We walked through the white void in silence; all we could think about was the fight we were about to have once we reached our destination. I looked back at the others to see all of them were lost in thought, Gareth seemed to have a grimace on his face while Lily looked off sadly…and Alice was moving her gaze from the ground to me occasionally. If I had a choice I would have kept all of them out of it, after everything they've been through I don't want to watch them to get hurt again…but that's exactly why they're here now. After everything we've done for each other it isn't just that they're people I care about, they're people I want to stick by my side because I know they'll be there to help me in the thick and the thin…but I already knew that…but I can still worry. I looked back into the distance to see we were approaching a red vortex; I looked back at the others and they all gripped their weapons as I did the same; this was it. I dashed forward and slashed at the red vortex opening it up; once I saw light I jumped in as the others followed. The light blinded my vision for a moment and the vision of Owen's fortress ran through my head hoping to be ready before my eyes were. When the light died I was shocked to see we weren't at Owen's fortress; we were back in the land of Hyrule, in the very field I woke up in.
I looked around in shock and surprise as the others gasped; everything looked the same as it did when we were here; the forests to the east, the river to the west, and the mountains in the distance to the north.
"Soren-" Alice said standing next to me, "-is this Hyrule?"
"Yeah, this is definitely Hyrule. It's where I woke up even." I replied running my hands through the grass at my feet.
"But why are we back here?"
"Did we take a wrong turn?" Gareth asked looking behind him; probably for the portal we passed through.
"We went straight. I don't think we made a turn." Lily said opening her journal and skimming through it.
"So why are we here?" Alice asked as I stood up and looked around.
"We must be here for a reason…or maybe it's just a stop on our way there?" I said unsure of myself.
"You really need to learn to control where we're headed."
"Hey I can only open up the path. It takes us where it wants us to go."
"So why here? We already saved this place." She's right, we should be done here…so why are we back…maybe something is happening here that we need to do? It's my best guess.
"Come on; let's see if we can't find Link and Zelda." I suggested starting to walk.
"Where are we going to look first?" Gareth asked and I stopped in my tracks unsure of how to answer.
"Hey Alice?"
"Yeah?" Alice replied sounding slightly disappointed.
"Any clues?"
"Jeez…if I were them then there are only two places I can think of they might be. Either the hidden village or the ruins of Kakariko village."
"Why Kakariko?" Lily asked.
"Well, rebuilding a small community like Kakariko village would be a good start to rebuilding Hyrule. It was a small community and therefore would be easy to build again."
"Awesome. Do you know where the ruins of Kakariko are?" Gareth asked and she clammed up with a pensive look on her face making me smile.
"No clue huh?" I said poking her.
"Shut it! I only saw the grave marker, not the town itself." She replied crossing her arms.
"Then let's try the hidden village."
"Alright." With that figured out we moved towards the mountains.
The area still had Gannon's monsters running around but they were much less than the army he had amassed the last time I saw them; they were patchy and less organized but they still had a lot of the wooded area as well as the mountains…meaning we had a few mobs to get through before we reached our destination.
"Alright everyone. Get your weapons ready."
"Ranged or melee?" Gareth asked.
"Your choice." I answered pulling out Twin Soul, "Although this place doesn't exactly have extra rounds."
"I prefer my work up close and personal anyway."
"Okay…go!" Rushing up the mountain path I took a swing at a tektike as it leapt at me; as I swung through it I was shocked to find it didn't poof away like before, instead I was greeted with a splatter of monster blood, "What the…" Shaking it aside I took another swing catching another tektike and lunged forward at the octorock in the side of my field of vision. As I lunged through him I looked around and my eyes locked onto the four rock formation up the cliff side; there it is, "Everyone, get to the four rock formation up there!" They all nodded and I dashed to the side of the cliff. I looked around and watched as Gareth was jumping up the cliff with ease; probably put it into his jumping power. Lily was vaulting with her scythe and Alice caught up to me looking up.
"How are we getting up?" She asked and I thought for a moment…got it. I crouched down and motioned to my back.
"Get on, I know how to get up."
"A-A-A-Are you insane!?"
"Not since I last checked." She sighed before hoping on; once she got a good grip I squatted down and took a deep breath. (Speed x2) As I jumped up we went soaring into the air; once in the air I looked down for my landing spot and once I found it I landed there and kept jumping up until I made it all the way to the top, "Alright, glad that worked." I let Alice off my back and she stepped back looking slightly red.
"So what's up with this place?" Gareth asked leaning against one of the rocks.
"This is where the entrance to the underground is." Lily explained rubbing her hand along the rock. Moving over I pushed the rock out of the way and watched as the ground moved away to reveal the hidden entrance underground; good to see it was still here.
"Come on it's through here." I said motioning as the others followed behind. As the area grew darker and the light faded I looked at Alice who drew her katana with a fire already covering it; she took point and we followed behind as she led us through the twist and turns of the tunnel until we came to a giant room lit by torches. At the far end I could see three tunnels leading out towards different paths; none of them were what we needed though.
"So which tunnel is it?" Gareth asked looking them over, "It's the left one isn't it?"
"No." Alice answered sheathing her sword.
"Oh…the center?"
"Nope." I answered.
"Ah, it's the right one. Should have known."
"No." Lily answered as we a smiled at each other.
"This is just a big joke on me isn't it?"
"A little bit but don't worry." I said patting his shoulder and walking past him towards the bare spot between the left and center tunnels; putting my hand against it I watched as a rune appeared on the wall before the whole thing disappeared revealing a secret tunnel, "Wouldn't be much of a hidden village if it didn't hide."
"I guess…still feel a little left out of the loop." As I passed through the threshold I felt a tingling sensation and watched as Alice and Gareth did the same; Lily approached it but seemed hesitant to step past it, "You okay Lily?" Lily just stood there.
"I'm…a little scared." I think I know why.
"Don't worry." I said, "You're not a monster." Gareth outstretched his hand and Lily reached out to grab it before Gareth pulled her in.
"It…It didn't hurt."
"Why would it?" Gareth asked and she shook her head.
"I…I guess it wouldn't would it?"
"Exactly." I said rubbing her head, "Come on let's head in." As we walked through Alice motioned for me to come next to her in the back.
"Hey…you think they'll recognize her?"
"…No, I don't believe for a second they'll mistake her for Lissa."
"Really?"
"Look at her." We turned around to look at Lily as she was talking with Gareth. I thought back to when I last saw her here…and I saw two completely different people.
"…You're right. She'll be fine, and even if they mistook her we'd clear her name right?"
"Exactly." We continued to walk down the path as our footsteps echoed off the wall.
"…Did you ever think we'd be back here?"
"Honestly…no, I thought we would move on with our lives in our world and that would be the end of it…but as we can see it didn't exactly turn out that way."
"Yeah, we went to the Mushroom Kingdom, Final Fantasy world-"
"We really need a better name for that area."
"-and Remnant. It's been a crazy trip that's for sure.
"Yeah but…I've been thinking for a while."
"About what?"
"About the people we've met and the friendships we've made since everything began. Not just Gareth and Lily but Link, Zelda, Mario, Luigi, Peach and so many more…I think about them and you know what I realize?"
"What?"
"I…kind of want to see them again."
"Is that why we're here?"
"Maybe…but I think it's more than that. These people are our friends, right?"
"Yeah and?"
"Then…it's important to let them in on exactly what's happening."
"Wait, we're seriously going to tell them that someone is plotting to destroy their world!?"
"Yeah…we have to."
"…Alright then…I trust you."
"Thanks Alice. For trusting me…and for sticking by me all this time."
"Come on, I care about you more than anyone Soren. I'm sticking by you through hell and high water got it?"
"Thanks…I owe you so much for everything you've done for me Alice…and I mean it."
"You've been there for me more than I can begin to count Soren. You know what I see when I look in your eyes? Someone who cares, that means more to me than anything, so if you want to repay me then make this promise with me," Suddenly she grasped my hand stopping us just short of the entrance, "Stand by me until the end okay? You do that…I'll do the same for you."…Alice.
"Okay, I promise." I gripped her hand tightly solidifying our promise and looked back into the distance to see a bright light at the end of the path; we rushed towards it and once we came close enough I could see the interior of the village, "Welcome to the hidden village!" I said motioning inside.
I looked around at the bright interior and well maintained shacks and stalls taking in the memories of this place; as we walked around I noticed people beginning to gawk and gasp at us, a few people were even pointing at me and Alice like we were celebrities.
"I think they remember us." Alice whispered to me, she pointed behind us and I looked to see a group of people were following us as we headed for the big tent at the end of the village. I heard Gareth chuckle behind us.
"I see you two made a name for yourselves."
"W-We were rookies back then." I answered and he laughed. Once we made it to the tent I opened the flap and was surprised to see both Link and Zelda locked in a passionate embrace making all of us gawk in shock. Alice cleared her throat and they separated quickly before looking over and rushing to me and Alice.
"Soren! Alice! It's been a while since we last saw you two!" Link said shaking my hand, "Where did you two go?"
"We…went traveling." I answered and he chuckled.
"Well it's good to see both of you…and to see your friends here." He moved over and stretched his hand out to Gareth and Lily, "Nice to meet you two, I'm Link and that's my wife Zelda."
"Hold it!" Alice yelled, "You're wife!? You two got married!?"
"How long we're we gone?" I asked in shock; I definitely wasn't expecting this level of change.
"It has been about a year." Zelda answered, "While things haven't gone exactly as planned we have managed to make things better than they were."
"On our way here I did notice that there were much fewer monsters than the last time."
"While Gannon's forces vanished as soon as he was defeated we've had to deal with the natural monsters that had hidden themselves away before now." Link replied.
"They did bleed and that was weird to see."
"Well we've managed to drive them back to the mountains and deep forests. Our next step is to start building villages around the hidden tunnel entrances."
"Those would be the easiest areas to construct in." Lily said, "You'd be able to keep your supplies safe and keep construction workers safe when monsters attack."
"Yep, I've been training a few of the more capable villagers to take up arms and having them trained. If you have time I can show you what we've been working on."
"…Unfortunately we've got something else to talk about." I said.
"I assumed as much." Link said pointing at my clothing, "You look armed to the teeth; even more than when we made the final assault on Gannon's fortress."
"Yeah…things haven't been exactly easy for us since we were last here." I replied as I scratched the back of my head, "But things have managed to get a lot worse in this past year. For all of us."
"What do you mean?" Zelda asked and I took a deep breath.
"The truth is that we're what are known as travelers. Instead of wandering the world though we wander the various possible dimensions that exist…and the worlds that they exist in." They both gave a surprised gasp, "We've traveled from world to world, stopping someone who has been trying to destroy existence itself and saving those worlds in the process."
"…But he hasn't stopped yet." Alice added, "He's still planning to take out everyone and everything in existence…and he's been manipulating other travelers so he can make it happen."
"…So what are you four going to do?" Link asked.
"We're going to stop him!" Gareth said confidently.
"Well as far as I can tell it's four against an army of brainwashed soldiers…hopefully five will even the odds a bit more."
"Make that six." Zelda said.
"No way, I'm not putting you in a dangerous situation like this."
"Sorry honey but wherever you go I'm going with you. You're not leaving me to be the damsel in distress. So now it's six."
"A-As nice as it is…we can't bring you with us." Lily said.
"Why not?"
"Because it's something only we can do." I answered, "I began to think about it a while back and something very strange kept coming up. The leader Owen is also a traveler but his most used allies were people he met on his first adventure…native to the world they lived in."
"Yeah but what's so strange about that?" Gareth asked.
"Riddle me this. Sukia, the shapeshifter and the Gemini twins were all placed in travelers' bodies; why do you think that was?"
"I thought it was because it made travelers easier to control when you put a different soul in them?" Lily said, "Wasn't that why those other travelers had dead eyes?"
"Maybe for them but why put his friends into traveler bodies?"
"…That…is actually a good question."
"Get to the point please." Alice said.
"I'm pretty sure that people who aren't travelers can't survive the trip through dimensions…or at least their bodies can't."
"Wait…so you're saying that they all were just souls jammed into other peoples' bodies?"
"More importantly-" Lily began, "-it means if we took anyone else with us there's no guarantee, and even more of a possibility that their bodies will be destroyed in the void between dimensions."
"I think it's more they WILL be destroyed." Gareth said, "Only travelers can pass through there. No exceptions."
"Then how is Sukia still passing through?" Alice asked and I thought about it before looking at Lily.
"Maybe it's because she's using a copy of Lily who is a traveler…kind of a grey area in how this works." I answered half sure of what I said.
"So…why come here?" Link asked, "Seems you've got something more important to do."
"Yeah but…I didn't want to leave you guys, or any of my other friends, out of what's happening. So maybe you can't come with us-" I reached into my inner jacket pocket and pulled out a blank scroll handing it to Link, "-but I still want you guys to be a part of this whole thing."
"What's this?"
"Where did you grab that?" Alice asked.
"I…may have grabbed a few scrolls on my way out of Beacon." I answered, "Actually Lily, can you do a connection spell for these scrolls?"
"W-Well I have been working on it. As long as they're made of the same material I can do it."
"Did it come from the same stone?" Gareth asked and I shrugged.
"It doesn't need to anymore. As long as the material make up is the same I can make a connection off of that."
"Sweet. Question withdrawn." Lily pulled out her staff and took a deep breath as she began to glow.
"Connect!" With a bright flash a line was now connecting the scrolls together before dissipating into nothing, "There we go."
"Alright, now just hit this button when you want to communicate and we'll do the same if we need to." I hit the button on my scroll and the one Link was holding began to glow, "Stay in touch when you need us." He gave a nod before putting the scroll in his back pocket.
"You guys be careful to. I'd rather not lose a friend after just seeing them after a year."
"Same." Suddenly the tent flap opened and we turned to see the Gerudo leader standing there.
"I heard a few good friends of ours decided to visit." Before I could reply Alice pulled me by my shirt.
"Portal! Now!" With a nod I slashed at the air and was thrown in as the others followed behind.
"Did we have to leave so soon?" Lily asked, "I would have liked to ask a few questions."
"Let's just keep moving. I'd rather not deal with her."
"Oh well. Let's keep walking then." As we walked I thought about that Gerudo leader trying to remember who she was…oh right!
"She's the woman who smacked Alice's butt! Now I remember!"
'SMACK'
"You just had to remember that didn't you!?" Alice screamed at me as I reeled from the fresh handprint on my face. Huh, she hit the exact same spot the last time she hit me…what are the odds, no wonder it stings like hell.