Linked to the Past
And the Master Sword sleeps again…FOREVER!
Link frowned. It was bad enough that the history book wasn't written in Hylian, not to mention that the author had chosen to capitalize every letter of the "forever" declaration. But no, the author had to go the extra yard by writing it in present tense, along with arbitrarily declaring that the weapon he'd once wielded against Ganon would sleep "forever." How in Nayru's name would the author know that, he wondered? Why would a historian make such a declaration when there was no evidence to back it up? And how would the author feel when…if…the one who'd originally wielded it chose to pick up the sword again?
"Um Link…if you don't mind…can we move?"
And why did the historian record everything that happened as if it was ancient history? Link wondered, flipping over the book and seeing everything from him reuniting with his uncle to "Flute Boy" (didn't the guy bother researching his real name?). And why-
"Hey! Listen!"
The Hero of Time flinched. Why those two particular words caused him to do so, he didn't know. But he saw Avin flinch as well, so maybe it was a moot point.
"Sorry," the fairy whispered.
Link frowned. He missed the days when fairies were just there to be put in bottles to help him, not flying orbs of light that insisted on pointing out everything that he could already figure out. "Oh look Link, it's a moblin. Oh Link, you can pull this block. Oh Link, you can-
"
"Master?"
But no, the blue orb was still there. Like he was still here in the Lost Woods, standing before the Pedestal of Time. Before the Master Sword that he had used all those years ago.
"I'm fine," the boy murmured. "Just…give me a moment."
"Alright," the fairy said. "But make it quick please. These forests are giving me the creeps."
Link frowned. Compared to what the Lost Woods had once been like, filled with mist and monsters, this wasn't too bad. Now all he had to contend with were bandits intent on stealing his rupees, only to end up giving him their own rupees once their attacks miserably failed. Compared to everything the Dark World, Labrynna, Holodrum, and even the dream of the Wind Fish had thrown at him, this was like a walk in the castle garden. Without Agaheim-controlled soldiers of course.
And yet I'm back. To take up the Master Sword again.
Link reached his hand out. Hard skin covered by a hard glove he reflected, of which he had neither when he was last here. The Master Sword remained in its pedestal. Ready to be picked up again.
Master…you're back…
Link recoiled. It…no. The sword hadn't talked to him. Had it?
"Master?" Avin asked.
That word at least came from the fairy behind him. No ambiguity there.
"Is there something wrong?" the fairy continued.
Link shook his head. "No. Nothing," he lied.
"Well, come on then! Or I might have to shout 'hey, listen,' again."
The fairy giggled, as if it was the funniest joke in all of Hyrule. Link kept silent and kept looking at the Master Sword.
The sword just stared back.
Sometimes, the sword had felt alive, he reflected. When he used it, especially against the monsters guarding the maidens, or Ganon himself. Sometimes, it was the only company he had, isolated in the Dark World, still hunted in the Light World…it seemed ridiculous.
Is it?
The voice again, and the boy didn't know whether it was his own, or the sword's. After everything that had happened over the years, "ridiculous" was a word that he couldn't use on a whim. Others could though. So he'd been careful about what he said about his other adventures.
Or just one?
"Hey, listen!"
Avin laughed, as if the joke had reached its punchline. As irritating as always.
Or is it just that you want someone else?
That, was what people would call ridiculous, Link reflected. In Hyrule, this far inland, hoping that he could see a seagull. Hoping that he hadn't been hallucinating when he'd awoken from the Wind Fish's dream. Hoping that that dream had actually meant something, and his own dreams weren't filled with a girl who never had, and never would, exist.
"Master?"
Link ignored the fairy. He walked up to the pedestal. Whether the sword was alive or not, it didn't matter. Swords were tools. The Master Sword, for all its history, was a tool as well. He was weighed down with tools, from a bow to bombs. One more tool to add to his arsenal. His hand came around its hilt.
Master…
Was it the sword, or Avin?
Pull.
Link didn't know. He didn't care.
Pull!
And he did so. It came out effortlessly. He held it in a single hand.
"Huh," Avin said. "That was…anti-climactic."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know," the fairy said. "No beam of light. No chirping of birds. Heck, we didn't even get the jingle we usually do when we open a chest."
"Avin, I keep telling you, you're the only one who hears music from chests."
"Yeah, well, I didn't hear it this time. So there!"
Fairies, Link thought. They belonged in bottles and fairy fountains. Nowhere else.
And yet, Avin also had a point. When he was last here, he'd held the sword up for the worlds, and even goddesses above to see. Now he just had it facing towards the ground. Now, with no pomp or circumstance, he placed the blade in the sheath he had on his back.
And the Master Sword sleeps again…FOREVER!
The historian was wrong. Link wondered if he (or she, he supposed) would write the same words once he returned the sword to its pedestal again.
Looking at Avin, feeling the weight of the sword and time itself on his back, part of him hoped that would be the case.
A/N
So, a sequel to A Link to the Past has been announced. I'm...kinda "meh" about it. On one hand, more Zelda = "good," unless we're talking about the CD-I games. On the other, admittedly, ALttP doesn't stand as one of my favorite Zelda games or even one of the more memorable ones for me. It's decent enough, and I can understand why it's held in such high regard, but with Ocarina of Time being my first LoZ game, 2-D ones don't really inspire the same level of excitement.
But hey, the announcement inspired this oneshot, so that's something I guess.