Inertia

By Sincosma

A/N: A one-shot that got carried away (as all things do with me). Slight AU for minor event manipulation. In case it's not clear based on the pairing info, this is Revalink and therefore interspecies. This is guaranteed to be more angst than you bargained for, but trust me.

Rating: T; language, suicide mention, PTSD, so much angst but it is redeemed by fluff.

Chapter One

When an arrow met its target, it didn't just bounce off the surface. Link was a better shot than that, thank you very much. No, it carried a force that he had known as an irreversible law of nature long before his knowledge of the Stasis rune. That arrow would plow through anything with enough give.

Inertia would always be accounted for.

Link usually felt like that arrow—Ganon was defeated, his 102-year mission finally complete, peace restored in the kingdom…yet he couldn't stop the same patterns he had carved into his life since awakening two years ago in the Shrine of Resurrection. He still wandered Hyrule and he still managed to stumble into every potential fight within a 1-league radius.

In the context of the metaphor, however, Link was not presently the arrow. He was the target, if the arrow sticking out of his upper arm was any evidence.

Life's funny like that.

Link ended the fight quickly, even with the injury. It didn't even matter what he had been fighting, really. Just another monster in a landscape of minions losing power every day since the fall of Ganon. No more Blood Moons, no more hoards, no more shadows. Maybe Link didn't have the seal of darkness strapped to his back anymore, but people and monsters alike knew who he was.

The Hero that defeated Ganon.

He made a fire in the shelter of a dilapidated barn. In its amber light, he carefully removed the crudely-made arrow. As he expected, the shaft broke from the steel arrowhead almost immediately. With a soft growl under his breath, he yanked the Sheikah Slate from his belt and used Magnesis to pull it out of his arm. Crude? Absolutely. But Link was, if anything, resourceful.

"The Queen wants that back, you know."

Link leapt to his feet, sword out. He had been conditioned to live his life as a coiled spring, ready to fight at the slightest provocation. He even recognized the voice before he moved, but there would be no stopping the reactionary patterns his body would always follow.

Revali fell gracefully through the giant hole in the roof, on the other side of the fire. As he did every time, he felt a weird thump in his chest when he met that piercing gaze. Revali crossed his wings and eyed Link's sword with his typical unimpressed smirk.

"Are you her messenger hawk, then?" Link said, rolling his eyes as he clicked his blade back into its sheath.

"Hawks can't speak."

"Wishful thinking, I guess." The noise Revali made pulled a few laughs out of Link as he sat back down to finish tending to his wound.

"What did you do now?" Revali asked, sounding very exasperated. Just enough to cover up the concern beneath it. He was an easy read now that Link had had enough encounters with him to learn his ways.

"Oh, you know me." Blood was dripping from his elbow, a dark red rope of liquid slithering down his skin.

"I do," the Rito agreed darkly.

Link cleaned it up the best he could, managing to pull off his tunic and avoid further stains. He held a cloth to the wound with one hand and fished through his pack with his other. But it was taking too long and the cloth was already saturated and leaking.

"Oh, for Goddess' sake, Link," Revali snapped, pulling the pack from him and procuring red potion in just one motion. The Rito crouched down, swatted his hands away, and poured the burning liquid into the wound. Just as Link yelped, Revali pushed the bottle into his mouth. "Drink the rest."

He grumbled about it but downed the remainder of the potion and tossed the bottle aside. "Flew all the way from Hebra to be my mother?"

"You're welcome." Revali moved back to the opposite of the fire and sat, folding his bow carefully over his lap. "I didn't fly from Hebra. I've been at the castle the past four days."

Since the conclusion of Ganon's reign, Link had felt a painful disconnect from Zelda and the other Champions. The little bits of memories he had managed to retrieve painted a picture of someone he no longer was. In that prior life, it seemed like he barely spoke, held up a wall leagues high, and did everything that was expected of him. Even before unearthing his first memory of the past, he had become someone different—seeing how he used to be bothered him deeply.

Because which Link was the real one?

And part of him felt some resentment towards the relationship the other Champions had. When Hylia had been kind enough to bring them back from the grave, they all resumed their friendships. But Link could only sense those feelings through a keyhole in the fog of Great Hyrule Forest. Any time he learned of a meeting between any of them, he couldn't block out the strange jealousy. Or the devastating loneliness.

"What were you doing there?"

"Zelda summoned me. About you."

Being a warrior made Link more observative than most. Every flicker of eye movement, every breath, every movement, every tone…they told him exactly what he wanted to know. Revali, out of all the champions, was the easiest read for Link. Well, no, that wasn't true. They were all easy for him to read.

Correction: Revali was the most interesting to read.

His piercing green eyes held Link's gaze, as they always did. The Rito never backed down from anything—eye contact, confrontation, competition. He wasn't going to elaborate on his statement until Link started the conversation. Which didn't bode well.

"Are they putting up a statue of me in the Sacred Ground Ruins?" Link teased. But there was tension under the tone he couldn't prevent.

"It's been two years, Link. You're still out here. Doing…doing whatever it is you're doing. The Queen wants to see you." Revali's voice was softer than Link expected.

"I saw her a few months ago! She was in Hateno—"

"The castle, Link. She wants you to come to the castle," he said with a sigh.

Link meant to fall silent, not comment on it, maybe hedge and find a way out of the conversation. Maybe even pack up and head out. His wound was healed, and he wasn't tired so maybe he could continue to East Necluda.

His mouth, however, had other plans.

"I'm not going back there." Link almost covered his mouth with his hand, vaguely offended that his lips had betrayed him. He had been so careful at avoiding the whole castle topic and now he just opened that topic with arguably the biggest, loudest mouth in Hyrule.

But he had also said it in that tone. It was that undertone of I have a lot of issues that he usually kept under wraps, please see "avoiding the whole castle topic" for reference.

Link expected Revali to ask why, to probe him for answers, expose his soft underbelly or whatever. But instead he asked, "Link, where did you go after that day?"

He blinked, having not expected that question. No one had asked him that. They asked him how he was, what he had been doing in the wild, et cetera, but never that question. And, now that Link thought about it, he wondered why no one had asked him that before. He had, after all, been missing for a week after the fight, only to eventually make his way to Hateno.

"I…went to the Temple of Time."

"Why?" Revali asked, voice somehow softer.

And Link didn't like it. It made him feel like a glass object to be handled with care. He much preferred the quippy, antagonistic Revali if only for the emotional distance.

"It was the first place I went after I woke up in the shrine. It was…I don't know, like my first home? I just…" Link forced himself to stop speaking. He was already revealing way too much, a trend that had been growing every time he saw Revali. What was it about him that always made Link spill his guts?

The fire between them ignited the red around Revali's piercing eyes and on his cheeks. Link had, at some point, joked about him blushing. But now the color looked like flames.

An emotion punched its way into his chest. It was suffocating and painful and so indescribable, Link couldn't possibly locate its origin. It was almost like longing, but then it was also anger. It felt like he had unlocked a new memory, but the only thing he saw was the new scarf Revali wore. It was the color of sand with a faded red fringe. No, it was an old scarf, he realized, the one he wore before becoming a champion. But how did Link know that?

He wanted to reach across the fire and grab that stupid scarf and…what? What the hell was this emotion?

"You should've come with us to Kakariko. The Queen was very worried about you, like she is now."

"Did she enlist you to capture me?" Link asked, abruptly suspicious.

Revali gave a dramatic sigh. "Goddess, Link, no! Everyone is worried about you, moron! You save the day and then disappear into the ether."

"There's no reason to be worried about me. I'm fine." Link paused, narrowing his eyes at Revali as a thought occurred to him. "Wait…you're the first champion to do…to do whatever it is you think you're doing. Why would Zelda send you? From my limited memories, we basically hated each other and even now, as much as I enjoy the banter, we're not exactly close. Why wouldn't she send…uh, Mipha? Wasn't I close to her?"

Revali, being a Rito, somehow managed to convey the look of a bristling cat. And those green eyes could become real daggers when provoked. An angry Revali certainly realigned with Link's memories.

"I knew this was going to be a waste of time. She implored me for three days to come find you! I spent the whole day tracking you and for what? Surprisingly, there are people that actually care about you, you know? Urbosa, Mipha, Daruk; they're all pretty hurt that you can't even make an effort to see them somewhere between your mindless wandering and —"

Link was on his feet.

"You just don't even get it, do you? Do you?" Link snarled, thoughts checking out as his anger washed in like a tsunami. "I don't know any of you! All of you know each other. You remember each other! You're the same people! I'm not the same person! In all my hazy memories, I was this, this, silent, uptight knight that never spoke for himself or did anything other than be the Hero! That's not what I'm like! I woke up alone, in a pool of water, and didn't know who I was! I had nothing. Just a Sheikah Slate, some stories, and endless fingers pointing me in different directions. And occasionally I found a place that triggered a memory. Sometimes they were nice, sometimes they were heartbreaking, sometimes they were horrifying.

"All I could do was keep moving, trying to figure out what the fuck I was supposed to be doing. I needed an actual map to get around. Hyrule was completely alien to me. And then I'd go to Zora's Domain, Gerudo Town, Goron City, and Rito Village and people would tell me how one of you died and it's because I failed. I didn't even know how I failed because I don't remember. So, no, I don't go see everyone because it's just a painful reminder of the person I'm not and will never be again. And I can't go back to that castle because I know I'll just…just…" Link faltered, running out of steam. His words were too heavy with pain now—even if he wanted to, he couldn't have finished the sentence.

"All I've ever known how to do is wander around Hyrule, kill anything that attacks me, and just try to find happiness somewhere. But I can't find happiness in meetings and dinners, surrounded by people and stories and things I don't remember. So don't pass judgement on me for doing the only thing I've ever known how to do, Revali."

Silence followed, thick and tense. Revali stared at him, shocked and…sad? It was a gaze Link could no longer meet so he turned away, pulling his tunic back on and packing his things. He had no intention in continuing the conversation. He felt empty now, the darkness that had always drifted beneath the surface of the waves suddenly pulled aboard. It was going to take days for him to feel normal again. He was certain the nightmares that he had so recently rid himself of would return.

"I'm not judging you, Link," Revali said, voice low and serious. Link didn't look at him. "I didn't know you felt like that. None of us knew…it's not like you told us. We all thought…your memories were slowly returning."

Link shouldered his pack, eyes on the fire as he felt that same emotion bubble up in him from before. It felt so foreign and so familiar at the same time. Like déjà vu. He pulled the Sheikah Slate off his belt and held it out to Revali, finally meeting his eyes. And he hated what he saw.

Pity. Or, maybe Revali was just bad at sympathy.

"She doesn't actually want it back," he said, climbing to his feet.

"Then you lied."

His face folded into anger and Link braced himself for whatever ire the Rito was about to unleash on him. But a few moments passed in silence, just staring at each other, waiting. Revali cast his eyes to the ground and the world might as well have turned upside down—Link had never seen him stare at his feet or avoid eye contact.

"There is a reason Zelda sent me—but if you don't remember, then never mind. Carry on. I'll tell her to leave you be." The words were clipped, each syllable just barely making it out of his beak. Emotion was churning beneath that tone and, for one moment, Link felt fear.

Not the type of fear that monsters and nighttime brought. Or even fighting Ganon himself. This was a different fear that was somehow worse. Hurting people seemed to be Link's primary character trait and this issue wasn't a monster he could slay. This was an arena he knew nothing about and he could no longer stand the sight of broken faces and despondent tones.

"What don't I remember, Revali?" Why did he ask? He really didn't know.

"You said it yourself, Link. You're not the same person you were before. So it doesn't matter, does it?"

"Oh, okay, great. I did something to hurt you when I was, uh, a different person and instead of just telling me, so I at least have a chance to apologize, you're just going to keep it to yourself." The sarcasm came out like toxin, so he left the barn. "Solid plan, Revali. Solid."

Link, fully rattled, stepped into the woods and headed east. Revali didn't follow.

—

It seemed the more days that passed after his conversation—confrontation?—with Revali, the more details he managed to glean from the encounter.

Link had learned early on that the Rito's prickly exterior was just that. An exterior. What hid beneath, he could only speculate, but since the champions had been returned, Revali never settled back into the extreme superiority complex those uncovered memories revealed. Maybe 100 years of loneliness changed him. Or maybe he had matured, just like Link had. Or maybe his memories were just the handful of times Revali was really mean, and the rest of the time they got along okay.

With nothing to compare to, all these guesses were just that, at least without consulting someone that was old enough to have known what they were like around each other. Asking any of the champions, Revali included, was out of the question.

No matter what he tried to distract himself with, that night had opened wounds. Old wounds. Wounds that had no obvious location but just hurt. Each piece of what he observed was stitched together into a canvas he desperately wanted to eject from his mind.

Link had never heard Revali speak so quietly. Those eyes—Hylia, those eyes—made him want to crawl under the closest rock. Because the more he reflected on it, the more he began to realize that that pity or sympathy he saw wasn't actually for Link; it was for Revali himself.

What the hell had Link done to upset him so badly?

It was incredible how shaking the unshakeable could, well, shake someone.

Going to Kakariko wasn't really a conscious decision. It may have just been an instinctual one. Maybe in his old life, Impa was someone he went to for guidance. Or at least he did in this one.

Kakariko Village remained to be one of his favorite places in Hyrule. There was something serene about the people there, as though time passed slower and the trouble of the surrounding kingdom couldn't pass its borders. If the Temple of Time hadn't held such comfort for him, he probably would've gone to Kakariko. Perhaps, if there was anything Revali said that was true, he should have gone there after the battle.

"Hello, Lady Impa," he said, voice coming out rough from disuse.

She bowed her head in greeting, shurikens clinking delicately. "Link. It's good to see you. It's been some time."

"Sorry about that…I keep myself pretty busy."

Impa raised an eyebrow, expression immediately warning him that he was going to be called out on his bullshit. He wanted to open his mouth and add something to maybe mitigate what was to come, but it probably wouldn't have helped anyway.

"Yes, very busy. Busy running from your past. You saved this kingdom and, when you should be settling down and trying to enjoy your life, you're living like a nomad, no less in danger than before," she said. The deadpan voice in combination with those critical eyes was lethal. Impa was one of the few people he would never argue with, so he just leaned his head back and stared at the dim, dusty ceiling. "But I imagine you didn't come to be nagged. What brings you here?"

Link sighed. Not a dramatic one or a tired one…maybe just a nervous one. Why was he nervous?

"None of my memories have returned, outside of the ones I uncovered from the pictures in the Sheikah Slate. I…I feel so…"

"Isolated?" she supplied, not missing a beat.

Link nodded. "I don't know who I used to be. From what little I've remembered, I was…boring. Quiet. Obedient."

Impa let out a laugh so loud, it startled him. The grin that accompanied it seemed to crack her stoic face in half. "You were anything but quiet and obedient. Sure, when it came to the Queen, you were the very model of a devoted knight and Hero chosen to save Hyrule. But you've always been stubborn, passionate, loud, and so sarcastic when you want to be. Things became very tense the many months leading up to Ganon's return, however. You became so quiet and focused. We all tried to support you, but you shut almost everyone out."

"How different am I now?" Link feared the answer, but this was why he had come to Kakariko and he'd be damned if he didn't do the things he said he would do.

She leaned back, smile turning wistful as she softly hummed.

"You were eighteen, so of course you're different now. You're, what, twenty? Well, one hundred and twenty. You're more mature now. I think it's unwise to dwell on such differences. People change, Link. Sometimes more drastically than you and they don't have the excuse of amnesia. You're the same person at your core, even if you speak differently now or you have a different favorite color. You're still honest, loyal, kind, and, most of all, courageous. You must find comfort in this truth. Once you do, you can end this self-imposed isolation."

Link let those words wash over him, allowing them to settle into each pore and hoping he would believe them. And he sort of did. He needed time to chew on it.

"There is an ancient fairy fountain beneath the castle. There is a map to it in Zelda's library. Bathing in it might recover your lost memories," Impa added. "If you think you'll find no comfort in my words, you could try the fountain."

Which would involve going to the castle. Wonderful.

"Thank you, Lady Impa. I really appreciate your words," Link said, wishing he had the bravery to ask the other question he had intended on voicing but…

"Of course. As long as I am alive, I shall be here to offer guidance." She tilted her head for a moment, shurikens chiming once more. "Ask me your last question."

Impa and her perceptive nature. Perhaps it was for the best.

"I…fear that I did something to hurt someone's feelings in my old life. And now I've forgotten what it was and I think it's hurting them even more." He forced the words out, that mystery emotion that possessed him a week ago returning to the pit of his stomach.

"Link, I may seem like an ancient, all-seeing clairvoyant, but it's just a wrinkly face and a big hat—I'm not a psychic, so who are you talking about?"

"Revali." The word came out in one big push.

"I knew that's who you were talking about but I wanted to make you say it." The old Sheikah let out a loud, breathy guffaw. "Yes, you and Revali have had an interesting past. Unfortunately, I really don't know what happened. That was something between the two of you that, from my knowledge, no one else would know. You will simply have to ask him."

"I did. And he said that I wasn't the same person anymore, so why does it matter?" There was a bitterness that peeked out between his words and he hated the sound of it.

"That stupid bird…" Impa muttered. "Revali is a mess. Always has been. He was especially insufferable until you two became friends. He mellowed out a bit after that."

"He and I were friends?" Link demanded. There had been no indication of that in his memories. And he really hadn't seen the Rito very much since defeating Ganon, so he could hardly count brief meetings as examples of any variation of friendship.

"I don't see why you can't still. Perhaps if you stopped rolling around like a tumbleweed, you could rekindle that friendship." Link couldn't help but sigh. "There's a place near Rito Village that you two liked to spend time together, when I would take over guarding Zelda. It's by Warbler's Nest—there's a small meadow nearby with a perfect view of the village. If specific locations unlocked memories for you before, I don't see why that wouldn't be the case again."

"Thank you." He bowed to her, mind buzzing with this new information.

"You're welcome, Link. Go find happiness. You, out of everyone in this kingdom, deserve it most. Don't forget that."

Impa's word hit a tender spot in his mind and he left before that pain could travel up his throat.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Gee, how could this get any more angsty?" Hold that thought...