Chapter One
New kid on the Block
"Have you ever wondered what it might have been like if the Hero of Time had been a real person? Have you ever wondered what it might be like to meet him? That if you saw him, you'd just know it was...him"
This sweet voice was ringing through Link' mind as he tossed and turned in his sleep,
"Hero of Time"
A bright bolt of lightening flashed, waking him up, followed by thunder and a knocking on the front door.
"Huh...what?!"
Now his little sister Mya was knocking on his bedroom door. Link got out of bed and stretched as Mya came into the room and walked over to the window to look out.
"It's the police Link, what do they want?"
"I don't know Mya, I can't read minds and don't call me Link, it's Li, Nanna's got them, it's alright" Link told her kindly
"Please Link, listen with me"
Link frowned, then nodded, they snuck out of his room and hid on the landing, where they crouched to listen to the conversation downstairs.
The house was very beautiful and full of oriental charm, Link and Mya' father was a Japanese man, who taught martial arts at a prestigeous school in Japan and their mother was a white American new age healer, who even Link had to admit had strange powers.
"I am sorry to have to tell you this but Link Senior and Ruto were prenounced dead at the scene with odd markings on their bodies" The police officer was telling them in Japanese,
Before he could stop himself Link ran down the stairs, grabbed his father' sword off the wall and brandished it at the police officers,
"Lies!" He yelled in English
"I am sorry Link but what he's saying is true" His Nanna told him calmly, "You need to get a handle on your rage and stop denying what you already know"
"I am not this great hero you all say I am, I'm just an ordinary boy" Link blasted "Or at least I was, now I'm an orphan" he added breaking down in tears,
"One who lives by the sword, and has skills most could only hope to have" The police officer said
"I had the best teacher" Link replied dismissively.
"Who do you think taught him?" The police officer said in question, "Link, your family and the secret Royals of Hyrule have protected this planet for centuries, they even made a computer game about your ancestors"
"I know, I've clocked all but two of them, I love that game, I live for that game, that game is fricking awesome...but I am not the Hero of Time"
"Link"
It was his scared sister,
Link dropped the sword and hugged her. Then turning back to the officer he said, "Who was after them, and if what you're saying is true, do they know about me? Because if they do it won't be long before they come after us, we can't stay here"
"There's a gang called; Canon' Order, led by a Garudo called; Shanklin, they want to use a scroll the secret Royals hid long ago but there was a power within a number of mierals he could use too and they protected the space, they can also be used to power up the sword weilded by the master.
Shanklin got close last year and so those symbols were hidden all over again by the Earth Resident Hyrule Royals Hi-Range, and the portals shut down" The second police officer told him
"What were these symbols?" Link asked
"We think they're from the Shanklin...we need someone to identify the bodies as it happens, the head of the H.O.T order, Dew, is waiting at the hospital. He wants to get the symbols analysed"
Link nodded.
"Link...you can't just go rushing into this without training, you know how to use a sword, great, but being the Hero of Time means, takes, is...more than that" Nanna told him
"Hero or no hero Nanna, you can't go out in this, someone needs to stay and look after Mya and my parents need identifying, I won't be long" Link said
The first police officer handed Nanna a piece of paper,
"Take this to the man in the long white coat with the Hyrule symbol on the back, he'll take you to a safe haven for the night and get word to the Hi-Range Royals to bring the plans forward, myself and Dew will personally escort Link there after we're done"
"Thank you"
Before Link could get out the door Mya had grabbed him the for a hug.
"I'm scared" She told him
Link bit back his tears and left with the first police officer.
"You have an adorable little sister Link" The first officer said as they got into the waiting black car,
"Thank you" Link said, "I prefer Li to Link"
"How old are you?" The first officer asked
"I'm 16" He replied,
"What would it take for us to prove to you that you are what we all say you are?"
"The Master Sword" Link replied with a grin
"Oh you're not ready to hold that"
"Please, even if the sword to slay Ganon or Canon and his ancestors was real it'd be an extreemly heavy Hepititus risk to ones health by now"
"Actually its a stunning Japanese metal that witholds a piece of the first Princess's spirit and a blue handle" The officer smiled when he saw he had Link' attention "She lost it during the Hylian Civil War, her soul that is"
"How could we be ancestors then if she died in the War? Come on" Link said incredulously
"I said the sword holds a piece of her soul, I didn't say she died, the first Princess was a Godess, given the body of a Hylian, all they knew was a man, wounded by the fact that his theiving tribe had been banished from Hyrule and sister land Hi-Range would try and steal the powers of her opposite, Canon, to overthrow the Royal family, Hi-Range and Hylian mingle with other Goron, Korki decendents, that's Kokiri that left and grew up, Zora and human with Hylians living in the village around the hedge like walls of the palace of Hi-Range"
"They needed a God to defeat a God" Link summerised
"Indeed but she could only seal him for a time, she couldn't defeat all the creatures he created to guard the temples, within which were held the only minerals that could hurt the God within him. Why would killing them and the use of the minerals help?" The officer tested Link,
"With the energy of the creatures slane by one sword, a sword made by the Princess herself and the power drained from the minerals, into the same sword the swordsman would defeat the human body so the God could be sealed" Link said
"And you're not the Hero of Time?" The police officer asked with a smile
"I told you I've played the games, it's not that much of a stretch to summerise it"
"Have you ever had dreams about being in a palace and a young woman asking if you ever thought about what it might be like to meet the Hero of Time?"
"How could you know that?" Link asked, suddenly uncomfortable
"Your dad told me about dreams of the Princess' mother, but they weren't dreams, they were conversations had between herself and another party, you have hidden abilities that need awakening if we're going to avenge your parents and save the world"
Link was silent for the rest of the trip, mostly out of worry, not for this task ahead of him, more for how he was going to react to seeing his parents laying before him, and the safety of his little sister Mya and his Nanna.
Link was lead into a viewing room, where stood a very serious, and very tall Japanese man, he made Link look and feel like a midget,
Link was at least 5'10.
"You must be Link, I am Dew" The man said shaking his hand, almost breaking it and shaking him in the process
"Li" He bagan a little arrogently, then catching a look in his eye he added, "Link, yes I am, sorry...I am quite shaken...by the events that have befallen me and my family tonight"
"I quite understand Link, are you ready?" He asked
"For what?" Link asked, the first police officer bowed his head in shame, "Oh. My parents, yes, I think I'm ready"
Link was overcome however when the sheets were pulled back and Dew took pity on him, steadying him as he crumpled,
"They have an answer, Zane, take photos of those symbols" Dew said to the first police officer, then to Link he added, "I am sorry Link but we cannot linger, when this is over we will lay them to rest but for now we must get you and your family to a safe place, I will come with you and...blend in"
"Is that a joke? You're at least 7 feet tall, what're you going to pose as a basket ball coach?"
"You have your father' lip, for what has transpired I'll let that slide"
Mya was still wide awake when Link arrived at the safe house with Zane and Dew.
Their Grandmother was busy cooking, she looked up and smiled at him sady as he nodded.
Mya ran to Link and hugged him tight,
"Don't fight Link" She begged
"I've fought before Mya" Link replied kindly
"Those monsters weren't real" Mya sobbed
Link tucked Mya into her bed for that night, sat cross legged at the other end of it and from a box down beside him he took out his Link action figure and gave it to her.
Zane and Nanna stood by the door and smiled at the sight,
"We're all going on a big adventure little Sis, and if I have to be brave you can be to, I may have to leave you for a while, this whole hero thing is going to take a bit of getting my head round but that doll represents one of our bravest ancestors and my heart beats in his so if I'm not there and you're afraid just hold that doll and I'll hear your cries. I'll find you and I'll destroy anyone that ever tries to hurt you"
Mya was stunned.
"But Link, he's your favourite"
Link didn't respond, he just left the room with a nod at Zane and a kiss on Nanna' cheek.
Zane and Dew later sat down at the kitchen table to discuss what was to happen next, while watching Link train with his sword in the enclosed garden outside.
"He has a lot of fire in him" Dew said
"But the kindest heart" Zane added, "He's coming round, have they informed the Royal family?"
"Yes and a home and school placement has been found for both Link and his sister...I am to tutor at the school so I can keep an eye on both him and the Princess" Then with thought he added, "I wonder what he'll make of her now"
"Dew, I would very much like to guide Link, his father was my closest friend, I know quite a bit, I could be of help to him when they go to retrieve the minerals" Zane said
"We will see, you can definitely come to the States with us though"
As Link came into the house there was a tremor, a few cups were knocked down off shelves and doors opened and slammed, waking and frightening Mya and Nanna. A few pot plants tipped over too and a bookcase that Link stopped from injuring them before it finally stopped.
"What was that?" Link asked, pushing the bookcase back and replacing the books that fallen with Mya, then as Nanna turned on the tv to the news and he saw a nasty cut on Zane' leg he added, "You'll want some of Nanna' soup for that, it's healed any wound I ever had"
"And that didn't strike you a little odd?" Dew asked as Link got him a bowl full from the cooker,
"Uh no, Nanna' are magical, everyone knows that" Link replied,
Zane grinned at Dew before sipping the soup.
Meanwhile, things at the palace of Hi-Range were strained, not just because of the events that had just taken place in Japan, Zelda or Zelph as she insisted on beig called, was at present oblivious to this. Zelph was about to go into 11th Grade at Highschool and for the first time ever she was year captain.
Zelph was a perfectionist and had her maids running around checking, double checking, tripple checking everything on her list.
"Has my uniform been pressed?" She asked as she paced a corridor,
This was something that had been introduced to schools in Hi-Range by the Royal Family last year, along with a strict set of rules adopted from Britains toughest schools in order to improve behaviour and empower the students to work hard for their dreams. The students loved it, they said it took the pressure off because they all looked the same now, they could keep what they had or didn't have to themselves. Sadly people still got picked on but for their lack of acedimia rather than looks or because of how poor or rich they were.
"Twice now Princess" Her maid said with a yawn
"The shoes polished? My sword blunted for SK training (Secret Knight training, a new after-school training program designed to find new guards for the palace) a gil tatu for swimming practice, pencils, rubbers, markers, pens, rulers, calculators, books, bag, pan-pipes" She turned around on receiving no response and found her maid asleep, standing up, a way back along the corridor. She walked back up to her and prodded, "Are you falling asleep on me Imray?" She asked with suspicion
"Yes Princess" Imray replied simply, "We all are, your father has had us working overtime, I caught Wendy trying to cook your boots earlier"
Zelph was astonished,
"Whatever for!?"
"We're not aloud to say" Imray told her
This had Zelph in a huff and she screeched at the top of her lungs,
"Father!"
This echoed all around the place, causing several people in the gardens of the palace, surrounding houses and the king himself to look up.
"Oh dear" The King groaned, then as she marched into his office, Imray a few flustered steps behind, he smiled weakly, "Something wrong my sweet?"
"Don't "My sweet" me father, you've been overworking my staff again, what's wrong with your own?" She demanded,
"They're dead" He said simply
"What do you mean they're dead!?" She screeched "And how can you be so blasé about that!? What happened? I want to know now!"
The King sighed and got up from his desk. He sat Zelph down and then removed a file from a safe behind a portrait of Zelph and her mother before sitting back down,
"I'm sorry Zelda" He said seriously.
"You only use my real name if I'm in trouble" Zelph said slowly
"Not in trouble, in danger" The King said, then sliding the file across to her he added, "The Shanklin obtained a spell from a Canon supporter in Japan and used it on a number of stones from the Wood Vine River to create the creatures of an unearthly nature, Link' parents were on route to an award ceramony when their car was overturned by them, they killed Link' mother and then, after a lengthly battle they killed his father too"
Zelph was overwhelmed,
"The stories were true?"
"The training temple is below the palace, my men went down there, convinced they could awaken the Hero' sword and not one came back, I can't do everything I need to do and run our land on my own so I used your staff to take over the running of the house while I could set out a plan that won't get you and Link killed too"
"Let me take my light arrows with me to school tomorrow, I can hide them from human sight" Zelph pleaded
"That won't be necessary Zelda, the Shanklen don't yet have the power they possess to break Canon from his seal, the scroll is impossible to obtain without certain elements. Just go about your buisness until Link arrives, I'll call you when I need you, not before" The King said,
"Link...the Hero of Time' son, the new hero, is coming here to Hi-Range?" Zelph asked suddenly aflutter
"Yes, he's blending in as part of an exchange program from Japan tomorrow but I don't want you harrassing every Japanese boy that looks your way" The King told her stirnly
"I won't!" She said defencively
"He's had a very rough few nights and by all acounts, from what I've been told he may have a pssionate heart, a loyal heart, a kind soul but right now he has quite a bit of rage too, so don't go falling for him, he's here for two things, avenge his parents and stop the Shanklin throwing this world into a new dark age. He was trained by the best, he doesn't have time for the distractions that come from High School crushes"
"I don't have a crush on him!" Zelph snapped
"He doesn't remember this place, or you, or the time you spent together, we made sure of that the last time Canon broke free as we wipe some events from your mind too" The King told her
Zelph was gutted,
"Why?" She asked
"Because the things you saw would burn into your minds and change the people we need you to become" He told her, "We're done here, get to bed, it's late"
Zelph left the room.
Zelph was only half listening to Imray as the cook made her a warm drink, she was muttering away about the palace and the King and how he shouldn't be putting this much pressure on two 16 year olds to save the world,
"Uh huh" Zelph said and first chance she got she'd snuck out the door,
"Here you go" Imray said turning around with the hot drink in Zelph' favourite cup, "Zelda? Zelda!?" She called, then putting the cup down and walking out the opposite door to the one Zelph walked out of she muttered to a kitchen maid, "That girl will be the death of me"
"I wouln't say that too loudly round here" She replied.
It took a while but Imray finally found Zelph with half her body in a chest in the attic of the palace, tossing stuff out behind her, making a huge mess as she tried to find her arrows.
"Where are they?" She said to herself in frustration
"What're you looking for?" Imray asked
Zelph screamed and walloped her head on the lid of the chest on her way up and then she sat cross legged on the hard wood floor, her pyjamas now ripped and covered in dust. She even found a spider on her arm, which she just flicked off casually,
"What're you doing up here?" She asked ungraciously
"I'm asking the questions" Imray replied stuffily, "Your drink' going cold"
"I don't want it" She sighed, "Do you know where father put my arrows? I know it was him that hid them"
"I'm sorry Zelda" Then catching the glare she corrected herself, "Zelph, maybe they're in the training ring and you're not going down there"
Zelph stormed out in a huff.
"Teenagers huh? Who'd have them?" Came a voice from the dark, making Imray jump
Dew came out of hiding, holding the arrows,
"Oh it's you"
"Not a bad idea, moving these into the training ring, they'll have to venture into it soon enough" Dew said
"She's upset about Link, he adored her once" Imray said sadly
"Times change"
"Not always"
"Yes well, I'm not here to talk about us but if it helps the Princess, here" Dew handed Imray a photo of Link, "That's what he looks like now"
Zelph took a long soak in the bath to help her feel tired, changed into some new pyjamas and was now sat on the bed crying over photos of herself and Link when they were kids when Imray came into the room with the new photo.
"I can't make him like me again, what if he's changed? What if he's not the Link I knew? Just removing your childhood friends from your memory, it's cruel" Zelph sobbed
"Oh sweetheart, in our world sometimes we do things we don't like because we have no choice, because to not would hurt more people in the long run" Imray tried to explain
"What's that?" She asked Imray, spying the photo
"It's a new photo for your albumn Zelph" Imray smiled, then as Zelph took it in her hands and stared at it she said, "This is the Link of our Time"
"Oh wow, he's beautiful"
Zelph was getting out of her minder' car, which was right outside the crowded school entrance and was being greeted by everyone when Link arrived with Zane driving him, Mya and her minder in the latest Nissan,
This drew everyone' attention, anyone who was anyone in this place wanted that car.
Zelph gave it a quick glance but didn't realise who it was at first and started busying herself with a 9th Grader'.
Link got out of the car in his crisp uniform and helped Mya out before they were joined by Zane and Mya' minder,
He smiled, a little embarrassed,
"Damn, I'm getting in with his crowd, that boy is fierce...must be one of the exchange boys" Said a Goron, then he noticed something in his hand, "Wrong, he's the new kid on the block, sweet!"
He caught Link' eye and gave him a big grin, which Link returned
"So much for blending in" Link said, then looking at the terrified Mya he smiled, "Awe Sis, don't be scared, this is my school" He pointed her middle school out to her and she sighed with relief, Mya was in 6th Grade, "Anyone gives you any hassle you send them over to your big brother"
A bus had just arrived, full of exchange students and this now had everyone' attention. Link gave Mya a cuddle and her minder took her across the road to her school.
One girl was watching, Ruler, she was a Zora decendent and the captian of the swimming team, she melted at this sight before joining Zelph,
"Have you ever wondered what it might have been like if the Hero of Time had been a real person? Have you ever wondered what it might be like to meet him?" Zelph asked Ruler, her words had Link' attention from the conciderable distance that he was from her, "That if you saw him, you'd just know it was..." As Link found Zelph and made eye contact with her Zelph gasped, "Him"