," you pointed exactly where some red smog was grouping together into a human-looking form. Your friend expression changed to anger when realizing it wasn't over.

"Why can't that sh*t let us be?"

"Take this," you motioned towards your spear. You didn't have to say it for him to understand: it was better to fight that new enemy from afar.

"And you this," he said as he lend you a small packet he had on his pouch. "Eat it, will make you feel better."

As he walked decisive, you opened the small cloth to see some crackers. But they didn't seem like normal crackers, these ones were glowing slightly in golden. Sundelion crackers. As you bit into one slowly, for you were nauseous, you wondered how Link got them.

Starting to feel revitalized, you turned to see how Link was doing. The monster had weapons of its own and was trying to charge to Link, but he was faster and moved just in time to strike mortal blows to the unprotected side of the enemy. Link this time was definitely fighting with all his might and the battle didn't take much longer. The monster fell to his knees as Link stared at it without any emotion on his face, then it tried to reach one more time to him with its creased, bony hand before succumbing and dissappearing. You let your head fall behind, leaning on the bones, in relief.

"Now it is gone," Link spoke as he approached. He wasn't even out of breath. Aside from your spear, he was carrying another weapon and two weird purple and red lumps that looked disgusting. "Look, it dropped this."

"I won't touch that," you pulled a face, feeling nauseus just by having those lumps in front of you. "They smell weird."

"Better take them to Purah and see what they are," he said as he put them inside his pouch. He let the weapons on the ground and helped you raise to your feet. "And maybe we should also talk to her about that new feature she did. How are you feeling?"

"Better," you answered, shaking the dust from your clothes. "It seems they drain energy when in contact, just like gloom," you explained. "Thanks for the crackers."

"You're welcome," he said, studying the new weapon he had taken again from the ground, he started to give some steps to the path where you came from but you stopped him.

"Hey, your cap's over there," you pointed with your spear towards the another direction.

"Oh, yeah! The cap!"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"Well, I was concentrating in saving your life, so I didn't exactly forget."

"You were the one who made me risk it anyways!" you exclaimed. "And you forgot!"

"I didn't!"

"Oh, yes, you did, you were gonna leave just like that without it! I honestly should've let you."

"As a reward for going back with me, you can use it all the way back to the Research Lab. It's either that or hold the pouch with those lumps that fell from the gloom monster."

"Disgusting," you muttered.

"And... I actually think they're moving," he checked his pouch.

"Ewgh, no, I'm outta here," you said, walking a bit faster. Link chuckled behind you.

"I was just joking."

"Go to hell."

"With all the wandering spirits and life-draining monsters around here, technically we're there already," he chuckled again and you squinted your eyes towards him.

Chapter 6: A warrior's mettle - BOTW

Chapter Text

You felt a slight relief as soon as the White-Maned Lynel had collapsed and laid lifeless on the snow, that monster was as tough as enormous. However, your relief promptly went away the moment Link, whose shoulders moved exaggeratedly with each breath, let his knees bent and fell like a sack to the ground.

"Link!" you shouted as got out your hiding spot behind a big rock to run towards him, you drifted and kneeled in front of him while holding his body. Link had his arms around his torso, holding himself, and was coughing up blood that stained the white snow in carmine red while contorting his face in deep pain. He was barely conscious.

"For the Goddess" you whispered. You saw him take some hits from the Lynel, but you didn't notice it was that serious. After all, Link kept fighting and never even winced from the pain. With the freezing, deep fog there was all around, Link's fast movements and the fact you had been from afar shooting arrows -you knew you'd be nothing but a nuisance if you tried to fight in close range-, you never saw how much deep and bloody his injuries actually were.

There was no one and nothing around, only brume and snow, the sun was even hidden behind thick grey clouds, not a single animal on sight. The frosty wind roared and you shrank, shaking, as you put Link's upper half body on your lap to protect him from the raging cold and covered him with your cape. His black dyed Snowquill Tunic only could do so much against exposure.

"Alright, Link, we gotta get out of here," you murmured. Since there was nothing close by where you could ask for help, you'll have to go somewhere else. However, to where? And also, who could help you?You barely knew anyone. You thought immediately of Kakariko Village, the Sheikah, Impa. They've always been glad to help the hero in need, however...

You stared at Link's face, his blonde hair stuck on his forehead, stained in red. His eyes were tight shut and his jaw slightly open as he gasped for air. You stroked his cheek as soft as you could, but even that movement seemed to hurt him. He had been feeling like a failure since the moment King Rhoam's spirit told him some part of his past and it did only but increase whenever his body didn't respond in the way he knew it was supposed to. His mettle would get worse if the Sheikah saw him, their last hope, all beaten like that. Again, just after the hundred-year-old nap he had in order to recover. If you took him there he'd get so scolded his ancestors would be upset, and, he wouldn't exactly try to kill you, but he'd befuriousfor being a tattletale of his reckless choices. You knew him enough.

It was expected that he wouldn't return to his normal self in a couple of days after such long slumber, yet he was frustrated. It had been weeks and Link still felt dizzy, disociated, he suffered headaches and slight tremors, his one-man-army strength hadn't come back yet and his aim wasn't at its best. He was still formidable and had a lot of stamina, but not in the 'hero of prophecy' way. Link felt pressured to get stronger, almost invincible, to carry out his duties, the ones he had failed to accomplish and were the cause of massive destruction all around Hyrule. You noticed his way to achieve it was to throw himself at any danger, like fighting a White-Maned Lynel which spotted you both from afar while traveling Tabantha. That was stupid and Link knew it too, but to him it didn't matter: battle the most powerful wild monster in Hyrule and be victorious was his way of showing the wielder of the Sword that Seals the Darkness had comeback and would redeem himself by saving them all as he had supposed to from the beginning.

You sighed. Your main priority was to support Link in whatever issue he needed help with, and sometimes that included his emotional wellbeing. You also didn't wish for the Sheikah to put all their disappointment upon him. If you weren't going to ask for their help, only one option of trust and nonjudgement remained.

"You'll be okay, Link," you assured him, not knowing if he heard you or not. You reached to the side and grabbed theSavage Lynel Spear from the clutches of the deceased monster, it was huge and heavy, and laid it down on Link's legs softly. Despite the cold, you moved with swiftness to grab Link's Sheikah Slate from his belt and slip your fingertip through the screen, looking at a map, until you spotted the place. Luckily, Link had solved a Shrine there recently so you could teleport without any issues.

"You'll be okay," you repeated once more as the soft blue light covered you both.

The cold and wet sensation of the snow went away as soon as your knees touched soft grass and you got surrounded by appreciated warmth, birds singing on top of trees and the essence of wood. Link stirred himself on your lap and made a painful sound from his throat.

"Hestu!" you shouted, holding Link against you. "Hestu, please, help!"

The gigantic Korok appeared running, his body moving side to side with each step, with maracas in hand. He stopped suddenly at the sight of you and dropped his instruments on the grass.

"Shalaka!? What happened to the Hero!? He doesn't look dancey!"

"He got hurt fighting a Lynel, he's bleeding so much," you explained, voice hoarse.

"Scary monster, shoko!" he approached more and reached down to Link. You raised his Snowquill tunic to expose his abdomen, all covered in blood. You felt your stomach jump a bit at the sight of the open slashes on his skin. "Not good," Hestu exclaimed, then continued in a lower voice: "Pepp can help, let's go inside Grandpa's Navel."

Hestu slip his hands under Link's body and carried him effortlessly, his weight being lifted from your numb legs caused you some relief. A bunch of Koroks moved to make space for Hestu to walk, watching the scene with curiosity. They were abnormally quite.

"Mr. Hero doesn't seem right, young warrior," a voice said below you. You recognized the elder Korok, Chio.

"He's injured," you answered.

"And you seem very worried," he continued. You sat on the stoned platform, aside from the empty Master Sword pedestal and sighed.

"I am," you admitted. Chio approached you a bit more. "He's not been feeling well and I'm afraid this will make it worse."

Other Koroks approached and a small one, which you recognized as a child Korok, put his small woody hands on your leg.

"Will Mr. Hero be okay?" the voice was pitchy, clear and soft.

"Shh! Fera!" Chio exclaimed.

"It's fine," you said, putting your cupped hand on top of the child Korok's head. "I think he'll be alright," you nodded. "He's a real fighter after all. It's just he hasn't been feeling up to... you know... his role."

"Why? He removed the Sword from the pedestal and that's no small task!" another Korok intervened, his body made a jingle sound when he raised his arms.

"Yeah, but..." you shrugged. "He's still not in shape and he fears he'll disappoint everyone again."

"The mood of a warrior is important for his performance," Chio stated. "Maybe he's not in shape because he doesn't feel in shape," he continued, then he jiggled and pointed towards the Deku Tree, who had his eyes closed. "You should talk to Gramps, young warrior, he knows everything."

You nodded and raised to your feet, all the Koroks scattered as you walked to the big branches of the Great Deku Tree and climbed all the way to the platform were you could talk to him. He must've felt you, because when you arrived his eyes were open.

"Greetings, Hero's companion," he spoke. His deep voice ran through your body. "Your expression doesn't seem to bear good news."

"Link's really hurt, Hestu and Pepp are helping him right inside of you," you answered, blinking heavily. "He fought a Lynel, recklessly."

The Deku Tree 'mhmmed' with his mouth, it sounded like two pieces of wood being rubbed together. You sat on the platform with knees open and ankles crossed to tell him everything about Link's emotional state and the impulsive decisions he was making due to it.

"And I tried, Great Deku Tree," you concluded. "I tried stopping him. I try to protect him, but he doesn't let me," you frowned, frustrated.

"Maybe he doesn't need help right now, young one," he answered after listening to your rambling. You let your head fall to your shoulder, listening intently. "His fighting his own battles inside and, while he does, he won't be able to stand against anything else."

"Time is running out, though," you sighed.

"The Princess has been waiting for a hundred years, not knowing if he was ever going to wake up," he explained. "The fact he's still in this world running around, it's a great thing by itself," his leaves moved with the fresh breeze. "The Hero right now needs patience and understanding, don't you agree?"

You half smiled and nodded.

"That's why I brought him here," you confided.

"Grandpa! Young warrior!" the voice of Hestu appeared bellow, he was jumping from one leg to the other. "Mr. Hero has stopped bleeding and he's stable!" he announced.

"Can I see him?" you asked.

"Sure thing! Pepp is there with him," he responded. "He has fallen asleep, but he'll be alright, shoko."

"Thanks, Great Deku Tree," you said, turning one last time before jumping to the ground from his platform.

"No need to thank me, Hero's companion."

You ran to the Navel and immediately found Link laying on his back in the bed Pepp had made for him. His eyes were closed and his face was resting, the painful expression long gone. They had removed his clothes and put him in only a pair of shorts, his body was covered in thick soft leaves with a strange, smelly green substance.

"The Hero's friend!" Pepp exclaimed. "Mr. Hero is going to recover so well, you'll see."

"Thank you so much, Pepp," you told him, sitting on the extra bed at the other side of Link's. "I didn't know you were some sort of doctor," you chuckled.

"Oh, I am not by any means," he answered, covering his leafy face, his body jiggling. "But someone has to do it over here."

"Koroks get hurt too?" you questioned, moving your head to one side.

"Oh, yeah! Although we're don't have skin and bones like Hylians and... you... do," you contained a small giggle when he didn't know how to describe you, "it hurts when we fall from trees and break our branches, or when a wolf grabs us with its fangs, or when we roll from rocky hills."

"I didn't know about that," you admitted. "I thought you were resistant to injuries or something."

"We are, but not so much," Pepp continued. "You should rest, miss warrior," he spoke. "You seem a bit tired."

"I am," you breathed out.

"I'll be outside, you can call me for anything you need," he walked out of the room, but before leaving entirely, he turned around and raised his small arm: "Nice rest!"

You laid your face on the leafy pillow, the bed being most comfortable than you ever thought. You had slept there a couple of times, but at this moment you were so tired it was even more cozy. You didn't realize the moment you slipped into a dreamless sleep, but when you opened your eyes, Link was sitting on his bed, checking out the leaves plastered on his body.

"Finally awake?" he asked. His voice was deep and croaky, he had his arm extended in front of him and was patting it. You nodded as a response.

"How are you feeling?" you inquired, rubbing your eye and supporting your body with your elbow, raising enough to hold a conversation.

"Been better," he sighed. You both fell into silence. You had a 'told you so' stuck in your mouth, but decided to press your lips together and shut it down. He didn't need that, in his concentrated face you could see he knew.

"I messed up, right?" he began.

"Massively, yeah," you nodded, but chuckled. "You could've died."

He shook his head slightly and let his arm fell to his side, defeated.

"I was conscious when Hestu and Pepp were putting all these things on me, you know?" he mentioned. "Well, not much, but enough. And all I was thinking was what if I had fallen before killing the Lynel and I'd left you alone with it? What would happen to Zelda, the Calimity?"

"That didn't happen," you shrugged.

"It could've," he insisted. He never looked at you, not even from the corner of his eyes, instead he looked in front of him to nothingness. "And that would've been on me. One more thing."

"Link, please, stop it," you interrupted him, shaking your hand. "Nothing happened, we're both alright. I was more worried about you bleeding to death if I'm honest," you clarified.

"You told me it was stupid to fight it," this time he finally looked at you and raised his eyebrow.

"And I still think it was," you stated and from your peripheral vision you caught the glimpse of the trophy the Lynel dropped carefully laid on the floor near Link's Master Sword; you didn't even thought of it, Hestu or some other Koroks must've brought it. "And, look!" you exclaimed as you got up and took the Savage Lynel Spear to show it to him with enthusiasm. "Look what you got!"

Link took it with curiosity, grimacing a bit with the movements, and examined it.

"It's... thick," he commented.

"And not covered in your blood anymore," you tried to joke, but he didn't laugh. He kept staring at the weapon, his frown growing deeper with each second. "You felt its sharpness yourself and I saw what it did, so it's a nice spear."

"You can keep it."

You froze, caught off guard.

"Uh?"

"Keep it," he offered it to you, half smiling tiredly. "I don't need it, you know I prefer swords, and spears are your thing."

You sat close to his legs while he still had the weapon extended towards you.

"Link, you went through sh*t fighting that Lynel while I was hiding behind a rock, it's yours," you fought back, pushing his arm, but he didn't move a centimeter.

"I'm going to throw it away and that would be such a waste," he shook his head. "Please, take it. Think of it as doing me a favor."

"Did the Lynel hit you hard on the head or what?"

"Maybe, but... okay," he breathed out. "If you have it, it's a reminder for me of what could've happened there, of what's a stake if I make wrong decisions. If I keep it, it feels like I'm being rewarded for being an idiot."

"That doesn't make any sense," you shook your head, staring at him.

"Just take it, it'll make me feel better," he insisted, putting the spear on your legs. "It'll also protect you; as you said, I know first-hand how strong it is."

"Alright, thanks" you murmured, taking the heavy spear. Definitely you'd need some time to get used to it, but nothing you couldn't work with. You glanced at Link quickly, he was looking at your hands, his face seemed more peaceful. It was for the best to just do as he said for now.

"Help me get all this off me, please," he petitioned, looking at the leaves on his body. "It's getting thicker and sticky."

You worked on removing the improvised bandages off his back while he did so on his arms and torso. His whole body was bruised and not just due to his recent fight. He was covered in burn scars, patches of darker skin with different texture, slashes that crossed his extremities and even one or two marks that seemed like stabbings on his sides. Old battles forever printed on his body. You weren't there during the Calamity, so you could only imagine what he went through.

Link may be stronger than the average Hylian, but he couldn't heal any faster, so you both remained in the Lost Woods with the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree until he could move. The Great Tree spend most of his time sleeping or dozing off so you couldn't talk much to him at all, but the Koroks were so delightful and friendly, they seemed genuinely happy to have you there. You and Link entertained yourselves by playing hide-and-seek with them, shooting games with acorns, training with the new spear and some other funny things. Something that you didn't really know about Koroks until then was that they were collectively afraid of vegan people. You noticed they started to get noticeable wary when all you cooked was made out of fruits, vegetables and mushrooms, after all it was all there was close by; so, although you found it kind of funny, you decided to go to the vicinities and hunt some birds and even a wolf to show them you and Link weren't a vegans. They relaxed after that.

"We'll come more often, I promise," you told Fera while slightly shaking her small hands.

"Gonna miss you, miss warrior and Mr. Hero!" she exclaimed. "You were so much fun!"

You patted her head with a smile. All the other Koroks, some more shy than others despite the time you and Link spend there, watched you as you were standing on the exit.

"Take care, Mr. Hero!" Chio waved his arm.

"Thanks for everything you did for me," Link nodded solemnly and smiled.

"Shokay! I'll be waiting for you to bring me more seeds!" Hestu exclaimed as he shook his maracas.

"Promised," Link waved his hand towards him as you bid farewell too.

Walking through the deep fog wasn't as scary as it was when you first entered the woods and exiting, after all, was way easier than entering. Soon you and Link were on your way out, not even knowing how you made it there. You could always trust the Lost Woods to take you out by itself.

"We lost so much time," he rubbed his forehead, getting his Sheikah Slate out.

"And thanks to who, uh?" you wanted to say, but kept your mouth shut. Instead, you made another question: "What's next?"

"Uhm..." he muttered as he checked the blue screen and slid his fingers through it. "Vah Naboris, in Gerudo Desert."

"That's..." you peaked over his shoulder to the map, "really far away."

"It is," he nodded and sighed. "And we don't have any nearby shrines, except for this one right here," he pointed at one in Central Hyrule.

"Well, some walking won't be bad on us."

"I don't think I can run yet, it still hurts."

This time, you couldn't hold it.

"You should've thought about that before fighting that stupid Lynel," you chuckled. You feared Link would get all gloomy, but instead, he narrowed his eyes, smiling.

"I got you a nice spear, where's my thanks?"

"On Gerudo Desert, c'mon!"

"I'll let you win this time, I'm recovering."

"Wow, how kind of you!"

He laughed slightly on his fist, his eyes had recovered his normal shine.

"As always."