The clouds rang out with the sounds of thunder, a thunder that hadn't been heard in the land of Hyrule for centuries. Link turned around, Navi floating beside him. A horse sped by, knocking the kokiri boy over onto the field. As she raced by, she turned and threw something sparkling and blue into the river. Link looked on, dumbstruck by the otherworldly-ness of the situation. As Link began to rise, a figure loomed in front of him, eyes glowing red. Thunder struck a final time as fear gripped his heart. The figure grew to the size of the walls of the castle and Link felt as though he was shrinking. As the rain fell and froze him to the bones, the shadow began to laugh. A laugh of sandpaper, of dying and pain. The laughter grew louder and louder in his ears, he tried to cover them but it wouldn't stop. He kept laughing and laughing and laughing until he felt as though his head was going to explode and then Link screamed.

Lightning struck him.

…

Link awoke in a bed, sitting bolt upright, sweat trickling down his face. His eyes darted from left to right, his expression was that of a startled animal, his muscles tensed as though they were to pounce at any moment. The sweat made his musculature glisten in the half light of his quarters. His linen trousers were just as drenched as his hair, having accumulated. The whether in the room was practically the same as Hyrule field, but he felt as though he was in Dodongo Cavern. He tried to focus on something, anything that could stop his teenage heart-attack. The room blurred slightly as everything began to shake, his entire head feeling like a bunch of Skull-kids were trying to play the drums inside of it. A blue blur started to float by his face, swinging back and forth sporadically. It seemed to be speaking to him, but his head was too shaken to hear it. The muffled words became louder and louder until it sounded like a brass symphony trying to play Saria's Song. The blue blur hit Links face hard a couple of times, making his vision clear. He started making out a few words, like Snap and out of but not much else. It started to knock him in the side of the head and he could see clearly for the first time sine he had awoken.

"LINK! SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT!" Navi shouted in her high-pitched, equally tough sounding voice.

Link blinked his eyes, focusing on his companion. His heart rate slowed slightly, but not too much. The temperature in the room instantly became apparent, and he instantly became aware of the fact he wasn't wearing a shirt. He stood up next to the bed slowly and used the blanket to wipe away his sweat. The room was an average sized room, but not as big as Hyrule field. It was primarily wood, floorboards painted a nice light mahogany color, similar to the Deku Tree. The wardrobe across from the bed was carved with the Royal Family Crest on the left door and the Triforce on the right. His carpet was a tapestry of the Battle for Hyrule from ancient times. Next to the bed, on the other side Link was on, was something he hadn't seen before except in this world, an alarm clock. It bore the Symbol of Smash Mansion as it's main body and the hands made of an obscure glowing metal Link hadn't ever seen before. He tended to liken it to the Sages realm. The Bathroom door stood next to the Wardrobe, perpendicular to the rooms main door. Navi flew over to the blinds and opened them fully. They were directly in front of Link, so as they opened, the sun beamed directly in his eyes.

Despite having wiped off the sweat from his face, sweat still glistened on his quite substantial muscles. He had never had any time during his quest to look over his physicality, but he had to admit now, he was strong. At least in comparison to the physique of a certain Italian plumber. He had to be though, fighting from when you're 10 to 18 without any help except from a fairy, means you have to be able to bomb-flowers every other day. He never had any free time to look into a mirror, so he didn't know what he looked like. But, if a princess of the Zoras proposes when your 10, it generally means you aren't that bad to look at. Even if she was a fish lady.

"Hey Link, you back in the land of the living?" Navi said as she drifted by him to the other curtain.

Link nodded.

"Nightmare again?" Navi said, her voice the equivalent of a thug in one of the taverns in Hyrule, but higher pitched.

Link nodded.

"You OK? You can talk to me about it if you want." Navi said, genuinely concerned, which was rare.

Link shook his head.

"Well Hero, put on a brave face. Another day of work." Navi said, sounding as equally tired as Link was.

Navi flew over to her smaller house, which sat beside his bed. The size of a bee's nest, but presumably furnished the same way.

Link walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out his gear. His bow, his hookshot, his bombs, his boots, his slingshot (for nostalgia), his gauntlets, boomerang and finally, the Master Sword. He sat them beside the bathroom door and pulled out his uniform from the wardrobe as well, almost forgetting. He walked into the bathroom and pulled off his linens. He filled up a bathtub and sat down in it. He washed off the dried sweat from his body and washed his flowing blonde hair. He had never had enough time to clean up when he was running around Hyrule. But every so often he would see a bathtub or a spot on the river that nobody was in, and he would strip down and jump in. Much to the dismay of Navi. Although, he could have sworn she blushed when he did so. He stopped caring around the time everyone in town square became a Redead in Hyrule. He rose from the bathtub, shook his hair and put on his clothes. He hadn't ever dried off in Hyrule, he wasn't going to start doing that now.

He put all of his weapons in his Magic pouch on his belt, with infinite space inside. He lost an apple in there once, he hadn't found it yet. He put on his cap, flopping it appropriately behind him, and walked out of the Bathroom. Navi appeared prepared as well. He didn't know if she had changed her clothes or not. But, the thought of Navi wearing really small, blue set of armor amused Link. The thought of her wearing cute little night-gown also amused him, especially because she swore like a sailor off the job.

"You ready Ass-hat?" Navi said with a smile in her voice. She was off the job.

Link nodded sleepily.

"You sure, pal? If you can't do it today, that's fine man. This isn't Hyrule, you can take a break today."

Link shook his head strongly. He couldn't skip out on a fight today, it was the day he got to fight...

Her.

Or him.

No one was sure about who the infamous Samus Aran was. The only thing anyone knew was that she/he was armed to the teeth with the strongest magic from her/his world and the best armor. Link had initially thought that everyone in this tournament was insane, going against himself and Mr/Mrs Aran with only their fists, but he had been proven wrong. Although, a majority of the current roster was animals that could speak. He wasn't sure what kind of creature Mr Kirby was, but he didn't want to find out from inside his/her mouth.

He looked to Navi, trying to communicate through his face like always. He nodded in response to her previous question.

"Right, you getting a boner for the Aran dude?" Navi said, presumably smiling. She had been fighting alongside him for years, she obviously knew what he was thinking.

Link immediately blushed and walked through the door, leaving it open for Navi to close it behind her. The walls were all marble and carved elegantly, all the paintings depicting scenes from each warriors battles. Link was thinking about his fight with Mr/Ms Aran as he walked down the hall. He knew that she/he was a highly equipped warrior, but so was Link. So what mattered in this fight was skill, nothing more. He had an advantage though, he had Navi. Navi could be his eyes and ears on Aran's weaknesses. The things the Hero of Time couldn't see from a glance, Navi could see. He looked to his hat, knowing that she was resting within his hat. As he started to turn a corner, heading to the Cafeteria, he hit something hard and metallic, forcing him to a wall as he fell.

The other person fell to their knee besides the Hero of Time. He looked over and found himself face to helmet with the Hero of the Stars, Samus Aran. Aran rose slowly, her armor clicking and whirring as she stood to his/her full height. Link felt dangerously short in this scenario, but he knew that no one was in the position to look down on him. That was difficult, being 5 foot 6 though. He looked Aran directly in the visor and tried to peer into his/her eyes. As he/she did the same, the light from the chandelier flashed in his/her visor and revealed Aran's eyes for a brief second. For the briefest moment, Link saw a pair of eyes that sparkled with dangerous beauty. A kind of beauty that came from power, which he knew all to well in Hyrule. As she walked by, Link looked at her. She walked slowly away, in no particular rush, with the same stature as any warrior Link had met. Regardless of gender, a warrior walks with strength, prepared to kill at a moments notice.

Link stood there in the middle of the hallway for a moment, thinking on what he had just seen.

"Keep it in your pants, kid. Don't forget, you've got passengers in here." Navi said, muffled by the fabric of the hat.

Link nodded lightly, remember his reason for rising from bed and began to walk in the same direction as Samus.