A/N: I guess I'm uploading this as extra motivation to write this? And the prologue was probably too short to give an idea of what this story is like. Anyway. I'm not dead. This chapter ends abruptly.
First Cycle – The First Day
"What?"
He sat up. Grass and flowers bent under his hands, and giant trees towered above him. A ledge was behind him, and beyond that was the hollowed out carcass of a tree, lying flat, like a tunnel to walk through.
Was he back? Was he in Hyrule? He had saved Termina, he should have returned. This was the Lost Woods-
No this isn't.
"Shit…"
There it was, in the corner of his mind, his eye, the doomsday clock was back, counting down the hours til the world ended.
"Goddesses…Shit…"
He winced. Those words shouldn't be said together.
"Two days?!" he shrieked, as he looked closer at the clock in his mind. 48 hours. Two days?! How do you save the world in two days? Goddesses damn it, he couldn't just go lollygagging, he'd have to hurry. He'd have to rush between all the different places, and completely ignore any fishing ponds.
"No fishing," he told himself. Only a madman goes fishing in an apocalypse.
He stood, legs shaking, and checked he had everything. Kokiri sword, shield, ocarina. All he needed, for the moment.
His legs wouldn't steady, and he slammed a fist against his thigh. "Goddesses," he gasped, not at the pain but at the realisation that he was in another cycle, another cycle designed to wear away at the hero who tried to stop it.
"Goddesses damn you!" he shrieked at the ground.
"Oi kid, quiet down there."
He spun around. Standing near the hollowed log was a man with greasy dark hair and a scowl on his face. A basket was slung on his back.
"I'm workin', kid, can't be interrupted when business is so bad, so stop ya yappin'."
Working? He narrowed his eyes at the man, who snorted and began picking shoots from the ground.
"Kid, if ya gonna just stand there ya might as well help, y'know?" The man scowled at him. "Get to pickin' those shoots, boy."
He hesitated, then got on his knees and started plucking herbs from the ground. In the corner of his eye the doomsday clock ticked on. Dawn of the First Day.
"Hey kid, I haven't seen ya around before. What's ya name?"
He waited a bit before responding. "Link."
"Link? Really now?" The man stopped picking shoots and examined him more closely. "That's a funny hat ya got there. And – Goddesses almighty is that a sword?!"
He stood and shrugged. "It's nothing, is it?"
The man swallowed. "Yeah, nothing, just a kid with a sword. Nothing…" He shook his head. "My apologies, Link. The name's Joein. I run the potion shop in town."
Link nodded, puzzled. He had to be careful, but he really needed to ask.
"Where…Where am I?" he asked, taking a step back.
"Goddess Hylia, a kid with amnesia and a sword – what's the world comin' to?" Joein sighed. "Look, kid, finish pickin' them shoots and I'll take ya with me to town, yeah? Ya may have a sword and all, but these are dangerous parts. Even more so, since…"
He nodded at the potion man and continued to gather the herbs. The clock kept ticking, but he continued to work, climbing the ledge and depositing the plants in Joein's basket before climbing back down to start again. The sun climbed higher, and it was noon by the time the man's basket was full.
"Alright, here's a rupee for ya troubles," Joein said, throwing him a blue gem. "My cart's just round here, and ya can get a ride on that."
He nodded, and followed him through the log, flicking his eyes around in case something attacked them while they were in darkness.
"See here? Hop on the back, kid, I'll sit in the front." Joein went over to a small wooden cart, a horse hitched to it and baskets crowding inside. "Mind the shoots, boy. I don't want to disappoint my customers."
He climbed in the back and sat wedged between two baskets, and the potion man giddied up his horse. The cart began to trundle through an achingly familiar landscape.
"Shit…" he whispered to himself. Was this another dirty trick of the salesman? He had appeared in Hyrule, then in Termina, would he be hiding in this world as well? Would…would he have to use the masks again?
He clenched his fists at the thought. He had spent so long swapping between faces, between identities, that he had almost forgotten what his own had looked like. He had thought that he had saved Termina, and that he could go back to a semblance of a normal life, even though nothing would ever be the same again. Now he had another world to save, another doomsday clock inside his head, another cycle to repeat over and over again.
Around them the trees began spreading out, and sunlight filtered down in large patches, illuminating a faint path worn into the grass. It was emerald green everywhere, just like he remembered. But this wasn't home.
"We're coming up to the town, boy." The man turned around and swapped his scowl for a grin. "Good to see some civilisation, eh?"
He looked ahead, and sure enough the rooftops of buildings were visible. Smoke trailed upwards, and the faints strains of music could be heard.
"And here we are," Joein said, slowing the cart so Link could get a better look.
The path continued on, paved with stone, and after sending a fork to the right it curved to the left, around what looked like a giant gazebo with wooden walls, flags strung from its roof, with more buildings behind it. To the right of the path was a set of low tiered steps, on which a band was setting up, dragging instruments and stands through…sand?
"The sea's to the right, yeah? West." Joein pointed, at the fork in the path that led off to somewhere he couldn't see. "Oh look, kid, see them there? Those fish men, they're called Zoras, yeah? Funny folk, don't really like doin' business with them. I suppose they're nice enough, though."
He couldn't help but smile at Joein's words. The man was jumping to conclusions, he thought that he was just a boy with no memory who had gotten lost in the woods…the things he could tell him, of a boy who slept seven years to find his world captured by the Power of a corrupt king, seven temples, seven buildings that housed unimaginable horror and beauty. Or the tale of a land whose moon was doomed to fall, and take them with, and how a child with a trio of masks and a weary mind managed to save the world even though his sanity had begun to crack. Those cracks had healed now, but the story hadn't finished.
"Tick tock tick tock," he whispered.
"Ya can get off now, it's a small place," Joein said. "Ya won't get lost."
Link climbed down, and Joein grinned again. "I'll just drop my shoots off, and then I'll come show you around."
As the cart trundled away he studied the town further. Town, he wasn't sure if it could be called that, it was so small. A river snaked along behind the buildings, and people were lounging on deckchairs underneath large umbrellas, amongst some tall trees. The band had finished setting up, but one of them appeared to be late – the pianist.
"Oh shut up, will you?" a voice said. It was a woman with black hair and a bitter expression, stepping down to the piano as a flute player tried to tell her something. A sheaf of sheet music was tucked underneath her arm, and she waved the flutist away.
He scuffed his boots through the fine layer of sand that coated the grass, and further on, the pavement. The air didn't smell of salt, as he would expect. A body of freshwater so big it could be only called an ocean?
"Whoa kid, it that a sword?"
He looked up. A young man with golden skin, a prominent nose, dark brown hair and eyes to match – probably the same age he had been when he wielded the Master Sword – was standing a few metres away from him, a safe distance.
"Yeah, it's a sword," Link said.
"Cool…Wait a minute, I haven't seen you before. What's your name?" the youth asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Link."
"Link," the young man repeated. "Are you new here?"
"I-I was lost in the forest up north," he said. "The potion man – Joein – found me. I…I don't really know where I am…"
That wasn't a lie. The tone in which he said it wasn't the way he felt, though.
"Lost in the woods? Really?" The youth scrutinised him. "I suppose, what with all the strange happenings around here, that you're telling the truth…but never mind. This is Riverton. My name's Ridge."
Ridge stepped closer, a bold move by the look in his eyes, and offered his hand. He shook it reluctantly. The inhabitants of Hyrule and Termina rarely shook hands, and recently he had begun to think of people as empty shells…
"Are you staying somewhere?" the youth asked. "Lodging's all full, unless you want the fishmonger's attic…"
"Ah, no, I'll find someplace," he said, taking a step back. He couldn't bear being within a certain distance of people. He had seen things, things that forced him to be wary, to be detached.
"Oh, you sure? My friend has a free room. She usually works at the inn, but business is bad, and there's VIPs staying there at the moment." He seemed guilty about the attic wisecrack now.
"VIPs?" The question fell from his lips without him thinking.
"Yeah, there's a Zora, a Goron, a tribesman from the east and some others I can't remember…but there's only six of them, and they've booked out the whole building."
Six? One more and it would be seven for luck. He'd certainly be lucky if those VIPs were who he thought they were.
"Ah, Ridge, ya showin' the kid around are ya?" Joein walked up to them, a small sack held in one hand. "Do ya mind takin' him off my hands? I got customers. Can't keep them waiting."
Ridge's eyes betrayed a look of anxiety. "Uh, sure," he replied quickly. Link could see the sheen of sweat on his face. "I'll take him."
"Good. Mind his sword, it's sharp." The potion man laughed at Ridge's expression. "The boy's alright, don't you worry." He strolled off, the sack on his shoulder threatening to spill its contents.
"So…" Ridge said, glancing at him. "Where'd you find your sword?"
"I found it."
"You stole it?"
"No, it was there for whoever needed it," he retorted. "Why does everyone keep asking?"
"Uh, well, since stuff's been happening everybody's on edge. Seeing kids with swords is kinda…disturbing." The youth paused, unsure if he had offended him. "The sea, you know…oh that's right, you don't. The sea's poisoned by something." Ridge's face grew sombre. "All the fish have died, and the Zoras have moved to the mouth of the river. And since this town has a...distrust of them, there's been some conflict. And the sea…it's retreating, drying up. Some of the sailors who still go out say that there's a mountain of water miles out."
He listened, his ears taking in the words to be replayed later, but his eyes were on the people, memorising their movements. The doomsday clock ticked on, dictating their actions. In just 39 hours this place would be wiped out, by what he didn't know. How many times did people have to die…
"Come on then," Ridge said, waving him down the path. The band started playing music, and onlookers started dancing to the tune. He wasn't interested much in the music, his mind was focused on the clock, and the person beside him. Ridge seemed different somehow, seemed real, as if the cycle would have no effect on him.
"So that gazebo is where the mayor lives. He has the works inside – apparently his bedposts have gold leaf on them." Ridge smirked. "Lucky bastard. The inn's the building next to it." He pointed. It had two stories and large windows set into the wooden walls. "Oh look – there's one of those VIPs," he said as the door opened.
A Zora stepped out, and two names clashed in Link's head, twisting his tongue so that neither made its way out. Ruto-Lulu. The confusion made him dizzy and he put out a hand to steady himself.
"Whoa," Ridge said, stopping as Link's hand glanced off his arm. "You alright? Hey Link."
"I'm alright," he gasped, taking some deep breaths to clear his head, making sure not to look at the Zora again. "Keep going."
Frowning, Ridge continued. "There's the potion shop where Joein lives, and my friend's house. The three around the side there – those belong to the band – and then there's my house. The rest are just residential – wait I forgot the fishmonger."
He nodded, not noticing Ridge's sheepish grin. "Is there someplace I can get a map?"
"A map? What for?" Ridge asked, glancing down at him. When he didn't answer he continued. "There's none for sale, and I'm not a good artist, but my friend used to give them out to visitors when she worked at the inn. She might have some lying around."
He nodded again. "What's east?"
Ridge stopped walking. "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" Link countered. "I don't know anything about this place, where I am, who the people are, but I have something to do and I need to do it fast."
As Ridge's eyes darkened Link put a hand to his mouth, shocked. "I'm sorry, I…I shouldn't have said that…"
Ridge stood there studying him. His eyes flickered to his left hand. "What's that?"
Link lifted his hand, as curious as he was. A faint scar outlined a symbol he wished didn't exist, a symbol he wished he didn't possess. Three triangles that made up a larger triangle. Courage.
"It's…a…" How to say it? This was the first time the mark had reappeared. Granted, it was usually not visible in the first place, but why now? "Just a souvenir."
"A present from someone?" Ridge asked, his eyes losing their edge.
"From something." He continued to walk, his eyes wide as he tried to cram in everything that he saw. "What's east?" he repeated.
"East…" Ridge murmured. "I don't know much myself, but there's two tribes there, warriors. They rarely come here, but when they do it's to trade, for fish and other foodstuffs. The land isn't that productive over there."
"That sounds-" he cut himself off before he said something strange again. That sounds familiar. "Ah…"
"What is it?" Ridge grabbed his shoulder.
"It's nothing - whoa!" he shouted as the youth grabbed the sword from his back. "Hey!"
"I just…don't understand…" the young man whispered, staring at the blade. It was scarcely big enough for his hand to fit comfortably in the hilt. "But never mind that," he said, handing it back to him. "Where'd you learn to use it?"
"I didn't?" He wasn't sure himself. "It just…was there."
"Usually I wouldn't ask a kid but we should spar sometime." Ridge's gaze followed his hand as he expertly sheathed the sword.
He could almost hear the thoughts in his head. I need to know how dangerous this kid is. Since the sea began to retreat anything out of the ordinary has been a threat to us…
"Maybe. Don't take me lightly though," Link said, looking up at the youth and narrowing his eyes against the sun.
"Don't worry, I won't." Ridge grinned. "I'm pretty good, though."
"I'll keep that in mind." Link spared a smile back.
Ridge's eyes seemed to soften. "You look like a good kid."
He had to stop himself from laughing. He had helped so many people, but was good the word to describe him? Just a child, rushing headlong into danger, not knowing if he'd come out unscathed. Just a goddess-damned child forced to bear the weight of two entire worlds, the fate of universes of people on shoulders that could barely hold the weight of the Master Sword when he first drew it from the pedestal.
Ridge took his silence for agreement and led him over a small bridge.
"There's nothing much of note here," Ridge said with a grand sweep of his arm that seemed like visual sarcasm. "Unless you count the whittler."
By a stand of pine trees was a small hut, and a man was lounging in a chair outside, whistling as he drew a knife across a block of wood.
Carpenter.
"No," he said, pressing his hands to his head.
"You sure you're alright?" Ridge asked, concerned. He could see distrust behind that concern.
"I'm fine."
The youth frowned, but didn't question further.
"Hey, Ridge!"
They turned. About twenty metres away stood a young woman, around the same age as Ridge.
"Regine!" Ridge waved her over. "This is Link," he said, smiling at him. "Joein found him in the forest. Link, this is Regine."
The woman smiled, and offered her hand. Link blinked at it for a moment before remembering and raising his own.
"Link, huh?" she said. Her hair was shoulder length, and a dark red – like Malon's – Romani – Cre– shuddup – and her eyes were also brown, but lighter than Ridge's. Her gaze flicked to the hilt of the sword behind his head, but she made no comment. "Nice hat."
"Some Ko – Some people I knew when I was little had hats like this," he said, letting go of her hand and taking his hat off. The floppy green cloth almost made him sick with longing – he had been a Kokiri, a forest child, destined to never age, to spend his time with whatever friends he had even though he never felt he'd truly be one of them. Then fate knocked at his door, and punched him in the face. Thrice.
"Must be useful to keep things in," Regine said, inspecting the hat. "It's so soft…"
"Hey, Regine, the kid needs a place to stay." Ridge took the hat from her, and tried to stuff his head inside it.
"It's too small for you -" he began to say, but to his surprise the hat fitted perfectly on Ridge's adult sized head. "Rauru, by the goddesses what did you do to my clothes?" he muttered to himself.
"I need to get me one of these," Ridge said, removing the hat – which seemed to shrink, but he noticed no obvious change – and tossing it back to him. "Regine? You still have that spare room, right?"
"Yeah, I could fix up something." She looked down at him. "How long're you here for?"
"Uh, two days, I think." 39 hours. The clock kept on ticking.
"Don't murder me in my sleep, I'll come back to haunt you," she grinned. "Maybe I'll keep the sword by the door."
"Uh…" He had never been without his sword from the day he had wrapped his hand around the hilt. The Master Sword had replaced it, but that blade was a key to something that had to be locked away. Then, in Termina, the Kokiri sword had returned to him, had lasted through all of his struggles, through the torment of saving a warped world. Hopefully it would last him in this one, and in battles to come. Hopefully this world was a little more sane.
"Can't I keep it with me?" he asked.
Ridge glanced at Regine. "Maybe you can stay in my place and I'll make sure he doesn't do anything?"
Talking over his head. People did that.
Regine gave him a wry smile and turned to face Link. "Nah, I'll manage. Knife throwing is a useful hobby."
"I won't steal anything." Or hurt anyone.
Regine glanced at Ridge, eyebrows raised. He could see the affection between them, they were family to each other, best friends, brother and sister in bond. Perhaps more, but he wasn't to judge. He only just met them, after all.
"I'm showing him around," Ridge said, after a pause. "Do you wanna come with?"
"Sure." She grinned again. "Where we going?"
Ridge looked at him for an answer.
"The sea? Could I see that?" he asked.
They exchanged glances again, uneasy ones. The poison sea seemed bad business.
"Yeah, okay," Ridge said, his eyes betraying him. Regine was better at façades.
They walked along, Link hurrying behind them. The sword rattled against his back, and he tried to memorise everything, everything he saw, as they wandered down the path back to Riverton, sand blowing down the pavement. The band was still playing, and people were tossing rupees into the cases laid in front of the steps. A man with a rotund waist bulging from his too-tight jacket – with gold buttons – was waving his hands in the air as he spoke to a group of people similarly dressed in clothes that actually fit. One woman seemed young, and was similar enough in appearance and shape to be the man's daughter.
"Left here," Ridge said to him as they came to the fork in the path. Hills and steep walls of earth and grass hid the path after the turn, as it curved slightly into the distance. Sand dusted the stones, which gradually disappeared into the sand as they went on.
The walls of earth vanished away, to reveal a beach of pure white sand, blindingly bright, that stretched left and right and a fair distance in front of them. People were standing where the waterline had been, by the looks of the marks in the sand, and looking out to the west. About five hundred metres away the glimmer of sunlight on water could be seen.
About a hundred metres in dead fish were strewn about, some bones, but most in a partial state of decay, and the further out he looked the more dead fish he could see.
"Some Zoras still try to swim," Regine said, "out there. But they usually…"
Death. Again. It went hand in hand with fate and had also knocked at his door, and punched him in the face many more times than fate did.
"I'm going out there," he said, dashing out in front of them.
"Wait!" Ridge yelled, running after him, Regine close behind. "Link, stop!"
He ran, feet pounding against the sand. He was a good runner, and even with his lack of height he managed to keep ahead of them.
The sun was low enough to shine into his eyes, and he kept his head down. Dead fish and piles of aquatic plants underfoot threatened to send him flying, and the smell was revolting. As he reached within a hundred metres of the water the sand became damp, and the scent of decay made him choke.
"Link!" Ridge yelled, as he came upon the water. He stopped just a metre away, and the young man and woman halted behind him, gasping for air.
He stepped closer, and gingerly nudged the surface with the tip of his boot. The liquid had an oddly clinging texture, and it slipped off the leather like slime. But it was water.
"It's like Morpha," he whispered.
"Link, don't touch it -" Regine grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "It's not safe."
He didn't turn around, only stared out at the horizon. Something like Morpha was manipulating the sea, but he could smell the acridness of the water. To swim out would be death. He had to find another way to defeat whatever creature was out there.
"Oh shit…"
He looked up. Regine was staring behind them, back at the beach. He could hear footsteps, heavy footsteps dragging through the sand.
"What is it-?"
Regine faced him, her eyes wide. Ridge had tensed, his hands curled into fists.
Behind them staggered a Zora.
Her eyes were hollow, empty, utterly devoid of any hope. The scales covering her skin were dull, and her limbs were thin and bony.
Regine pulled him away as the Zora approached, heading towards the water, not even acknowledging their presence.
"Wait-" he said, trying to pull away, to stop the Zora, but Regine held him tightly.
"She'll attack you if you try and stop her," she whispered to him. "When they first started to…to go back, people tried to stop them, but they were hurt. Someone was almost dragged in."
"Regine," Ridge said, softly but urgently. "The kid can't watch this. We can't watch this-"
"No, I'm fine, I need to know the effects of the water."
They stared at him.
He blinked. What was so strange?
You're a heartless bastard is what's so strange. You don't give a shit about that Zora.
But he needed to know what happened to people if they touched it. How else would he be able to find out what was going on, how to stop it? How else…? And the cycle meant that she would be alive, maybe he could stop her before she made it this far…
"Link-" Ridge began.
A sharp scream interrupted him and they spun to face the water. The Zora had waded in up to her waist. Wherever the water touched her the skin had blistered, the scales losing what little colour they had and peeling off.
Link unconsciously made to go after her – Courage, more like utter stupidity – but Regine held him back.
The Zora's scream began to fade, even though her blackened legs were carrying her deeper into the sea. Her back was arched back, her mouth open wide, a gargling sound emanating from her throat.
Ridge turned away as black liquid guttered from the Zora's mouth, and Regine pressed a hand to her mouth, her eyes closed, but Link stood, unmoving, unfeeling almost, a worn down child already acquainted with the horrors of the world. Worlds.
The black liquid floated on top of the water's surface, and the Zora toppled forward with a foul splash, her shrivelled body drifting slowly away from them.
"Ridge, don't look," Regine said, turning Link around to face the shore. "We're going back."
Link resisted, and stared out over the water. Now that he knew what he was looking for he could see more than dead fish floating in the water. The half-submerged corpses of Zoras glared out at him, death punching him in the face, but he stood his ground against the blows.
They seemed unaffected by the Zora's death as well. What had they seen? How long had this been going on?
"Come on." Regine dragged him away, catching hold of Ridge's shoulder and pulling him with.