Link groaned and sat up. His body was swathed in bandages and his chest screamed in pain when he moved it. His mouth tasted of clotted blood. He recognized the cold white walls of the ward room.

For one moment he couldn't remember what had happened. Then it hit to him like a wall with wings. The match, Meta Knight, the laughter, the shame…

Link buried his head in his hands. In one match that horrible creature had taken everything from him, his dignity, his health and his people…his people…

The hero slammed his fists on the bed frame, his eyes brimming with rage. Those fickle traitors! They had cast him aside like a used toy and had replaced him with that little masked monster!

The note! How could he have forgotten? Restlessly he searched his pockets, thankful that the hospital nurses had left him his clothing. Then he found it, a plain white envelope, without an address or any markings.

Link tore it open without hesitation. Inside was a small computer chip and a letter.

Find me in the Fountain of Dreams at sunset. Plug the chip into an angelic pad- then you may move about freely. Whether you come or not is up to you, Hero of Time.

-MK

Link scratched his head in confusion, who was this Hero of Time? Perhaps Meta had made a mistake and given him the wrong letter. Still, it wouldn't hurt, if all else failed he could at least get his revenge.

Link stood and immediately regretted it. His body screamed it's protest as he limped over to an inactive angelic pad. They were everywhere, moving crates, people and many other things around. When finished they simply stopped until they received new orders.

Briefly considering and discarding the notion of a gentle approach, Link lurched up to the nearest pad and rammed the chip in.

The effect was instantaneous and dramatic. The angelic pad lit up with an intricate webbing of blue lights, before turning a deep forest green.

"I matches my tunic." Link noted appreciatively as he climbed on.

The pad floated swiftly through endless corridors making hairpin turns and making Link fear for his lunch and his life. Eventually Link found himself at his destination, the glorious Fountain of Dreams.

As always the fountain's waters shone like a mirror, the sunset's rays reflecting from it's surface tinting the world a glowing orange.

Gingerly, Link stepped from the angelic pad, which floated nearby as if waiting. Link tried to shoo it off when he felt someone watching him.

Spinning around he saw Meta Knight, unarmed. Slowly, Link relaxed his guard, but only by a little. "Why did you take me here? Who is the Hero of Time? Why do you know how to hack angelic pads?"

Meta Knight chuckled, a deep warm sound. He spread his stubby arms out in a welcoming gesture. "I will answer all of your questions in due time. However I can answer the first two questions right now if you like."

Link lowered his sword to a resting position. "Go on…"

Meta paced towards one of the platforms and sat upon it. His head inclined towards the setting sun, he began. "I brought you here because you understand the difference between "I can't" and "I won't". I hope you still remember...correct?"

Link snorted at the simple question. "I can't means that you're unable to, and I won't means that you don't want to, so what does this have to do with anything?"

Meta chuckled and replied. "My boy, it is everything. You have felt it, haven't you? An urge to fight that burns away all else? A godly hand guiding your movement, propelling you to victory? But that comes with a price. You tend to forget, don't you? Everything that doesn't have to do with fighting, correct?"

"No, I don't. I remember everything perfectly." Link huffed.

Meta inclined his head until he could look at Link from the corner of his eyes. They glowed mischievously. "That blade there, what's it called?"

"The Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane." Link spat back.

Meta nodded, his eyes still twinkling. "And how did you come by that blade?"

"I…" Link found himself with a loss of words, where had this blade come from? Furthermore, where did he come from? Gingerly he held a hand up to his head, what was wrong with him…?

Meta Knight nodded knowingly. "You can't remember can you? Here, maybe if I tell you a story you'll remember. Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived deep in the forests of Hyrule, a land blessed by the gods. One day he was forced to protect a girl named Zelda from an evil warlock named Gannondorf. To stop the evil man he pulled the sword of evil's bane from a pedestal and acquired the triforce of courage. Long story short he defeated the evil man who was imprisoned. Sound familiar?"

Link blinked. "How do you know all of this? Why can't I remember? WHAT'S GOING ON?" He sank to his knees and clawed at his face, screaming. He screamed for his aching chest, for these half formed memories clawing at his brain but mostly he screamed for realized loss. All of his life- forgotten.

Meta stood and rested a comforting hand on Link's back. "You don't remember because this place…has an effect on people, somehow…it erases their memories…it causes rage and bloodlust…I want to fight it."

Link quieted down, but he was trembling. "How can I help you…?" He asked in a low voice, still deeply shaken.

Meta clapped his hands together in joy. Then quickly looked at the sun's position. "Oh shi-, Link, please get back to your room."

Too, shaken to argue, Link climbed onto his angelic pad and flew away. As he looked back he saw Meta watching, with a very large and twitching hand behind him. Link tried to cry out but the wind smothered his words as Meta Knight was enfolded in the great hand.

--

It seems that flying pigs are more common than was once thought…oh well. I hope you liked this installment of "Why Fight?", at least, I hope you like it enough not to come to my house and burn it to the ground. I suppose the chapters for this thing'll be short and quick…Rate and review if you would be so kind, it gives me the motivation to churn this stuff out.

All characters do not belong to me. If they did, they'd have an interesting plotline.