After reading so many touching stories about Colin's strengths in Twilight Princess, I decided to write one where HE is the hero. Link and Colin shall venture forth to save Hyrule once more, for darkness is gathering power on the other side of the coin.
I'd never felt so helpless in my life.
The monster had taken me, tied me to a pole and held me aloft like a victory flag. There'd been nothing, absolutely nothing I could have done, except tearfully acknowledge that I would never see my family again.
But Link came. Link came and saved me. No one else would have. But he did.
He's the real hero. He made me realize what my father had meant when he told me to become stronger- not in muscles, but in heart.
And I decided to do just that.
"Link! Link's back!" Talo streamed into Ordon Village, kicking away flocks of chickens as he ran. "Link's back from the castle!"
The now-famous knight galloped into town. A few years ago, Princess Zelda had appointed him Supreme Knight, higher even than the Royal Guard.
Everyone ran out to greet the hero.
"Link," said Talo, "Look what I can do now!" He whipped out his wooden sword and twirled it like a baton. I grinned; now that he had stopped bullying me, he had turned out to be a good friend.
Link smiled. "Soon you'll be the best swordsman in Hyrule!"
"I hope you found my shop by Lake Hylia accommodating," Malo added quietly. Malo, with his 9th birthday arriving, had expanded his Malo Mart empire to all directions, buying out all attractions he found unscrupulous, including a certain STAR carnival game.
"Did you see Princess Zelda? What's she like?" Beth now considered herself a celebrity just by knowing someone close to the princess, and demanded updates on Zelda's status constantly.
But Link frowned just for a moment at that. "I need to talk to Mayor Bo," he said sternly.
Ilia took Epona's reins and guided them. "Welcome back," she said with a smile. Even though he seemed tense, Link smiled back at her.
"What do you think of them?" asked Beth, popping up to my side without warning.
"What do you mean?" I asked, half yelping at her sudden appearance.
"Shouldn't Link have a girl by now? I mean, look at those two!"
I did. Ilia gazed longingly at Link. "So?"
"So! This is perfect!"
"What's perfect?"
Beth rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't get it."
I decided to ignore her. There was nothing you could do about girls.
As Link answered questions about his journey and talked about events around Hyrule, I hung back. I mean, I was happy to have him back, but he was a hero. I was nothing. How could I even talk to him, now that he was so famous?
Mayor Bo stepped out of his house and greeted him. I watched from a distance, wanting to be welcomed like that- like a hero, not a helpless child.
Link stepped into the doorway followed by everybody, but I saw him motioning them away. He wasn't letting them in?
He motioned again, making it obvious he wanted to speak to the mayor in private.
I waited until Link and the Mayor were inside, then crept to the window and listened.
...
"That is very grave news, Link," said Mayor Bo. "How can you leave the castle at a time like this?"
"I had to warn you," Link said, sitting down. "There is something evil coming... Something no one's ever seen."
"Not... that Ganondorf?" Aside from Zelda and Link, Bo was the only person alive who knew his name. Link had felt compelled to tell him- as a leader, Bo would not accept any mystery surrounding the whereabouts and safety of his people.
"Not him." He shuddered. "No... not him..."
"Then who?"
"I...don't know."
"Boy," Bo still called him that, even though he was turning 21, "I can tell when you're lying."
Link turned his head to the floor.
"Zelda isn't just missing," he whispered. "She was taken."
Bo paused before asking again, "Who took her?"
Link said the name.
Pain seared in his forehead and he fell to the floor… then through it.
...
I stumbled away from the window before falling to the ground.
Pain.
I stood up. There was nothing- Everything was black. I saw Link next to me, holding his head.
"Link! What's happening?"
He pulled his hands from his head and gasped. "Colin! Get out of there!"
"What..." I half-turned and saw the monster bearing down on me.
It wore a black robe with glowing glyphs etched into it. It had a vague human shape. A hood pulled over its face left only a pale green chin and thin, moist lips.
It lifted an arm and held it limply at Link.
"I am the thief you seek. Both shadow and light belong to me!" his voice was steel sliding on ice.
"Bring Zelda back!" Link charged, holding his sword level with his chest. Just as he swung, the monster swept his arm up and met the steel. A rift appeared in the sacred sword.
"Remember my name, Hero of the Goddess," he said mockingly. "And know that Andim has returned for vengeance!"
The sky crackled with lightning in tandem with his laughter.
"Colin? What are you doing there?"
I blinked awake. Talo stared at me.
"Nothing," I mumbled. Something was wrong. "I think Link's in trouble."
We ran into the mayor's house. Link sat on the floor, rubbing his head.
"Are you okay?" I asked. He put a hand to the floor for support.
"Yeah." He groaned. "Did you see it too?"
I took a step back and nodded.
"I'm fine," said Link, waving Mayor Bo away as he ran to help him up. "I just need to talk to the kids. Then I need to leave."
I thought Bo would protest, but he simply said, "I understand."
All of the children gathered outside the mayor's house; Beth, Malo, Talo, and my sister, Mae. Even though she was only five, she had insisted on coming.
"I may be gone for a while," Link announced, "Which is the reason I came to visit. I don't know when I'll be able to again." he stared at each of us carefully. "You all remember the darkness, right?"
Everyone nodded; to some degree, we all knew that chaos had descended upon the land when monsters attacked, and Link had a hand in banishing the beasts, but we had no idea what or why that had taken place. Even so, everyone had the feeling that Link was the one who had saved everyone. He denied everything, saying he'd done nothing, but something had changed. The reckless, cunning farm boy we'd all known had shown his true self as a courageous, brave swordsman.
"This time, I won't leave you with nothing. This time, I have things you can really defend yourselves with."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a sword.
"Is that..." began Talo.
"Yes. The sword Rusl gave me." he lowered it to Talo. "You are excellent with swords. You deserve a real one. Keep everyone safe with it." Next, he turned to Mae.
"A health potion?" she said, grasping the bottle in her tiny fingers.
"A special health potion," he assured. Sure enough, it sparkled gold in the sunlight.
"Beth, my slingshot is yours."
"You really think I'm young enough to play with this?" she asked, but her eyes lit up when she saw the toy she'd been missing.
"That can really do some damage," he said. "Only point it at bad guys. And for you Malo..."
He pulled a pouch out. "Use this to get supplies. Know that the only person I'd trust with this is you."
Malo opened the pouch. "Judging from the weight, I assume this is about 2000 rupees."
"I know you so well," said Link with a chuckle as everyone gawked.
"And for you Colin, here's something I think will come in handy." He presented a beautiful boomerang to me. It was made of two pure white wings pressed together. When he placed it in my hands, it hummed slightly.
"It served me quite well, but I think you'll be the one to unlock its true potential." He winked as he said it.
Ilia ran up to him. "Link, you can't be leaving already!"
"I'm sorry. But I have something for you too."
He held up his horse-call charm.
"Link, why…?"
"Epona can't come where I'm going," he answered.
Her eyes turned to his face. "At least take this." She kissed him gently on the cheek.
Beth suddenly took my shoulders and shook me. "I told they were perfect! I told you!"
"What are you talking about? Let go!" I said, brushing her off of me. Geez.
"Goodbye, everyone," Link said. Then he faced the woods.
"Wait!" I shouted. "Where are you going?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "The desert," he surmised.
"What about your sword? At least get it fixed!"
He unsheathed it. At first it seemed to glow, but that must have just been the sunset. "See? Nothing ever happened to it." Then he set his gaze on the trees once more.
"At least tell me this," I said, nearly begging for answers, "Who is Andim?"
Without facing me, he nearly whispered the words; "I hope you never find out."
We watched until the trees swallowed him and darkness fell.